12 Day real ale festival is on at all Wetherspoon pubs

The Wetherspoon spring real-ale festival makes a very welcome return, with the 12-day event launched yesterday, Wednesday 30 March.

There's a fantastic selection of a quarter century (that's 25!) of fantastic different festival ales and beers, at all Wetherspoon pubs, until Sunday 10 April.

The festival’s beers will feature 19 very special types, which are brand new to Wetherspoon, having never before featured nationally in their pubs. Besides which, 18 of the festival’s ales are brand new or occasional brews which have been produced again especially for this event

Vegan and vegetarians are also catered for, plus people who have coeliac disease can enjoy special gluten-free beers.

There are also special ales from three international breweries. All three international brewers have featured at past events and are among the most popular festival visitors.

This will be the third occasion for which Young Henrys Real Ale (4.0% ABV) has been brewed for their bi-annual event and the fourth time that Young Henrys has featured, while the ale Terrapin Jazz (5.5% ABV) is new to Wetherspoon, although this is Terrapin’s fourth festival brew.

In their autumn 2016 real-ale festival, Birrificio Foglie d’Erba Hot Night at the Village (5.0% ABV) was voted ‘beer of the festival’. This supremely popular ale makes up the trio of international brews this time around. 

There are two speciality beers among the 25 festival ales:

Daleside Morocco Ale (5.5% ABV) is brewed with spices, while Mauldons Cherry Porter (4.8% ABV) is produced using cherries and is also a gluten-free ale.

Others to look out for are Jersey-based Liberation’s The Jester (4.8% ABV), a new beer from a very popular festival brewer, as well as the vegan-friendly stout

Dragonhead (4.0% ABV) from Orkney Brewery.

Also definitely among those beers to check out are Otter Brewery’s Hawthorn (4.0% ABV), Oakham Triple Beam (5.0% ABV) and Nine Tenths Below (5.9% ABV) – the strongest festival ale, from Titanic Brewery. All of the festival ales will be available to order via the Wetherspoon app, as well as at the bar.

Our special third-of-a-pint glasses will again be available, helping you to sample many of the fantastic festival ales – with three for the price of a festival pint. So you can taste the ales without getting under the weather!

Don’t miss this spectacular and eagerly anticipated spring showcase at the world’s biggest real-ale festival – across Wetherspoon’s pubs.

I shall be visiting my nearest Wetherspoon pub to enjoy the festival and also a meal, too, pretty soon.

Supermarkets stop selling disposable BBQs. Expert reveals why and suggests Alternatives

With supermarket chains Waitrose and Aldi banning the sale of disposable barbecues this summer, Barbeque loving Brits are looking for alternative ways to cook their meal whilst outdoors.

Disposable barbecues have long been a staple of many people’s summers. But the ban on the sale of disposable barbeques has sound "green" reasons behind it. After all over, one million of these single-use grills ending up in landfills each year. And they can cause wildfires or burn injuries if not properly used or adequately disposed of.

The team at the online campsite booking site Pitchup agree that our time spent in the outdoors must be sustainable.

Alex Russell, Head of Sales at Pitchup shares his insight on the importance of no longer using disposable barbecues and has suggested five of the best sustainable alternatives.

“We're aware of the increase in searches for ways to camp safely and with eco-friendly camping products - which includes the way people cook their food whilst they are camping.

“It is understandable that as the weather starts warming up, Brits will want to get outdoors with one of the most popular activities being cooking up something on a barbecue.

“But single-use disposable barbecues that can be easily bought in supermarkets can have an massive damaging impact on the environment and also on local wildlife.

“An immediate danger with disposable barbecues is they can produce a quantity of carbon monoxide, with fumes emitted during cooking and long after the flames are extinguished.

“Incidentally, should you ever use a disposable barbecue and find yourself feeling symptoms such as feeling sick, dizzy, or having difficulty breathing, this could be a sign of carbon monoxide poisoning."

He went on to say: “Also, these disposable barbeques usually contain charcoal and it's an unfortunate fact that it's most likely that it wasn't sustainably sourced. So every disposable barbecue will already  have had a negative impact on the environment. Even before you put a match to it."

