Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
@boakandbailey.bsky.social
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
It's Stir-Up Sunday, so time for our annual boost for this post, designed to help out anxious home cooks trying to track down barley wine.
boakandbailey.com/2015/11/publ...
boakandbailey.com/2015/11/publ...
Public Service Announcement: Barley Wine for Stir-Up Sunday
Every year we start getting visits to the website from people searching for barley wine to put in their Christmas pudding.
boakandbailey.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:50 AM
It's Stir-Up Sunday, so time for our annual boost for this post, designed to help out anxious home cooks trying to track down barley wine.
boakandbailey.com/2015/11/publ...
boakandbailey.com/2015/11/publ...
GOOD MORNING! Here's this morning's round up of good writing about beer and pubs from the past week, with a common thread about *doing it right*. 🍺🍻
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/news...
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/news...
News, nuggets and longreads 22 November 2025: Modern Times
Every Saturday we round up the best writing about beer from the past week. This time, we’ve got production value, community, and inclusive beer festivals.
boakandbailey.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:03 AM
GOOD MORNING! Here's this morning's round up of good writing about beer and pubs from the past week, with a common thread about *doing it right*. 🍺🍻
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/news...
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/news...
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
For me, being a Co-Owner of the UK’s first employee owned brewery @abbeydalebeers.bsky.social makes me so proud, and I hope it shows there’s a way more positive alternative available to selling out to a macro! I hope we’re not the only ones for much longer!
November 21, 2025 at 10:33 PM
For me, being a Co-Owner of the UK’s first employee owned brewery @abbeydalebeers.bsky.social makes me so proud, and I hope it shows there’s a way more positive alternative available to selling out to a macro! I hope we’re not the only ones for much longer!
Our latest newsletter went out yesterday. Subscribers will have already seen it in their inboxes. Those who withhold their affection by refusing to subscribe can read it online.
boakandbailey.substack.com/p/reasons-to...
boakandbailey.substack.com/p/reasons-to...
Reasons to be cheerful about beer in 2025
It’s not all doom and gloom even if (looks out of window) it is literally all gloom. From pubs to breweries, there’s plenty to give us a warm glow.
boakandbailey.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:14 AM
Our latest newsletter went out yesterday. Subscribers will have already seen it in their inboxes. Those who withhold their affection by refusing to subscribe can read it online.
boakandbailey.substack.com/p/reasons-to...
boakandbailey.substack.com/p/reasons-to...
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
Re-posting this now, with ALT text (because I forgot the first time)
For PINTJES #3, we're tackling hallowed turf - a pub crawl around Brussels' Place du Jeu de Balle.
open.substack.com/pub/brussels...
For PINTJES #3, we're tackling hallowed turf - a pub crawl around Brussels' Place du Jeu de Balle.
open.substack.com/pub/brussels...
November 20, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Re-posting this now, with ALT text (because I forgot the first time)
For PINTJES #3, we're tackling hallowed turf - a pub crawl around Brussels' Place du Jeu de Balle.
open.substack.com/pub/brussels...
For PINTJES #3, we're tackling hallowed turf - a pub crawl around Brussels' Place du Jeu de Balle.
open.substack.com/pub/brussels...
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
Just discovered it ought to be pretty simple to do a walk out of Bamberg that takes in three breweries all named Wagner in one day.
November 19, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Just discovered it ought to be pretty simple to do a walk out of Bamberg that takes in three breweries all named Wagner in one day.
BLOG POST: “London is a uniquely stimulating place, especially if you’re interested in beer, and we found ourselves fired up with lots of thoughts and ideas...” 🍺🍻
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/10-o...
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/10-o...
10 observations from a long weekend in London | Boak & Bailey
We’ve just spent a few days in London stomping our way through the West, the East and the South, stopping to look at pubs and drink a few beers along the way.
boakandbailey.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:56 PM
BLOG POST: “London is a uniquely stimulating place, especially if you’re interested in beer, and we found ourselves fired up with lots of thoughts and ideas...” 🍺🍻
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/10-o...
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/10-o...
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
Today in "big breweries fuck things up when they buy small breweries" (via @everypubindublin.ie): www.irishexaminer.com/business/com...
