What a week! Voting seems to be the trend these days. There was Alberta’s referendum, then British Columbians gave the boot, Brazil didn’t, Serbia did, Ontario’s municipals were a bootfest and the tie of some sort in Israel in the books with the world waiting for the results of the US mid-terms before next Thursday. Change or at least progress seems to be a theme so far. Progress is a handy phrase given its meaninglessness. Sorta like IPA. On the bigger picture, the other theme might be the failure of social media influencer expertise. Which, as a web scribbler, is very disconcerting. We have needs, too! But everyone else might sigh “finally… know your place!” [As my late mother would often say. Especially to me.] But getting back to the point, as shown above Bulgaria also had the first round of its national elections last Sunday, with at least one beer related incident:
The chairman of a section election commission in the village of Izgrev, Tsarevo municipality, was removed after an investigation following a report that he had shown up for work in an intoxicated state. The report was filed by phone. According to him, the man was under the influence of alcohol while transporting the commission members to the section. During the inspection, the Burgas Regional Election Commission found that the chairman was behaving relatively inadequately and showing disinterest in the election process. The inspectors also found that he had brought alcohol into the section’s premises – a two-liter beer in his luggage. During the conversation with him, a characteristically slurred speech was noticed. As a result, the chairman was dismissed, and a new chairman was appointed in his place.
Whew! No need of that. What else is going on? Well, care of Nigel we read that there has been an advance in the understanding of hops out of New Zealand:
Complementary sensory analysis was conducted using a sorting task with descriptors to evaluate similarities and differences in aroma perception. Hop samples from different farms exhibited distinct volatile profiles, demonstrating chemical differences among growing locations and highlighting the potential for origin authentication. Variable identification analysis identified compounds strongly correlated with specific farm origins, with patterns differing between cultivars, highlighting the significant influence of genetics. Sensory results showed that panellists perceived differences and described hops of the same cultivar differently depending on farm origin.
I wonder if Stan has more on the implications? He does! Right there in his latest edition of Hop Queries:
One of the premises behind this recently published research article…is something I haven’t seen suggested before. The authors write, “Given rising prevalence of food fraud, particularly geographic origin fraud, the NZ hop industry may be a target for fraud” (because New Zealand cultivars are highly prized).
Holy hop fraud fears!!! Makes sense. If something is definitively from there, it can’t be from here.. or over there. Speaking of Stan, is there a correllation between bad parents in pubs and objections to identifiying NA beer as… NA beer? Perhaps the wailings of the immature? Not sure.
Speaking of taking control of one’s environment*, Anthony Gladman has written about the usefulness of scoring guides in judging contexts. That’s his own version there to the right which he describes thusly:
Ladies and gentlemen, here it is, my gift to you to take away and use in your own life: the International Gladman Scale of Satisfaction — or IGSS for short. Unlike the tier lists of this world, which claim or imply objectivity, the IGSS doesn’t pretend to tell you how good something is. Instead it is based entirely on how the thing made you feel. Yet it’s precise about the difference between, say, merely nodding to yourself and feeling inspired to tell someone else about the experience you’ve just had. To me, that’s the most honest way to go about it.
I like it. I would recommend you adopt this sort of thing in combination with the AGBB certified personal tasting form as well as your own graphical representation of brewing history. For, as we all know and Epictetus taught:
If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.
Some sad news. The foundational Vermont Brew Pub is closing after 38 years as reported by WCAX:
Vermont’s oldest craft brewery announced its closure on Monday. “Since 2020, we’ve struggled to get back to the level of business that is necessary to sustain our operation, and unfortunately we just don’t have the resources to hold out any longer for that day to come,” they said in a post on Instagram. It comes as downtown Burlington businesses battle with declining visitors. This summer, The Vermont Pub & Brewery told WCAX that foot traffic was down 20% from last year. The brewery first opened in 1988. They say their last full day of service will be Saturday, November 14.
That up there a picture of me in younger and certainly prettier days back in 1992 where I am sporting the brewery’s t-shirt a day or two after a stop at the place. I remember having a bottle of Brazilian black lager there a couple of years before that. It was always a very handy landmark on the map for trips between Ontario and the old homeland of Nova Scotia back when, you know, one cut the corner across New England. Sad to see it go even if that trip isn’t made so much these days.
Similarly speaking, Gary shared his keen-eyed recollections of his visit to the Coach and Horses, Greek Street, Soho in London in remembrance of pubman Norman Balon who passed on at 99 in June this year:
He was best known for his persona of the rude and braying landlord, although many have said it was not the real man, but a pose. I think years ago here I mentioned my Balon story, but if I did I’ll say it again. I first went in, probably in the late 1980s, when the saloon bar was set up for lunch (main floor, not upstairs where the Private Eye gang met). He would sit in the corner, at the saloon end, and I spoke to him. He was gracious enough, my story was I had read about him in journalism by the great beer writer Michael Jackson. He seemed aware of the publicity, and said something about Americans coming in who also read Jackson. I think I said too I really liked the Burton Ale at the bar, and he smiled at that, knowing its quality of course.
