Ep #319 - Beer Temple Book Club: Hops & Glory with Pete Brown

·1 hr 20 min·5 clips

Pete Brown felt personally bereaved when Carlsberg shut down the historic Burton Union brewing system.

The Beer Temple Podcast hosts Chris Quinn and Mike Schallau welcome author Pete Brown for their third book club installment, focusing on his book Hops and Glory: One Man's Search for the Beer that Built the British Empire. Brown explains the book originated from his skepticism about IPA marketing claims and a drunken bet to recreate the beer's sea journey. He details brewing a historic IPA with a Molson Coors brewer using a Bass Continental recipe rebranded as Worthington. The discussion shifts to the current state of British pubs and brewing, with Brown noting a 1% year-on-year decline in breweries despite challenges. He expresses personal grief over Carlsberg's decommissioning of the Burton Union system, calling it a cultural loss. Brown describes his tall ship voyage, highlighting unromantic moments like visa issues and sensory overload during brewing. The hosts and Brown explore how IPA's definition has inverted from a durable, bitter beer to a fresh, often sweet style, with Brown citing BJCP guidelines that now treat IPA as an acronym divorced from its original meaning. They delve into why IPA became beloved in India, linking it to British expatriates' heavy drinking culture and the dangers of local spirits. Brown hypothesizes that the sea journey's conditions created a unique, barley wine-like character. The episode includes tasting a homebrewed historic IPA by listener Brad, based on a recipe from Mitch Steele's book. Brown reflects on storytelling's emotional weight, influenced by Stephen King, and how his book blends personal narrative with beer history to appeal beyond beer enthusiasts. He mentions his next writing project will revisit similar themes. The episode concludes with information on where to find Brown's work and future book club plans.

As heard by us

A beer book club becomes a candid talk about travel, revision, and the value of leaving rough edges intact.

The Beer Temple Podcast's third book-club outing follows Pete's beer book into the less glamorous side of a personal journey. Mike Schlau and Chris Quinn ask about Madeira, Brazil, and a tall ship, but the episode keeps finding its better subject in the way Pete chose to tell…

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Why you'd press play

Want a beer book-club episode where the voyage stays memorable because nobody sands off the awkward parts?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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