Matthew Curtis
@totalcurtis.bsky.social
Freelance writer and photographer obsessed with beer, pubs and their culture. Founding editor @pelliclemag.com. He/Him.
More about me and my work: www.totalales.co.uk
More about me and my work: www.totalales.co.uk
Pinned
Matthew Curtis
@totalcurtis.bsky.social
· Sep 10
In February 2024 I visited French & Jupps, the UKs oldest existing maltster, and roasted malt specialist. I’d never heard of them before, despite them being in operation since 1689. It’s story fascinated me, so I wrote it for @pelliclemag.com here:
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/9/...
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/9/...
Reposted by Matthew Curtis
I've got a brand new @pelliclemag.com podcast out today, which features a long chat with @yakimachief.bsky.social, Beak Brewery and Pomona Island about new hop varieties and how they're using them. Listen to it here, or wherever you stream your podcasts.
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
The Pellicle Podcast Ep84 — Getting Hands On With New Hop Varieties — Pellicle
Hops have dominated the beer conversation for decades. Modern beer culture has been built on their vast trellises, the majority of which are located in Yakima, in the Pacific Northwest of the United S...
www.pelliclemag.com
January 19, 2026 at 10:49 AM
I've got a brand new @pelliclemag.com podcast out today, which features a long chat with @yakimachief.bsky.social, Beak Brewery and Pomona Island about new hop varieties and how they're using them. Listen to it here, or wherever you stream your podcasts.
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
Posting that blue Monday isn’t real is the real blue Monday tbqf
January 19, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Posting that blue Monday isn’t real is the real blue Monday tbqf
I've got a brand new @pelliclemag.com podcast out today, which features a long chat with @yakimachief.bsky.social, Beak Brewery and Pomona Island about new hop varieties and how they're using them. Listen to it here, or wherever you stream your podcasts.
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
The Pellicle Podcast Ep84 — Getting Hands On With New Hop Varieties — Pellicle
Hops have dominated the beer conversation for decades. Modern beer culture has been built on their vast trellises, the majority of which are located in Yakima, in the Pacific Northwest of the United S...
www.pelliclemag.com
January 19, 2026 at 10:49 AM
I've got a brand new @pelliclemag.com podcast out today, which features a long chat with @yakimachief.bsky.social, Beak Brewery and Pomona Island about new hop varieties and how they're using them. Listen to it here, or wherever you stream your podcasts.
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
Surely a study needs to be done on how my parents generation hangs on to seriously out of date condiments. There is an epidemic of them mums cupboards.
January 18, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Surely a study needs to be done on how my parents generation hangs on to seriously out of date condiments. There is an epidemic of them mums cupboards.
The cask offering at the Morning Star, Lincoln, Saturday 17th January. No notes, tbh.
January 18, 2026 at 12:45 PM
The cask offering at the Morning Star, Lincoln, Saturday 17th January. No notes, tbh.
Say what you want about Lincoln but we’ve got a massive cathedral and a castle and that’s about it
January 17, 2026 at 12:12 PM
Say what you want about Lincoln but we’ve got a massive cathedral and a castle and that’s about it
A pleasure. Blackjack are making some excellent beer at the moment. Keep an eye out for the Italian pils when it’s back out in the spring.
It’s been a good while since I had anything from @blackjackbeers.bsky.social but after these they're firmly up there on my list of brewers making great, sessionablebbeers, across a range of styles.
As recommended by @totalcurtis.bsky.social on the end of year @pelliclemag.com podcast
As recommended by @totalcurtis.bsky.social on the end of year @pelliclemag.com podcast
January 17, 2026 at 8:45 AM
A pleasure. Blackjack are making some excellent beer at the moment. Keep an eye out for the Italian pils when it’s back out in the spring.
Good morning. Why not catch up with our latest feature over your morning cuppa
The realities of sustainability in the beer world aren't as rosy as you'd think. How do brewers who want to make a difference manage to keep the lights on when the odds are stacked against them?
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
Reap What You Sow — Nevel Wild Ales and the Real Cost of Sustainability for Small Breweries — Pellicle
There’s no sign outside Ketelbroek Food Forest, but it’s not hard to find. Until it was bought in 2009 by two farmers who were seeking nature-based solutions for growing food, it looked just like the...
www.pelliclemag.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:30 AM
Good morning. Why not catch up with our latest feature over your morning cuppa
Drinking a pint of Thornbridge Jaipur. I reckon this could be big.
January 16, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Drinking a pint of Thornbridge Jaipur. I reckon this could be big.
