Brew Britannia: The Strange Rebirth of British Beer

by Jessica Boak, Ray Bailey

At the start of the twentieth century Britain was home to over 6,000 breweries. By 1960 this number had dwindled to 358 and, with the “Big Six” increasingly dominant, the prospects for British beer looked weak, yellow and fizzy. In 2012, however, UK breweries topped 1,000 for the first time since the Great Depression. Moreover, they are now producing and exporting more varied and inventive ale than ever before. Across the country, evidence of this national brewing renaissance is easy to find: the Campaign for Real Ale has more members than the Conservative Party; beer festivals proliferate with every passing month; the Camden Brewery and Meantime have become international brands, producing acclaimed lagers and IPAs; the ultra-fashionable BrewDog dispenses shots of strange 40%-proof liquids to hipster media types; and cyberspace plays host to hundreds of thousands of beer enthusiasts, all debating and virtually savoring the merits of New Zealand hops, or the latest chocolate stout. The Strange Rebirth of British Beer will tell the story of this remarkable reversal. Following a disparate group of Trotskyite hacks, eccentric City bankers, hippie “micro brewers” and a lot of men in pubs, the writers behind the acclaimed Boak & Bailey blog promise to reveal how punter power pulled the British pint back from the brink.

Genres: Beer, History, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[E Owen]

Joyfully written history of modern beer in Britain. Gives a good general overview of how we went from bland mega-breweries to “Real Ale”, the lager fad and finally the new wave of “craft” brewing. It concludes by delving into the innovations and tensions which currently exist. Personally I meander between fidelity to traditional cask ale and dalliances with unfiltered continental styles. My feelings are however unambiguous towards 2/3rd pint glasses for low to medium strength beer at the same cost of a full pint - they are a scam.

Pettifoggery aside, it is a relief to be living in an age of so much choice as the book cheerfully concludes.

[Rob]

An interesting and even handed run through the recent history of British beer and the climate that prevailed to lead us towards what is commonly regarded as a golden age. The final few chapters are devoted to the 'Craft versus Cask' debate and the authors rightly see considerable merit in both. Issues that could have been explored further include price (the big achilles heel for Craft), the rise of JD Wetherspoon, touched upon but surely much more influential than mentioned here, for good or bad - and the fact that the book already seems dated. There is a good section on Brewdog while CAMRA is depicted, probably rightly, as an organisation that has achieved much but which may have failed to claim the credit for what it has achieved and is now looking in danger of being superannuated.

[Hobo]

Enjoyable book that I’ve dipped in and out for the last couple of years. Nice easy going look at history of beer in Britain.

I enjoyed how book ended with man stating BrewDog bar “ it’s not a pub , but it’s packed” followed by a shrug “ And I think it’s good to see all those youngsters in there, taking a real interest in beer.”

The type beer don’t matter as long as you enjoy it.

[Philip Coulter]

Good summary of the last forty years of British Real Ale and craft beer. Towards the end it loses the narrative slightly and turns into a series of interviews with modern brewers, but there's nothing particularly wrong with that.

[Lana Svitankova]

Для різноманіття - хоч шось з історії інших країн, ніж США. Більш новітня історія, з купою цікавезних подробиць, інсайтів в організації, появу крафту, і як БрюДог скопірайтив трохи копірайту у Стоун. Скандали, сенасації))

[Mac Ince]

An interesting piece of historic research on how beer got where it is today, via the likes of camra and spbw. Mainly real ale, with a few chapters on how craft beer got its grounding in the 2000s. Well written, in a very easy to read style. Will not tax you any.

[Rue]

Maybe not always the most accurate (they say this themselves), but a wonderfully enjoyable read and a quick overview in the complicated beer history of the UK

[Howard Richards]

A very good account of the changes in beer drinking over the last sixty years. No mention of Dutch beers though. I remember the fashion for Orangiboom & Pils being very popular at one time.

[David]

7

[Mark]

If you are into beer and its history, then this is a really informative book on the history of British beer over the last century.

[Mark Mcdermott]

American beer fans have become well-versed in the history of the craft beer movement here in the States. This book offers a perspective from the other side of the pond.
The book's very title is a rebuttal to a 1973 book, The Death of the English Pub, in which Christopher Hutt bemoaned the rapid consolidation of small British breweries under huge corporations, and the shrinking numbers of pubs offering anything different than Watney's. However, this book's story starts back in the early 60s, when a small group of men associated to promote the old fashioned pub and its cask beer, eventually naming themselves the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). Though at first looked upon as another of those British eccentrics dedicated to "preserving" bits of English life (and earning a sort of mention in the Kinks' "Village Green Preservation Society"), CAMRA succeeded in putting a focus on a disappearing piece of British society, at a time when it was still possible to retrieve it.
CAMRA's good beer guides and beer festivals did influence the brewing industry, which tried to answer with their erzatz "real ale" brands. It also attracted a new generation of brewers, some homebrewers with cobbled equipment, others refugees from brewery consolidation and downsizing. Among the people in this new scene was Terry Jones of Monty Python, who funded the startup of Penrhos Brewing (1977-1983).
The book can become hard to follow, tracking, as it does, the comings and goings of brewers and beer-centered pubs and restaurants. It also tracks down the influence that changed the British beer palate, from German lagers and extreme Belgian brews, to the revival of the IPA style, influenced by American exemplars like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Goose island IPA.
The book also notes how CAMRA was in danger of disappearing from relevance, as it stuck to its standard that the only "real ale" was gravity-dispensed from a wooden cask, instead of carbonated and sold in bottles of steel kegs. Perhaps the biggest influence on the current British beer scene, as cited in the book, was Scotland's BrewDog, whose "Beer for Punks" courted controversies with regulators and thumbed its nose at CAMRA, yet also funded public stock offerings that let it expand production and build their own series of pubs and restaurants.
An engaging an informative book, which perhaps could benefit by more descriptions of some of the favorite beers of its history. But an excellent perspective on how the craft beer movement grew in Europe.

