The blog is pitched...

to the fermenting vessel that is the internet! Hello to you all, and welcome to the beginnings of my ramblings about beer, bars and brewing!

Based in the UK, I'm a 19 year old student at Oxford University, with a passion for beer (and a bar to run when I'm not too intoxicated with my first love!). An advocate and fan of fine continental beers through to British real ales, I aim to blog on the world of beer in all it's forms. Whether looking at new releases to the commercial market, through the wavering successes and failures of smaller breweries; I am intending to write a blog that is critical, insightful, entertaining and hopefully right. The tone won't always be light, the content won't always be heavy, but it'll be relevant enough to open up the workings of a young persons perspective on the part of the spectrum of the beer industry which has become too dominated with rugby clubs, beards and a passion for obscure folk music.

Instead, I want to trawl through all the tradition and the well worn CAMRA stereotypes, to try and get to some fundamental truths about beer and brewing. That is, that it is an exciting drink, growing in popularity and sales once again- but that it can not merely rely on a stalwart population of older drinkers rediscovering the drink, nor on the ever growing culture which seems so slow to shift beer into the accessible mainstream. I'm going to attempt to provide my views on image, branding, the evils of the pub co's and even the fine drink itself.

Most recently, daringly, stupidly, humorously and hyperbolically (he types, exceeding his previous adjectival diarrhoea for this blog at any previous point!) I have begun producing my own modest home brew. Currently, my first extract and brew ever is fermenting away down in my garage; I'll aim to discuss as well the relationship between the home brewer, craft brewer and pub, as they somewhat homogenize in the new drinking environment that is being reborn in the U.K at the moment.

Lastly, I'm particularly keen to talk to YOU! (Can you visualise a crap Lord Kitchener without the moustache? That's what I'm going for here!) So, please comment, debate and ask me about anything you like! If you have a blog yourself, I'd particularly love to get in touch, in order to expand my own horizons and education as much as anything else! And, lastly, if you ever want me to talk about a beer and feel like sending me a sample or two for discussion, feel free to e-mail and get in touch. Even if you don't (it's worth a try!) drop me an e-mail letting me know you exist! Excite me enough and I might even drain the overdraft further!

Cheers,
Peter