Six Beer Links to 26.09.11

In which I post another half-dozen links to items of interest I’ve spotted around the Beerblogosphere since my last Six Beer Links post.

1. BrewDog Manchester y’say? Scroll down through that blog post and you’ll find out that the cheeky Fraserburgh chappies are pursuing a license on a premises on Newton Street about 50 yards from the awesome Port Street Beer House…

2. Harrogate-based chef Stephanie Moon has worked with Ilkley Brewery to create a Pint Chart that matches a selection of their beers with her ideal food choices. [via the Evolution of the Beer Geek in handy infographic form.

3. Boak and Bailey presented a list of Beers From Beyond the Grave… beers brewed from historical recipes. Looks like a fair few for the wishlist there.

4. Mr Simon H Johnson, rightly world-renowned for his tireless efforts as the globe’s foremost Reluctant Scooper has started a new blog for… other stuff. Some of it still beery and some of it Pearl Jam related, so that’s me hooked already, then.

5. Martyn ‘Zythophile’ Cornell’s latest delving into the annals of beer history is a fascinating look at the lost art of extreme-aged cask ale. Well worth a read, as always.

I’ve been reading Reluctant Scooper‘s series of Wishlist posts recently and have found myself nodding along in agreement at pretty much all of them.

Basically it’s a whole catalogue of ideas for improving everything from the pint in the pub-goer’s glass to the marketing operations of the brewing industry, written by a guy who knows and loves his beer. In short: it’s pure customer research gold; the sort of info breweries could (and probably do) spend stupid amounts of money on via focus groups and industry surveys, posted for free, for everyone and anyone to check out.

My personal favourites so far are Wishlist #9: More Pubs and Breweries on Twitter (for instance, it would be great to know which beers the Trackside in Bury have on tap before we decide whether to head up there or into Manchester for an evening), Wishlist #10: Regional CAMRA Festivals (there was a LocAle do at the Wetherspoons in Bury last weekend, but I was pre-booked – more of those, please!), Wishlist #16: More UK brewpubs (some of the best pubs I know of are brew pubs and wish there were more of them in my neck of the woods) and I’m definitely down with Wishlist #11: Fewer Anonymous Beers (I’ve muttered about the UK’s glut of average, un-remarkable, bog-standard bitter and pale ale on more than one occasion myself).

Admittedly, I’m wasn’t 100% sure I could condone Wishlist #6: Compulsory Morris Dancing at Beer Festivals but having followed some of the links on that post I was even beginning to come round to that idea as well.

If you haven’t read the posts in question yourself yet, go give them a go, particularly if you’re a brewer, publican or in any way connected with the brewing and licensing trade (or, say a local CAMRA Festival organiser).

That URL again: www.reluctantscooper.co.uk