TOTAL ALES

Manchester’s Best Beer Pubs and Bars

This guide will introduce you to Manchester’s beer scene and guide you around the long-established as well as new, exciting pubs, bars, breweries, and more. With an introduction by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham this book will set a marker for any beer enthusiast’s exploration of the North-West. From traditional pubs serving top-quality cask ale, to the latest on-trend bottle shop bars and funky brewery taprooms, Manchester is bursting with great beer and this new book will direct you to the very best.

“Curtis’s knowledge of his chosen subject/passion/delight is infectious, his enthusiasm bursts from every page.” — Jonathan Schofield, Manchester Confidential

Winner “Best Beer Book” North American Guild of Beer Writers Awards 2024.
Silver “Best Beer Book” and “Best Writing about Beer and Travel” British Guild of Beer Writers Awards 2024

Everything in its Right Place — The Brewery of St. Mars of the Desert, Sheffield

“E Ipsum Verum.” Hand-painted in white, these words hang on the sky blue walls that house the production side of The Brewery of St. Mars of the Desert in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Directly below them a long, slender, stainless steel vessel—referred to in this brewery as a koelschip (pronounced: coolship)—is collecting hot, sticky brown wort from today’s brew. After a few weeks of fermentation and conditioning, it’ll become a Belgian-style saison called Fieldmouse’s Farewell…

Silver “Best Brewery Profile” North American Guild of Beer Writers Awards 2021.

Modern British Beer

Matthew Curtis maps the evolution of Modern British Beer through the intricate stories of individual regional beers. He gives a personal insight into the eclectic and exciting world of Modern British Beer from a choice of 86 influential brews; from how they taste, how their ingredients are sourced, to the engaging stories of the people behind the scenes working hard to bring exciting beer to drinkers all over Britain. Ferment Magazine Beer Book of the year 2021.

“A beauty and a triumph… An incredibly engaging read.” — Claire Bullen, Former Editor-in-Chief Good Beer Hunting

Winner Ferment Magazine “Book of the Year” 2021. Nominee “Food Book of the Year” by BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme and “Best Beer Book” at The British Guild of Beer Writers Awards 2021.

Where the Wild Things Are — The Joy of Harvey’s Sussex Best

In Lewes they refer to the 19th-century tower that forms the tallest part of Harvey’s Brewery as The Cathedral. And if you stand on the bridge spanning the River Ouse in the centre of this Sussex town—nestled among the verdant South Downs—you might be lucky enough to catch the scent of sweet barley malt, as brewers mash in a brew of what will more-than-likely be a fresh batch of Harvey’s Sussex Best…

Bronze “Best Beer Review” North American Guild of Beer Writers Awards 2020.

An Opinionated Guide to London Pubs

London is full of awful pubs. That’s why you need to know the great ones. Whether you're after the perfect Sunday roast, great craft beer, a cosy spot to read a book, the best pint of bitter or a raucous gig, this guide highlights the capital's most exciting and, crucially, most stylish saloons in which to find it all. Illustrated with original photography of 50 pubs and compelling text by an expert beer writer, this book will satisfy the most fatigued taproom dweller or discerning foodie.

“An Opinionated Guide to London’s Pubs hits the spot in its selection. Every pub in the book (and I’ve drank in all but two of them) is a humdinger.” — London Historians Blog.

Between Angels and Imp Sects — A Search for Identity Within Lincoln’s Pubs

Since moving to Manchester and experiencing conversations that forced me to re-centre Lincoln as my hometown—and as part of finally reconciling the traumatic effect the end of my parents’ relationship had on me—I have found, to my surprise, a need and a desire to reconnect with my Lincolnshire heritage. After plenty of introspection I decided that this year would be the one where I made some genuinely meaningful effort to do this. The best approach, I considered, would be to head into the city for a few hours and spend some time in spaces I already feel a significant connection to. It made perfect sense. I would do this through its pubs.