All tagged Katie Mather

These Days of Salt and Fog — How Edinburgh’s Timberyard Reinvented the Restaurant Wine List

These Days of Salt and Fog — How Edinburgh’s Timberyard Reinvented the Restaurant Wine List

Katie Mather
Food, Wine

In a warehouse building on The Shore in Leith there is a natural wine bar called Haze. Its name is appropriate, both for the unfiltered wines it sells and the haar—sea fog—that rumbles inland on warm days. To get to Haze, you have to cross the threshold of an old merchant’s warehouse, now called Brown’s of Leith, and when your eyes adjust to the mood lighting there’s a pleasant surprise of stainless steel and softly melting church candles inside. Not a lick of beige. Within, there’s pét-nat by the glass, good coffee, ice cream sandos, and the fancy tinned fish people from the New Town go crazy for. 

Hey Boy, Hey Girl — Kerroo Brewing Company in Port Erin, Isle of Man

Hey Boy, Hey Girl — Kerroo Brewing Company in Port Erin, Isle of Man

Katie Mather
Beer, Travel

Coming out of a six-month winter is disorientating. The Isle of Man stands against the Irish Sea’s worst, proud in the spray like a prow, and while its storms are destructive, the heaviest toll is the grey and the fog. “I feel like we haven’t seen the sun in forever,” says Elizabeth Townsend, one half of Kerroo Brewing Company, which she runs with her partner, brewer Nick Scarffe.

My Heart Leaps Up — Beer, Graft and Tourism in Cumbria

My Heart Leaps Up — Beer, Graft and Tourism in Cumbria

Katie Mather
Beer, Indie Beer

I first met Matt and Michelle when they worked at Hawkshead Brewery, Matt as the head brewer, and Michelle as the head of marketing. In the 2010s, Hawkshead was the pride and joy of Cumbria’s independent beer scene. Its beer was great, and its outdoorsy, alternative vibe appealed to both the Lake District’s ever-growing tourist population and its locals. It was a brewery that not only made beer, but provided a valuable social space, supported regional events, and represented Cumbria across the country.