Reposted by Matthew Curtis
There's a new @londonbeercity.bsky.social out today, focusing on an amazing flat-roof pub in Hammersmith that may or may not be re-opening. It's got this bull outside. If that has wetted your appetite - and how could it not? - please sign up and I'll fire it over www.willhawkes.net/london-beer-...
January 16, 2026 at 9:19 AM
There's a new @londonbeercity.bsky.social out today, focusing on an amazing flat-roof pub in Hammersmith that may or may not be re-opening. It's got this bull outside. If that has wetted your appetite - and how could it not? - please sign up and I'll fire it over www.willhawkes.net/london-beer-...
Theremin Beer is a new project from @millsbrewing.bsky.social where they’re making “clean beer”. I tried this export pilsner at Cafe Beermoth, which uses spon beer as sauergut to adjust pH, which was great. Complex, a little weird in a good way, crushable. Can’t wait to try more.
January 16, 2026 at 10:25 AM
Theremin Beer is a new project from @millsbrewing.bsky.social where they’re making “clean beer”. I tried this export pilsner at Cafe Beermoth, which uses spon beer as sauergut to adjust pH, which was great. Complex, a little weird in a good way, crushable. Can’t wait to try more.
I’m so lucky to live near this pub, and what these folks have brought to it has made it into a proper gem.
Super pumped by the fact that CAMRA have judged us runners up in their 2025 Heritage competition for our work on the Crown inn Stockport.
It was a slog but it’s good that our sensitive renovation of this icon has been recognised.
It was a slog but it’s good that our sensitive renovation of this icon has been recognised.
January 15, 2026 at 11:04 AM
I’m so lucky to live near this pub, and what these folks have brought to it has made it into a proper gem.
Reposted by Matthew Curtis
Sad to read this. Matthias visited us in May last year, drinking through our perries & some apple-based creations he brought with him. Had a good long chat. Will treasure the small stash of Nevel beers in the cellar, or better still, drink them soon. I’m sure he’ll do something related in the future
The realities of sustainability in the beer world aren't as rosy as you'd think. How do brewers who want to make a difference manage to keep the lights on when the odds are stacked against them?
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
Reap What You Sow — Nevel Wild Ales and the Real Cost of Sustainability for Small Breweries — Pellicle
There’s no sign outside Ketelbroek Food Forest, but it’s not hard to find. Until it was bought in 2009 by two farmers who were seeking nature-based solutions for growing food, it looked just like the...
www.pelliclemag.com
January 14, 2026 at 1:20 PM
Sad to read this. Matthias visited us in May last year, drinking through our perries & some apple-based creations he brought with him. Had a good long chat. Will treasure the small stash of Nevel beers in the cellar, or better still, drink them soon. I’m sure he’ll do something related in the future
Reposted by Matthew Curtis
This is a really fascinating take on the concept of sustainability, featuring a brewery that went "all-in" on it, including when it came to supporting suppliers, but it was financially unsustainable, ultimately leading to its demise.
The realities of sustainability in the beer world aren't as rosy as you'd think. How do brewers who want to make a difference manage to keep the lights on when the odds are stacked against them?
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
Reap What You Sow — Nevel Wild Ales and the Real Cost of Sustainability for Small Breweries — Pellicle
There’s no sign outside Ketelbroek Food Forest, but it’s not hard to find. Until it was bought in 2009 by two farmers who were seeking nature-based solutions for growing food, it looked just like the...
www.pelliclemag.com
January 14, 2026 at 12:37 PM
This is a really fascinating take on the concept of sustainability, featuring a brewery that went "all-in" on it, including when it came to supporting suppliers, but it was financially unsustainable, ultimately leading to its demise.
YES LADS
Warhammer maker Games Workshop has banned the use of AI in its content production and its design process, insisting that none of its senior managers are currently excited about the technology. https://bit.ly/49xT9Xl
January 14, 2026 at 8:53 AM
YES LADS
Reposted by Matthew Curtis
Final Gravity Issue 11 is now available for preorder w/free shipping when it mails early Feb. Tons of great articles in this one, including stories by Lana Svitankova, @jacopomazzeo.bsky.social, @davidjesudason.bsky.social, @melindag.bsky.social, and many more. www.beantobarstool.com/shop/p/preor...
Final Gravity, A Beer Zine, Issue 11 — Bean to Barstool
How to order Final Gravity Issue 11, a print beer zine telling personal, human-centered stories from the beer world. This issue has articles on Sarajevska Pivara, ProArt Brewery, Mason Ale Works, Sieb...
www.beantobarstool.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Final Gravity Issue 11 is now available for preorder w/free shipping when it mails early Feb. Tons of great articles in this one, including stories by Lana Svitankova, @jacopomazzeo.bsky.social, @davidjesudason.bsky.social, @melindag.bsky.social, and many more. www.beantobarstool.com/shop/p/preor...
