Beer Today’s regular round-up of news in brief: new releases, venue openings, event announcements.
The third release in Great Newsome’s Love British Hops series will be Ernest, a 4% ABV session bitter. It has an apricot-like fruity aroma and a slightly spicy bitterness. It has been trial brewed and will be scaled up to a full brew this week.
A double release from Abyss celebrates the Spring Equinox. Equinox Cascadian Dark Ale %5.5% ABV) packs a bright hop surprise. Equinox DDH Pale (5.5% ABV) is “a celestial haze for lighter times and liberated minds”, says the brewer.
• Young’s has agreed to acquire Cubitt House London Pubs. The acquisition comprises a collection of eight iconic leasehold pubs and pubs with bedrooms in west London. These comprise The Barley Mow (Mayfair), The Builders Arms (Chelsea), The Coach Makers Arms (Marylebone), The Grazing Goat (Marylebone), The Orange (Belgravia), The Princess Royal (Notting Hill), The Thomas Cubitt (Belgravia), and The Alfred Tennyson (Belgravia). The acquisition also includes a ninth pub in Belgravia, that is currently being developed.
“Located in some of London’s most affluent neighbourhoods, these premium sites align perfectly with our strategy to selectively expand our business,” said Young’s chief executive Simon Dodds.
Krusha is the newest beer from Polly’s pilot kit, a 10% ABV vanilla oatcream triple IPA. The webstore-exclusive brew utilises just Krush hops on both the hot and cold side. The hop, formerly HBC 586, brings a fruit cocktail of flavour to the party. Think peaches, mango, guava, berries, and pineapple, all drizzled with fresh vanilla cream.
A candidate in the current Apprentice series, Priyesh Bathia, is one of four partners behind the opening of an Anglo-Indian pub in Stockwell, in early June. The former Royal Oak, owned by Star Pubs, is being renamed The Elephant & Barrel, and is the third in the group. The other two Elephant & Barrel pubs opened in Fulham two years ago and in Felixstowe in 2025.
The Elephant & Barrel concept was founded by Kumar Pillai and Yogesh Datta, with Priyesh Bathia and Karan Datta joining more recently. The partners’ plan is to grow a scalable business with nationwide potential.
• HRS Heat Exchangers has announced three key appointments and promotions across its global network. Matt Hale has assumed the position of global business development director, Arnold Kleijn has been named global sales director, and Antonio Jara Ponce has been promoted to global sales manager, Europe.
• North West operators James Nolan and Dean Jones are taking on the leases of two Star Pubs within weeks of each other – The Royal Oak, in Aughton, and The Black Bull, in St Helen’s. A major £677,000 upgrade of The Royal Oak, which they are undertaking with Star Pubs starts today.
The partners each have Liverpool sites of their own and came together a year ago to run The Black Bull on a temporary management agreement. The venture has been a great success, leading James and Dean to want to take on a substantive lease for the pub. They are also looking to scale up their combined pub operation substantially over the next 10 years and are looking at opportunities ranging from Wales to Preston and Warrington to Manchester.