Alex also raises some other important issues surrounding safety. He said: “Not everyone who use these disposable barbeques use them safely. For example, if a person places a disposable barbecue directly on the ground, it can completely destroy the ground beneath it and creates a risk of fire spreading."

 (EDITOR My wife and I have witnessed the result of what happened when someone had placed a disposable barbeque on a picnic table at a beauty spot. Unfortunately although the table was made to look like wood it was constructed of plastic and the disposable barbeque melted the surface of the table and ruined it for other visitors.) 

“Disposable barbecues can't be recycled and they can't be composted, so many millions of them end up in UK landfills each year.

“While disposable barbecues only last for around one and a half to two hours during their use, it can take the aluminium or iron they are made from approximately 200 years to fully decompose once they are thrown into a landfill."

Are there any alternatives? Yes. According to Alex there are, so those who can't cope without a sizzle on their campsite or in their back garden will not have to go without. 

What Alternatives Are Out There?

Portable barbecues make life easier for people who find themselves without a garden, or one with little outdoor space. They're also pretty nifty for people who like to spend their summers making regular trips to campsites in Cornwall, Wales Scotland or anywhere else.

The bonus is that the fact they're reusable makes them more economically and environmentally friendly. Also there are plenty of different types to choose from.

IKEA Korpon Portable Charcoal Barbecue

It is hard to believe a portable barbecue that ticks so many boxes is available for such a modest price. For under £20 this portable barbecue is lightweight, more eco-friendly than disposables and suitable to use almost anywhere.

Its legs easily fold up, so storage and transportation isn't a problem. It also comes with a strong carrying handle.

The specially designed grill plate, with smaller ventilation holes than more traditional barbecue griddles means you're less likely to lose food to the hot coals.

This barbecue is available for £19 directly from IKEA and also online from them. www.ikea.com.

Landmann Piccolino Portable Charcoal Barbecue

This unbelievably lightweight barbecue makes it the perfect pick for avid barbecuers who tend to move about.

It is exceptionally small and easy to pack away, so you can fit it in your car boot, in a cupboard at home, or maybe under your patio furniture or in your garden shed?

This barbecue is widely available. It is priced at £47.03 on Amazon.

Cobb Barbecue Cooking System

This futuristic design doesn't look like any barbecue you've used before, but it will still deliver the same great barbequed foods. You can also use it to smoke foods, cook roasts and even cook pizzas!

It has the advantage of using a minimum amount of charcoal, so is a greener option. And the Teflon cooking plate also makes it easy to clean, too!

With its padded shoulder bag, it's really easy to carry so is even a safer, green option for hikers. 

It costs £139.99 on Amazon.

Berghoff Table Top Barbecue

This compact barbecue has a sustainable cork lid that doubles as a heatproof mat that can be placed almost anywhere. (EDITOR: Probably not plastic tables no matter how good the wood grain effect is!)

Once lit, the lid also functions as a vent.

The strong carrying strap also makes it easy to carry. This is another unit that's ideal for hikers.

Also available for £139.99 on Amazon.

BioLite Base Camp Barbecue and Pizza Oven

This all-rounder is one of the more expensive portable barbecues, but it's lightweight and is a stunning camp stove and grill combo which can not only barbeque, but also cooks pizzas, too.

It also features a USB charger which generates electricity from the heat generated, plus an LED light, making this a very handy camping cooker. And, in my opinion, very eco-friendly indeed! 

The BaseCamp converts heat into usable electricity for large-format cooking and charging. It's designed to use only fallen branches or small pieces of firewood, so cooks wood-fired meals and charge devices all at the same time. 

They point out "It's a smarter alternative to fossil-fuelled stoves, creating an elevated cooking fire that burns smarter than any fire you're used to."

This barbecue is available for £399 directly from BioLite. https://row.bioliteenergy.com/

Many thanks to Alex and the people at Pitchup for their excellent help in putting this feature together.

https://www.pitchup.com/campsites/England/South_West/Cornwall/.

