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Colston Crawford's
Beer Column
For 21 years I wrote a beer and pubs column for the Derby Telegraph. After retiring in October 2025, I am continuing it as a blog, and this is it. Feel free to read, subscribe, comment or whatever.
Posts
A new home... so how did it go for the Derby Heritage Beer festival in the Market Hall?
The curtain has fallen on the first Derby Heritage Beer Festival to be held in the Market Hall and it will be seen as a success in some respects, less so in others. Here are my thoughts. It was, for sure, a different experience strolling straight into the Market Hall, compared to queuing to pay to get into almost any other beer festival. The serving area was squeezed into the centre of the Market Hall. The venue itself is magnificent. The advertising referred to tickets on th
Colston Crawford
15 hours ago4 min read
A new home... so how did it go for the Derby Heritage Beer festival in the Market Hall?
The curtain has fallen on the first Derby Heritage Beer Festival to be held in the Market Hall and it will be seen as a success in some respects, less so in others. Here are my thoughts. It was, for sure, a different experience strolling straight into the Market Hall, compared to queuing to pay to get into almost any other beer festival. The serving area was squeezed into the centre of the Market Hall. The venue itself is magnificent. The advertising referred to tickets on th
Colston Crawford
15 hours ago
The darkest of dark days in Burton's proud history as Carlsberg announce another hammer blow
THERE cannot be too many hammer blows left for the beleaguered brewing industry in Burton to take but the announcement by Carlsberg-Britvic that they are to close the former Marston’s brewery in the town is as big as any in recent times. It is a sad truth that the town for centuries known as the brewing capital of Britain is now, in beer terms, a shell of its former self. A classic picture of the former Marston's Brewery by former Burton Mail photographer Simon Deacon. Owners
Colston Crawford
Oct 8
Heads above water: How The Smithfield and The Exeter Arms are coping with Derby's flood defence works
I KILLED two birds with one stone one night last week and, hopefully, with this column too. I went and bought a copy of the new Good Beer Guide and made a point of getting to the Exeter Arms and the Smithfield Ale House (both pubs are of course in it). A bit of my custom is a drop in the ocean for these two brilliant Derby pubs, of course. I also get that I’m a bit late to the party in publicising their current plight. But every little helps, according to the well-known adver
Colston Crawford
Oct 1
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