Dry January 2022 – my experience with some non-alcoholic beers

I completed Dry January for the third consecutive year and used this opportunity to try out some non-alcoholic beers (NAB) brewed in Germany. My friend and neighbour Andreas Krennmair (@der_ak) suggested that I write a blog post to share my tasting notes of some of the more interesting NABs that I sampled. As a brewer, …

A PhD in Brewing

In summer 2021, I started researching towards a PhD in Brewing & Beverage Technology in Berlin, Germany. Having submitted my dissertation and completing my MSc Brewing & Distilling degree at Heriot Watt University in December 2020, I was ready for the next challenge. My motivation to pursue a PhD is to gain a better technical …

Golden Pints 2020

Despite a pretty bleak year, there have certainly been some great beery experiences. And Golden Pints seemed like a fun way to briefly sum some of them up. Happy 2021! Best brewery In summer 2020, I moved to Berlin and immediately fell in love with the Hausbrauerei Eschenbräu, tucked away in Berlin-Wedding. I have been …

MSc Brewing and Distilling at Heriot Watt University: a review

Earlier this month I submitted my dissertation and completed my Master’s degree in Brewing & Distilling at the International Centre for Brewing and Distilling (ICBD) at Heriot Watt University. Now seemed like an apt time to reflect upon the past 12+ months of study and share some thoughts. I hope that this information could be …

Braumeister Syndrome

A friend told me recently about a conversation he had with some craft brewers that he met at a local brewery. My pal is a German Braumeister and introduced himself to his fellow industry colleagues as such. Apparently, they retorted with something along the lines of: "Braumeister is an outdated concept and we don't like …

Drinking beer in Berlin

I recently moved to Berlin. And I'm very excited about this. After an extended spell in Bonn and a short stay in Edinburgh cut even shorter by “The Thing”, I had some fresh perspective and was looking forward to a change of scenery. So I packed my suitcase, jumped on a train and moved to …

A guide to becoming a brewer in Germany

Germany has an apprenticeship scheme like any other that allows young people to gain work experience, learn on the job and earn a bit of money and a qualification. However, the two unique aspects about the German apprenticeship schemes are the prestige it holds compared to similar schemes in the UK, for example, and the …

Walking the 5 Seidla Steig – a beery day hike in Franconia

On my recent trip to Nuremberg I spent a day hiking in the fränkische Schweiz - a rural, particularly picturesque region of the southern German Franconia - following the 5 Seidla Steig hiking route. Seidla is Franconian dialect for a 500ml mug of beer and yes, that's right folks, it's a beer hike. This is one of the …

Transparency in German contract brewing

Transparency is, in my opinion, a key factor that sets small breweries apart from macro breweries. Transparency manifests itself in numerous ways, whether it's a brewery that offers tours to its visitors or whether we consider transparency as an open and honest dialogue between brewers and drinkers about the brewing process, raw materials and industry …

Learning how to brew Kölsch at Sünner Brauerei

After a brief, exam-related hiatus from blogging I thought I'd put some thoughts together about some time I spent recently at Sünner Kölsch, in, well, Cologne. As part of my brewer's training course I am expected to learn about all aspects of beer production and my boss kindly organised for me to go to the …