Beer Hawk Blog

Remember the childhood excitement of opening a new door on your advent calendar every day in the run up to Christmas? It gave each day a little sparkle of festive magic, even though those tiny chocolates behind the doors were always a bit rubbish. How would you like to recapture that childhood magic, but with bottles of delicious beer instead of powdery chocolate? Sounds amazing, right? In that case, you need to get your hands on our Craft Beer Advent Calendar.

Every year, Beer Hawk releases a lineup of limited edition craft beer mixed cases for the holiday season. Christmas in 2020 may look a little different due to, you know, a global pandemic, so the team at Beer Hawk have put together the best Christmas beer gifts to put a smile on everyone’s face this year.

Want an article full of terrible puns? No? How about these fangtatsic beers? Here's a list of the top beers for Halloween and the best scary movies to pair with them for the spookiest day of the year!

We don’t want you drinking on an empty stomach, so we have popped together recipes for two absolute staples from Oktoberfest, pretzels and roast chicken! Enjoy!

That time is upon us again--it's Oktoberfest! A festival that started in 1810--initially as a celebration for Crown Prince Ludwig's wedding but had morphed over the years to include horse-racing and an autumn festival--has ultimately found its identity as a place to drink liters upon liters of deliciously drinkable Oktoberfest beer while being enchanted by smells of grilled meat, pretzels, and roughly six million people all trying to use the same toilets. Although in-person festivals won’t be happening in 2020 due to the global pandemic crisis, we can still all toast ein prosit! with each other from a distance.

Unfortunately, Munich's famed Oktoberfest, and Oktoberfest celebrations all over the world aren’t happening this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. And while it's impossible to duplicate the atmosphere (do you really want to pour beer all over your floor?) here are some ways to have your own Oktoberfest at home. And then go sleep in your own bed.

Did you know the price of a pint on PerfectDraft starts from just £2.34? Let me show you how.

Father’s Day, 21st June 2020, is the special date in the calendar when we celebrate and give a nod to the Dads in our lives. It’s an excuse to spoil them with a little something to say thank you for being awesome. If you’re looking for inspiration for a craft beer-loving Dad, then check out our top 10 Father’s Day craft beer gifts.

I’m going to take you back into the not-so distant past - let’s say 2012. You’re out with friends/family/a loved one (or two, no judgment here) and you find yourself at the bar. Unfortunately for you, you are ‘dezzy’ (aka designated driver)/have to be up early in the morning with a clear head/doing dry January/are pregnant - whatever the reason, not a drop of alcohol can pass your lips that evening. Well, your choices as you stand in front of this wonderfully carved oak bar are tap water or something chock full of enamel rotting sugar that can shine up a 2 pence piece just by looking at it. From a drinks perspective, this is not a great night… and you may have to book a dentist appointment soon.

Belgium might be a small country, but it’s one that’s home to arguably the world’s most influential breweries, which have given us a huge catalogue of epically interesting beer styles.

From Germany to Brazil, Czech Republic to the UK, Australia to the USA, Mexico to South Africa - lager is brewed all over the world and it is the world’s best-selling beer style. Why? Quite frankly, because it is epic! Easy drinking, thirst-quenching and a great accompaniment to food. Not bad for a style that started out in the cold, dark caves of the Bavaria region in Germany back in the day.

Today we’re launching the Hospitality Support Alliance. Along with our friends at Master of Malt, we’ll be donating £1 for every order placed on our websites over the next month to support hospitality workers who are struggling to make ends meet because of COVID-19 crisis.

We're proud to have featured again with This Morning, showcasing with the best advent calendars you can buy for Advent this year!

This week we launch the range of Salt Beer Factory beers on the site and what better way to introduce a new brewery to our beer hunters than to have a good 'ole fashioned interview with Nadir Zairi, Director of the Yorkshire based brewery in Saltaire.

There are signs that Non-Alcoholic beer is hitting the mainstream and is poised to hit the big time, but just how popular will it become? In this article I’ll look at some of the signs that show ‘NOLO’ (non or low alcoholic) beer is becoming a serious player in our industry, and how its development might progress in the UK.

After trying out our very own World Beers mixed case for a beer tasting party, Christie Day, Brand Expert at money-saving website Savoo shares her tips for hosting a top beer tasting night on a budget.

Ask someone down the pub for the reasons behind Britain’s recent Beer revival, and you’re guaranteed all sorts of different explanations. In 2017 the number of UK breweries passed the 2000 mark, which puts us well ahead of European neighbours. Most will have a reasonable argument for why, but you can bet your double-dry hopped DIPA that very few of them would mention Gordon Brown, ex-PM and former Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The UK's first Trappist brewery has launched with the delicious Tynt Meadow. Read the amazing story behind it here.

We’ll be working with BeerBods to help build the UK’s leading retailer of craft beer.

Our top ranked and reviewed fruit beers by our customers plus a few of our favourites, including a collab between To Øl and Pohjala. Tantalise your tastebuds this Summer with these punchy fruit beers.

If you find yourself reading this, it’s probably for one of two reasons. Either you’ve made the sound decision and invested in a Phillips PerfectDraft Machine and want to learn more about it; or it could be that you’re still on the fence and are asking yourself “Should I buy a PerfectDraft?”. Hopefully this nifty little guide will put your mind at ease and quell any doubts or concerns you have.

