Matthew Curtis
@totalcurtis.bsky.social
Freelance food & drink writer and photographer • founder @pelliclemag.com • columnist at The Mill, Ferment, What’s Brewing & lots more.📍Stockport More about me and my work: www.totalales.co.uk // www.pelliclemag.com
I've spent the last two months writing a piece on my favourite bar in the world, which Katie and Claire encourage me to write. I thought it would be the easiest thing I've ever written, but it turned out to be one of the hardest projects I've ever done. Anyway it's done now, at last!
How is it I can’t remember the important thing I need to do today but I can remember and whistle the main theme of James Pond 2: Robocod in it’s entirety
Welcome to the pages of Pellicle, @alcoholfreeworld.bsky.social ‼️ "“You have a little bit of Fingerspitzengefühl [literally, “fingertip feeling” in German]—we feel you have it in your fingertips somehow.”" - Markus Briemle, Maisel’s Brauerei www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/8/...
A Science and an Art — Maisel’s Weisse Alkoholfrei — Pellicle
Upon arriving at Maisel’s Brauerei in Bayreuth, Franconia, it becomes immediately clear that this is not your typical Bavarian brewery. A huge steel sculpture of Mother Earth, wearing a crown of hops ...
pelliclemag.com
As someone who was diagnosed with chronic stress earlier this year I strongly recommend that if its after 4pm on a Friday, or hell, after lunchtime, then you schedule your email for Monday morning.
This was a lovely day in Windsor with the Rabble and I'm super excited to try this collab soon. The pumpclip has a BELL that RINGS ffs.
Indie Rabble Brew Co@indierabble.bsky.social · 5d agoNEW BEER: The Editor's Rest x @pelliclemag.com 📚🍺 We were visited by our pal, Pellicle editor-in-chief @totalcurtis.bsky.social to brew this cask West Coast Pale Ale, and it's fresh on the bar at the taproom from this weekend!
We can’t have a conversation about the best pubs in the U.K. without mentioning the King Billy, Nottingham.
Very pleased that @pelliclemag.com gave me a chance to write about one of my favourite beers, Tipopils, you can read it here www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/7/...
The Shape of Pils to Come — 30 Years of Birrificio Italiano’s Tipopils — Pellicle
I have a thirst to quench. It’s just as well, then, that I’ve arrived at Birrificio Italiano’s brewery in Limido Comasco, a village 20 miles northwest of Milan, in the far north of Italy. A keen north...
pelliclemag.com
Tipopils is 30 years old. Can you believe that? A beer that special deserves the @atjbeer.bsky.social treatment, so that's what we gave it. With original art by Dionne Kitching. www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/7/...
The Shape of Pils to Come — 30 Years of Birrificio Italiano’s Tipopils — Pellicle
I have a thirst to quench. It’s just as well, then, that I’ve arrived at Birrificio Italiano’s brewery in Limido Comasco, a village 20 miles northwest of Milan, in the far north of Italy. A keen north...
pelliclemag.com
Imagine getting an email from @atjbeer.bsky.social saying they’d like to write a couple of thousand words on Tipopils in its 30th year, and not only being able to commission it, but pay them fairly, and hire an artist to hand draw accompanying illustrations. What a privilege.
Pellicle@pelliclemag.com · last wk.Tipopils is 30 years old. Can you believe that? A beer that special deserves the @atjbeer.bsky.social treatment, so that's what we gave it. With original art by Dionne Kitching. www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/7/...
Well, I thought I’d give the new Muse record a spin but it appears they’ve completed their transformation into Imagine Dragons.
Very sad news about Bill Oddie, someone I remember very fondly from my childhood. I sold him and his daughter a guitar about 20 years ago, and it was awkward and he really didn't want to talk about being on TV, or anything, but I'm glad I got to meet him.
Feel very lucky to have this pub just a 10 minute walk from my house. What’s not mentioned here is the excellent range of pub snacks, including the “landlords folly” pickled egg and pork scratchings tray.
Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray)@boakandbailey.bsky.social · last wk.BLOG POST: We don't hesitate to declare the revived Crown Inn in Stockport one of the country's great pubs. boakandbailey.com/2026/07/the-...
If there's a better album to write to than Stars of the Lid's And Their Refinement of the Decline I don't want to know about it. (Actually, I do. What are you favourite albums to write to? Must be instrumental.)
Interesting local observation is that some houses near me which displayed vote green signs for council elections now have vote Bev (Labour) signs out for the mayoral election. Even more interesting is that the r*form houses have almost nothing, when there were loads out for council elections.
