With Dry January over and done with, Thirsty February has unofficially started, certainly for us.

With Oxford Beer Week on the horizon for May and Craft Beer Rising happening in London this week, we thought it was high time we hosted a little craft beer gathering ourselves.

Ourselves being The Jolly Postboys.

The Jolly Postboys is a community focused pub in Florence Park here in sunny Cowleyfornia.

We’ve been here for two years, taking your typical spit, sawdust and fighting pub and turning it into what the world calls a ‘gastro-pub’, serving whatever beers we want – when we want, without any restrictions.

We’re not your average boozer because as well as great beer, we offer a really stunning wine list, curated and local soft drinks and some proper good food.

The pub is the hub they say.

Anyway enough about us, let’s talk about BEER!

Craft Beer is a phrase being bounded around and stamped on pretty much every bottle cap, pump clip and pint glass that moves over a bar.

We started using the term “craft beer” when these new breweries sprung up, introducing adventurous and sometimes weird beers.

So what does “Craft Beer” mean to us here at the Jolly Postboys?

A beer not brewed by one of the big “mega-brewery” corporations but made by a small, independent, and traditional brewer.

Essentially though, “Craft Beer” describes the sort of beer that we like at The Jolly Postboys; beer that is crafted instead of manufactured.

Crafted and cared about by it’s brewer from inception,to brewing, branding and serving (and even sometimes it’s distribution).

As they say “beauty is in the eyes of the Beer-Holder.”

The Jolly Postboys is fortunate enough to be Free of Tie, so we only serve British beer from these smaller independent breweries – that we have a good relationship with - who make not just good, but great beer.

These include Loose Cannon, XT Brewing, Little Ox and Cotswold Brewing Co, all hailing from our fair county.

Neither do we tend to travel far for beer (our van is very old).

The idea behind our now named,’’good beer” festival was to get in beers from around the country never seen on anyone else’s taps and while away our time drinking great beer in great company.

Breweries we’ve got involved include Cloudwater Brew Co, Deya Brewing, Wipe & True, Partizan Brewing, local lads Wild Weather Ales, and my favourite Thornbridge brewery.

The Beer Festival is happening from today until Sunday (February 21– 23) at The Jolly Postboys, 22 Florence Park Road.

jollypostboys.com