Cork’s Franciscan Well brewery to cease production in new year, impacting 15 staff
Molson Coors says economic pressures and a struggling craft beer sector forced the decision, with 15 employees affected
www.irishexaminer.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Today in "big breweries fuck things up when they buy small breweries" (via @everypubindublin.ie): www.irishexaminer.com/business/com...
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
Crown Inn, Stockport
November 17, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Crown Inn, Stockport
The Princess Alexandra, Canning Town – a post-war Courage pub with some original features.
November 17, 2025 at 7:10 AM
The Princess Alexandra, Canning Town – a post-war Courage pub with some original features.
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
Early festive pub, Cambridge
November 16, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Early festive pub, Cambridge
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
Crikey - Rogue and Underdog. And this is how I find out. Shows how far away from beer discourse I am at present.
It's like going back to your student town/city and seeing that all the locations that formed your memories have gone. I'm as nostalgic for the 2010s beer scene as I am for 90s football
It's like going back to your student town/city and seeing that all the locations that formed your memories have gone. I'm as nostalgic for the 2010s beer scene as I am for 90s football
GOOD MORNING! Here's our latest round up of news, nuggets and longreads, with important brewery closures, Belgian bars, green hop beers, and lots of other stuff an' all. 🍺🍻
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/news...
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/news...
News, nuggets and longreads 15 November 2025: Wild Wild Life
Every Saturday we round up the best writing about beer from the past week. This time, we’ve got rogues, underdogs and cheats.
boakandbailey.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Crikey - Rogue and Underdog. And this is how I find out. Shows how far away from beer discourse I am at present.
It's like going back to your student town/city and seeing that all the locations that formed your memories have gone. I'm as nostalgic for the 2010s beer scene as I am for 90s football
It's like going back to your student town/city and seeing that all the locations that formed your memories have gone. I'm as nostalgic for the 2010s beer scene as I am for 90s football
GOOD MORNING! Here's our latest round up of news, nuggets and longreads, with important brewery closures, Belgian bars, green hop beers, and lots of other stuff an' all. 🍺🍻
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/news...
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/news...
News, nuggets and longreads 15 November 2025: Wild Wild Life
Every Saturday we round up the best writing about beer from the past week. This time, we’ve got rogues, underdogs and cheats.
boakandbailey.com
November 15, 2025 at 8:18 AM
GOOD MORNING! Here's our latest round up of news, nuggets and longreads, with important brewery closures, Belgian bars, green hop beers, and lots of other stuff an' all. 🍺🍻
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/news...
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/news...
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
The advantages of canned beer (according to a letter to Heineken in 1936):
1. handier package
2. lighter
3. no deposit
4. no dirty bottles to clean
5. easy to take on journeys
1. handier package
2. lighter
3. no deposit
4. no dirty bottles to clean
5. easy to take on journeys
November 14, 2025 at 6:12 PM
The advantages of canned beer (according to a letter to Heineken in 1936):
1. handier package
2. lighter
3. no deposit
4. no dirty bottles to clean
5. easy to take on journeys
1. handier package
2. lighter
3. no deposit
4. no dirty bottles to clean
5. easy to take on journeys
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
I thought The Mawson Arms/Fox and Hounds was okay, but nothing special other than the fact it had two names.
Though after years of saying it was going to be converted to housing, I noticed recent a sign went up saying it was available for lease as a pub, so may come back from the dead yet.
Though after years of saying it was going to be converted to housing, I noticed recent a sign went up saying it was available for lease as a pub, so may come back from the dead yet.
November 14, 2025 at 6:04 PM
I thought The Mawson Arms/Fox and Hounds was okay, but nothing special other than the fact it had two names.
Though after years of saying it was going to be converted to housing, I noticed recent a sign went up saying it was available for lease as a pub, so may come back from the dead yet.
Though after years of saying it was going to be converted to housing, I noticed recent a sign went up saying it was available for lease as a pub, so may come back from the dead yet.
We should go to the pub next to the Fuller's brewery, we said. That'll have a good vibe at knocking off time on Friday afternoon. Sure enough, the bar is lined with lads in Asahi fleeces affectionately bantering. Pride is (Klaxon) drinking well.
