Readers’ Choice — Your Favourite Pellicle Features of 2020
Woof, what a year it’s been. It feels like a lifetime since I was travelling back to London from Manchester after Cloudwater’s joyously triumphant Friends & Family & Beer festival, but it was only February. Despite the encroaching threat on the news, I was convinced that a pandemic, would never, could never happen. 10 months on and we’re staring down the other end of the barrel of that gun.
But here we still are. Being able to publish great writing, photography and illustration amid all this has been incredibly gratifying. It pleasures me to say we’ve worked with over 70 freelance contributors this year. All of them paid a fair rate for their work. Over the course of the past 12 months, we’ve published over 100 written features and podcast episodes, paying out more than £20,000. We’re able to do this directly thanks to readers supporting us via our Patreon Page, those who’ve picked up a t-shirt in our merch store, and our incredible sponsor Hop Burns & Black. To think we’d have this continued support in such a chaotic year, and that you’d stick with us throughout, well, it makes me quite emotional. Thank you.
This list was meant to be a straight top 10 of the most-read pieces on the site this year, but seeing as all of those were centred around beer, I’ve also picked our most popular food, cider and wine stories, to give you a flavour which of those you enjoyed too. Although these still lag behind our beer stories in terms of traffic, they’re slowly building in popularity as our audience grows.
One story missing from this list is David Jesudason’s excellent, interview-driven piece: These are the First Steps — Working Towards Racial Equity in the Beer Industry. While it didn’t bomb, it didn’t resonate with our audience in the same way as some of our other stories. That more people were interested in what I did on holiday in California (as much as I am proud of that piece, which features in this list) than they are in reading about the lack of racial equity in the beer industry—and what we might collectively do to change that—is disheartening. The link is right there, please take the time to read it when you can. This stuff’s important.
This year has changed us. I hope it has at least. Change is a positive force that I believe in, even when it can be uncomfortable or challenging. From the pandemic to the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the subsequent swell of the Black Lives Matter movement, to the continually daunting rise of fascism and white nationalism, to the constant abuse and oppression levelled at our trans friends and family, in terms of change-through-discomfort, 2020 has rinsed us for almost everything we have.
Yet here we are, with renewed focus and drive, and commitment to do better. You might be wondering what any of this has to do with a list of the most popular articles published on Pellicle this year, and the answer is everything. This has influenced both our own desire to do more for voices that are underrepresented in modern drinks media and has reinforced our belief that publishing joyful, informative, escapist content is more necessary now, than ever.
We’ve changed, but we hope it’s for the better. Please enjoy this list of great content, and see you in the new year for even more.
—Matthew Curtis, December 2020
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Pubs, Parenthood and Children at the Heart of the Community
—Jemma Beedie
Our most popular feature this year by some distance was Jemma Beedie’s, riff on pubs and parenthood. A story that—ironically—both Jonny and I wanted to turn down at one stage. Following a fateful meeting between Jonny and Jemma at Fyne Ales in Cairndow, Scotland, Jonny commissioned the piece and insisted we were running it. I’m so glad he did. An excellent read, especially for those of us without children, allowing us to de-centre ourselves and understand why parents—specifically mothers—wish to be able to take their young kids with them to the pub.
With Great Thirst Comes Great Responsibility — Ebenezer's Pub in Lovell, Maine
—Samer Khudairi
Samer’s first full-length piece for us wasn’t just about a pub dear to him—but one loved by many the world over. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this piece was overwhelmingly popular with our Belgium-based readers, due to the connection between Ebenezer’s and several highly-rated Belgian breweries. At its heart, however, this is a wonderful story about a tavern that ably serves its local community, as well as providing them with some of the rarest and most sought after beers in the world.
Catastrophe and the Cure — Getting to Know Antidoot Wilde Fermenten in the Hageland, Belgium
—Eoghan Walsh
Publishing anything written by Eoghan is a joy. He’s as much a poet with his prose as he is analytical and philosophical. Again, as with Ebenezer’s, this piece resonated heavily with our audience in continental Europe, seeing it place highly in our most-read charts month after month. It’s a fascinating story about perhaps one of the most compelling makers of beer, cider and wine in the world. It’s very Pellicle, you could say.
No Smoke Without Fire — How Indiana’s Sugar Creek Malt is Moving Beer Forward by Looking to History
—David Nilsen
Despite my desire for more agriculturally-centred pieces about beer, they are still far less popular than stories about beer itself, and those who make it. Which is why it brings an immense smile to my face to see this story high up our charts this year. While it’s not wise to pick favourites, I cannot deny that this—a profile of Sugar Creek, a small batch maltster based in Lebanon, Indiana—is perhaps the piece we published this year I enjoyed the most. Be sure to also check out David’s NAGBW gold medal winning piece on Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, too!