If you’re not already into craft beer then hopefully you’re thinking about it but may not know where to start, so if that’s the case then I’ve got a suggestion: start with Belgian beer as that’s exactly where my adventure began.

In case you missed the explosion of teddy bears and chocolate roses love is apparently in the air. And while you’ve been trying to decide on the perfect Valentine gift for other half this year, we've been busy scouring the shelves for the most tenuous Valentine’s Day-related beers we could find. Enjoy.

Mashing in is the process that extracts all the fermentable sugars from the malt. It's one of the most important steps for all-grain brewing and here's how to do it.  

Camden Town Brewery’s Beer 2018 is inspired by a classic German Pilsner and the Old Fashioned cocktail. And it's stunning.

What is RateBeer and why should you care? 

Homebrewing is much easier than you think. Here's how to make an amazing IPA in 8 simple steps.

It's the second in a new series featuring the favourite beers of Beer Hawk staff. Up now is Anthony who is loving the German classic, Flensburger Gold

A Touch of Prost is our exclusive Oktoberfest collaboration with Tempest Brew Co, one of the country's best new breweries. Pick it up now!

Welcome to the first in a new series featuring the current favourite beers of Beer Hawk staff. First up is Ellie who chooses Magic Rock's High Wire Grapefruit

Beer Hawk's Craft Beer Advent Calendar is better than ever. 24 incredible beers including 9 exclusive to Beer Hawk. Plus a free tasting kit (worth £20) plus incredible prizes (think all-expenses-paid trips to the USA) and loads more 

8 things you need to know about low alcohol and no alcohol beers 

The brewday continues in part two of, frankly many parts. It is, is all about heating water. 'Easy' you say? Well, in true homebrew style, we've managed to overcomplicate it, and put in a formula.

Known as a Filet Américain in Belgium, the steak tartare is one of the great dishes. But what to pair with it? Our Beer Sommelier Maggie Cubbler picks out a classic

This week at Beer Hawk University we're going to get prepped to homebrew last week's recipe for the Mosaic golden ale. The time has come!

Siren Craft Brew is one of the country's most innovative breweries. We chat to founder Darron Anley and Head Brewer Kyle Larsen to find out why

As well as probably having the country's most beautiful brewery, Wylam is also making some of the country's most interesting beers. We caught up with director Dave Stone

Both the propane burner and electric kettle have their advantages, but for reliability and speed, the burner is our preference

John Allen is a man with a big responsibility as the BrewDog’s Brewing Manager. In this interview, he talks about BrewDog’s ethos, how it became so successful and some of the beer he’s loving right now.  

In the first of our (virtual) cut-out-and-keep homebrewing course, we're looking at preparation – it'll make your brewday go much more smoothly

On the day we'll have a food van selling tasty treats, as well as bottled beers and soft drinks at our paid beer bar.

Northern Monk Brewing Co amazing rise continues in a new brewery. We catch up with Head Brewer Brian Dickson who charts its rise and learn about his favourite beers

Bold, dry, rich and delicious, here's our easy homebrew recipe for a classic: the Dry Irish Stout. A noticeable roasted character with a rather high hop bitterness.

We only answer the important questions here at Beer Hawk and this week it is: should you be using pelletised (real word!) hops or whole cone

English vs US IPAs, Bohemian Pilsner vs German Pils, Belgian Witbier vs German Weissbier. How exactly do the same beer styles differ in different countries?

Goose Island brew course and tasting

Join Goose Island brewer Austin Niestrom to taste and make beers at UBrew in London

Goose Island Beer Company, the brewery who brought Bourbon County Stout into the world back in 1992, want to teach you how they brew dark beer. Goose Island Brewer Austin Niestrom is flying in from Chicago to hold an exclusive brew course at Ubrew, where you'll brew a recipe that was inspired by one of the brewery's exclusive Fulton & Wood series. It’s a sweet porter recipe inspired by a beer called Real Nice Surprise which was released in 2015. Once your beer's fermented and bottled, you'll be able to swing by and collect roughly 15 bottles to take home.

In the downtime between boiling, mashing and pitching Austin will be taking you through an in-depth tasting of both rare and unreleased b

This week at Beer Hawk University, we're going to take a closer look at the BeerSmith software. This software is vital in creating a fantastic homebrew recipe.

Now that we know what basic ingredients and kit we need to make a beer, it's now onto the fun stuff! Since most of the brewers we've "met" along this trip probably started as homebrewers, it makes sense that we plan our first homebrewing recipe. It's almost brew day!

When we put a shout-out for the best beer sheds on the Perfect Draft Facebook group, we didn't expect this

Do you need a hot liquor tank?

Why a hot liquor tank will make your brewday go quicker

There are several methods for heating water depending on your set up. Our chosen method is to use a hot liquor tank (HLT). This is an essential part of a large scale brewery, but it is optional when homebrewing. This separate insulated vessel is useful for several reasons.

The HLT is used in the first instance just before mashing. Once the water for the mash is heated to the right temperature, it is then decanted into the HLT. The water from the HLT is then used during the mash. By moving the water from the kettle to the HLT, you can then immediately fill up the kettle and heat it up for the sparge water. Without an HLT you'll find yourself waiting for the sparge water once you've freed it up. We've also found the HLT much easier to physically move around if you need that a scolding hot kettle. It keeps the heat brilliantly.

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