November 14th 2015 - Live Beer Blogging at Fourpure Brewing Co. Bermondsey

Fourpure Brewing Co, Bermondsey Trading Estate, Rotherhithe New Road, London, SE16 3LL

TICKETS ARE FREE - PLEASE REGISTER YOUR INTEREST HERE

When Daniel Neilson of Original Gravity & Rob Davies of Fourpure Brewing Co asked me if I’d like to host a talk as part of the brewery’s second birthday party I couldn’t say no. “What sort of thing do you have in mind?” I asked, innocently. “Something about beer blogging?” Rob mused. “I know – you’re launching two new beers, how about we review them live and then put it on the INTERNET!” I barely thought about it as the words exploded from my mouth. “Brilliant, great idea! See you in two weeks.”

That was that, I had agreed to put together an article reviewing Northern and Southern Latitude, the two beers being released to coincide with the Bermondsey brewery’s second birthday, live in front of an audience. Why do I do this to myself.

So, at 4pm on Saturday the 14th of November (that’s this coming Saturday) I’ll be putting together a beer review live at the brewery. Of course there’s a twist, there has to be right? The idea of watching a guy sit, drink beer and write about it sounds monumentally dull, right? Right. No, this time YOU will be generating the content from start to finish, as I try and somehow piece the whole thing together within an hour. We’ll need catchy copy, cutting edge tasting notes, eye-catching photography and a snappy conclusion. Think of it as being like a modern day Challenge Anneka only with more beer and less jumpsuits.

All you need to bring is yourself and your best pair of drinking shoes. We’re against the clock and will be starting at 4pm sharp – so don’t be late.

There’s also a heap of other great stuff happening at Fourpure from 10am to 10pm. Highlights include the launch of Original Gravity’s latest issue (their last of 2015) and an ‘alternative history of beer’ with Adrian Tierney-Jones and Daniel Neilson at 7pm, complete with punk rock soundtrack. Plus there’ll food from Cardona and Son, a live brew on the Fourpure pilot kit and great beer being poured all day long.

See you at 3.55pm, when I’ll inevitably be pulling my hair out and swearing a bloody curse to the gods of Wi-Fi connectivity. 

November 22nd 2015 - So you want to be a Beer Blogger? Brewdog Birmingham

3pm - 22/11/15 - Brewdog Birmingham, 81 - 87 John Bright St, B1 1BL

SOLD OUT

Not too long ago I was contacted by Neil Hemus, duty manager at Brewdog Birmingham. It transpired that a lot of regulars were interested in the bar putting on an ‘introduction to beer blogging’ event and Neil kindly asked if I would host it for them. On the 22nd of November I’ll be making my way up to Birmingham for the day to do just this.

I’m excited, and a little taken back, to say that tickets for this event have sold out before I’d even had the chance to talk about it. I’ve already started prepping the talk and it’s set to be one of the most interesting I’ve done to date.

We’ll discuss why people blog about beer, or anything for that matter, in the first place. I’ll run through the features and benefits of a range of blogging platforms and the advantages and disadvantages of each. There’s a lot to write about so we’ll look at content, style and how to make your blog stand out from the crowd. One of the main aspects of my own self-improvement over the last few months has been a focus on photography and we’ll look at the best way to use this and why it’s worth the extra time and effort. We’ll also go through sharing your blog, social media best practice and building an audience – plus I’ll have a few more things up my sleeve on the day.

My favourite part of all this is that we’ll get to spend the best part of an afternoon chatting in one of Birmingham’s best bars. Ticket holders will get a free schooner of Dead Pony Club on arrival and then we’ll have table service throughout, so you won’t need to rush to the bar if you get thirsty.

I’m looking forward to spending an afternoon in Birmingham – this is going to be a very cool, relaxed event. If you’re a bar or venue and you like the sound of this, hit the big ol’ contact me button below and we can discuss doing the same at your place.

November 4th 2015 - Darker Days II: The Darkening. The Duke's Head, Highgate

7.00pm, 04/11/2015 - The Duke’s Head, 16 Highgate High St, London N6 5JG

SOLD OUT

Towards the end of 2014 Total Ales' Matthew Curtis and Highgate’s The Duke’s Head teamed up to present Darker Days: a celebration of the long nights drawing in and dark beer matched with great food. This sold out event was a roaring success and those who managed to grab a ticket had the opportunity to indulge their dark side while sampling a terrific menu that featured rich stouts, pithy black IPA and indulgent Belgian quads.

One year on and Curtis with The award winning Duke’s Head have once more decided to bring the darkness to the streets of North London, this time joining dark forces with Berkshire’s scintillating Siren Craft Brew  – presenting Darker Days II: The Darkening – darker, more indulgent and with even more beer than last year.