It Takes a Bridge — Inside Newcastle’s Legendary Free Trade Inn
—Martyn Flynn
One of the great pleasures in running your own publication is the opportunity to work with newer voices such as Martin. He worked exceptionally hard on this piece to find the tone and range we were looking for, and landed it perfectly with his final draft. It’s no surprise that a piece about one of the most loved pubs in the UK resonated with so many people, but the fact that the words literally teleports you to this glorious pub on the banks of Newcastle’s River Tyne—before taking you inside and buying you a pint—makes it all the more satisfying to read.
Branches at the Window — Mills Brewing in Berkeley, Gloucestershire
—Lily Waite
This magical, transportative piece by newly-crowned Beer Writer of the Year Lily Waite, is one of the best beer reads of 2020. Therefore it’s unsurprising that it’s also one of the most popular among our readers this year. What a year it’s been for Lily, we’re so pleased she was able to contribute five outstanding features to Pellicle during this time. This piece in-particular is demonstrative of just how magically evocative her outstanding writing can be.
I'll Hauf What They're Haufing — Exploring the Curious History of the Scottish Half and Half
—Jemma Beedie
Although we haven’t properly waded into spirits territory yet, this entertaining read on one of Scotland’s best traditions piqued the interest of many who enjoy a wee dram from time-to-time. In this piece, Jemma effortlessly combines an entertaining history lesson with a drink-a-long feel that will have you pining for the pub. It’s also a wonderful consideration of beers’ fascinating—but not much talked about—relationship with whisky.
In Search of Pliny the Elder, in the Heart of Sonoma County, California
—Matthew Curtis
Finding myself in a bit of a funk earlier in the year, I wrote this travel piece as a creative writing exercise to help rediscover a bit of flow. It’s a fond memory I had intended to keep to myself, but seeing its popularity on the site makes me glad I decided to publish it anyway. The story is about a pilgrimage I took to the hallowed Russian River brewery in Santa Rosa, California, told from a first-person perspective. I also recorded an audio version (complete with soundtrack) which you can listen to via our podcast here.
Humorous But Foolish — A Banana Milkshake IPA Homebrew Recipe with which to Fight Fascism
—Paul Crowther
I was excited to commission Paul Crowther earlier this year—selfishly so—I have a deep admiration for his gaul to milkshake Nigel Farage and was giddy when he agreed to write a homebrew recipe inspired by the moment, especially as the fallout caused him personal stress and hardship. More-so however, I am thrilled that Paul has come on as a regular contributor, first and foremost as our homebrew columnist, but I have a feeling he has far more to contribute in future beyond just recipes, and I can’t wait to read those stories too.
Paradise Found — The Making of Lost and Grounded Keller Pils
—Will Hawkes
Our profiles of individual beers are consistently some of our most popular features, and I can’t wait to publish a few more next year (hey, pitch us some!) Our most popular—by master penman Will Hawkes—told the story of the UK’s favourite independently brewed lager: Keller Pils from Bristol’s Lost and Grounded. In a year with pressures that required cultivating a little more familiarity and certainty, it’s not surprising this lager was so widely read about, much in the same way as it is consumed by those in the know.
Hand-Held Rebellion — A Love Letter to the Burger Van
—Katie Mather
Despite our food stories not quite getting as much attention as those we publish about beer, this evocative read from Katie resonated with a great many people, causing it to create satisfying ripples of contentment across the World Wide Web. On its surface, it’s a simply-told short story about a fond childhood memory. Katie’s innate ability to tangibly weave emotion and empathy into her words, however, brings this story to life in a way that means you can smell the browning meat on a hot, greasy fryer, and feel the slicks of fat trail down your wrists as you take a deep bite into nostalgia.
An Awakening in Herefordshire — Little Pomona Cider & Perry
—Nicci Peet
Our cider audience is perhaps our most enthusiastic set of readers at the moment. Cider in the UK is going through a real moment. A renaissance, you might even say. Our intention this year was to showcase as many producers as possible as a way of building a framework of the cider world in a way that those who already love beer or wine could find familiarity and kinship. That Nicci’s profile was our most-read is pleasing to see, not just because Little Pomona are making outstanding cider, but that it was Nicci’s first full-length profile for us, and she absolutely smashed it.
Angels in the Sky — Getting Philosophical with Biodynamic Wine Pioneers Rudolf and Rita Trossen
—Katie Mather
Although we may be something of an outsider in the wine world, we’ve seen a steady increase in our traffic with each published feature. It might make more sense to concentrate on beer or cider, but we feel without wine we’d be incomplete, missing part of the whole that demonstrates the similarities, as much of the differences in these cultures. It also gives us the opportunity to publish a different kind of wine writing, and I guarantee by reading Katie’s story you’ll feel the whip of the Mosel on your cheeks, and the squelch of muddy vineyard underfoot.
