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Martyn Cornell

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Martyn Cornell is an author and historian specialising in the history of beer, brewing and beer styles. He is a member of the editorial board of Brewery History, the journal of the Brewery History Society, for which he has written more than 30 articles on everything from coming-of-age ale to supplying beer to D-Day troops in Spitfire drop-tanks. His books include Beer: The Story of the Pint (2003), Amber Gold and Black: A History of Britain's Great Beer Styles (2010), Strange Tales of Ale (2015) , A História das Cervejas Britânics (in Portuguese, 2022), Around the World in 80 Beers (2024) and Brewing in Hertfprdshire (2024). He has spoken at conferences about beer and the history of beer in the UK, the United States, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland and Brazil, and his work is used by the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Piedmont, Italy for its courses on beer. He has also appeared on television and radio talking about the history of beer and brewing. He has an MBA from the University of West London and a BA (hons) from the University of Sussex.

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Freie Universität Berlin

University of York

Ankara University

Eötvös Loránd University

University of Haifa

Kristen D. Burton

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Matthew E Biwer

Dickinson College

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Papers by Martyn Cornell

Tax and Legislation and Their Impact on the British Brewing Industry 1643 to 1880: From Civil War to the Free Mash Tun

Beer and brewing in Shanghai 1850-1952

The first Western brewery in China, the Empire brewery, looks to have been started in or shortly ... more

James Calcutt and the myths of Mountmellick

Brewery History, 2021

Much mythology has accrued to the story of James Calcutt, a Protestant brewer in the 1820s in Mou... more Much mythology has accrued to the story of James Calcutt, a Protestant brewer in the 1820s in Mountmellick, County Laois, Ireland, supposedly driven out of Ireland by vengeful Catholic agitators and frced to settle in Canada, where he was pursued by a would-be assassin. But what actually happened was rather different to the myth …

The first porter brewer in America

The first porter brewery outside the British Isles was started by a Dublin-born American entrepre... more

The real story of America's first lager brewer

For more than 20 years a plaque has stood at the corner of American and Poplar Streets in Philade... more For more than 20 years a plaque has stood at the corner of American and Poplar Streets in Philadelphia celebrating " America's First Lager", and claiming to mark the spot where, in 1840, an immigrant from Bavaria named John Wagner opened a brewery to make beer using bottom-fermenting yeast he had brought from his homeland. The story of John Wagner, lager brewing pioneer, has been repeated countless times. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that a brewer named John Wagner ever existed, nor that lager was first brewed in the United States in 1840. One of American beer drinkers' most-loved stories is a myth.

Porter for the Geography of Beer

Early in the eighteenth century the Brown Beer brewers of London, responding to market forces tha... more Early in the eighteenth century the Brown Beer brewers of London, responding to market forces that threatened their predominance in the capital, began to instigate changes in their production methods that would result in the development of a strong, dark brew that became known as porter, after its first big customers, the street and river porters. The new drink turned out to be suitable for production on a much larger scale than had been possible, enabling the leading porter brewers to grow to a size never seen before, and it was also remarkably stable and long-lasting, meaning that as, the eighteenth century continued, the London porter brewers were able to sell their beer to wider and wider circles of customers, and become the first to extensively penetrate not just markets in Britain beyond the capital, but overseas markets, including the Baltic, North America and the East Indies, and eventually Africa and Australasia. Thus porter became the first “world” beer, drunk on every con...

The IPA shipwreck and the Night of the Big Wind

It is one of many myths in the story of IPA: that India Pale Ale became popular in Britain after ... more It is one of many myths in the story of IPA: that India Pale Ale became popular in Britain after a ship on its way to India in the 1820s was wrecked in the Irish Sea, and some hogsheads of beer were salvaged and sold to publicans in Liverpool, after which their customers demanded lots more of the same. For a long time the story was regarded as just a myth, but it turns out to be true, and it involves the second-worst storm to hit the British Isles in the 19th century.

