Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
@agoodbeerblog.bsky.social
A beer culture critic. A gardener. A scribbler. Shuns junkets. Denies community. Wants Double Double. Also at @agoodbeerblog while that exists as well as @agoodbeerblog@mstdn.social and http://agoodbeerblog.com
When illiterates are in charge…
There is renewed criticism over the names of military and DHS operations, including the most recent, Operation Charlotte's Web. n.pr/4nZIpq4
What to know about names such as Operation Charlotte's Web
There is renewed criticism over the names of military and DHS operations, including the most recent, Operation Charlotte's Web.
n.pr
November 17, 2025 at 11:26 AM
When illiterates are in charge…
It’s not all tomatoes. Every fall I freeze my fingers taking down the pole beans. Didn’t keep track of the varieties. The black ones are Cherokee Trail of Tears. A summer’s worth of fresh green beans, dried bean hummus as well as that blossom display. (Big Pole Bean Inc. has me in their grip.)
November 16, 2025 at 3:31 PM
It’s not all tomatoes. Every fall I freeze my fingers taking down the pole beans. Didn’t keep track of the varieties. The black ones are Cherokee Trail of Tears. A summer’s worth of fresh green beans, dried bean hummus as well as that blossom display. (Big Pole Bean Inc. has me in their grip.)
Sad threads w/ Eric Deggans defending journalism with folk who claim to know better, folk defaulting to “indie media” or dumping the great in favour of a dream of perfection but ending up with crap. Try this: read many sources, lead, pen a letter to the editor, assume honest effort is usually made.
Journalists often struggle to combat truthiness - the idea that because people believe strongly something is true it must be true. Unfortunately, sometimes people can strongly believe things that aren’t entirely correct, especially if they don’t have all the facts. And that’s what I’m telling you.
I am telling you, after decades of consuming legacy news media, that this is how I feel. This is why I dumped those subscriptions and sought indie media instead. There are many, many people who feel this way.
Your response was to tell me I’m full of shit …
Your response was to tell me I’m full of shit …
November 16, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Sad threads w/ Eric Deggans defending journalism with folk who claim to know better, folk defaulting to “indie media” or dumping the great in favour of a dream of perfection but ending up with crap. Try this: read many sources, lead, pen a letter to the editor, assume honest effort is usually made.
The odd thing, of course, is not holding Fox, NewsMax and other conservative news media to anything within sight of a similar standard.
November 15, 2025 at 5:24 PM
The odd thing, of course, is not holding Fox, NewsMax and other conservative news media to anything within sight of a similar standard.
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
This leaves room for the possibility of unprofessional mayonnaise that
Tactical ketchup. Performance mustard. Weapons grade sriracha.
November 15, 2025 at 3:29 PM
This leaves room for the possibility of unprofessional mayonnaise that
An all time favourite pub experience, the Holyrood 9a…
November 15, 2025 at 3:02 PM
An all time favourite pub experience, the Holyrood 9a…
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
Yes, they were on my boycott list too.
November 15, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Yes, they were on my boycott list too.
It wouldn’t be right not to recall that there was a point in time fourteen years ago when Rogue gave an early warning of allegations of poor management behaviour, shedding some customers like me.
Two Cautionary Tales Of Good Beer Bad Behaviour – A Good Beer Blog
abetterbeerblog427.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:58 PM
It wouldn’t be right not to recall that there was a point in time fourteen years ago when Rogue gave an early warning of allegations of poor management behaviour, shedding some customers like me.
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
And for Patreon supporters (thank you, one and all!) here are some additional thoughts on the stories in the round up, and some bonus links.
www.patreon.com/posts/143628...
www.patreon.com/posts/143628...
Footnotes on news, nuggets and longreads 15 November 2025 | Boak & Bailey
Get more from Boak & Bailey on Patreon
www.patreon.com
November 15, 2025 at 8:25 AM
And for Patreon supporters (thank you, one and all!) here are some additional thoughts on the stories in the round up, and some bonus links.
www.patreon.com/posts/143628...
www.patreon.com/posts/143628...
