Hops have dominated the beer conversation for decades. Modern beer culture has been built on the back of their vast trellises, the majority of which today stand in Yakima, in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

Many North American hops, including Cascade, Centennial and Simcoe, could arguably be called legacy varieties, such has been the length and size of their impact on the beer industry. Even Citra, which was first commercially released in 2007 and is now the most cultivated hop variety in the world, is approaching 20 years of production. Without them, the beer we know and love today would smell and taste very differently indeed.

But as much as these hops have shaped beer as we know it, there has been no rest for hop merchants, or indeed the brewers who use their products day in, day out. There is a constant demand for new varieties offering up new flavours and aromas. This demand comes in part from drinkers, and indeed brewers themselves, but largely this constant development of new hop varieties—which can take up to a decade, sometimes more—is driven by the hop industry itself.

Think about it—every year sees billions of pounds worth of hops harvested across the hop growing regions of the word, encompassing hundreds, if not thousands of different varieties. Hop merchants are not only seeking that x-factor in terms of flavour, but they’re also looking for agronomic viability, and, indeed, strong profit margins. Hops can be notoriously difficult to grow, so while breeders are trying to figure out what’s going to make a new variety taste great, they’re also looking at other qualities like disease resistance, how much water input a variety needs to survive in a changing climate, and so on.

Krush—which until recently was known under its development name: HBC586—is a great example of this. In terms of its flavour and aroma it’s a riot of ripe mango, juicy peach and sun-ripened orange, but in terms of its agronomics it also requires less inputs than older varieties, making it more economical and more sustainable to produce.

If the sound of this has got your interest piqued, then you’re going to love our latest podcast. Recorded live at FyneFest 2025, in this episode Matthew chats to Robbie Harrigan, a UK-based sales representative for Yakima Chief Hops, plus Mark Cotterill of Beak Brewery in Lewes, and Brett Pemberton of Manchester’s Pomona Island. Together we chat about some exciting new hop varieties, including Krush, and taste the exciting results alongside a live audience.

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Get ‘Er Brewed. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month.

This has been quite a year for Pellicle. Not only has it seen us set new records in terms of our readership, but we also released our first piece of print media in Katie Mather’s A PLACE TO BE and recruited the talented Claire Bullen onto our editorial team. Between us and our contributors we also picked up no less than 17 awards, including being named as the Beer Publication of the Year in 2025.

We’re dead chuffed as you can imagine, and have spent the holiday season taking stock ahead of planning out our content that will see us head into the new year with excitement and anticipation.

This has included Matthew taking time to sit down, microphone on, and take stock of the year in Pellicle. Our podcast has had a great year too, picking up one of those 17 awards, and producing episodes consistently on a three-week release schedule. This will be our 18th episode of the year, ensuring that 2025 has seen us publish more features and podcast episodes than ever.

In this episode, Matthew looks back at the year that’s been, taking time out to share a few thoughts on his favourite articles and podcast episodes. He also talks through what were his beer and pub experiences of the year, after his favourites were published by our good friends at Craft Beer & Brewing a few weeks ago. It’s good wholesome fun, best enjoyed with something delicious pulled from your stash.

Most importantly, none of this would have been possible without the incredible support of our Patreon subscribers, and our friends and sponsors at Get ‘Er Brewed. Thanks to all of you for making sure Pellicle has been as good as it can possibly be in 2025. If you’d like to support our award-winning work, and ensure all of our writers, illustrators, photographers and small team are paid fairly for their work, you can sign up for just the price of a pint a month by clicking here.

As a beer enthusiast, bottle shops have always played an important role in my life.

They were there when I first got into beer in a big way, supplying me with hard to find bottles imported from the United States, or new releases from some of the most exciting new breweries in the UK. It was through them that I also met some of my most valued friends and peers, including Jen Ferguson and Glenn Williams of South London’s Hop Burns and Black, who gave me one of my first breaks as a beer writer with a monthly column published on their website. When we launched Pellicle in 2019, they were there to sponsor us for our first two years. Looking back, we probably wouldn’t have made it through those first 24 months without their support.

Then there’s Phill and Steph Palgrave-Elliott of Caps and Taps in Tufnell Park. Not only did they give me my first ever gig as a freelance photographer, but like Jen and Glenn they became wonderful pals, and are also long time supporters of the magazine. It’s through both of their shops that I gleaned a deep perspective of how important bottle shops once were within the beer ecosystem. Here is where you came when you wanted to support local and independent, or when you wanted to find the latest fussed-over cans, or simply something delicious from a brewery you were yet to discover.

But things have changed a lot since those early days of craft beer—the early 2010s when everything felt shiny and new. Breweries came and went, some sold out, some focused on shifting units in national supermarket chains, and—after the pandemic—most of them started shipping direct to their customers. The role of the bottle shop shouldn’t have changed, but the industry changed around them, forcing them to pivot and adapt. Some became bars, some focused on online retail, others simply weren’t able to compete, and closed their doors forever.

