They say…

Des de Moor
Best beer and travel writing award 2015, 2011 -- British Guild of Beer Writers Awards
Accredited Beer Sommelier
Writer of "Probably the best book about beer in London" - Londonist
"A necessity if you're a beer geek travelling to London town" - Beer Advocate
"A joy to read" - Roger Protz
"Very authoritative" - Tim Webb.
"One of the top beer writers in the UK" - Mark Dredge.
"A beer guru" - Popbitch.
Des de Moor

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From the cellar: Iceni Deirdre of the Sorrows

ABV: 4.4% Origin: Ickburgh, Norfolk, England Website: http://icenibrewery.co.uk Date: 25 September 2000

Another review from the archive written for the pioneering Oxford Bottled Beer Database (OBBD). I’ve left it uncorrected — so please read it in that historical spirit. The beer is still in Iceni founder Brendan Moore’s range today.

The intriguing label designs from […]

Arbor Brigstow Bitter

Arbor Ales Brigstow Bitter. Pic: Wonker – Creative Commons

Top Tastings 2012

ABV: 4.3% Origin: Bristol, England Website: arborales.co.uk

Bristol is one of Britain’s more exciting beer cities at the moment, with some outstanding pubs, a small but growing cluster of decent small breweries and a flourishing homebrew scene. Besides Bath Ales, actually […]

Adnams Southwold Bitter

Adnams Southwold Bitter in minicasks. Pic: Adnams.

Top Tastings 2012

ABV: 3.7% Origin: Southwold, Suffolk, England Website: adnams.co.uk

I’ve long regarded Adnams Southwold Bitter as one of the benchmark examples of a traditional English cask bitter, an outstanding demonstration of the genius of the best old estabished British breweries for achieving depth and […]

Leeds Pale and Gathering Storm

European Beer Bloggers Conference 2012

ABV: 3.8% and 4.4% Origin: Leeds, England Website: www.leedsbrewery.co.uk

Leeds Pale

The closure and demolition of an historic brewery is always a loss in economic and heritage terms and, depending on how embedded it was in the life of its surroundings, a potential loss to local culture too. […]

Moncada Notting Hill Amber

Top Tastings 2011

ABV: 4.9% Origin: London W10, England Website: moncadabrewery.co.uk

Julio Moncada at the London Brewers Showcase, October 2011

2011 was an extraordinary year for brewing in London. When I sent the final text of London’s Best Beer, Bars and Pubs off to CAMRA Books in early March, I felt the capital […]

Sambrook’s Junction, Powerhouse Porter and Pale Ale

London Beer Tastings 2011 Junction was featured in a piece on bottle conditioned beers from London in BEER August 2011. Read more about London bottle conditioned beers.

ABV: 4.5%, 4.7% (5% in bottle) and 4.2% Origin: Battersea, London SW11, England Website: www.sambrooksbrewery.co.uk

Sambrook's Junction

The departure of Young’s from London in 2006 […]

Brodie’s Citra, English Best and Olde Ardour

London beer tastings 2011. For more Brodie’s beers and more background to the brewery, see previous post.

ABV: 3.1%, 3.9% and 5.7% Origin: Leyton, London E10, England Website: brodiesbeers.co.uk

Brodie's Citra

Like the brewery’s Amarilla, Citra is a popular, refreshing and approachable beer featuring an especially fragrant new US hop. A cask […]

Appleford Power Station

Beer sellers: Westholme Store

ABV: 4.2% Origin: Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England Website: www.applefordbrewery.co.uk

Appleford Brewery Co

Based on a farm in rural Oxfordshire at Brightwell-cum-Sotwell near Wallingford, Appleford was founded in 2006 by Andrew Torrance, formerly an accountant at the Morland brewery which was bought and closed by Greene King. Beers tend to be […]

Kingstone Classic Bitter, 1503 Tudor Ale and Humpty’s Fuddle

Beer sellers: Meadow Farm Shop

ABV: 4.5%, 4.8% and 58% Origin: Tyndyrn, Sir Fynwy, Cymru Website: www.kingstonebrewery.co.uk

Kingstone Classic Bitter

I tasted several bottle conditioned Kingstone beers during a visit to the adjoining Meadow Farm Shop in the breathtakingly beautiful Wye Valley for a Beers of the World piece in 2008. There’s more […]

Timothy Taylor Landlord

Timothy Taylor Landlord

Top Tastings 2010

ABV: 4.1% Origin: Keighley, West Yorkshire, England Website: www.timothy-taylor.co.uk

Established in 1858, Timothy Taylor had long enjoyed the respect of discerning beer drinkers as one of the best of the surviving regional independents when in 2003 a certain musician by the name of Madonna […]