Beer is one of the oldest types of alcoholic drinks in the world, and the most widely consumed. It is the third most popular drink overall after potable water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley, though wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. During the brewing process, fermentation of the starch sugars in the wort produces ethanol and carbonation in the resulting beer. Most modern beer is brewed with hops, which add bitterness and other flavours and act as a natural preservative and stabilising agent. Other flavouring agents such as gruit, herbs, or fruits may be included or used instead of hops. In commercial brewing, the natural carbonation effect is often removed during processing and replaced with forced carbonation.
A pub is a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in the late 17th century, and was used to differentiate private houses from those which were open to the public as alehouses, taverns and inns. Today, there is no strict definition, but CAMRA states a pub has four characteristics:
- is open to the public without membership or residency
- serves draught beer or cider without requiring food be consumed
- has at least one indoor area not laid out for meals
- allows drinks to be bought at a bar
Bury St Edmunds, commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market and cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. The town is best known for Bury St Edmunds Abbey and St Edmundsbury Cathedral. Bury is the seat of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich of the Church of England, with the episcopal see at St Edmundsbury Cathedral.
David William Edmunds is a Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, having many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s-style rock and roll and rockabilly.
J D Wetherspoon plc is a pub company operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company was founded in 1979 by Tim Martin and is based in Watford. It operates the sub-brand of Lloyds No.1 bars, and around 50 Wetherspoon hotels. Wetherspoon is known for converting unconventional premises, such as former cinemas and banks, into pubs. The company is publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Greene King is a large pub and brewing company based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The company owns pubs, restaurants and hotels. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) until it was acquired by CK Assets in October 2019.
David James Stuart Mitchell is a British comedian, actor, writer and television personality. He is part of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, alongside Robert Webb.
Whitbread plc is a multinational British hotel and restaurant company headquartered in Houghton Regis, England.
Samuel Smith Old Brewery, popularly known as Samuel Smith's or Sam Smith's, is an independent brewery and pub owner based in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England. It is Yorkshire's oldest brewery, founded in 1758, and one of three breweries in the town. Samuel Smith's, which is an unlimited family-owned company, produces a range including bitters, stouts, porters, lagers, and fruit beers, and is known as a highly traditional and somewhat eccentric operator of around 200 pubs due to its continued use of dray horses, bans on music and mobile devices, and low beer prices.
Lee Gordon McKillop, known by his stage name Lee Mack, is an English comedian, actor, podcaster and presenter.
Young's is a British pub chain operating nearly 220 pubs.
The Tan Hill Inn is a public house at Tan Hill, North Yorkshire. It is the highest inn in the British Isles at 1,732 feet (528 m) above sea level. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, it is slightly higher than the Cat and Fiddle Inn in the Peak District, which is at 1,690 feet (520 m).
Steven Thomas Schumacher is an English football manager and former professional footballer, who is currently the manager of Championship side Plymouth Argyle.
Guinness is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in over 120. Sales in 2011 amounted to 850,000,000 liters. In spite of declining consumption since 2001, it is the best-selling alcoholic drink in Ireland where Guinness & Co. Brewery makes almost €2 billion worth of beer annually.
BrewDog is a multinational brewery and pub chain based in Ellon, Scotland. With production of over 800,000 hectolitres, BrewDog claims to be the "#1 Craft Brewer in Europe". It was founded in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie, who together own 46% of the company.
The Signal Box Inn is a public house in the seaside resort of Cleethorpes, United Kingdom. It was opened in August 2006 and is a contender for the smallest pub in the world.
TwickFolk organises acoustic music events in and around Twickenham, south-west London. A registered charity, it is run, not for profit, by a small group of volunteers. It was established in January 1983 and is now one of the best known and most highly respected folk clubs in London and the South East of England.
The Square and Compass is a Grade II listed public house in Worth Matravers, Dorset. Built in the 18th century as a pair of cottages before becoming a public house, the Square and Compass got its name in 1830 from a landlord who had been a stonemason. The building includes a museum of fossils and other local artefacts and the pub is one of only five nationally that has been included in every edition of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide since 1974.
Pringles Unsung was a music competition in the United Kingdom that ran once from 2006 to 2007. It was sponsored by the Pringles snack brand, and was one of several brand-sponsored music competitions to be launched during this period. The competition invited unsigned artists to upload a song to the official Pringles Unsung website, where they could then be voted on by the general public and a panel of judges. The most popular songs from each of seven regions progressed to regional heats in Newcastle upon Tyne, Birmingham, Ipswich, Kingston upon Thames, Leeds, Bristol and Plymouth. The winners of the regional heats then competed in a grand final, where they each performed in front of the judging panel. The judging panel consisted of producers Kevin Bacon and Jonathan Quarmby, ex-Island Records managing director Marc Marot, journalist Paul Sexton and Echo & the Bunnymen lead singer Ian McCulloch. McCulloch had become involved as he wanted to encourage exciting new music.