[Ian Garrett]

An interesting approach to 'A brief history of Btitish Beer revival'. Trying to encompass everything from SPBW to CAMRGB (who they?) in the ever changing tastes of British Beer drinkers and the people who influenced those changes.
Good to see that pioneers like Peter Austin, Sean Franklin & Brendan Dobbin getting the respect they deserve, even if the names probably mean little to the Hipster Bloggerati & Twitterati. It must have been difficult to decide who to interview and there are probably some whose omission in favour of some interviewed is rather odd. There was probably too much prominence given to some of the darlings of the 'Craft' beer world, as although they have shaken some things up they have also helped spawn some pretty poor acolyte brewers who believe that more hops is the answer to everything.
There are plenty of stories yet to be recorded which are hinted at but not developed, like the ex Firkin Brewers who have gone on to produce many excellent beers in many Breweries and locations.
All in all an enjoyable read, I recognised many of the events and people involved.

[Alex Sarll]

While it is true I don't like beer, I don't like football either, but I could still enjoy David Peace's The Damned Utd. And the story of beer overlaps with lots of things that do interest me - British pubs (insert Chesterbelloc quotes here); the Ealing comedy-style resistance of truculent oddballs to corporate monocultures; the way movements form and divide, rebels ossifying into new establishments. Admittedly I tended to skim the bits concerning exact tastes of beers (very much an angels/pin question as far as I'm concerned - sadly, they all taste of beer), but this is still a rollicking read.

(Full disclosure: I know the authors, and indeed was present on a couple of 'research trips' for this, though given they looked more like 'going for a pint' this wasn't as hardcore as it might sound. However, given my distance from the core topic, I could still have easily got off the hook if I didn't like the book by saying something non-committal such as 'If you like beer, you may well like this also'. Really, though, it is pretty good)

[Darran Mclaughlin]

Great. Boak and Bailey are the best beer bloggers in Britain and if anyone was going to write the modern history of British beer it was them. I thought it was very interesting to read about the history of brewing and pubs up until about the time I became particularly interested in it. I have heard bits and pieces of the story but this book brings it together in a lucid, engaging and entertaining way. Some other reviews I have read suggest that the latter portion of the book, examing British beer culture over the last 15 years of so feels a bit rushed, and I tend to agree. Kernel only come up briefly and the London beer scene wouldn't look anything like it does today without them, so I would have liked to see more about them among other things, but perhaps they can write an updated second edition in a couple of years.

[Doug]

As an American beer geek, I have a pretty good grasp of the history of American craft beer. This book gave me an excellent look into the history of the corresponding movement in the UK (I could just call it craft beer as well, but that phrase has had some different connotations across the Atlantic, as this book explains). Among other things, it's interesting to see how a few breweries such as Thornbridge have ended up as major nodes of the modern scene, with many brewers spending time there before moving on to start several of the current small (and not-so-small, in the case of BrewDog) British breweries.

[Matt Stevens]

Fantastic book. Very much enjoyed the history of beer from CAMRA fighting against the big six to the pushback now in the craft "craft" world against CAMRA and other old stogies. Last couple chapters felt a bit like a bunch of name dropping to make sure everyone felt special and inclued in the book. Also, some people were referenced in stories about other characters, but didn't have their own tale told, which seems kind of silly. I'm obviously living in Tacoma, WA so I don't know the important names that just roll of the tongue in the UK so I know I'm missing why some people were judged important and some weren't.

But overall, I very much enjoyed the book.

[Joseph]

An enjoyable review of the last fifty years of British beer that seems to be very well researched. The book focuses on the people involved in the story, from the real ale traditionalists to the craft beer punks. There's a slightly melancholy feeling to the chapters that cover pioneering breweries and beers that came and went before my personal drinking career began but it's still fascinating to learn about them. Some detail on the technical stuff is appreciated but I imagine most readers will already know this.

[Tom]

The authors have obviously taken a fair bit of time in researching this topic, starting off in the post war era all the way up to the modern day. It looks at the rise of CAMRA and their fight in the 1970's to save real ale, as well as taking in the influences of America and the craft beer revolution as it has become known today.

I really enjoyed reading this, best enjoyed with a pint (cask conditioned or craft brewed!)

Worthy of any beer enthusiast's bookshelf.

[Daniel Etherington]

A solid, well-researched, history of British beer from the past half-century or so, from the rise of CAMRA to the craft beer movement of today. Or 'craft beer' as Boak and Bailey insist on calling it. They do have an infuriating habit of over-using quotation marks (you don't need to say 'flavour' when you just mean flavour, etc).

[Stoic_quin]

An enjoyable history, but suffers from the 'Craig Dhu' disease prevalent in mountaineering histories and I suspect falling for BrewDogs marketing spin that it's about the superficial aspects of individual Brewers rather than any substance.

An enjoyable read if you really get into craft beer.

[Steve Gillway]

This was great to read and here the stories and the people behind the changes in brewing over my lifetime. Beer can be such a touchstone of localism and identity in the UK. Well researched and presented. Cheers

[Andy Malcolm]

This book is making me thirsty. A quality read that cruises through the past 50 or so years of UK beer in fine, readable style.

[Mark]

http://marklindner.info/blog/2015/02/...

http://marklindner.info/bbl/2015/02/b...

[Emma Victory]

Very well researched and wears it (kind of) lightly. Fascinating and educational stuff.

[Kaleighpie]

Excellent read