Over three quarters of British businesses still unaware of Plastic Packaging Tax

This story is for mainly aimed at our friends in the food and drink industry. 

With mere hours to go until its implementation, waste management and recycling experts Veolia state that 77% of British retail and manufacturing businesses are still completely unaware of the new Plastic Packaging Tax.

Research conducted by Veolia, examined the views of British-based senior decision makers across retail and manufacturing businesses on the upcoming Plastic Packaging Tax. 

The tax places a £200 per tonne levy on producers or importers of plastic packaging if they fail to include at least 30% recycled content and will come into force tomorrow,  1 April 2022.

The survey reveals that only a fifth (22%) of the manufacturing and retail businesses asked had already started using recycled content in their packaging. 

To reach the UK’s Net Zero goals, many more businesses must reduce their reliance on new or virgin materials. 

Most British retail and manufacturing businesses also support an escalator in percentage of recycled content threshold (63%) and cost charge (50%) as an incentive to use recycled content.

Veolia Northern Europe Zone Senior Executive Vice President, Gavin Graveson, said: “The UK’s Plastic Packaging Tax is the right way to start getting businesses to push sustainability up the agenda, but it really must go further. 

"A tax escalator would make choosing to incorporate recycled content in packaging economically and environmentally preferable to the use of virgin materials.

“Not only could the UK save up to 2.89 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually if all plastic packaging included 30% recycled content, it would also bring about incentives for investment in domestic infrastructure which could make the UK a world leader in plastics recycling.”

The British retail and manufacturing businesses who had made changes to their plastic packaging reported:

Two thirds (66%) have reduced the amount of unnecessary or avoidable plastic packaging

Over half (58%) now use recycled content

54% have changed the packaging design to make it more recyclable

39% have chosen alternative materials to plastic for their packaging

Working from three specialist sites in London, Essex and the Midlands, Veolia operates a full process to recycle plastic materials from homes and businesses, and turn them back into plastic pellets ready to be used to manufacture new plastic items. 

This can process over 100 different grades of plastic from consumer, commercial and industrial sources, and pass these materials back into the supply chain for further reuse. 

Backing the operations is the support team that can ensure compliance with the complex legislation involved in the reprocessing of these materials, and Veolia’s own Sustainable Packaging Academy.

Worldwide, it's Veolia's aim to recycle 610,000 tonnes of plastic waste annually within two years. That's equivalent to 16,944 million 4 pint milk bottles.

Incidentally, Veolia is part of the international cross value chain Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), currently made up of nearly thirty member companies, and this has committed over $1.0 billion to develop large scale solutions that will minimise and manage plastic waste and promote solutions for used plastics.

Food and drink manufacturers and retailers who need to investigate how this law will potentially impact on their business can learn more here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-need-to-register-for-plastic-packaging-tax and here https://www.veolia.com/en/solution/plastics-recycling-major-environmental-issue.

(Image courtesy of  adnovak and Pixabay)

Salcombe Brewery Co. Re-Launches Brewery Tours

The Salcombe Brewery Co. is "thrilled" to announce they are re-launching their highly popular brewery tours and are keen to once again to share their knowledge and award-winning beers with visitors. 

Brewery tour bookings and vouchers cost £20 and can be nought at www.salcombebrewery.com.

Head Brewer, Sam Beaman, said: “Brewery tours have always been a strong highlight for us. We really love showing visitors around our site, sharing our brewing expertise and knowledge and giving them an insight into our beers at not to mention the  extended tasting sessions!

"COVID restrictions meant we weren't able to run these for almost two years. We are really thrilled and pleased that we can now re-launch our tours and welcome visitors both old and new."

The tours which are 90 minutes in duration are to take place from April 2022. Visitors will get a welcome in the taproom, which includes a glass of beer. 

After this you'll tour the brewhouse and have an opportunity to question the experts on any beer-related topics. 

The tour ends back in the taproom, where you'll enjoy a flight of Salcombe beers. Brewery tours cost £20 and can be bought online at www.salcombebrewery.com. 

Brewery tour vouchers can also be purchased for £20. These are valid for one year and can be used to book tours within that period. All brewery tours must be booked in advance.