Reposted by Matthew Curtis
Just ban us all from social media so we can draw a line under it and move on with our lives.
January 12, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Just ban us all from social media so we can draw a line under it and move on with our lives.
Four and a half years since it was first published and my second book, Modern British Beer, just scored a new review! Thanks to the kind folks at Biere Grand Cru for the nice words, which you can read here:
biergrandcru.be/modern-briti...
biergrandcru.be/modern-briti...
Modern British Beer
De auteur, Matthew Curtis, is een bekroonde schrijver en fotograaf uit Manchester, Engeland. Bier, brouwerij, beer,.
biergrandcru.be
January 12, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Four and a half years since it was first published and my second book, Modern British Beer, just scored a new review! Thanks to the kind folks at Biere Grand Cru for the nice words, which you can read here:
biergrandcru.be/modern-briti...
biergrandcru.be/modern-briti...
Can’t believe it’s five years since I wrote this. I still consider it to be the best thing I’ve written to date.
The thought has crossed my mind more than once......
See also www.pelliclemag.com/home/2020/8/... by @totalcurtis.bsky.social
See also www.pelliclemag.com/home/2020/8/... by @totalcurtis.bsky.social
Everything in its Right Place — The Brewery of St. Mars of the Desert, Sheffield — Pellicle
“ E Ipsum Verum. ” Hand-painted in white, these words hang on the sky blue walls that house the production side of The Brewery of St. Mars of the Desert in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Directly below ...
www.pelliclemag.com
January 11, 2026 at 1:16 PM
Can’t believe it’s five years since I wrote this. I still consider it to be the best thing I’ve written to date.
Reposted by Matthew Curtis
A little Sunday morning read:
BBC News - The alcohol-free Victorian venues transformed into pubs
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BBC News - The alcohol-free Victorian venues transformed into pubs
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The alcohol-free Victorian venues transformed into pubs
A historian says temperance campaigners would have been
www.bbc.co.uk
January 11, 2026 at 8:56 AM
A little Sunday morning read:
BBC News - The alcohol-free Victorian venues transformed into pubs
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
BBC News - The alcohol-free Victorian venues transformed into pubs
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Oh my god I just watched Hamnet
January 10, 2026 at 10:25 PM
Oh my god I just watched Hamnet
In the pub consoling a couple of Huddersfield Town fans after their injury time loss to Stockport County.
January 10, 2026 at 6:50 PM
In the pub consoling a couple of Huddersfield Town fans after their injury time loss to Stockport County.
And here’s our latest, if you’ve not read it yet. We’ll be back next week with more of the same.
We're here, we're here! Don't worry, we're a day late but we're here now!
This grey and freezing Thursday is the perfect time to head to New Orleans with Courtney Iseman, to drink delicious local lagers in the heat.
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
This grey and freezing Thursday is the perfect time to head to New Orleans with Courtney Iseman, to drink delicious local lagers in the heat.
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/1/...
Port in the Storm — Brieux Carré and the Tenacity of New Orleans Breweries — Pellicle
It’s about seven o’clock in the evening and the temperature is still hovering around 27 degrees Celsius in New Orleans, where one doesn’t so much walk down the street as wade through the air. It’s my ...
www.pelliclemag.com
January 10, 2026 at 10:50 AM
And here’s our latest, if you’ve not read it yet. We’ll be back next week with more of the same.
This is what happens when people subscribe! This was one of the first times time we worked with David, who has since written (and been paid for) 15 articles, which have lead to a book and now a bbc radio documentary!
Patreon.com/pelliclemag
Patreon.com/pelliclemag
Everyone’s (rightly) excited about desi pubs again but none of this would’ve happened without the support of @pelliclemag.com. They published the introduction (below) in 2021 and the award-winning deep dive into football culture (next post) the following year
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2021/5/...
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2021/5/...
Desi Style — The History and Significance of England's Anglo-Asian Pubs — Pellicle
I was hoping my first visit to a pub would be a rite of passage. Aged just fifteen, I felt more anxious about being the lone brown face in a white environment than I was about being served my first ...
www.pelliclemag.com
January 10, 2026 at 10:48 AM
This is what happens when people subscribe! This was one of the first times time we worked with David, who has since written (and been paid for) 15 articles, which have lead to a book and now a bbc radio documentary!
Patreon.com/pelliclemag
Patreon.com/pelliclemag