News
- Beer Writer and Historian Martyn Cornell Dies
Friday 6 June 2025
Beer writer and historian Martyn Cornell sadly passed away on 2 June aged 73. Martyn moved to Norfolk in 2021, from London, where he helped with Poppyland Brewery and Distillery’s media and publicity. His writing style when approaching the history of beer was entertaining, thorough, and detailed. On his excellent blog — Zythophile (ancient Greek for one who loves beer) — he devoted an entire section to debunking popular myths. Martyn was also a founding member of the British Guild of Beer Writers. Martyn’s work will live on, through his blog, and through a series of books, such as Beer: The Story of the Pint, Strange Tales of Ale, and Amber, Black, and Gold: The History of Britain’s Great Beers. Porter and Stout: A Complete History is due to be published this week. BEER TODAY
- Finalists Revealed in Champion Beer of Britain Competition
Friday 6 June 2025
The top IPAs, milds, bitters, blondes, pales and golden beers in the UK that will battle it out for the title of Champion Beer of Britain 2025 have been revealed by CAMRA at the recent Cambridge Beer Festival. They will be joined by the six finalists from the Great British Beer Festival Winter and one will be crowned overall champion at the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) to be held at the NEC in Birmingham in August. The winners in the six categories were: MILD: Penzance Mild 3.6% ABV; SESSION BITTER: Butcombe Butcombe Original 4.0%; PREMIUM BITTER: Cairngorm Wildcat 5.1%; IPA: Elusive Oregon Trail 5.8%; SESSION PALE, BLONDE & GOLDEN ALE: Track Sonoma 3.8%; PREMIUM PALE, BLONDE & GOLDEN ALE: Church End Fallen Angel 5.0%. Volunteer tasting panels will judge the 12 beers in the competition in a series of blind tastings at the upcoming GBBF to decide the winner. CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE
- New Ownership for Cumbria's Jennings Brewery
Wednesday 30 April 2025
The historic Jennings Brewery, in Cockermouth, Cumbria, closed by Carlsberg Marston’s, has been acquired by two local business owners and entrepreneurs. The brewery has been purchased for an undisclosed sum by Kurt Canfield, chief executive of specialist engineering business Delkia, and Rebecca Canfield, proprietor of wine and spirits company Wine and the Wood. The deal involves the transfer of rights to the Jennings brand, including all trademarks, intellectual property, and recipes. “As lifelong residents of West Cumbria, we have cherished Jennings Brewery and its beer for many years,” said Rebecca. “Preserving the heritage of the brewery and the maltings building, which are integral to our community, is of utmost importance to us. We are delighted to bring Jennings back to the local area and to have it once again run by a family-owned business. The project is expected to create several new jobs in the area, including the appointment of a head brewer, a brewing team, and a local sales and marketing force. BEER TODAY
- Magic Rock to become part of Keystone Group
Saturday 15 February 2025
Keystone Brewing Group has acquired the Magic Rock brands after the Huddersfield-based brewery went into administration. The beers will be brewed at other breweries owned by the group, either Black Sheep or Purity, but the Magic Rock brewery and taproom has closed and will now be sold off and staff will lose their employment. While it is good news that Magic Rock beers will still be brewed, they have now become just another faceless beer brand along with others in the group's portfolio such as Fourpure and Brew by Numbers. Once a revered craft brewery, Magic Rock's problems began when they were sold off to Australian drinks company Lion (brewer of Little Creatures beers) and then to the UK's In Good Company. A sad end for a once-great brewery.