Sometimes I want to put the world to rights. Other times, I want to write love letters to extinct pubs in the village where I grew up.
The End of the Mumbles Mile — Tracing the Footsteps of a Legendary Pub Crawl — Pellicle
Across the road from the White Rose, a pair of neatly dressed women hand us a phone. “Could we be cheeky and get a picture?” It strikes me as an unremarkable request: a quick souvenir of the first pub...
pelliclemag.com
It’s the podcast’s 6th birthday and I’m celebrating with a two-part Beer Prime Hall of Fame. Part 1 is out now! With @tabamatu.bsky.social, Dave Hayward, Jordan Mower, @atjbeer.bsky.social, @totalcurtis.bsky.social, Colin Gilham, James Rushforth, @sirencraftbrew.bsky.social 🎧 tinyurl.com/5b27rxs2
Beer Prime - Episode 140 - The Beer Prime Hall of Fame Part 1
Beer Prime · Episode
tinyurl.com
Nostalgia in droves, and pints of Bass too. The Mumbles Mile was once a place of debauchery and a rite of passage for younger drinkers. But what is it like now? William Ham Bevan takes to the streets to find the pubs of his past. www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/7/...
The End of the Mumbles Mile — Tracing the Footsteps of a Legendary Pub Crawl — Pellicle
Across the road from the White Rose, a pair of neatly dressed women hand us a phone. “Could we be cheeky and get a picture?” It strikes me as an unremarkable request: a quick souvenir of the first pub...
pelliclemag.com
I did the illustrations for this write-up about the Mumbles Mile - was wonderful to have original 1990s photos to collage with!
Matthew Curtis@totalcurtis.bsky.social · 2w agoI really loved today's @pelliclemag.com story by William Ham Bevan. It's a slightly different tone for us, more personal and nostalgic, pining for a pub crawl that was, expertly retold. Make sure you make some time for it today: www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/7/...
I really loved today's @pelliclemag.com story by William Ham Bevan. It's a slightly different tone for us, more personal and nostalgic, pining for a pub crawl that was, expertly retold. Make sure you make some time for it today: www.pelliclemag.com/home/2026/7/...
The End of the Mumbles Mile — Tracing the Footsteps of a Legendary Pub Crawl — Pellicle
Across the road from the White Rose, a pair of neatly dressed women hand us a phone. “Could we be cheeky and get a picture?” It strikes me as an unremarkable request: a quick souvenir of the first pub...
pelliclemag.com
I wrote this column a couple of weeks ago (before AB was confirmed as PM) but my main point still stands: Would a VAT cut be as positive for small indies in the long run as it is for the industry's largest operators? I don't think so...
What's Brewing@whatsbrewing.bsky.social · 2w agoVAT’s brewing by Matthew Curtis @totalcurtis.bsky.social wb.camra.org.uk/2026/07/10/v...
Chagos with Ed Milliband! [Am I doing this right?]
Sam Freedman@samfr.bsky.social · 2w agoEd Miliband is foreign sec
In Memoriam of Alan Sprints. The legendary Hair of the Dog Brewing founder has passed away at 66. #RIP newschoolbeer.com/home/2026/7/...
In Memoriam: Alan Sprints, Hair of the Dog Brewing founder (1959-2026) — New School Beer + Cider
A great light in the craft beer world has gone out, but like a distant star, Alan Sprints legacy will shine on for generations long after he is gone. On Sunday I awoke from a post beer fest slumber...
newschoolbeer.com
Tindale's gonna get himself one of them £300 haircuts. This one's lost its pizzazz.
Matthew Curtis@totalcurtis.bsky.social · 2w agoI think it would be great if AB's first act was to give everyone a £300 fun bill like in futurama which I would definitely spend on 100 cups of coffee for the shits and the giggles
I think it would be great if AB's first act was to give everyone a £300 fun bill like in futurama which I would definitely spend on 100 cups of coffee for the shits and the giggles
I wrote this column a couple of weeks ago (before AB was confirmed as PM) but my main point still stands: Would a VAT cut be as positive for small indies in the long run as it is for the industry's largest operators? I don't think so...
What's Brewing@whatsbrewing.bsky.social · 2w agoVAT’s brewing by Matthew Curtis @totalcurtis.bsky.social wb.camra.org.uk/2026/07/10/v...
Matthew Curtis' @totalcurtis.bsky.social latest guest article for What's Brewing argues whether a VAT reduction really is the right move for the hospitality industry. 🔗Link the the comments. 👇
