While John’s travels may have dried up in Winter, his passion for beer has not. Here, he shares his thoughts on what UK beer may look like in the next 12 months and beyond. 

It might come as a surprise that since my return from Belfast I have been reducing my travel greatly.

In fact, my only trip was to go to Manchester to visit Tandleman (Local CAMRA chairman and deputy organiser of the Manchester Beer and Cider Festival). Well, I have had to recharge my batteries and what’s more London is a good city to enjoy yourself in.

There’s been lots of good concerts to go to such as Bill Frisell, Steve Reich at the Royal Albert Hall, Stravinsky with the LA Phil, Herbie Hancock and the Art Ensemble of Chicago at the Barbican and finally, Dweezil Zappa at the Royal Festival Hall. We also did a tour of forgotten London visiting the old disused Aldwych station. I also went to see The Man in the White Suit and remember the film with Alec Guinness.

So, I have not been travelling very much and Symone has got herself a job as a tour guide at Fuller’s (so if you do a tour with her say hi.) Anyway, I need her to earn some money before we jog off on our travels again.

So rather than travel I have been thinking. In fact, I have been using my Crystal Ball. It seems a good time to make some predictions for the future. Plus, drinking beer is good for the little grey cells too. Or so a certain Belgian tells us.

I have also been able to catch up with friends and to that end, I went to the launch of Obadiah Poundage. It’s beer brewed to an ancient recipe and brewed by an ancient brewer in the form of Derek Prentice. Now, Derek and I go back a long time and not only is he a great brewer but a genuinely good person, too.

Mike Siegel of Goose Island was the main instigator behind this beer. He got hold of me some years ago to help brew an ESB in Chicago. Something I jumped at, of course. Mike is a great brewer too and was very kind to both me and Symone. He also got the famous brewing historian Ron Pattinson, another good friend, involved.

So, what did the beer taste like?  What most people who taste this beer will notice the sharpness or tart flavour. This was not unusual for beers brewed in the past. Sour was a natural flavour in beer. Sour is now part of the flavour spectrum in modern beers and we, as drinkers, are enjoying it.

But what does this project tell us about the future? This was a great project, sponsored by a huge brewery and helped out by a brewer from an independent brewery and an historian. This beer would not have happened without Mike and Goose Island. So, what should the relationship between big brewer and small brewer be?

At brewer level it is easy. Most brewers are gregarious and love getting together. That is why at the London Brewing Alliance all brewers are welcome. In fact, bigger brewers tend to be very helpful when it comes to running training courses and festivals. The LBA does not involve itself with the commercial side of brewing and that is where the friction between breweries is evident.

So, my first prediction is that brewers will continue to do what brewers always do. That is drink together and swap ideas. Despite what they are advised by people like directors, marketeers, owners and others.

I also was at the Brewers Congress, organised by The Brewers Journal, where I had a great time (drinking with my fellow brewers). There was a great idea from Sam McMeekin of Gipsy Hill. It revolves around the independence of craft beer and how SIBA and CAMRA could combine to ensure that this remains a thriving part of the beer scene and isn’t swallowed up by the big brewers.

My second prediction is that SIBA and CAMRA will get their mojo back

So, my second prediction is that SIBA and CAMRA will get their mojo back. SIBA will concentrate on gaining benefits for its members including properly targeted tax breaks designed for small local breweries.

CAMRA will help with this and this should put the campaign back into CAMRA. They will, of course, represent the drinker in this and not the brewery, but these interests frequently overlap.

So, I went to Manchester and met up with Peter Alexander aka Tandleman. What did we drink and what did we talk about? Yep you guessed it, cask beer. What is the future for cask? 

My last prediction is that cask will continue to decline in volume until CAMRA can ride to its rescue again. It needs a massive tax break with a reduction of 20p per pint in duty. Something big like that will both save cask and give CAMRA the big campaign it needs to galvanise it.

I have also been tweeting and enjoying some really good pub lunches with friends. One of the things I did tweet was that a brewer can’t really be a brewer till they fine tune a beer and brew it consistently.

This was really about learning to love a beer all year-round, not just brewed once and forgotten. In fact, I don’t think you can be a proper beer drinker until you appreciate a beer throughout its seasons.