Without them, however, we probably would have the vibrant selection of independent breweries we’re blessed with today. In this episode of The Pellicle Podcast I’m joined by the owners of three different UK bottleshops: Krishan Rajput of Stirchley Wines in Birmingham, Sam Parker of Keg Cask and Bottle in Prestwich, Manchester, plus Rosie and Greg Start, who run R&G’s Beer Vault in both Macclesfield and Congleton. Together we chew through the last few years in beer, and discuss the importance of bottle shops.

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the 2025 Salford Beer Festival. Huge thanks to organiser Jim Cullen for inviting us down to host this chat.

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Get ‘Er Brewed. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month.

When I wrote my 2021 book, Modern British Beer, I made the very intentional decision to put Fyne Ales irreplaceable Blonde Ale, Jarl, right at the beginning.

For me, it’s a beer that merges two schools of thought: that it is a modern beer, hopped with Citra imported from the Pacific Northwest, showcasing a bold, citrus fruit character, but one that is also a 3.8% cask beer, and at the same time feels resolutely anchored to British brewing tradition. Jarl, though, is not simply a modern British beer—it is a modern Scottish beer. Honestly, there is perhaps no beer experience that is resolutely more Scottish than to enjoy a pint at its source in Glen Fyne.

That was the inspiration for this particular discussion—an effort to take a closer look at what’s happening in the contemporary world of Scottish brewing. FyneFest, conveniently, provided the perfect place to chew on this topic and indeed it features Fyne Ales’ very own head brewer Sam Shrimpton. Also on the panel are two owners/brewers at two of Scotland's youngest breweries: Lucy Stevens of Closet Brewing in Edinburgh, and Harry Weskin of Dookit Brewing in Glasgow.

Listening to this episode, you’ll quickly realise that no one on the panel claims immediate Scottish heritage (although Harry is pretty damn close.) However, they are, each in their own way, vital to the local, independent beer community. It’s great to find out that the spirit that bound businesses together during the last resurgence of small breweries still exists today—in fact I’d argue it probably wouldn’t exist without it.

Tune in to hear two of the best young Scottish breweries talk about what they do, while perhaps one of the finest contemporary breweries to exist north of the border provides balance and context to this conversation.

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Get ‘Er Brewed. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month.

Tickets for FyneFest 2026 are available now, and we’ll be back hosting our panel talks and tastings for another year! Get your tickets here.

A few months ago I met a couple who had recently opened their own brewery on the Isle of Man. I was really compelled by their story, that one of them had lived on the island for most of his life, and how the other had returned from a life in London. Together they were trying to bring modern beer styles to a British dependency with a population of just 85,000 people, surrounded by the Irish Sea.

That was Nick Scarffe and Elizabeth Townsend, the founders of Kerroo Brewing. Since then we’ve met on several occasions and their story has only grown more compelling, so the next time they arranged to hop on the ferry and visit Manchester, I managed to pin them down for an hour* and have an in depth conversation about their brewery.

I was fascinated to learn that the beer culture on the Isle of Man remains relatively traditional, with a handful of independent breweries—from the 175 year old family brewer, Okells, to more up-to-date outfits like Bushy’s—but many residents hadn’t yet been exposed to such wonders as hazy IPA…

A keen homebrewer, Nick had dialled in his recipes, and when she turned back up on the island during lockdown, the two shared beers, started dating, and eventually decided to do what they thought was the most reasonable thing: to open a brewery of their own.

Operating in the village of Port Erin at the southwestern tip of the island, they run a 1000 litre brewery and a small taproom that opens monthly. We had the chance to chat about the struggles they’ve faced bringing modern beer styles to a market that remains relatively traditional—at least compared to mainland cities like Liverpool and Manchester—and how challenging it has been getting their beer out into the wider market.

Despite this, they’re still giving it a go. And take it from me, the beers are delicious, hence why I found their whole story, and this conversation, so compelling. Thanks to Nick and Elizabeth for joining me in this conversation.

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Get ‘Er Brewed. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month.

*We may have enjoyed several pints over several hours after the recording of this podcast.

Established in 2013, Berkshire’s Siren Craft Brew has rightfully grown to become one of the most well-respected modern breweries in the United Kingdom.

We at Pellicle have been lucky to have followed Siren’s journey since pretty much the beginning—I even hosted a tasting with founder Darron Anley at the Duke’s Head Pub in Highgate all the way back in 2015. They’re also one of our dedicated pro-Patreon supporters. As such, when their head of marketing, Andy Nowlan, got in touch to ask if we’d be interested in doing some collaborative content around the second edition of their Time Hops project, we said yes without giving it a second thought.

Time Hops is Siren’s way of helping drinkers to understand the nature of hops, from their development and cultivation, to how they present themselves in finished beers. Siren produced four different beers for this year's edition, and we diligently produced four different stories about each of them, and the hop they focused on.

