Peter, 87, passed away peacefully at home in Whelford, near Kempsford, Cirencester on Friday morning. He is survived by his wife, Anne (herself from brewing stock in Norfolk), children James (current chairman of Arkell’s Brewery) Jane Bayley, Rosalind Arkell and Alison Jenkinson and their families, as well as his one surviving brother and three sisters.

Born in 1923, Peter Arkell, the second eldest son of Sir Noel (his older brother died during the war), joined the family brewing business as a director in 1954. A war veteran who served with the RAF in France and Burma, Peter spent a year in hospital after his Lysander aircraft crashed behind enemy lines in Burma.

After the war he considered resuming his degree at Edinburgh University but was offered a job at Hammonds Brewery in Yorkshire – later taken over by Tadcaster Tower Brewery.

In 1954 he returned to join the family business in Swindon as a director and became Chairman in 1971.   Peter’s return to Arkell’s Brewery heralded a new age for the then 91-year old brewery, bringing fresh perspectives from his time in Yorkshire and a new informality within the traditional old brewery reflecting the signs of the times in Britain after the war had ended.

He also spotted early the growing trend amongst consumers for wine and the increased interest in dining out. Responding to this, in 1962 the brewery set up John Arkell Vintners – now a hugely successful and integral part of Arkell’s Brewery’s activities and one of the largest wine distributors in the area.

Peter, who was awarded the OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 1997, once said: “My initials are ‘PA’ – Pale Ale. I was born in the brewery and I married a brewer’s daughter – I’m in it up to my neck.”

Taken from:  Swindon Business News

The event takes place across Birmingham from 1^st to 10^th October with over 50 performances lined up so far. Any news such as added dates, venues, acts and competitions will be announced first on Purity’s Twitter and Facebook pages.

Headline acts this year include Armstrong and Miller and Ross Noble, but the festival also makes way for local acts such as Mrs Barbara Nice, the award-winning Shazia Mirza and Jo Enright, from Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights and Britain’s Got The Pop Factor. Other events taking place throughout the festival, like The Bad Film Club at The Electric Cinema, add a twist to the 2010 programme.

Purity will be holding beer tasting events at various shows throughout the festival. Even selected venues which do not usually stock Purity beers will be taking part by installing taps or stocking bottles of ales and offering free tasters to festival goers.

Paul Halsey, Managing Director of Purity says “The team is very excited to be involved with the Birmingham Comedy Festival this year. We continuously look for ways in which we can support local events and the arts in particular.

“We look forward to promoting our beers to a wider audience using the platform of comedy… who wouldn’t enjoy a stand up comedy performance while sipping on a great beer?”

Dave Freak from Birmingham Comedy Festival goes on to say “We’re very pleased indeed to be working with Purity – not only do they produce some fantastic beer, but they’re just as passionate about supporting local arts.

“We’re looking forward very much to working with them for what promises to be a great festival.”

Owners of Lymestone Brewery have revealed their turnover has increased to around £200,000 in the past 12 months. The upturn in business follows a £30,000 deal with Wetherspoons to supply 400 of its pubs with Ein Stein ale at the end of last year.Now, director Ian Bradford said the company planned to venture into the pub trade - and could open their first boozer in Stone or Stafford.

“It’s really pleasing that we can say things are going so well, we’ve had several new accounts and are working very hard,” he said.

“We are a small family run business and a continued upturn in buiness can only mean more staff. However, how and when we do that has not been decided.

“We now want to open a pub. Titanic Brewery have shown the way forward with local pub ownership - and we want to follow in their footsteps.”

Read the full article in the Staffordshire newsletter

The taste of beer may improve as brewers at the Kent brewery - Shepherd Neame look forward to a high quality of hops this year. In the UK, the wettest July on record has been followed by a rainy August, but the silver lining to this cloud is that the mixture of sunshine and showers has been ideal for the growth of top quality hops.

To reap the full benefit, a rainy August will need to be followed by a dry September, when the hops will be picked. David Holmes, head brewer at Shepherd Neame, said “We’re not expecting a bumper harvest like last year; it will be a case of quality rather than quantity.”

Rain means better tasting hops and beer. David Holmes explains that the flavour in beer comes from the female part of the hop plant. These are called the hop cones, and it is these that add aroma and bitterness to beer. The brewery has been monitoring the growth of the cones and has seen them flourish in the summer months.

Article taken from Suite 101.com

Mike Stickland, chairman of Planning Solutions Ltd, the company responsible for the National Brewery Centre, said: “We are honoured and delighted that Her Royal Highness will be able to visit us on the 21st of September to officially open the Centre.”

“It’s fitting that The Princess Royal carries out this role, as I understand that she opened our first incarnation, The Bass Museum, on its inception in 1978.

“This Royal visit will mean a lot to the people of Burton and all of the team here that have worked so hard to re-open the facilities and create ‘The Brewing Experience’. This will certainly bring further awareness to this valuable heritage centre. I think that it’s fair to say that we are all rather excited and looking forward to next month’s visit.”

Situated in the heart of the town that is synonymous with the British brewing industry, Burton upon Trent, the site of the National Brewery Centre was originally home to the Bass Museum and more recently the Coors Visitor Centre, which closed during the summer of 2008.

Totally refurbished, it incorporates a great deal of the Bass family history and the heritage of brewing in the UK.

More details will be announced shortly. In the meantime, please visit the Centre’s website: www.nationalbrewerycentre.co.uk

The company, based at Luppitt, near Honiton, is one of ten shortlisted in the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability category of the National Business Awards.

The finalists will each make a presentation to the judges next month and the winner will be announced at an award ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London in November.

It follows the opening of Otter’s pioneering eco-cellar last year.

It is the first building of its kind in the South West, and much of it is underground, naturally keeping the temperature inside at the perfect 12C for storing barrels of beer during secondary fermentation and eliminating the need for chilling in the summer and heating during winter.

This has helped the brewery to save around £20,000 a year in energy costs and to cut its annual carbon emissions by 6.5tonnes.

Read the full story in This is Exeter

But this year we’re trying something different. Next Friday morning, at sunrise, Skinny and I will head out to the hop gardens with a very large sack. Our mission is to intercept the East Kent Goldings before they’re sent to the drying bins; we want 50kg of bright green, tacky and highly aromatic hoppy goodness to brew a gorgeously fresh beer with that very same day. It’s our own little harvest celebration.

Taken from Brew Blog Ramsgate Brewery