I originally decided to write this blog after receiving the latest "Autumn 2022" edition of CAMRA's quarterly magazine BEER, but was stimulated further on receiving an email from Nicholson's this weekend that advised me The Falcon at Clapham Junction in London (website) is closing down today (7th August 2022) for refurbishment. If you don't know the pub, it is on the corner at the Junction; official address 2 St Johns Hill SW11 1RU, very handy for Clapham Junction railway station, and on many bus routes. Anyway, it is closed until the 1st of September 2022, so if you want a drink nearby, you'll need to walk a little further up St Johns Hill to number 36 and visit Greene King pub The Junction (website) 😏 Now I'm really Up the Junction (YouTube).
Well, much of the rest of my news may be a wee bit old to you, but some of it I had missed, as was the news that John Bryan, Brewing Director at Oakham Ales, one of my favourite breweries, has retired after 27 years working at the brewery (Oakham Ales). John is pretty famous for being the first Brit to bring back Citra hops from the USA in 2009, and, as regular readers will be well aware, Oakham Citra (4.2%) is one of my favourite ales, which I have written about many times. Well, John's not disappearing completely, as he's remaining a partner in the business, and, in the short-term at least, will still be making annual hop sourcing visits to the USA, cheers John!
In BEER, I also noticed a report of a group called Drinkers for Ukraine (website) who are raising money for Red Cross humanitarian relief in Ukraine, which appears to overlap with Brew for Ukraine, which I mentioned in addition to Dave Unpronounceable's article about his visit to Ukraine earlier this year, and which I reproduced in this blog, and which I've written about since too. Indeed, breweries around the world are brewing beers with profits going towards humanitarian relief for Ukraine, eg Steel City Brewing, who have since brewed another ale called Russian Warship, Go F*ck Yourself (blog). The BEER article also mentioned another Yorkshire brewery, Bridgehouse (website), brewing for Brew for Ukraine a 4.5% blonde ale called White Crow, which was sold in the Strangers' Bar at Westminster earlier this year.
In BEER, they also reproduced an article by John O'Donnell called Ask the expert - what is a pint of beer? (CAMRA) Again, regular readers will be well aware that I have strong views on beer being the only thing in Britain that can be sold at less volume than is advertised, that is, we rarely get what we pay for, a FULL pint, and much beer is wasted (above image, tut tut) because brim measured glasses are usually the norm... And, well you can read the rest of my arguments at this blog, if you haven't before, indeed, Fiddles, Waste and Duty: Full Pint or Not?!?
Finally, I recently heard the sad news that Caledonian Brewery (website) is being closed down by Heineken as it is 'no longer economically viable.' Heineken took over the Edinburgh brewery in 2008, and beer has been brewed there since 1869. Once closed, it is planned that Caledonian beers will be brewed by Greene King at the Belhaven brewery in Dunbar (Edinburgh News).
Not all good news then, whatever, raise a glass to brewers, and cheers!
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