In your opinion, in recent months and years, what is the UK doing well in beer and are there areas we can learn from other countries?

The Brew Testament: The UK has been great at changing beer from a product to an experience. London’s Beer Mile is a perfect example of how beer novices and experts alike have the same access to some incredible breweries.

We’ve also been lucky enough to see some stellar pubs opening up with a real focus on their beer selection. I think there’s real potential to showcase beer in the on-trade with more comprehensive selections in restaurants and greater use of pairings.

Hop Hideout: The UK’s seems to be  growing in number of breweries at a fast pace, hundreds in the last two years alone – which is phenomenal for the beer drinker – the range and choice, the ability to drink really fresh local beer (even direct from the brewery taproom/taphouse).

I think the things we can learn from other countries is to have more of a synergy with their surroundings – use local ingredients, be inspired by local chefs and restaurants, really explore beer and food matching – as the US and Italy seem to be doing.

I’d love UK breweries to find a happy balance between experimentation/innovation and good solid go to beers – I find it can be one way or the other. Hawkshead and Fyne have managed this balance perfectly brewing a classic Lakeland Gold or Jarl next to Key Lime Tau and Mills & Hills Imperial Stout (both collaborations too!).

I think UK breweries, especially new wave indies (circa start up 2005) generally do a really good job of engaging with their beer drinkers – no doubt the proliferation of smart phones has helped this. I love the idea of tap rooms being more prevalent – who wouldn’t want to go and drink beer at their favourite brewery!?!

At times, I think, UK breweries put constraints on themselves – I can’t do keg or I can’t do cask or I can’t work with that brewery or I can’t be seen to constantly use US hops or I can’t brew a sour as that’s just ‘fashionable’ or I can only brew pale ales as that’s what people want.

Stop thinking about it, rip up the rule book, bin off the constraints and just do it! Id like to see breweries carving out their personalities more and saying this is who we are and this is what we love. Denmark seems to be a country really going for it in this way and I love it!

I don’t mean it has to be crazy beers and constant experimentation – just look at Cloudwater, they’ve launched with a considered, seasonal ethos.

Caps and Taps: There is a constant stream of new breweries opening up in the UK, from tiny operations to ones that make a big splash like Cloudwater. It’s hard to find diversity in many pubs due to the number of tied lines even in freeholds. I think we are still miles behind USA in terms of diversity outside of craft beer pubs. You see places that advertise craft beer but that just means they have Brooklyn Lager on.

Hopology: The innovation of some of the UK brewers has been astonishing. They are experimenting with beer styles we never used to see in the UK.  From Samphire Gose and Elderflower Saison to Smoked Dopplebock and Grenadine Berlinerweisse.

On the other hand we have large numbers of breweries producing outstanding indigenous “traditional British style” beers .  I think the new craft brewers  have given a shot in the arm to the revival of Porter and Stout too.

BeerHawk: I think that UK breweries have been getting much better at experimentation, especially with some very interesting collab beers, although in my opinion there’s still a way to go when we compare this to some of the experimentation going on in the US.  We’ve seen “interesting” packaging presented to us recently, and I think that we could still learn a lot from overseas breweries on this.

Cave Direct/Beer Merchants: We could definitely do beer and food better though. In Belgium and America they love sharing 750ml bottles over dinner, and in Czech Republic beer is the drink of choice come mealtimes. We can learn from these countries with more beer and food matching at home or in restaurants, and a more casual approach to drinking beer.

I think that we’re holding on to our heritage very well indeed. Cask beer has seen a great boom as a result of the rise of craft beer, and we need to remember that we are the only country in the world serving this special drink so we need to champion it when it’s good.

We’ve also really taken the American brewers’ sense of adventure to heart and are producing some fantastic experimental beers, especially people like Beavertown, Siren and Wild Beer. The thing I think we’re really good at though – better even than America – is 4-5% pale ales and session IPAs with huge tropical fruit flavours. I’m thinking of Tiny Rebel One Inch Punch, Pressure Drop Pale Fire and Beavertown Neck Oil.