Beer expert shares his love for the beverage – and what makes the best cold brew
Ed Hughes started out washing dishes before working his way up - and now wants beer to be more accessible to punters
HE’S got a job most Brits would dream of.
Ed Hughes is a beer sommelier, and is on a quest to show Brits that there is more to the beverage than the usual pint of lager or ale after a hard day at work.
Instead, he says, it’s a drink more complex than wine – and should be treated with as much reverence.
Speaking to The Sun Online, the experienced beer drinker and self-confessed “country bumpkin” said he first developed a love for cocktails before realising the potential in beer.
He said: "I went on a trip to Belgium and it wasn't just one beer, it was the choice of beers they had there.
"They had a respect and reverence and romanticism for beer - and it was that little bit of magic that got me."
Having worked his way up from washing dishes at 19, he soon scored a job in fine dining before eventually joining a brewery and earning his beer sommelier accreditation from the Beer and Cider Academy.
The 33-year-old said: "My job is to get more people to look at beer differently.
"Some people will only drink certain pints of beer, and there are so many people out there with opinions, where they have been drinking one thing for so long that they become wedded to it.
"Sometimes they can be immovable in their opinions about what they like and what they don't."
He said that a frequent trick he used was to put the beverage in a wine class - giving a drinker a sense of occasion.
The Cornwall local, who is one of about 400 UK sommeliers, said: "It's just a simple thing that I do - it puts beer on a pedestal.
"It closes the gap from something consumable to something quite special, and shows people something that I already know is there."
He added: "While it’s great to see more choice, I’d like beer not to baffle people – all too often people aren’t guided to make the right choice for them so they go to categories that give them better education on flavours, ingredients and styles.
"I would like for beer to be judged on quality and flavour alone. "
Now the leading beer sommelier at Sharp’s Brewery in North Cornwall, he works as an expert at beer tastings, as well as travelling around the country for beer and food matching events.
He said: "Generally speaking, I am always proudest when converting non beer drinkers to beer drinkers.
"I love a challenge and firmly believe there is a beer out there for everyone."
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But he said while drinking beer was his day job - he wasn't adverse to putting his feet up with a cold one after a day at work.
He said: "It never loses its excitement.
"There's so much out there - whether it's a pint or something more, there's just something about having a beer with really good friends that is a wonderful thing."