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
GOOD MORNING! Here's our latest round up of news, nuggets and longreads, with important brewery closures, Belgian bars, green hop beers, and lots of other stuff an' all. 🍺🍻
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/news...
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/news...
News, nuggets and longreads 15 November 2025: Wild Wild Life
Every Saturday we round up the best writing about beer from the past week. This time, we’ve got rogues, underdogs and cheats.
boakandbailey.com
November 15, 2025 at 8:18 AM
GOOD MORNING! Here's our latest round up of news, nuggets and longreads, with important brewery closures, Belgian bars, green hop beers, and lots of other stuff an' all. 🍺🍻
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/news...
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/news...
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
I love this headline. That’s exactly what my new book is about.
“We are scouring the earth.”
America is scrambling for beef supplies and prices are soaring. Is there an end in sight?
Read the latest Business of Food newsletter:
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
America is scrambling for beef supplies and prices are soaring. Is there an end in sight?
Read the latest Business of Food newsletter:
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...
Americans Just Can’t Get Enough Beef
The US is the world’s largest consumer of the red meat, but shrinking cattle herds have led to a supply shortage and sent prices soaring.
www.bloomberg.com
November 14, 2025 at 10:31 PM
I love this headline. That’s exactly what my new book is about.
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
If you prefer to read my posts as emails, you can sign up here! Every blog post is sent out via my newsletter, but I know there are millions and it's tiring to do that, so if you don't, no hard feelings.
www.katiematherwrites.com
www.katiematherwrites.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:25 PM
If you prefer to read my posts as emails, you can sign up here! Every blog post is sent out via my newsletter, but I know there are millions and it's tiring to do that, so if you don't, no hard feelings.
www.katiematherwrites.com
www.katiematherwrites.com
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
A New Thing for fans of the union fermentation system.
Link to this FB post - www.facebook.com/laurahadland...
Link to this FB post - www.facebook.com/laurahadland...
November 14, 2025 at 11:31 AM
A New Thing for fans of the union fermentation system.
Link to this FB post - www.facebook.com/laurahadland...
Link to this FB post - www.facebook.com/laurahadland...
“…play…” #AsIf
Why I am left wondering if the attack on those who play cornhole has gone too far.
abetterbeerblog427.com/2025/11/13/t...
abetterbeerblog427.com/2025/11/13/t...
The Mid-November Shock Of The First Real Freeze Runs Through These Beery News Notes – A Good Beer Blog
abetterbeerblog427.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:30 PM
“…play…” #AsIf
This week saw me pick the last of the tomatoes but also fling road salt to avoid cracking my back on the sidewalk. Clouds blocked the northern lights but I got to sleep in a bit too. So both the gives and the takes. Here’s the news:
The Mid-November Shock Of The First Real Freeze Runs Through These Beery News Notes – A Good Beer Blog
abetterbeerblog427.com
November 13, 2025 at 11:38 AM
This week saw me pick the last of the tomatoes but also fling road salt to avoid cracking my back on the sidewalk. Clouds blocked the northern lights but I got to sleep in a bit too. So both the gives and the takes. Here’s the news:
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
Global alcoholic drinks volume to see further declines @teamdb.bsky.social
Global alcoholic drinks volume to see further declines
The sales volume of alcoholic drinks sold globally this year has been projected to decline even further than initially expected, according to the IWSR’s mid-year forecast.
www.thedrinksbusiness.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Global alcoholic drinks volume to see further declines @teamdb.bsky.social
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
Photographer @seanislegend.com has compiled this fantastic look at UK green hop season. Some really stunning shots in this:
www.seanislegend.com/green-hop-beer
www.seanislegend.com/green-hop-beer
From Bine to Glass: Brewing with Green Hops | beer photography by Sean McEmerson
A behind-the-scenes look at the 2025 hop harvest, following fresh green hops from Hukins Hops in Kent to breweries like Five Points and Beak as they brew with them only hours after picking.
www.seanislegend.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Photographer @seanislegend.com has compiled this fantastic look at UK green hop season. Some really stunning shots in this:
www.seanislegend.com/green-hop-beer
www.seanislegend.com/green-hop-beer
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
This is a lovely deep-dive on the English hop harvest and a handful of green hop (aka fresh hop) beers made with them. The surprise twist is that one of the beers uses Bullion, a very old variety I thought was extinct. I guess not!
