Tim Hickford

Bit of a coup for us, we've landed the gig running the bar for Prince Andrew's 66th birthday party tonight. Right, better get the van loaded and head down to Windsor!

This is an incredible piece of work. Well worth reading and understanding. Well done @laurenleek.eu anyone with an interest in keeping pubs alive should read.

It’s on at the brewery now, will be readily available in many Wells pubs over the coming weeks, hopefully you like it 👍

Eamonn you might like to try the newly released Double Star, new permanent cask ale from Brewpoint, released to celebrate 150 years of Wells.

Yeah the question is simplified, and there’s more nuance. I quite like a nonic but don’t really like a tulip. But in general choosing between those with or without a handle I would generally prefer a handle

Is the correct answer.

Just looked the Red Willow ones up, they are very lush glasses! Worth making an exception for.

A point of fullers ESB in a branded pint glass with a handle.

A pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord in a branded glass without a handle.

Cask ale drinkers? If given a choice do you prefer to drink your pint from a glass with a handle, or a glass without one? Doing some research and trying to gauge what the general consensus is (if any)

A real shame and a loss to the local area. The first loss for 2026 and sadly won’t be the last.

Giving beer for Christmas Top ten tips for giving beer or beer related gifts at Christmas

I’ve got a new blog post out covering my top ten tips for giving beer as a gift at Christmas. Give it a read, and then find a way to surreptitiously pass it on to your relatives
beerwithtim.co.uk/2025/12/05/g...

Had a great time last night at #BGBW25 @britbeerwriters.bsky.social congratulations to all the winners, all thoroughly deserved!

The dreaded day is here. A nation of hospitaly operators holds their breath.

I had a great afternoon at Brewpoint today, recording a podcast episode with @beerwithtim.bsky.social, having a tour of the brewery, and sampling several of their beers - six after the tour and three over some lunch. Really impressed with the beers.

And to you too Martin!

Thank you Laura, and to you too!

Thank you Matt, and same to you and the rest of the @pelliclemag.com contributors!

Completely buzzed this morning to find out I have made the shortlist of the @britbeerwriters.bsky.social awards. See the full shortlist here www.beerguild.co.uk/2025-awards-...

Don’t be afraid to share your writing. There are six Sharknado movies.

Ghost Signs There are brazen spectres who haunt the villages and towns across England. Ghosts of revelry writ large and high, swinging in insult to all who pass by. I am talking about old pub signs. Those that…

“ When that pub is turned into a house it is gone forever. It’s not coming back… Having the sign up is a constant reminder to the community of what they have lost. The sign mocks those that miss what it signifies.”

New blog post on my site now live

beerwithtim.co.uk/2025/08/16/g...

Non-Negotiables — Cask Ale's Bid for UNESCO Cultural Heritage Status — Pellicle It’s 6:30 in the morning and Hook Norton Brewery is already cranking into gear. Golden light streams through the Victorian windows, refracting off copper pipes and setting the steam rising from the oa...

It's Beer Day Britain and we'd like to honour the occasion by drawing your attention to @jonnygarrett.bsky.social's piece on his @craftbeerchannel.bsky.social mission to give cask beer a recognised UNESCO cultural heritage status. Cheers!

www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/4/...

Certainly was. Aroma of tobacco, old leather and sherry. Flavours of stewed fruits and marzipan, surprisingly still a touch of carbonation on the tongue, warming and smooth with no savoury notes (not uncommon in old beers to be marmite like, but not here) it was pleasant.

Bass 1988 Strong Ale, bottle number 445/500. Heavily aged as you would expect but still drinkable after 37 years. Always fun to try something older than I am!

I asked on the brewery history society FB page. Brewed by Steve Wellington, on the kit that became the heritage brewery which you know all about Matt (great article it was too!) no further info on the beer yet, would love to know an OG and reasoning behind the release (if there was one).

A bottle of Bass Museum Brewery Strong Ale, main label shows the trademark red triangle. Displayed brewed on date 30th May 1988. Neck label says limited edition of 500. Bottle number 445. The bottle has a black wax seal on the top that is slightly damaged. The black glass bottle is approximately 500ml in size and is sitting on a white desk

Beer people! I’ve recently been given this bottle of Bass Museum Brewery Strong Ale brewer in 1988. Ltd edition #445/500. Does anyone have any information on this beer, or Museum brewery from that time? All info appreciated. I plan to open it and try it in due course.

Very sad to hear this. Always enjoyed his writings, a great loss to the beer community.

Pump Clips I’m sitting in a prime seat in the Cross Keys, a popular ale pub in the town centre of Thame, Oxfordshire. I’ve got a spot in the far corner, looking across the entire room. From my seat I can see …

I just published a new blog post with some thoughts on pump clip displays in pubs, and the general changes in pump clip design in the last couple of decades.

beerwithtim.co.uk/2025/05/29/p...

Looking forward to watching this later this evening, particularly after this glorious pint of Landlord I had yesterday at the Russell Arms, Butler’s Cross, Bucks

Non-Negotiables — Cask Ale's Bid for UNESCO Cultural Heritage Status — Pellicle It’s 6:30 in the morning and Hook Norton Brewery is already cranking into gear. Golden light streams through the Victorian windows, refracting off copper pipes and setting the steam rising from the oa...

Important: @jonnygarrett.bsky.social has written about the crusade to give cask ale UNESCO Cultural Heritage status.

Why does it matter? Read on and find out exactly why cask deserves to be recognised as a culturally significant part of British heritage!

www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/4/...

Happy Sunday all, enjoying last light of the day with a @millsbrewing.bsky.social Standing Beer in the garden. Dry, acidic, fruity goodness, with a peppery hop finish. Delicious.

Cold ones On Saturdays I talk. I talk a lot, and almost all of it is about beer. I run three brewery tours back to back, showing guests around Brewpoint and explaining to them the brewing process, the compan…

I just published a new blog post about how, after years of refusing to do so, I’ve now come to appreciate drinking lager straight from the bottle. You can read it here:

beerwithtim.co.uk/2025/04/18/66/