About

I like good beer, it’s not always been that way though. When I was seventeen, my usual at the local after cricket nets was a Skol and lime, I like to think that my taste has improved a bit over the years. The main reason for drinking Skol was the fact that whatever Real Ale the pub had on, was generally bordering on undrinkable.

I suppose my first real thrust at drinking decent beer was when I went to Herriot-Watt University, I’d managed to do a few home brews, so I joined the brewing society. Being the shy and retiring type, I didn’t really attend any of their meetings as I was too scared to talk to people I didn’t know. They did run an annual beer festival where I got to try all sorts of new beers styles I never knew existed.

The main memory of being a member, was the trip to the Harviestoun brewery, this would have been back in 1990/1991 time, so they were still small. It took a couple of hours to shown round the barn where they were brewing and we had the chance to try all of their different beers while we were there. I can’t remember much of the bus ride back…

I stayed in a flat just of Leith Walk during my second year at Herriot-Watt, my local was Robbie’s, which just happened to be one of the few places you could get Harviestoun on cask. It became our local and the round was generally two pints of Scrumpy and a pint of Ptarmigan 85/-. I failed that course and ended up leaving Uni, I blame the fact that I didn’t do any studying as I spent too much time in the pub.

My next epiphany, if you like, came when I was at Aberdeen University attempting for the second time to get a degree. The local branch of CAMRA ran a beer festival, I only knew it was on as I’d seen a poster in the home brew shop window. I had my first tastes of Entire and Porter at that festival, I went to another two before I finally got a degree and stopped being a student.

I have to say that the festivals I went to in Aberdeen really opened my eyes to the variety of beer available and I started looking to try as many different beers as I could. I did the student thing of saving all the individual bottles and lining them up on the top of the kitchen cupboards. I also started insisting that we went to the pub rather than the student union as the beer there was shite, the beer in some of the surrounding bars was much, much better.

My home brewing had progressed a little while at Aberdeen, I’d joined the Metabisulphite Club, which was the University’s home brewing society. I ended up being the vice chairman for two years and running their website. We held an annual home brew festival where our wares were generally well accepted.

After leaving University I ended up in Cambridge and the rest they say is history. I volunteered at the CAMRA Beer festival’s and ended up as deputy organiser at one summer festival at the old City football ground. I also ended up on the local branch committee for a couple of years, that was an eye opener. I’m not really involved with the local branch any more, I try and work a couple of sessions at the festivals, but it’s difficult living out of town and having a young family.

I spend far, far too much money in the Bacchanalia, which has a wonderful selection of beer from all over the world. If I’m not spending money on beer, it’s on the ingredients for beer at The Happy Brewer in Bedford. I like beer, it’s the best drink in the world.