Smoked by AI · London · people

Pete Brown

Critic · Author — beer, pubs and drinking culture across Britain; cask ale, the craft beer shift, and pub economics. Lives in north London and writes about his own manor as well as the trade.

one of Britain's best-known beer writers, publishing books and a long-running bylined blog at petebrown.net, and reporting from inside the trade (he is invited to previews and talks to landlords on the record). His 2010 piece on the Jolly Butchers relaunch is a same-day eyewitness account of a pub that helped turn London onto craft beer, with the beer list, the operator's motive and the landlord quoted directly. Beer needs category specialists (SOURCES.md "Craft signals by category") and he is the London one.

Their own reviews and picks.

Their own judgment, in their own words, by the piece it appeared in.

• petebrown.net ↗their review · 2010-04-22
  • The Jolly ButchersStoke Newington

    “There are ten handpumps, combining beers from London's late-to-the-party but finally emerging range of craft brewers, plus regular beers from Thornbridge and Dark Star, real cider from Gwatkin's and a perry. Apart from the ales, there's smoked beer Schlenkerla on draught, as well as De Koninck, Bruges Zot, Mort Subite Kriek, Vedett, Erdinger and Meantime Helles. Yes, all on draught.”