Perfect Beer Talks S02 E01: ‘Man Walks Into A Pub’ with Pete Brown

Perfect Beer Talks are here with a brand new season, kicking off with our first episode where we talk with our very special guest: Pete Brown. 

There is still much to explore in the world of beer, even though beer has been with people since the earliest years of history. 

In this episode of PBTs, we discussed about Pete Brown’s Man Walks Into A Pub book, the impact of beer on culture, the history of the beer market, and a lot about beer.

By Pete’s own definition, the book is a turning point for him: A milestone to embark on countless adventures, try unlimited types of beer, and contribution to human happiness.

Pete Brown and Can Algul dive deep into the history of beer, the wonders of British Pub Culture, and of course the Future of Draft Beer. We’ll be talking about beer through Pete’s eyes, a marketing expert who formerly worked with the world’s largest advertising and branding agencies such as Heineken, Stella Artois, Guinness, Diageo, Young’s, Marston’s, and Magner’s.

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Who is Pete Brown, ‘Industry Legend’?

Pete Brown is a British author, journalist, broadcaster, and consultant specializing in beer. Across the 12 books he has authored, his broad, fresh perspectives on social history, cultural commentary, travel writing, personal discovery, and natural history. His words are always delivered with the warmth and wit you’d expect from a great night down the pub.

In Can Algul‘s definition, he is “the Walt Whitman of beer!”

He was named British Beer Writer of the Year in 2009, 2012, 2016, and 2021. And was selected as an “Industry Legend” at the Imbibe Hospitality Awards in 2020.

 

Things that are worth a mention from Pete and Can

Beer Touches Every Aspect of our Lives.

I write about beer because it’s a way for me to write about all sorts of other things. I think beer touches every aspect of our lives, our history, our culture and that’s why it’s an endless fascination for me.”

-Pete Brown

In his book ‘A Sociable History of Beer’ Pete starts by exploring the history of beer from the very beginning, and one of the first men, Gilgamesh and Enkidu. He takes us on a journey through time from nineteenth-century pubs to WW2, up to the age of mega-brands.

Besides this, he does all of this with a touch of humor which makes the reader feel at ease, like the whole book is a pub stool conversation.

 

The Sociability of Beer

“Everything around drinking beer is designed to increase sociability. We have rituals, We cling to glasses, we make toasts, we buy drinks in rounds.”

– Pete Brown

There’s a lot of sharing that goes on in beer. No wonder why the word ‘Pub’ comes from ‘public house’! The pubs are a whole other world, with their own unwritten moral codes and rituals. It’s a place where there are no class prejudices.

According to Pete, beer is a very democratic drink. No matter who’s there drinking a pint, they are just ‘people drinking beer together.

 

Future of Draft Beer and Pubs

“There will always be a special space for the pub.”

-Pete Brown

In today’s world, people spend more time on their own, online, which makes getting together in a bar an even more special event than before. Consider again, today’s reality, a big impact on the future of beer will be the industry becoming environmentally sustainable.

According to Pete, sustainability is the future of draft beer. He predicts that pubs embracing technology will thrive and those who don’t are going to start struggling.

As Pubinno, our main vision is to work towards a more sustainable future with our Internet of Beer Technologies. Our technology attracts the attention of many pub owners and beer brands due to its easy use, data offering, and cost-effectiveness. According to our observations, even some pub owners who are seemingly not new technology adopters, and yet decide to use Pubinno and find it easy to really engage with all of its advantages.

 

Sustainable Quality of Beer

“We should try strategies that reduce waste.”

-Pete Brown

The sustainability of beer quality is a curious thing: The draft beer is the tastiest form of beer but has a delicate balance that affects its quality. 

A perfectly good draft beer is wasted if it’s not consumed within 4 days of serving.

Due to the lack of a system for pub owners to track beer sales data, the consumption and sales numbers can not be followed. Therefore it’s harder to make healthier purchasing decisions to ensure the best quality beer at the tap. The waste of beer is sometimes caused by purchasing decisions, where beer brands are purchased without knowing how many sales are expected or through simply using the wrong keg size. In order to prevent this, it is vital to understand the customer and their consumption habits. That is why data tracking is invaluable to sustain the quality of beer. Pubinno’s Internet of Beer technologies prevents quality dips by providing instant data tracking so that customers can always be served the most delicious beer and the pub owners can predict healthier forecasts for their future keg orders.

 

The Power of Beer Marketing

“The communication strategies of beer brands shape beer consumption habits and construct the culture.”

-Pete Brown

As a former beer marketing expert, Pete talked about the effect that marketing has on people’s drinking habits.

According to his observations, in Britain, where beer was advertised in very manly imagery, the annual beer consumption rate for women was observed to be 20% of the yearly beer consumption, whereas in Spain, the marketing had not alienated women and the annual beer consumption ratio for women monitored as 40% in Spain. In the opinion of Pete, this is a cultural construct that has been backed by marketing departments.

 

The Illustration of Perfect Beer by Pete Brown

“There’s a significant difference between tasting a beer and drinking a beer, I much prefer drinking beer.”

-Pete Brown

Wondering how to enjoy the most perfect beer? According to Pete: When you take a big gulp so the foam on top of the glass goes straight down. The feeling of refreshment afterwards releases endorphins from your brain. It makes you feel happier, it’s just the satisfaction of cold beer hitting the back of your dusty throat. It takes the day’s dust away and takes you to that happy place.

The Future of Draft Beer

We want to express our thanks to Pete Brown and Can Algul for this amazing episode where we learned a lot about Beer History, British Pub Culture, and Beer Marketing! If you would like to learn more about Pubinno and draft beer, you can visit our blog. We cannot wait to see you in our next episode!

Cheers!