The flying pubs of the Normandy invasion

As the troops consolidated their positions after the initial beach landings in June 1944, they ha... more

Albert Le Coq and the Russian imperial stout trade

Albert Le Coq was a member of a Prussian Huguenot family – not, as is frequently claimed, a Belgi... more Albert Le Coq was a member of a Prussian Huguenot family – not, as is frequently claimed, a Belgian – who set up in business in London in the 19th century, exporting strong beer, and in particular the style of strong dark brew called Imperial stout, to Russia and the Baltic. Eventually the company opened its own brewery in Tsarist Russia to try to get round crippling tariffs and a flood of fake beer being made in its name, and Le Coq's Imperial Extra Double Stout is still being brewed today.

A short history of beer in Hong Kong.docx

From the earliest days of Britain's occupation of Hong Kong, the supply of beer was a concern, bu... more From the earliest days of Britain's occupation of Hong Kong, the supply of beer was a concern, but it was not until the early years of the 20th century that anyone successfully started a brewery in the colony. For the next four decades entrepreneurs struggled to keep going in the face of imports from around the world, but one concern finally triumphed, and even survived the Japanese invasion and occupation.

A short history of spruce beer.docx

Brewing with spruce tips, spruce extracts and spruce flavourings has a long history, both in the ... more Brewing with spruce tips, spruce extracts and spruce flavourings has a long history, both in the Baltic region, particularly in Prussia, and in North America. The two styles of spruce beer ebecame popular in Britain in the 18th century, and while the 'American' style eventually ewaned, the 'Danzic' style flourish until the 20th century as the 'black beer' of the North of England, an extremely strong, thick, dark brew drunk for 'medicinal' purposes.

Jane Austen and the brewing and drinking of spruce beer in 18th and early 19th century England.docx

In Jane Austen's novel 'Emma', written in 1815, the heroine expresses a liking for spruce beer, a... more In Jane Austen's novel 'Emma', written in 1815, the heroine expresses a liking for spruce beer, an alcoholic drink flavoured with an essence made from spruce trees, and a beverage Austen is known to have brewed herself, when she was staying in Southampton at the home of her brother Frank. This paper looks at the history of the sort of spruce beer Austen made, and how she is likely to have come across it.

'A glass of something very treble extra': Coming-of-age ale, a long-forgotten British beer style

Extremely strong ales brewed to celebrate the birth of a heir and designed to be laid down for 21... more Extremely strong ales brewed to celebrate the birth of a heir and designed to be laid down for 21 years and drunk at the heir's coming-of-age party were a feature of aristocratic life in Britain from the early 18th century until just before the First World War. They are mentioned in novels by George Eliot ('Adam Bede') and Elizabeth Gaskell ('Wives and Daughters') but have been missed out of histories of both brewing in Britain and the aristocratic 'big house'.

Tax and Legislation and Their Impact on the British Brewing Industry 1643 to 1880: From Civil War to the Free Mash Tun

Beer and brewing in Shanghai 1850-1952

The first Western brewery in China, the Empire brewery, looks to have been started in or shortly ... more

James Calcutt and the myths of Mountmellick

Brewery History, 2021

Much mythology has accrued to the story of James Calcutt, a Protestant brewer in the 1820s in Mou... more Much mythology has accrued to the story of James Calcutt, a Protestant brewer in the 1820s in Mountmellick, County Laois, Ireland, supposedly driven out of Ireland by vengeful Catholic agitators and frced to settle in Canada, where he was pursued by a would-be assassin. But what actually happened was rather different to the myth …

The first porter brewer in America

The first porter brewery outside the British Isles was started by a Dublin-born American entrepre... more

The real story of America's first lager brewer

For more than 20 years a plaque has stood at the corner of American and Poplar Streets in Philade... more For more than 20 years a plaque has stood at the corner of American and Poplar Streets in Philadelphia celebrating " America's First Lager", and claiming to mark the spot where, in 1840, an immigrant from Bavaria named John Wagner opened a brewery to make beer using bottom-fermenting yeast he had brought from his homeland. The story of John Wagner, lager brewing pioneer, has been repeated countless times. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that a brewer named John Wagner ever existed, nor that lager was first brewed in the United States in 1840. One of American beer drinkers' most-loved stories is a myth.