November 14, 2025 at 5:11 PM
We should go to the pub next to the Fuller's brewery, we said. That'll have a good vibe at knocking off time on Friday afternoon. Sure enough, the bar is lined with lads in Asahi fleeces affectionately bantering. Pride is (Klaxon) drinking well.
We've said it before, we'll say it again: if you love London pubs, you should own a copy of Nairn's London.
Ian Nairn has drawn us to The Three Kings, a chain pub in Earl's Court: “It would need a firm resolution to resist the call of the entrance in North End Road... A splendid volute, all wood and glass, draws you into the recesses...”
November 14, 2025 at 3:26 PM
We've said it before, we'll say it again: if you love London pubs, you should own a copy of Nairn's London.
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
Used to watch all Welsh Rugby internationals there. Great atmosphere and you'd accidentally come across half a dozen fans watching a Greek second division match in a faraway corner.
November 14, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Used to watch all Welsh Rugby internationals there. Great atmosphere and you'd accidentally come across half a dozen fans watching a Greek second division match in a faraway corner.
Ian Nairn has drawn us to The Three Kings, a chain pub in Earl's Court: “It would need a firm resolution to resist the call of the entrance in North End Road... A splendid volute, all wood and glass, draws you into the recesses...”
November 14, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Ian Nairn has drawn us to The Three Kings, a chain pub in Earl's Court: “It would need a firm resolution to resist the call of the entrance in North End Road... A splendid volute, all wood and glass, draws you into the recesses...”
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
New Weirdo Dublin Pub posts usually go up on Wed/Thur, but this week, we had to do it today.
#SpeirGorm
www.weirdodublinpubs.com/a-farewell-t...
#SpeirGorm
www.weirdodublinpubs.com/a-farewell-t...
November 10, 2025 at 3:59 PM
New Weirdo Dublin Pub posts usually go up on Wed/Thur, but this week, we had to do it today.
#SpeirGorm
www.weirdodublinpubs.com/a-farewell-t...
#SpeirGorm
www.weirdodublinpubs.com/a-farewell-t...
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
BLOG POST: What was Rustic Ale? Why have we never heard of it before? And what meaning did the words ‘rustic ale’ convey to drinkers? 🍺🍻
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/mann...
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/mann...
Mann’s Rustic Ale and ideas of authenticity in beer
London brewer Mann’s, best known for its brown ale, also had a product called ‘Rustic Ale’. What meaning were those two words supposed to convey?
boakandbailey.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:22 AM
BLOG POST: What was Rustic Ale? Why have we never heard of it before? And what meaning did the words ‘rustic ale’ convey to drinkers? 🍺🍻
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/mann...
boakandbailey.com/2025/11/mann...
Bloody hell: Tipopils on at The Swan With Two Necks.
November 9, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Bloody hell: Tipopils on at The Swan With Two Necks.
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
This didn't seem to find the audience I expected so I'm redoing it on a Sunday afternoon - because there's loads of folk on here now! It's about the most popular Smithwick's beer, their IPA, from before they went all newfangled, reddish and keggy ...
A Shot of Beer History #11: Smithwick's East India Pale Ale
It could be argued that the history of the Smithwick family's St. Francis Abbey brewery in Kilkenny bring out a love/hate duality of feelings in certa
beerfoodtravel.blogspot.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:58 PM
This didn't seem to find the audience I expected so I'm redoing it on a Sunday afternoon - because there's loads of folk on here now! It's about the most popular Smithwick's beer, their IPA, from before they went all newfangled, reddish and keggy ...
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
"Beer is a fundamentally social hobby," I opine whilst closing myself in the understairs toilet to photograph my glow-in-the-dark can of black IPA.
November 9, 2025 at 3:33 PM
"Beer is a fundamentally social hobby," I opine whilst closing myself in the understairs toilet to photograph my glow-in-the-dark can of black IPA.
Reposted by Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)
A common issue here as well. Unfortunately, many people will not complain or, even worse, think that is how the beer should be and even (loudly) enjoy it!
November 9, 2025 at 12:42 PM
A common issue here as well. Unfortunately, many people will not complain or, even worse, think that is how the beer should be and even (loudly) enjoy it!