Hopulist Issue 7

My work takes me to the USA a lot,
and this gives me great perspective
of where I think the UK industry
is heading. The US beer industry is
way larger and far more corporate
than much of the UK. But it’s still
edge-of-your-seat exciting, which
gives me the same excitement
about how the UK beer industry is
maturing. I just hope those working
within it can mature as fast as the
industry itself.
What are your favourite kinds of
beer and why?
A classic American IPA in the 7%
range will always be right in my
wheelhouse. I like bitter, citrus
flavours, confident malt notes and
a tantalisingly bitter finish. Think
Odell IPA, Russian River Pliny the
Elder or something like Magic Rock
Cannonball in the UK. I love the
way the extra weight of a 7% or 8%
beer adds definition to bold hop
flavours.
I’m a huge fan of mixed
fermentation sour beers, particularly
saisons from the likes of Burning
Sky or Mills at home, or folks like
Allagash and New Belgium in the US.
For me, these beers are getting to be
as complex and interesting as some
of the best wines. I love sharing big
750ml bottles of these with friends (or,
sometimes sharing a whole one with
myself,) and would like to see more of
these styles packaged in this way.
I also really love lagers from the
Bavarian and Bohemian regions of
Germany and Czechia, something
with soft bready malts and snappy
herbal hops. Sometimes it’s the
I REALLY NEED
TO MENTION
CASK, BECAUSE
I LOVE MY
CASK BEER,
ESPECIALLY
RED ALES AND
STOUTS AT
THE MOMENT.
I’D LOVE TO
SEE MORE
BREWERIES
BACKING
DARKER STYLES.
only style of beer I want to drink.
Finally, I really need to mention
cask, because I love my cask beer,
especially red ales and stouts at
the moment. I’d love to see more
breweries backing darker styles. So
basically, I like everything.
On the future of beer – what
excites you the most? And what
worries you (if anything)?
I’m an optimist, so I find the
evolution of the industry as a whole
very exciting, despite the challenges
it faces such as consolidation and
things like cask being in slow decline.
However, I think the consolidation of
cask could be turned to the brewers’
advantage. Less cask on the bar could
be an opportunity for better cask
on the bar. I’m glad to see young
brewers like Cloudwater and Verdant
deciding to back the format, however
hyperbolic you may feel this to be.
I’m also fascinated where the
world of beer starts to blur, as it
meets fellow industries like wine,
cider and coffee. These industries
are so very different, but at the same
time share an immense amount in
common. I’m excited to see what
happens at the fringes of these
industries as they, hopefully, begin
to look more alike. I feel this is
where beer’s future is. And that’s the
one thing that worries me, at the
moment, beer’s distant future, so
10 or 20 years, feels very blurry to
me. There is an immense amount of
uncertainty ahead, but hopefully we
can work together and chart strong
routes through any choppy waters
that may block our path.