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Colston Crawford's
Beer Column
For 21 years I wrote a beer and pubs column for the Derby Telegraph. After retiring in October 2025, I am continuing it as a blog, and this is it. Feel free to read, subscribe, comment or whatever.
Posts
Leaving the Admiral Rodney... Kevin and Lesley's story
After 10 great years, the Taylors didn't want to leave their village pub, but they didn't really have an option. Here's what they had to say... Kevin and Lesley Taylor departed the Admiral Rodney pub in Hartshorne last weekend after 10 successful years as licensees, during which time they ensured the pub was at the centre of the village community and raised many thousands of pounds for charity along the way. Lesley and Kevin Taylor behind the bar at the Admiral Rodney last su
Colston Crawford
Mar 273 min read
Leaving the Admiral Rodney... Kevin and Lesley's story
After 10 great years, the Taylors didn't want to leave their village pub, but they didn't really have an option. Here's what they had to say... Kevin and Lesley Taylor departed the Admiral Rodney pub in Hartshorne last weekend after 10 successful years as licensees, during which time they ensured the pub was at the centre of the village community and raised many thousands of pounds for charity along the way. Lesley and Kevin Taylor behind the bar at the Admiral Rodney last su
Colston Crawford
Mar 27
Why I revisited one of Derbyshire's most remote breweries on a Whim
I took a drive down memory lane this week. It was a very long, narrow lane, bumpy and muddy in parts, but when I got to the end, it was brilliant to see that it was virtually unchanged from the last time I had driven down it, all the way back in 2013. It is reassuring, sometimes, to find that some things are unchanged and thriving just as they are and that is what the good folk at Whim Ales are doing, 33 years after the brewery was founded just outside Hartington. The Whim Al
Colston Crawford
Mar 20
Cheryl steps in to write the next chapter for Burton's historic Coopers Tavern
Staying in Burton for the latest article – and a chat with Cheryl Gibson, the new licensee of the town’s traditionally most historic pub, the Coopers Tavern. Cheryl Gibson in the kitchen which is the main bar for the Coopers Tavern. If you know Burton at all, you know the significance of the Coopers and you’ll know that taking it on is not quite like taking on any other pub. It is the one picked out as the “must visit” by folks coming to Burton and the town’s brewing heritage
Colston Crawford
Mar 10
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