This is Jon's personal "blog" - I work at an independent microbrewery (a small-scale, artisanal producer of “real ale” and other beery treats), based in the Furness area in Cumbria (or N. Lancs if you'd rather). Or a "Craft Brewer", if you like. We're known as "Stringers", or "Stringers Beer". I don't just make beer - I also sound-off in half-informed rants on a variety of subjects. Like here.
Every Dog Has Its Day
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I may as well admit it now. BrewDog and I have history. This blog was making
fun of them long before it was fashionable. Back in the day, 12 years ago
...
William Younger (Abbey) hops in 1885
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[image: A William Younger Old Scotch Stout label featuring a six-pointed
star and the text "Wm. Younger & Co. Ltd Edinburgh Scotland" and "Estd
1749".]
T...
The Session 149: Where’s the quality local junk?
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Why is it that so many cultures have the perfect snacks to go with beer but
absolutely refuse to sell them in pubs? For the July 2025 edition of The
Sess...
A Sarah Hughes surprise at the Nelson Arms
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After the last, rather lengthy post, here is a much shorter one, not just
for balance but more because the narrative can be told in just a couple of
page...
The CIBD Sustainability in Brewing Conference 2025
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*I recently attended the CIBD's Sustainability in Brewing Conference in
Nottingham*. I was working so though there was plenty of *networking and
CPD *I d...
A Very Mixed Bag
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While in Manchester the worst and more noisy aspects of bathroom
replacement were taking place, we fled to London to get some peace and
quiet and, import...
What The Schnitt?
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Yesterday I introduced you to our friend Mr BĂlek, shoemaker and fundraiser
for Czech national causes extraordinaire, yet he was far from alone in his
en...
A mutual path for water?
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It was a privilege to present in Whitstable, Kent, recently to the People’s
Commission on Water, whose report is released today. It relates to a topic
that...
Mild Magic: the pubs
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This is a second post about 2025’s Mild Magic, Stockport and South
Manchester CAMRA‘s annual celebration of mild. The previous post focused on
the beers; t...
When “candidate” is a crime against English
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I originally posted this on LinkedIn under the title “Why I’m not doing job
interviews for freelance work”. I was quite cross. It’s autism awareness
month ...
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*Green Hop Season 2024*
This year we're celebrating the Green Hop season to its fullest, with two
events at our Taproom.
*Green Hop Launch*
*Save the...
Last night at the JT
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*Yesterday evening, I went to the Jerusalem Tavern. It was the pub's last
night.*
The operators, St Peter's Brewery, haven't renewed their long lease, an...
A final pint
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My last blog post was a bit of a downer. I’ll try to cheer up on this one.
I seem to have created a theme of chronicling end of pubs. The travails of
the...
A Tale Of Two Weekends
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The never ending tour of Manchester continues. With a lot of places either
still closed completely or not opening early in the week, it's easier to do
a ...
The Session: Where I'm/It's At.
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Well, it has been a while. Since there was a proper Session. Since I wrote
a thing on this blog. Glad to be prodded. I think about blogging often, but
the...
The Positively Unknown
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New book announcement! "The Positively Unknown: A Kid's Guide to the
Zymoglyphic Museum" is now available. Pick up a copy while you are
visiting the mu...
Letting go
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It is often difficult to accept defeat. Indeed, when one has been working
on something for a long time it can be almost impossible to actually make
that fi...
We are taking a break
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Dear Reader.
Due to various unforeseen circumstances, 'A Swift One' is taking a short
sabbatical. We apologise to all for the lack of content but we hope t...
Passive-aggressive hate mail
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Way back in 2001, my brother and I opened a specialist beer bar in London.
You can read more about it *here*.
The way we were doings things proved fairly n...
Caxton Inn / XX Inn, River Street
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Caxton Inn, River Street, Hulme, 1921. (c) Bob Potts [1]. The Caxton Inn
was a Carlton Brewery house that stood on the corner of River Street and
Welcomb S...
Brooklyn Comes To Dalston
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Brooklyn Brewery are on the road again, taking their 'Mash' concept out to
nine countries. This week, they've been in London, with events like a DIY
dinner...
Thomas Hardy's Ale Reborn
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This beauty arrived by post yesterday so I thought it was time to end my
silence.
The rights to the Thomas Hardy Ale name have now passed to a company in...
Recipe for
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Busy days, busy days. I had an hour in departures this week with no
wireless and a useless phone so my 150 e-mails per day couldn’t find me.
During my co...
His name is "Stay!"
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I'm lucky enough to get a call every so often from the Endress+Hauser
Corporation to make something out of their spare parts. They give me full
creative...