I have avoided all the Halloween hoopla so far but Pellicle, like Gary above, has published a piece by Millie Milliken which starts a remembrance of a landlord who has left us then opens into a consideration of wakes in pubs:
…their role in the act of remembrance goes further than the ghosts that are said to haunt them. The Coroners Act of 1846 decreed that dead bodies were to be taken to the nearest public house and stored until an inquest could be held or a funeral arranged. This seemingly bizarre practice came at a particularly devastating time in Ireland, which was seeing an increase in deaths from the Great Hunger. When mortuaries were overwhelmed, the cooling beer cellars of a pub were the next best thing. “Irish wakes have gone through lots of changes,” explains Cliona Purcell, head of curation at Waterford Treasures, which counts the Irish Wake Museum as one of its kookier offerings. “One of them was the use of the pub.” While more traditional wake customs revolved around the home—customs which still exist, to some extent, in the countryside today—the pub’s role eventually extended beyond housing the bodies. They started hosting the wakes, too.
Interesting! On the topic of mortality, here’s a new booze and health study** that’s going to make every beer trade friendly commentatory become an instant expert in anatomical pathology and other medical specialities:
Even low beer/cider consumption was associated with elevated cancer mortality. Alcohol intake from spirits at low or combined moderate-to-high levels was linked to greater all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Lower all-cause and cause-specific mortality were noted with low wine intake; meanwhile, high wine intake was associated with increased cancer mortality. Moderate or low red wine intake was associated with lower all-cause, CVD, and other-cause mortality, but high red wine intake was linked to higher all-cause and cancer mortality.
Beer? No thanks! Pass the Bordeaux, buddy! Now… here’s some notes!
Note #1: Hadn’t known I’ve occasionally “ligged” until now.
Note #2: flashback to brewery and maltster fires of yore.
Note #3: Jeff talks about the weather – and it ain’t right.
Note #4: When Teds Roamed The Earth.
BREAKING! Ray (he a B of B+B) had that Allsopp IPA all the cool kids were talking about last week:
…the real star of the afternoon was Allsopp’s IPA on cask at The Kings Head. It’s very like Bass – clearly a cousin or sibling. But, perhaps because of the excellent condition in which it was served, or that controversial ‘inspired by’ historic recipe, had more marmalade and more zing altogether. We hope to see it around again. (Although someone in the pub was grumbling that “it’s not really, technically, what I’d consider an IPA…”.)
IPAs. Again. Is there a more wasted term in beer? Elsewhere… is David OK? I think he’s OK. But he’s wondering if he’s OK:
I come to consciousness. I can barely breathe. The room is dark but loud. There’s no dog. No family. I begin to panic. I’m in a hotel in Belgium, I think. The space is filled with the clinking of crystalline Church bells which are rung every 15 minutes – I have a flashback to buying a drink whenever I heard them yesterday. I eat breakfast. I drink coffee. I pretend to be normal among the elderly guests at the hotel. No one speaks English around me which is helpful because they could be speaking about me. Or is that the hangxiety? I can walk to the brewery from here. It’s OK. I can style it out when I’m there – after all I’m here for three days and this is my only real obligation.
A bit further to the east, I think Barry is OK. Probably. At least he’s been busy. First he helped identify the trees in an unorganized orchard:
Ok, doing something nice and useful. Last year, an old chap near Waldürn asked me to help identify the pears in a collection that was planted about 20 years ago. They never mapped what they planted 🤦♂️ I’ve assembled info on all the varieties I know they had available to plant, so making a folder.
Then he realized that he may have forgotten his own implicit access to another patch of pears:
…I thought it was just for one year, a year they didn’t have time to harvest apples to make their own juice. So for years I’ve been walking by these trees, which includes a magnificent Perry pear tree at the back, wishing I could still take some of that fruit. For years, I have been bringing a case of cider to the owners during harvest time, as we harvest from trees right beside their house. Trees that don’t belong to them, but used to, so it felt right. Now I realise they probably thought I was bringing the cider as a thank you for these other trees…
How many times have I said it: clarify your orcharding rights!! Speaking of clarifications, history fans should take note that tomorrow Friday at lunchtime UK time there is a Zoom by actual expert Dr. Amy Burnett on her PhD thesis that’s bound to be well worth watching:
On Friday 30th October at 12:15pm UK time, I’m giving an overview of my PhD thesis (on women’s work in 17th century English alehouses) for the @drinkingstudies.bsky.social Women and Alcohol cluster! All welcome.
