Why I’m Writing About Beer (And Why You Should Care)
Right, so I’ve started this blog because the UK craft beer scene is mental right now, and nobody’s talking about it properly.
We’ve got more breweries than we’ve had since the 1930s, Wetherspoons is somehow becoming craft beer’s unlikely saviour, and your local bottle shop is charging more for a single can than your granddad spent on a night out. Meanwhile, most beer writing is either incomprehensible tasting notes written by people who think “grapefruit pith” is a normal thing to say, or press releases disguised as journalism.
That’s where this comes in.
What This Actually Is
I’m calling it Cask Theory because every decision in beer.. from why your pint costs what it costs to why that brewery down the road suddenly disappeared.. comes down to some underlying principle. Usually money, often politics, sometimes just human nature. But there’s always a theory behind it.
My job is to figure out what’s really happening and explain it in a way that makes sense whether you’re a head brewer or someone who just wants to know why their local has started stocking £7 cans.
Think of it as the economics, culture, and occasional madness of British beer, explained by someone who actually likes the stuff.
What You Can Expect
Industry analysis that connects the dots. When a big brewery buys a craft darling, what does that actually mean for the beer in your glass? When the government changes duty rates, who really pays? When everyone’s talking about “sustainability,” what are they actually doing?
Cultural commentary because beer doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s tied to football, politics, class, regionalism, and the fact that we’re all just trying to have a decent time without spending our rent money.
Educational content that doesn’t talk down to you. How to read a beer label without looking like a tosser. Why some beers cost twice as much as others. What the difference between keg and cask actually means beyond “one’s cold and one’s not.”
Contrarian takes when the industry needs a reality check. Sometimes the emperor has no clothes. Sometimes Wetherspoons is actually doing something right. Sometimes the “craft” brewery everyone loves is owned by AB InBev.
Who This Is For
This is for people who like beer but aren’t obsessed with it. Industry professionals who want honest analysis. Punters who want to understand why their local is struggling. Anyone who’s ever stood in front of a craft beer fridge feeling overwhelmed.
It’s for people who think beer can be interesting without being precious about it.
A Quick Promise
I won’t recommend beers I haven’t tried. I won’t take money from breweries without telling you. I won’t pretend to know more than I do (though I might speculate and tell you I’m speculating). And I won’t write anything I wouldn’t read myself.
Also, I’ll try not to use the word “journey” unless I’m talking about actual travel.
Why Now?
Because British beer is at a weird inflection point. We’ve got world-class breweries making incredible beer, but also a thousand mediocre operations making expensive liquid that tastes like hop water. We’ve got more choice than ever, but also more confusion.
We’ve got an industry that’s simultaneously more innovative and more homogenised than it’s ever been. More democratic and more elitist. More local and more global.
These contradictions are fascinating, and they’re worth unpicking.
The Newsletter
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Get Involved
I’m genuinely curious what you want to read about. Email me, argue with me on social media, suggest topics, tell me I’m talking complete bollocks. The whole point is that this should be useful, and I can’t know what’s useful unless you tell me.
Right then. Let’s see where this goes.