From Bine to Glass: A behind-the-scenes look at the 2025 hop harvest, following fresh green hops from Hukins Hops in Kent to breweries like Five Points and Beak as they brew with them within hours of picking. www.seanislegend.com/green-hop-beer
November 11, 2025 at 2:50 PM
This is a lovely deep-dive on the English hop harvest and a handful of green hop (aka fresh hop) beers made with them. The surprise twist is that one of the beers uses Bullion, a very old variety I thought was extinct. I guess not!
I think of Great Uncle John Dobie on Remembrance Day. Here he is, a blurry photo on postcard paper taken before being sent to the trenches. He was shell shocked into his eighties.
November 11, 2025 at 12:33 PM
I think of Great Uncle John Dobie on Remembrance Day. Here he is, a blurry photo on postcard paper taken before being sent to the trenches. He was shell shocked into his eighties.
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
Hoppy murk and nothing but, on the blog today: thebeernut.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
November 10, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Hoppy murk and nothing but, on the blog today: thebeernut.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
"Beer is a fundamentally social hobby," I opine whilst closing myself in the understairs toilet to photograph my glow-in-the-dark can of black IPA.
November 9, 2025 at 3:33 PM
"Beer is a fundamentally social hobby," I opine whilst closing myself in the understairs toilet to photograph my glow-in-the-dark can of black IPA.
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
BLOG POST: What was Rustic Ale? Why have we never heard of it before? And what meaning did the words ‘rustic ale’ convey to drinkers? 🍺🍻
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/mann...
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/mann...
Mann’s Rustic Ale and ideas of authenticity in beer
London brewer Mann’s, best known for its brown ale, also had a product called ‘Rustic Ale’. What meaning were those two words supposed to convey?
boakandbailey.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:22 AM
BLOG POST: What was Rustic Ale? Why have we never heard of it before? And what meaning did the words ‘rustic ale’ convey to drinkers? 🍺🍻
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/mann...
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/mann...
Reposted by Alan McLeod / A Good Beer Blog
This Pellicle post on pub etiquette has gotten a ton of attention. Since pub mores are dictated by local custom, I have no great opinions on their takes. The long list of rules is itself strange to this American—it seems very English—I like pubs for their laissez-faire attitude toward rules.
The Pellicle Essential Guide to Pub Ettiquette!
Already noted as curmudgeonly by @boakandbailey.bsky.social, we prefer "righteously bothered."
Table rezzies, bogey-filled tissues in empty glasses, rounds and more, all documented for posterity.
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/10...
Already noted as curmudgeonly by @boakandbailey.bsky.social, we prefer "righteously bothered."
Table rezzies, bogey-filled tissues in empty glasses, rounds and more, all documented for posterity.
www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/10...
The Essential Guide to Pub Etiquette — Pellicle
It was the writer and politician Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) who famously said, “ Change your hearts or you will lose your inns and you will deserve to have lost them. But when you have lost your inns ...
www.pelliclemag.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:54 PM
This Pellicle post on pub etiquette has gotten a ton of attention. Since pub mores are dictated by local custom, I have no great opinions on their takes. The long list of rules is itself strange to this American—it seems very English—I like pubs for their laissez-faire attitude toward rules.
One last morning cleaning up the tomato patches. A tie is necessary for such moments especially at 5C. Plenty of tomatoes untouched by frost and a nice set of purple and pink velvety Magnolia pea blossoms. #Gardening
November 8, 2025 at 3:07 PM
One last morning cleaning up the tomato patches. A tie is necessary for such moments especially at 5C. Plenty of tomatoes untouched by frost and a nice set of purple and pink velvety Magnolia pea blossoms. #Gardening