Salcombe Brewery's range of beers is available nationally in pubs and hospitality venues, plus as various retail outlets and online from www.salcombebrewery.com. For further information on Salcombe Brewery Co. please visit www.salcombebrewery.com follow Salcombe Brewery Co. on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.  

You'll find the brewery at 

Estuary View

Ledstone

Kingsbridge 

TQ7 4BL

Customers want more green retailers

According to a Mood Media survey, 67% of shoppers say it's important the brands they shop at are committed to being greener and environmentally friendly. 

Almost the same number, 66%, agree stores where they shop need to be environmentally friendly. Consumers aged between 35 and 44 feel especially strongly about brands and shops sharing their sustainability values.

While the COVID pandemic and successive lockdowns put a hold on green issues and sustainability, it's again top of brand agendas. 

When it comes to in-store sustainability in the retail industry, including food retailers, there's a clear sense shoppers feel unimpressed by the pace of change as they pay close attention to the sustainability initiatives of the retailers they engage with on a day-to-day basis.

“Our role is to help brands create an emotional experience with their customers. This includes evaluating and setting up solutions and processes to support them in reducing the environmental impact of their points of sale and to assess how to improve their efficiency and optimise their technological solutions,” says Jonathan Wharrad, VP Global Retail Brand Experience at Mood Media.

“Finally, it’s about supporting them through the life cycle of their technical solutions. All of this is to ensure the best in-store experience for their customers.”

Mood Media is working with Design Conformity to advise retailers on how to reduce their carbon footprints and implement greener retail designs.

Adam Hamilton-Fletcher, who is the MD at Design Conformity added: “At Design Conformity we’ve been championing carbon assessment for a number of years, but recently we’ve seen a genuine change in the industry. 

"Europe's leading the way and pushing their companies to provide accurate, verified carbon efficacy data which they can report to customers and shareholders. 

"We're working with global brands, retailers and interior specialists such as Mood Media to provide Life Cycle and Carbon Assessment to ISO standards, so companies can report improvements. In the past, sustainability was a ‘nice to have.’ Now carbon is becoming a currency.” 

Partnerships with quality manufacturers, including Bose, Samsung and LG, allow Mood to ensure components are chosen carefully and last longer, reducing the environmental impact of having to replace equipment. Furthermore the company has developed Mood HarmonyTM, a point-of-sale content management platform designed with energy efficiency in mind, using fewer than 10 watts of power with few in-person updates necessary.

When equipment does need to be replaced, a further partnership with CHG ensures it can be recycled, further reducing the installation’s impact.

“For retail to recover, stores cannot ignore consumers and their desire to reward companies going beyond words on sustainability and taking effective action,” concludes Jonathan Wharrad.

For more information on sustainability in retail, download Mood Media’s White Paper: https://moodmedia.com/gb/resources-gb/sustainability-in-retail/

Speaking from a personal point of view the major chain coffee shop that my wife and I prefer is a greener and more sustainable and uses rain water for toilet flushing. 

It's one of the Eco Pod premises that Costa is rolling out over the country.

This is what Costa says about them:-

"A special frame made from sustainably sourced FSC timber, which replaces the typical steel frame and so reduces each building’s carbon footprint

"Super-insulation, which keeps the stores warm in winter and cool in summer

"Intelligent positioning of the buildings, designed to make the most of the sun’s heat and so reduce the amount of energy needed to keep them warm and rooftop solar panels."

https://www.costa.co.uk/behind-the-beans/planet/reducing-our-footprint

(Image courtesy of knight07/Pixabay) 

Rock Rose Premium Scottish Gin

Rock Rose Premium Scottish Gin has created a masterpiece, well, a series of four different but equally brilliant masterpieces, with their excellent Seasons Collection.

When I opened the box I found myself humming Vivaldi's Four Seasons, because the Rock Rose Premium Scottish Gin Four Seasons collection features four gins called Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

Let's start my review with Spring. the scent of the gin, or the bouquet, if you'd rather be technical, evokes fresh meadows, newly opened flowers and Spring sunshine.

