British Hops at their best

The hop cones appear so delicate

British hops are sought by brewers all over the globe. One hop farm, Stocks Farm located on the Worcestershire/Herefordshire border grows enough hops to create 48 million pints of beer each …

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Tasting beer at Hillside Brewery

Countryman beer ready for tasting

There cannot be many breweries that have a view that the aptly named Hillside Brewery enjoys – it is gorgeous. The Forest of Dean is close by. The location has a very important asset, its own water from a bore hole.

What a view from Hillside Brewery
What a view from Hillside Brewery

We were invited to discover Hillside Brewery by director Paul Williamson. It is a family run business and all are self confessed “beer geeks”. Their description, not mine!

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My 7 foodie favourites in 2016

Gloucestershire is just bursting with amazing produce

It’s been quite a different year for me this year – about half in Edinburgh, half in Gloucestershire. One half saying goodbye, one half hello. So, let me indulge, this is my year in food. It is in no particular order, nor does it cover everything, but I think it sets the tone!

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Hot Foot to Zero Degrees Bristol

Zero degrees Bristol

We don’t know Bristol well, and we managed to arrive at Zero Degrees by the hardest route, up two flights of the Christmas Steps. Somewhat out of breath, but a few calories down, we were ready to taste.

Zero Degrees was founded in 2000. Although microbreweries are quite common these days, at the time of launch they were rather unusual. Now each of the Zero Degrees venues (there are 4) has its own microbrewery. You could not get a fresher pint.

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