Mark Dredge donned his lager hat once again, and told us the story of the sublimely elegant noble hop, Saaz, from the Czech Republic. In her Pellicle debut, Robyn Gilmour wrote about Australia’s fantastic Galaxy—a hop with something of a chequered past that is finally beginning to come back into its own. Katie Mather told us a story from the other side of the Tasman Sea, about one of modern beer’s darling hops, Nelson Sauvin. Last but not least, Lily Waite-Marsden dug into the more recent story of Strata, one of the most exciting young hops on the market today.

But we weren’t done there. As part of Siren’s Time Hops event at their taproom in the village of Finchampstead, Pellicle headed down to host a panel-led discussion all about the project and the four beers that have resulted from it. In this episode I’m joined by Darron Anley, plus head brewer Sean Knight, and Martin Rake from The Malt Miller, who delivers some fantastic insight into hop procurement.

It’s a long conversation, and a fascinating one to boot, especially if you’re interested in all things hop-related. Thanks again for Siren for inviting us to collaborate on this fascinating project with them.

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Get ‘Er Brewed. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month.

If you’re anything like me, you might have noticed that a certain dark beer has slowly but surely become the most ubiquitous beer in the UK. I am of course talking about Guinness. Now the most popular beer in the country (by value) it feels almost impossible to escape the gravity created by The Black Stuff.

Many of the smaller breweries I speak to—particularly those in Ireland—malign the ubiquity of Guinness. But perhaps where there is one popular stout that a whole new generation of drinkers is drawing enjoyment from there is also opportunity. Convincing someone to switch up from their favourite macro lager into something a bit more complex is challenging, but if they’re already drinking stout, that way opportunities potentially lie.

At FyneFest I recruited a panel from three independent breweries who are doing incredibly exciting things with their dark beers. At Lost Cause, Colin Stronge is continuing the great work he built his reputation on at breweries like Buxton and Salt, but now completely under his own steam. In Northumberland, Rigg and Furrow is focused on producing beers with a sense of place, and this feeds into some truly unique stouts and porters. Marketing manager Harriet Edgar is here to fill us in on those. And at Barney’s Beer in Edinburgh, career brewer Andrew ‘Barney’ Barnett is getting really experimental with his post mortem series.

While you won’t get to taste through the beers like our gathered audience at FyneFest, by listening to this you will get to enjoy a fascinating, and hugely jovial conversation about why we love dark beers with three hugely entertaining guests. The laughter and merriment throughout is a great reminder of why we return to the festival every year, and why you should consider joining us next time around. Until then, get your ears around this.

We’re able to produce The Pellicle Podcast directly thanks to our Patreon subscribers, and our sponsors Get ‘Er Brewed. If you’re enjoying this podcast, or the weekly articles we publish, please consider taking out a monthly subscription for less than the price of a pint a month.

Let’s begin the description of this episode with a mea culpa.

In February 2025 I visited the Trading Route, a new venue from the people behind Manchester Union Brewery, and Manchester restaurants Trof, and Stow. One of the main reasons I was excited to go was because Manchester Union co-founder Will Evans had appeared in an Instagram video advertising slow poured versions of their lager, complete with voluminous creamy heads.

Slow poured lager—like that offered at Denver’s Bierstadt Lagerhaus—is something I love. This method of pouring the beer in stages, letting the beer rest for anywhere between three to seven minutes between each stage of a three or four part pour has this magical effect of bringing out malt sweetness. This works particularly well in bitter lager beers, such as Bierstadt’s eponymous Slow Pour Pils. Manchester Union’s own lager is a 12º Czech-style, decoction mashed pilsner, with a bitterness of around 35IBU (International Bitterness Units) which brings it close the the 39 possessed by perhaps the most famous Czech lager in the world: Pilsner Urquell.

Only, that’s not quite what happened. The food was fantastic, the lager itself tasted great. But when it came to the slow pour, I found the experience to be lacklustre, so I decided to use the experience to practise my critical writing skills over at my personal blog, Total Ales.

Here’s the thing though. Trading Route, sidled right up to the brand new Aviva Studios (or Factory International or whatever you want to call it) is a lone independent in a sea of transplanted London-chains, from Hawksmoor to Dishoom, and even a brand new Caravan Coffee right next door. Good ideas often take time to perfect, especially without the same level of resources of those chains I’ve just mentioned. Was zooming in for a hot take three months into Trading Route existence the right thing to do? Maybe, just maybe, I jumped the gun a little with my review.

Regardless, I’ve now been back to the Trading Route—in a way, Manchester Union’s de facto taproom—several times, and on my last two visits the Slow Pour was served as advertised. I also took this opportunity to catch up with Will on record, and have an important conversation about the brewery he helped to establish in 2018, because it’s a brewery worth knowing about. Manchester Union is the city’s only dedicated lager brewery, and the fact that they’re concentrating on Czech style lagers (including a fantastic dark lager) is an important point of difference to me. How do you stand out when lager is still the most visible product on any given bar? The answer is quite Mancunian in nature, as it happens: to do things differently.

In this episode of the Pellicle Podcast I catch up with brewery co-founder Will Evans and get to the nub of what makes Manchester’s only dedicated lager brewery tick.

With special thanks to our dedicated Patreon supporters who help bring the Pellicle Podcast to life.