Here’s the link to the event and here is the contact for the Drinking Studies group. And remember the aysmetrical North Atlantic clock changing reality of this week! I encourage such things as I have recently done the same sort of thing no doubt at a lesser level. Here’s the PowerPoint presentation for my recent dog and pony show to five paying audience members on the topic “Brewing and Drinking: Kingston 1790-1867“. AKA “spruce Beer Yuk!” Let me know if you can make that link work. I can’t. Hang on… so, if you click here and click again on that page… it appears to download.*** I trust the link provided by Dr. Burnett will be simpler!
More health news! In The Telegraph we read that Heineken has developed a strategy to cope with the effect of the adoption weigh loss medicines like Ozempic and Wegov amongst the drinking public:
Heineken has urged pubs to serve more half-pints as the growing popularity of weight-loss jabs threatens beer sales. The Dutch brewing giant has warned landlords that traditional drinking sessions where people enjoy several pints could become rarer as millions turn to appetite-suppressing medication. It has advised pubs and bars to prioritise smaller drinks, low-alcohol beers and smaller portions to avoid losing customers. According to a presentation seen by Reuters, Heineken warned hospitality businesses that medicines such as Ozempic and Wegovy could reduce demand for beer and cider by making drinkers feel fuller and less inclined to order food and drink.
Other maco brewers are not necessarily following in step. I am not sure that selling less is a means to increase sales but, yes, one must do what one must do. Speaking of which, ATJ has been down the pub and, speaking of sales, seems to have encountered something between a pawn shop and a hoarder’s home:
I was at the Peyton Arms in the North Oxfordshire village of Stoke Lyne, where the barroom was a feng shui nightmare, a clutter of photos, books, signs, beer mats and whatever took the landlord’s fancy. He was called Mick the Hat, grey mutton chop whiskers framing a kindly face, and yes he wore a hat, and all this jumble seemed to fit. ‘All the bric a brac here is my own work,’ he told me, ‘I like it because it is like there is something you will see and something you will miss. It is like coming into your own front room and I like people to feel homely. It works and when we came here there was nothing, but it is now chockablock. I also like cobwebs and Boris the spider, so everything is here as it should be.’
Sounds… hard to dust. And finally, out in the wider world of clinky drinky scribbling, results have been released by the org that defies acronym, NagBwah. It was heartening to see a wider range of entrants including (i) actual academics submitting for the academics category and (ii) even the venerable The New York Times column Wirecutter winning a second in the best review competition – even though only one of the two authors of the column was named. Hmm. Results still indicate the limitations of a self-nomination process, a fact which recommends in itself at least one category of open nominations from readership. And one wonders how a third was offered for a pleasant enough article which consists of 41% direct quote sentences from the single source mentioned, a trade association comms officer who called in from another drinking culture. But all in all a good representation of where the hobby or habit or handicraft stands at the moment.
There you are. That’s good for now. On my end, a very multi-media tech trick sort of exercise this week. My first use of A.I. in fact. Can you spot it? As you think on that and until we meet again, please check out Boak and Bailey’s postings on each and every Saturday along with their fabulously entertaining footnotes week after week at Patreon. And do look out for more of Stan’s “One Link, One Paragraph” format. Then it’s your turn. Read and recommend, please. Scour the world for news tips – then let me know. Then hunt out something in someone’s archives! Leave oblique comments on someone’s post from 2009!! Listen to a few of Lew’s podcasts and get your emailed issue of Episodes of my Pub Life by David Jesudason on certain Fridays. And Phil Mellows is at the BritishBeerBreaks. Once a month, Will Hawkes issues his London Beer City newsletter. Do sign up for Katie’s wonderful self-governing totes autonomous website featuring The Gulp, too. Ben’s Beer and Badword remains on pause but there is reading at The Glass which is going back to being a blog. Any more? We have Ontario’s own A Quick Beer and All About Beer is still offering a range of podcasts – and there’s also Mike Seay’s The Perfect Pour. Plus follow the venerable Full Pint podcast! And there’s the Craft Beer Channel on Youtube as well as the archives of the Beer Ladies Podcast. What else?
*[Ed.: Were you? Really??]
**Li, Z., Tan, B., Desjardins, C. et al. “Total and beverage-specific alcohol use at mid-life and all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a prospective cohort study.” Nutr J 25, 114 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-026-01361-3. Here is the cited academic report on the study’s results in which there was a mean term of 13.4 years and 22,381 studied deaths.
***Any technical advice on sharing a PowerPoint file that you may have is most welcome.