The East Bristol Beer Trail is returning on 29th and 30th August, giving drinkers the chance to tour seven taprooms relatively close to each other.
The hosts are: Moor, Wiper & True, Arbor, Left Handed Giant, Unwin’s, Little Martha, and Good Chemistry. Find out more here.
• Early bird ticks for this year’s Wimbledon Beer Festival, at Wimbledon Brewery, are on sale until Friday (31st July). The event takes place from 4th-6th September.
There will be guest beers from the likes of Ideal Day, Two Flints, Anspach & Hobday, Burning Bridge, and Heritage. Pick up early bird tickets here.
• Alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions of Hydes cider are now being served side by side in two Hampshire pubs. The Candover, at Preston Candover, and The Swan, at Emery Down, have the 5% flagship and 0.5% ABV option on their bars. The latter is produced through full fermentation rather than de-alcoholisation, giving it the depth of character and tannin structure of its 5% sister blend, says the maker.
“What The Candover and The Swan have done by putting Lyte on tap next to the 5% is genuinely forward-thinking,” said Hydes co-founder Lucy Lundberg. “They’ve recognised that customers increasingly want to know where their drink comes from and who made it, and that extends to no- and low-alcohol choices, too. People don’t want an afterthought squeezed onto a shelf.
“Being able to offer both strengths side by side, poured with the same care, is exactly where we think the category is heading. These venues are ahead of the curve, and we expect more to follow.”
• An historic category A listed Edinburgh pub has re-opened following a major refurbishment by Heineken-owned Star Pubs. The investment in the Joseph Pearce, near to the Edinburgh Playhouse, has seen it become Star’s 14th Just Add Talent managed operator pub in Scotland. The project is part of Star Pubs’ £3.08m Scottish investment programme for 2026, which includes plans for further managed operator pubs.
Local resident and former Joseph Pearce regular Paul Henderson — who has been working in the social care sector for the past 18 years — is taking the helm running the pub.
• Greene King brought together more than 140 supplier partners from across the hospitality industry at its fifth annual Macmillan Charity Day and Gala dinner, raising an estimated £350,000 for its long-term charity partner, Macmillan Cancer Support.
Held at the Celtic Manor Resort earlier this month, the event was Greene King’s biggest Charity Day and Gala Dinner to date, and brings the total raised through the annual event to around £1.2million since its launch in 2022.
TV presenter Mark Durden-Smith hosted the gala dinner, with Britain’s Got Talent judge, Alesha Dixon, headlining the evening’s entertainment. There was a heartfelt speech from Simon, a Macmillan service user from Lancashire, whose honesty and openness about his own cancer journey and the support Macmillan provided to him and his family earned him a standing ovation from the guests.
• Mash Paddle Brewery are to host a beer tasting featuring six guests brewers at their Enid Street, London, base on 30th July. As part of the brewery’s fourth anniversary celebrations, there will be a chance to try beers from Vibrant Forest, Two Flints, Only With Love, Timmermans, Thornbridge, and Palindrome, as well as Mash Paddle themselves. Find out more here.
• Lallemand is to host a brewers’ webinar on the subject of Mexican lager. The event will take place on 28th July at 5pm CET and will examine the making of light, pale, amber, and dark Mexican lagers.
Hosted by Ignacio Lomeli, the webinar will feature contributions from Jacob Sembrano, head brewer at Cruz Blanca Brewpub, and Alejandro Ancona, founder and director at Beer’s Cool. Sign up for the webinar here.
• North East mayor Kim McGuinness has set up a Small Venues Fund. It will provide grants from £3,000 to £100,000 to allow grassroots venues to invest in equipment, infrastructure, and revenue-generating improvements.
Couples will be able to get married in pubs, as well as other venues, under proposed law changes. The government wants to update marriage law to make weddings more affordable and give couples more choice.
• Punch has acquired The Masons Arms, in Fishergate, York. The pub was a flagship venue for the Tadcaster Tower Brewery when it was built in 1935.
The owner of three famous Yorkshire pubs is bringing them together under one umbrella company. The Tan Hill Inn, Richmond, The Green Dragon Inn, Hardraw, and The Station Inn, Ribblehead, will be known as The Famous 3, said Andrew Hields.