Siren will be serving their beer exclusively on the night and members of its skilled team will be present to tell guests all about it. This will include the launch of this year’s batch of its stunning, tropical stout: Caribbean Chocolate Cake on both cask and keg. Also featured will be the sublime Bones of a Sailor Part III as well as a host from beers of its core range of modern classics.

Curtis will lead a tutored tasting through five beers while November kitchen residents Le Bao will be serving up their delicious Bao buns. We'll have something very special lined up for dessert before Truffles Deli close out the evening with their incredible cheeses. The ticket allocation is highly limited and due to the popularity of previous events is expected to sell out fast.

Embrace the darker days and join us at 7.00pm on Wednesday the 4th of November for The Darkening – we can’t wait to see you there.

October 22nd, 2015 - 'No More Heroes' at Hop Burns & Black

Tickets for this event have now sold out. If you'd like to make a donation to Mind then please do so via our JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/nomoreheroes/

Recently I was approached by a consultancy that were working on behalf of a multi-national brewing concern. They were in the process of creating a document on 'Craft Beer' that would be strictly for internal use only by said multi-national. The consultancy was seeking to obtain detailed information and insight into this sector of the beer industry via a series of well thought out and probing questions. 

The kicker? In return for me sharing a wealth of industry knowledge gathered through several years of hard work and research, this multi-billion pound company offered to donate £100 to a charity of my choice. This immediately raised a number of concerns. I'm not averse to doing freelance consultancy for breweries, it's something I've already done in the past and seek to do again as I begin to eke out a career as a freelance writer. The companies I've worked with have been very small but they've always paid me fairly for my work. Here was a company worth billions attempting to gain thousands of pounds worth of information in exchange for what essentially was a bribe.

This is unethical and downright sneaky. They wouldn't even tell me what the document would be used for or whose nose it would be pushed underneath. I refused their offer and made sure to let them know my thoughts on just how unethical their offer was in my reply. Unsurprisingly, I never heard back from the consultancy.

Following this brief exchange it then came to light that the same consultancy had approached my friends Jen Ferguson and Glenn Williams, who own and run Hop Burns & Black in Peckham, offering a similar sum. It wasn’t until the third email exchange that the consultancy revealed the client. Needless to say, Jen and Glenn weren’t about to hand over their intel to Big Beer so that they could better hijack the Craft industry.

There is no doubting this isn’t the first time ‘Big Beer’ has tried to blackmail its way into Craft but it did get me thinking. I’d just turned down a chance to get a little cash into the pockets of my charity of choice, Mind, and part of me wasn’t altogether happy about this. Then it hit me, why not team up with Hop Burns & Black and raise the money ourselves?

I recently began writing a column for Hop Burns & Black's blog about the unsung, unloved heroes of beer that occasionally gather dust on their shelves. Because Hop Burns & Black also sell great used records and we both love post punk we've decided to rename the column 'No More Heroes' after The Stranglers track of the same name. But how to turn this into a way of raising money for charity?

Simple. On Thursday 22nd October join Jen, Glenn & myself at Hop Burns & Black for 'No More Heroes' - a tutored tasting session of beer’s great unloved. Tickets will be £15 each and every single penny will be donated to Mind UK. The session will kick off at 7.30pm sharp. Tickets for this event have now sold out. If you'd like to make a donation to Mind then please do so via our JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/nomoreheroes/

I think we can all agree that when it comes to the attitude of multi-national breweries towards Craft that Something Better Change. So join our band of Shakespearo's on Thursday the 22nd of October as we drink some great beer, put some searing post punk records on the turntables and stick two fingers up in the direction of Big Beer.

Find out more about the brilliant work that Mind do for those experiencing a mental health problem at http://www.mind.org.uk/

August 9th, 2015 - A Sensory Beer Experience at Brewdog Shepherds Bush

Do you like tasting beer? Do you like being blindfolded? Do you like tasting beer, while blindfolded, while beer writer and talking enthusiast Matt Curtis hosts a tutored tasting? If your answer is yes to all or some of these questions then boy do we have a beer tasting with a difference for you. 

As part of London Beer City Matt has teamed up with Brewdog Shepherds Bush to push the humble beer tasting into the realms of the unknown. When tasting beer it's important to fully utilise as many senses as possible but what if each beer were to be paired with your senses themselves? Join us at 3pm on Sunday the 9th of August to have a beer paired with sight, smell, taste, touch and sound and discover just how important your senses are when tasting beer. You'll find out what music pairs best with an imperial stout, how sight can affect your perception of a beers flavour and more, with a fully interactive tasting session led in Matt's typically energetic style. 

Tickets are £20, includes five excellent beers and are available here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-beer-sensory-experience-with-matt-curtis-tickets-17642469100

This is part of a whole host of events Brewdog Shepherds Bush will be hosting during London Beer City, keep an eye on the bars twitter feed to find out more.