Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
@boakandbailey.bsky.social
2.4K followers 450 following 1.8K posts
In Bristol. Beer blogging in the UK since 2007. Also wrote some books about beer and pubs. Header image shows a detail from the cover of one. Won't repost if you don't use alt text. Find us at boakandbailey.com
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Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
willhawkes.bsky.social
Some feedback on the ‘500 Best Pubs in England’: ‘this man is not fat enough to be a pub expert’
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
timofnewbury.bsky.social
Thanks for writing up. Only spent a day in Liege but hope to return soon now that the trams are running! beereurope.blogspot.com/2025/03/lieg...
Liege 2025
beereurope.blogspot.com
boakandbailey.bsky.social
Going to Greenwich for whitebait and stout should absolutely be a thing. And it's another item for the list of evidence that eating in pubs wasn't invented in the 1990s.
boakandbailey.bsky.social
A new Geoffrey Fletcher book has been added to our collection – ‘London’s River’ from 1966. Here's a bit on the pubs of Greenwich.
The Trafalgar, sketched loosely in black and white – a big pub with balconies facing out over the Thames. “Before 1954 [The Cutty Sark] was named The Union. It is a free house and dates from about 1805, occupying the site of an ancient beer house known as The Green Man. The bar is old-fashioned, wooden-panelled and inviting, and if you want to enjoy a whitebait supper (a Greenwich tradition), the bow-windowed dining-room upstairs provides this in a plain, honest style, and draught Guinness, too... If your mood is for something grand, The Trafalgar is your tavern. Its recent restoration, after years of neglect, cost a fortune, and besides being a business proposition, was an act of piety for The Trafalgar is one of the great historic taverns of the nineteenth century and architecturally one of the most important in London.
boakandbailey.bsky.social
For Patreon supporters (thank you, you lovely people) here are some notes on the most interesting beers we drank in Liège. 🍺🍻

www.patreon.com/posts/beers-...
The Beers of Liège | Boak & Bailey
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beervana.bsky.social
On Saturday, @boakandbailey.bsky.social unearthed 1974 BBC video of Hook Norton—an amazing document, and not just for the reasons you might imagine. The brewery, then as today one of the most traditional in the UK, was making some interesting beer that sheds a lot of light on the way things change.
Amazing Historical Document — Beervana
An unearthed 1974 BBC video of Hook Norton is an amazing document, and not for the reasons you might imagine. The brewery, then as today one of the most “traditional” in the UK, was making some intere...
www.beervanablog.com
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
pilotbeer.co.uk
Look, we hate craft beer as much as the next person but it's rapidly approaching the end of 2025 and we've just seen a fairly well known satirical spoof news site doing a story about how there's lots of IPAs with stupid names and hipsters like them. Mind boggling.
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professorpub.bsky.social
An interesting article about the impact of consumers drinking less in restaurants - first time I have heard the phrases "damp drinking" for drinking less volume overall or "99% sober" for a mostly dry lifestyle with the occasional exception! www.theguardian.com/food/2025/oc...
‘It’s really good for the staff’: how restaurants adapt to customers drinking less
Alcohol is an important source of revenue for many restaurants. With consumption on the decline, venues could be left in a precarious position
www.theguardian.com
boakandbailey.bsky.social
We can't speak for Nick but he made a distinction between interpretation and proof, i.e. where there is no equally good alternative interpretation for the same evidence. You got a whole slide in the presentation!
boakandbailey.bsky.social
It's mostly brewed for supermarkets so we'd try those.
boakandbailey.bsky.social
The proposed policy change there is making it easier/faster to get a licence with extended hours. Applying for a longer-hours licence is possible now but a pain in the arse, and they're often rejected. We think that's what it's all about, anyway.
boakandbailey.bsky.social
And here are the footnotes just for Patreon supporters, with some local Bristol news, further thoughts on The Dog & Bell, and bonus links on the visibility of cask ale, among other topics.

www.patreon.com/posts/140960...
Footnotes on news, nuggets and longreads 11 October 2025 | Boak & Bailey
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boakandbailey.bsky.social
Another problem is how you give a venue – especially a taproom – a good atmosphere whether it's busy, or quiet. If people think a place is “always dead” it will always *be* dead. Music can help. Busy staff doing stuff, rather than dozing at the bar, maybe? Hmm.
boakandbailey.bsky.social
This heartfelt response to a silly post has made us think: what we want from a pub, or taproom, is for it to be open regularly and reliably; to get a human welcome; and for the beer to be good. Events are actually a turn off for us, because they're usually noisy and disrupt our routines.
doug-hss.bsky.social
It's getting harder and harder for bars to attract customers especially if they're brewery taps who are often found on industrial estates and out of town. We tried all sorts; live music, club nights, academic talks, book readings, festivals, foodie events the list was endless and efforts exhausting
boakandbailey.bsky.social
Ah, sorry, we were just being silly about the fact that this pub seems to be advertising the presence of kittens.
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
boakandbailey.bsky.social
Excellent talk by Nick Fitzgerald at the latest Think While You Drink event, with follow up questions and discussion from @beernouveau.co.uk. Very much appreciated Nick’s “we don't have evidence for that" stance, even if he seems to regret having cast himself as a party pooper. [Ray]
Think While You Drink
Join Good Chemistry and Drinking Studies Network for a series of free talks designed to make you THINK WHILE YOU DRINK! Bringing interesting talks on beers, brewing, pubs, the industry and wider drink...
goodchemistrybrewing.co.uk
boakandbailey.bsky.social
It's the opposite of having the zoomies.
boakandbailey.bsky.social
Pubs must try new ideas to draw in customers.
An A board outside a pub warning people to drive slowly because kittens are playing outside the pub and around it.