Porter for the Geography of Beer

Early in the eighteenth century the Brown Beer brewers of London, responding to market forces tha... more Early in the eighteenth century the Brown Beer brewers of London, responding to market forces that threatened their predominance in the capital, began to instigate changes in their production methods that would result in the development of a strong, dark brew that became known as porter, after its first big customers, the street and river porters. The new drink turned out to be suitable for production on a much larger scale than had been possible, enabling the leading porter brewers to grow to a size never seen before, and it was also remarkably stable and long-lasting, meaning that as, the eighteenth century continued, the London porter brewers were able to sell their beer to wider and wider circles of customers, and become the first to extensively penetrate not just markets in Britain beyond the capital, but overseas markets, including the Baltic, North America and the East Indies, and eventually Africa and Australasia. Thus porter became the first “world” beer, drunk on every con...

The IPA shipwreck and the Night of the Big Wind

It is one of many myths in the story of IPA: that India Pale Ale became popular in Britain after ... more It is one of many myths in the story of IPA: that India Pale Ale became popular in Britain after a ship on its way to India in the 1820s was wrecked in the Irish Sea, and some hogsheads of beer were salvaged and sold to publicans in Liverpool, after which their customers demanded lots more of the same. For a long time the story was regarded as just a myth, but it turns out to be true, and it involves the second-worst storm to hit the British Isles in the 19th century.

The flying pubs of the Normandy invasion

As the troops consolidated their positions after the initial beach landings in June 1944, they ha... more

Albert Le Coq and the Russian imperial stout trade

Albert Le Coq was a member of a Prussian Huguenot family – not, as is frequently claimed, a Belgi... more Albert Le Coq was a member of a Prussian Huguenot family – not, as is frequently claimed, a Belgian – who set up in business in London in the 19th century, exporting strong beer, and in particular the style of strong dark brew called Imperial stout, to Russia and the Baltic. Eventually the company opened its own brewery in Tsarist Russia to try to get round crippling tariffs and a flood of fake beer being made in its name, and Le Coq's Imperial Extra Double Stout is still being brewed today.

A short history of beer in Hong Kong.docx

From the earliest days of Britain's occupation of Hong Kong, the supply of beer was a concern, bu... more From the earliest days of Britain's occupation of Hong Kong, the supply of beer was a concern, but it was not until the early years of the 20th century that anyone successfully started a brewery in the colony. For the next four decades entrepreneurs struggled to keep going in the face of imports from around the world, but one concern finally triumphed, and even survived the Japanese invasion and occupation.

A short history of spruce beer.docx

Brewing with spruce tips, spruce extracts and spruce flavourings has a long history, both in the ... more Brewing with spruce tips, spruce extracts and spruce flavourings has a long history, both in the Baltic region, particularly in Prussia, and in North America. The two styles of spruce beer ebecame popular in Britain in the 18th century, and while the 'American' style eventually ewaned, the 'Danzic' style flourish until the 20th century as the 'black beer' of the North of England, an extremely strong, thick, dark brew drunk for 'medicinal' purposes.

Jane Austen and the brewing and drinking of spruce beer in 18th and early 19th century England.docx

In Jane Austen's novel 'Emma', written in 1815, the heroine expresses a liking for spruce beer, a... more In Jane Austen's novel 'Emma', written in 1815, the heroine expresses a liking for spruce beer, an alcoholic drink flavoured with an essence made from spruce trees, and a beverage Austen is known to have brewed herself, when she was staying in Southampton at the home of her brother Frank. This paper looks at the history of the sort of spruce beer Austen made, and how she is likely to have come across it.

'A glass of something very treble extra': Coming-of-age ale, a long-forgotten British beer style

Extremely strong ales brewed to celebrate the birth of a heir and designed to be laid down for 21... more Extremely strong ales brewed to celebrate the birth of a heir and designed to be laid down for 21 years and drunk at the heir's coming-of-age party were a feature of aristocratic life in Britain from the early 18th century until just before the First World War. They are mentioned in novels by George Eliot ('Adam Bede') and Elizabeth Gaskell ('Wives and Daughters') but have been missed out of histories of both brewing in Britain and the aristocratic 'big house'.