The flavour is nice and crisp and the finish is both smooth and very long. I don't always take my gin with tonic, but I found that a bottle of high quality Indian Tonic Water brought the tastes of the Scottish botanicals out very nicely.

But then we move on to Summer. This is different again. Smooth, but with a refreshingly nice edge to it. There are citrus notes that come bubbling to the surface, but not overly so, as the experts at Rock Rose Premium Scottish Gin have managed to balance the citrus notes with the botanicals. This is for long, iced drinks on the lawn or in the conservatory. Delicious!

Now we find ourselves moving into the next season which is Autumn. Or Fall if you are in America. The original name used in Britain before Autumn became popular. But I digress.

This is ideal for the Autumn. A great gin for those of us determined to squeeze the last bit of warmth from the Autumnal sunshine. It's a more robust gin which has a satisfying warming bite to it, with a smattering of Autumn berries. Gently spiced. I think I detected a slight hint of pepper? 

I think this would make a great base for some wonderful cocktails after you have harvested the last of your garden's fruits. Haven't got a garden? No matter. Rock Rose Premium Scottish Gin's Autumn Gin is probably all you need!

And now we reach the last season, Rock Rose Premium Scottish Gin's Winter. Wow! What a belter of a gin! 

Taste the juniper berries! The tasting notes describe it as an "earthy" gin and I can't argue with that. It's evocative of walks through muddy paths, drizzly misty days, of being sat in your conservatory and watching the snowflakes whirl and dance down whilst you drink your Rock Rose Winter gin. I like this with a premium ginger ale, which makes a perfect Christmas season drink. 

To learn more and to order your gins please visit https://www.dunnetbaydistillers.co.uk.

Wickedly Welsh Chocolate and Bryn the Dragon Egg

One of the best things to come out of Wales are dragons and chocolate from the Wickedly Welsh Chocolate Company.

Combine the two and you have Bryn The Dragon Egg!

Crack open the very substantial chocolate egg and you will find a very cute sleeping Welsh Dragon. 

"He is a very handsome Y Ddraig Gymreig!" said my wife, who is a fluent Welsh speaker.

Here is the story as told by the Wickedly Welsh Chocolate Company:-

They have been entrusted with the last real life Dragons Egg which, for millennia, was kept has buried deep in a Welsh hillside hidden from the world until now. 

The artisan chocolatiers at the Wickedly Welsh Chocolate Company have employed their considerable skills to have lovingly and carefully exact chocolate replicas of this uniquely Welsh treasurer.

You can carefully break open the egg and free baby dragon. And before you ask, yes, it's very edible hand made using delicious white chocolate. But you'll see from my photograph that Bryn looks golden? This is because Bryn is carefully and lovingly brushed with an attractive golden shimmer. (Sorry about the quality of the picture, but I'm a writer not a photographer!) 

What is inside Bryn? A very tasty salted caramel truffle. Yum! 

Incidentally the top section of the egg is very easy to crack open (but do it carefully!) and to reveal Bryn.

The side of the egg which houses Bryn is smaller but also much heavier than 'normal' non-Dragon Easter eggs. Well, that's obviously because it's a Dragon's egg! The weight is a very respectable 180g (minimum) and will make a great Easter treat for any chocolate lover and Welsh Dragon lover, no matter what their age or sex.

Bryn's adoption fee is a very reasonable £8.99. To add to the excitement Bryn comes in a box that is either green, yellow or purple. But Bryn will choose the colour for you, so it'll come as a pleasant surprise. 

To order please click on this link:- https://www.wickedlywelsh.co.uk/products/bryn-the-dragon-easter-egg

Incidentally Wickedly Welsh Chocolate is based in Haverfordwest, which is where some of my Welsh ancestors came from.

Mother and Daughter Food Workshop

Would you like to take your mother to a food  workshop with one of the world's leading experts in Italian cooking?

This would make a stunning Mothering Sunday/Mother's Day gift to both you and your mother, helping you to bond over some fresh pasta that you and your mother have just learned to cook.

