HB&B Blog

I’ll begin with a controversial statement: To me, most French fries – chips – are… not great. Sure, there are always those first few transcendent fries in the bag, the ones that are still hot and crisp – the ones that cause the circuits of your brain to light up and throw off sparks at the sudden wallop of salt and starch and fat. But soon, too soon, that initial burst of activity dies down under the soddening accumulation of sogging potato and cold oil mixing together in the mouth. The textural variation, that devilish crunch, is lost, and with...

Sometimes I’ll try and convince myself that I’m bored of NEIPA. That, somehow, I’m better than it. That my taste has become too sophisticated, my palate transcending to a plane far beyond the physical realm where I sit and enjoy my crispy lagers, while leaving the proletariat to their juice. But there’s always a beer to draw me back in and remind me that when done well, like any beer style, NEIPA can be delicious. And, holy shit, this bad boy, Down is the New Up from Manchester’s Track Brew Co, ticks all the boxes. Then it grabs someone else's paper and ticks...

  According to New York Times writer Sam Sifton’s oft-quoted Pizza Cognition Theory, “The first slice of pizza a child sees and tastes (and somehow appreciates on something more than a childlike, mmmgoood, thanks-mom level), becomes, for him, pizza. He relegates all subsequent slices, if they are different in some manner from that first triangle of dough and cheese and tomato and oil and herbs and spices, to a status that we can characterise as not pizza.” In other words: Your first slice of pizza will always be the One True Pizza to you. As a child of the Chicago suburbs, my...

We're looking for an all-round superstar to help us out across our three outlets (Deptford, Peckham/East Dulwich and our online warehouse in Peckham) on a part-time basis. First and foremost, the role comprises sales assistance at both shops, so great customer service skills are mandatory, as is a genuine passion for the products we sell, especially craft beer and wine. (We'll teach you to love hot sauce if you don't already.) However the role is customisable, depending on your appetite for shifts and your skillset. There is also the option of additional delivery driving shifts in our 100% electric van (a clean driving licence is a pre-requisite for this side...

There are more than 2,000 breweries operating in the UK today, more than double than there were just a decade ago, and over 20 times more than in the early 1970s, when the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) was initially formed. Despite this, however, you can count on one hand how many of them are Black-owned. Along with Birmingham’s Burning Soul Brewery and fellow London outfit Rock Leopard, Eko Brewery is part of a new wave of Black-owned breweries emerging in the UK. Their arrival could not be more timely, as the industry looks deeply at itself in order to...