Blogger has high hops for local beer scene

● Port Side Pirates, Buccaneer Brewery

Kirsty said: “A proper old fashioned porter where the roasted flavours really pop out.

“Smooth with prominent toffee notes.”

The popularity of independent beers has surged in recent years and amid the boom Kirsty has been writing her blog for about a year, indulg- ing her taste for good tipples in pubs and also at beer festivals.

She said the culture around real ales also differs from the mass-production big brewer beers in that craft beer lovers are more likely to savour their drinking more with smaller amounts rather than quaffing as much and as fast, with festivals serving drinks in third-pint volumes to emphasise the stress on savouring the flavours rather than sheer volume.

As Kirsty put it, Halton Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) members are not the ones ‘being kicked out of everywhere’.

She said the smaller breweries’ independence allows for more creativity and a bigger range of ingredients, adding that the process is ‘relatively easy to do’ and that firms can succeed without having to supply far and wide.

Her hobby also incorporates the occasional once-in-a-while treat such as spending £25 on a rare tipple, and she said she ‘would love’ to open her own beer shop along the lines of the LA Farmers Market in Los Angeles and the Real Ale Shack in Warrington.

Discussing the rise in interest, she said: “It’s become quite popular because people have realised there’s