Mother and Daughter Workshop

£297.00

This Is A 1-2-1 Class

La Pasta Fresca – Fresh Pasta & Sauce Making:

You decide on what pasta you and your mother wish to to learn to make! 

This is a Special Offer to readers of That's Food and Drink for a personalised class at £297.

10% of the profit will be going to help Ukraine refugees #cookforukraine project

Alessandra was born and raised in Sicily to a very large family of artisans.

She worked as a social worker and project manager for many years before re-focussing in 2014 to become a cook, host and events organiser.

Alessandra then trained as a professional Pasta Maker in Italy, Padua and Bologna, before launching her own pasta venture.

After several years selling out delicious food experiences and workshops both in London, Italy and Lisbon, she is now also sharing her knowledge through e-learning courses and virtual online classes with The Pasta Studio, as well as providing consultancy for restaurants around the globe.

To learn more please visit 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamalessandralauria/

Website: https://www.alessandralauria.com/

Teachable: https://the-pastastudio.teachable.com/

Say oats? No. Say Flahavan’s!

If you like oats, you will absolutely love Flahavan’s Oats.

The Flahavan family have been milling oats in  Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford for well over 200 years. And in that time they have, of course, become experts in selecting the best oats and have developed methods of milling that are second to none.

They source all of the oats they mill from their own local area of Ireland, South East Ireland, where the land has a special micro-climate with the perfect balance of sunshine and gentle rainfall that helps grow highest quality and tasty oats that Flahavan's use to produce their world beating oats.

My late mother always insisted that, when I did her shopping for her that I only buy Flahavan's Oats which, knowing how good they are, I was more than happy to oblige. 

What is available? They produce a wide range of oats including Progress Oatlets/Rolled Oats, Quick Oats, Jumbo Oats, Pinhead/Steel Cut Oats.

Want to make good, old fashioned porridge, that people of my grandfather's generation only had with salt and not sugar? Want some oats to use in your cooking and baking? Do you have a hankering for some real, tasty porridge, but know that as the bus to work leaves from the stop just round the corner in under 15 minutes? Then Flahavan's Quick Oats are ready in the microwave within two minutes!

I love the speed and ease of cooking of their Irish Quick Oats, plus they sell them in very handy packs of eight sachets. These are available in original flavour, red berry flavour and my favourite, apple and cinnamon flavour. Delicious! 

To learn about all of the different varieties of oats that are available you can go to https://www.flahavans.co.uk.

Oat lovers in the USA can visit https://www.flahavans.com, consumers in Ireland can visit https://www.flahavans.ie. 

You can buy direct from Flahavan's or they are stocked by major retailers.

You'll also find a range of delightful recipes both sweet and savoury.   

And they have recently introduced some oat drinks, too!

Hilltop Natural Energy

You will probably have heard of Hilltop Honey, which, in my opinion, is one of the best exports from Powys, Wales. My personal favourite is their organic blossom variety.

However, it's quite possible that you might not have heard of Hilltop Energy, another great product from Hilltop Honey.

You probably know an occasion when you are feeling low on energy. Perhaps you are running to get your stamina back up, or to help you drop a bit of extra weight. Or working in a professional gym or a home gym?

Either way, you'll know what happens when you suddenly feel a rather nasty energy drop. Hilltop Energy Gels are here for you.

You can take a great tasting gel sachet before, during or after exercise which is guaranteed to give you an energy boost of between 20 to 30 minutes, right when you need it.

The gel sachets are 99.2% real Hilltop Honey and 0.8% sea salt to help make certain your sodium levels are kept at optimum. 

You can have plain flavoured or Blueberry flavoured, which has a slightly different formula, 95.2% real Hilltop Honey, 4% Blueberry juice concentrate and 0.8% sea salt. 

There's also strawberry flavour available, which is 97.7% real Hilltop Honey, Strawberry juice contrate, 1.5% and 0.8% sea salt. 

To learn more visit https://hilltop-energy.com you can buy direct from Hilltop. 12 x30g gel packs cost £12, or you can buy a 6 x 30g taster pack at £9.

To find out about Hilltop Honey, please visit https://lovehilltop.com.