About Pete

About Pete

Pete Brown is a British writer who specialises in making people thirsty. He is the author of five-and-a-half books, the annual Cask Report, and numerous articles in the drinks trade press and consumer press. He appears regularly on TV and radio and is a judge on the BBC Food & Farming Awards and the Great Taste Awards. He is a member of the British Guild of Beer Writers, and was named Beer Writer of the Year in 2009 and 2012.

A bit more background

Pete Brown was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and much against his better judgment, still supports its football team.

After graduating from the University of St Andrews, Pete spent ten years in advertising, helping some of the world’s biggest brands with their marketing strategy. Most famously, he persuaded Heineken to ditch its ‘Heineken refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach’ slogan just weeks before it was named the most successful advertising slogan of all time. He also worked on Stella Artois’ Reassuringly Expensive campaign, for which he wrote several award-winning papers proving its effectiveness.

After looking for a book that explained the British love for beer but not being able to find it, Pete wrote Man Walks Into A Pub: A Sociable History of Beer (2003). It sold so well that it was nearly turned into a BBC TV series, but was pipped at the final commissioning meeting by a series about mountains. Mountains.

Its follow up, Three Sheets to the Wind (2006) and then Hops & Glory (2009) and Shakespeare’s Local (2012) have all been critically well received, as well as appearing across the national media. Shakespeare’s Local was BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week at launch in December 2012.

Pete’s blog was one of the first beer blogs in the UK back in 2006, and this, together with regular columns in The Publican’s Morning Advertiser and London Loves Business gives him a platform to talk about all aspects of the drinks and pubs business. He also writes the Cask Report – the annual guide to cask ale, Britain’s national drink.

After being asked repeatedly to offer views on cider, which is a completely different drink from beer, Pete teamed up with cider photographer and evangelist Bill Bradshaw to learn about the world’s most misunderstood drink and write the Guide to Welsh Cider and Perry (2013) and World’s Best Cider (2013).

He is a consultant and marketing strategist to brewers and their agencies, where his knowledge of the beer and the wider drinks industry as well as his advertising experience offers a unique overview of some of the challenges they face.

Somewhat inevitably, Pete is often called upon at corporate events, where his after-dinner speeches almost always involve a Man Walks Into A Pub joke.

Pete is now one of the most recognised beer writers in the UK and is delighted that his books have been translated into over two languages.