Author: Steve Renshaw

No doubt there are plenty of Echo readers who are taking part in Dry January. I hope they raise lots of money for their chosen charities and feel better for doing it. However, you may not be surprised to learn that I’m not joining in.

While most studies warn of the health risks of alcohol consumption, new research published in the journal “Adaptive Human Behaviour and Physiology” shows that moderate alcohol consumption with friends at a local pub may be linked to improved wellbeing. Researchers at the University of Oxford have looked at whether having a drink may play a role in improving social cohesion, given its long association with human social activities. Continue reading “Pubs and wellbeing”

Hops – they are one of the key ingredients of beer. And I can’t believe that I haven’t written about them before.

Beer is one of the oldest prepared drinks, dating back thousands of years to when humans first started cultivating cereals. Over the centuries, the biscuity-sweet drink produced by fermenting the dissolved sugars derived from grains has had numerous flavourings added. A wide variety of herbs, flowers and fruits have been used, including dandelion, marigold, heather and dates. Continue reading “HOPS”

When it comes to beer, the received wisdom in this country is that crystal clear is good but cloudy is bad. I’ve seen plenty of drinkers hold their pint up to the light and take it back to the bar if it’s a bit hazy.
There are plenty of excellent beers in Belgium and Germany that are intended to be cloudy. So when did our obsession with clarity begin, and what has a fish product to do with it? Continue reading “A Fishy Business”

The Joiners Arms nestles among the hillside terraced houses on Victoria Street, off West Parade. From the outside, it is fairly unremarkable. But inside, there is a feature that is unique among Lincoln pubs.

Tucked into one corner is what looks like a small pool table. On closer inspection, you see that there are no side or corner pockets. Instead, there are nine holes in the playing surface itself. No, it’s not an ancient version of the seaside arcade game where a furry rodent pops up through a hole and you have to bash it with a mallet. It’s bar billiards. Continue reading “Bar Billiards”

Since the first one opened in 2005, micropubs have been springing up all over the country. In 2012, I wrote about Just Beer, the one in Newark, which had been named CAMRA’s East Midlands Pub of the Year.

And now, at last, Lincoln has a micropub. The Hop & Barley, located at 417 High Street, opened its doors at the end of May, and it’s proving to be a great success. Continue reading “Lincoln’s first micropub”

Anyone who turned up to the recent Lincoln Beer Festival after 2pm on the Friday would have had to queue to get in. This is an annual occurrence, and I spent much of my time that afternoon walking up and down the queue explaining why. Continue reading “Remain or Leave?”