Britain's Lost Breweries and Beers: Thirty Famous Homes of Beer that have Brewed their Last Pint

Fully illustrated with stunning photographs of dray horses, coopers and grand Victorian architecture, an elegy for the loss of so many of our classic homes of beer. The latest is Tetley’ s in Leeds: by the end of this year the classic Yorkshire beer will no longer be brewed in the county, but rather in Wolverhampton, and its historic brewery in the city will have closed. But Britain’ s classic breweries have been closing since the sixties, usually taking their much-loved and flavoursome beers with them. Now, Chris Arnot visits thirty towns and cities where the historic brewery has gone, from Sunderland and Vaux in the north-east to Brighton and Tamplin’ s on the south coast, and London, where the closure of Truman’ s, Whitbread, Mann’ s Courage and many others has left the capital with just one major brewery, and finds out from those who used to brew the beers, and those who drank them, how much was lost. This is a story of more than the disappearance of Tolly Cobbold bitter or King & Barnes’ winter ale: all too often it is part of the heart of a town like Ipswich or Nottingham dying with the brewery – something no microbrewery’ s resurrection of a hallowed ale can ever restore.

About the Author :
Chris Arnot is a national freelance feature writer who has written on specialist subjects including arts and education, property, pubs, food and travel. A regular contributor to the Guardian, he has also written for the Daily Telegraph, the Independent and the Observer. He co-wrote The Archers Archives for BBC Books and his book, Britain's Lost Cricket Grounds, was long-listed for the MCC's cricket book of the year in 2011. He is also the author of Britain's Lost Breweries and Beers, published by Aurum.

Review :
'Read Chris's book and then place it on your coffee table; it will perhaps give those who browse it an easy introduction into why you are a brewery historian.' When these 30 classic homes of beer brewed their final pint, a significant part of a proud heritage that had stood for centuries was lost forever. Arnot was right to mark its passing. 'A lovely book, nostalgic in its recollection of breweries and their beers long gone, but on the other hand it's not dewy-eyed.' The best Christmas present we can recommend for anyone with even a passing interest in the heritage of brewing. It is elegiac without being nostalgic, immensely informative and equally entertaining 'A lovely book, nostalgic in its recollection of breweries and their beers long gone, but on the other hand it's not dewy-eyed.' Chris's efforts are impressive. He uses his journalist's skills to wrinkle out former brewery executives and workers and listen to their stories A must for anyone who has ever visited a pub and wondered about the beers and breweries that have vanished. When these 30 classic homes of beer brewed their final pint, a significant part of a proud heritage that had stood for centuries was lost forever. Arnot was right to mark its passing. 'We get a sense of what we have lost in our globalised but blander world.' 'Read Chris's book and then place it on your coffee table; it will perhaps give those who browse it an easy introduction into why you are a brewery historian.'