Ep29 — Katie Mather of Corto, Clitheroe

Speaking of Katie Mather as both a peer, and as a friend, she is someone who continually impresses me. I first came across her work through her old blog, called The Snap and The Hiss, and was enamoured with her writing from the very first sentence. Since then she’s gone from strength to strength, producing a series of wonderfully evocative articles, and taking on editorial roles both at new wine publication Glug and here at Pellicle.

Having her on board as a regular contributor alone was a thrill, and if you read her pieces such as this one on the nostalgia of burger vans, or her epic taxonomy of the British bread roll (the most read feature we’ve ever published) you’ll soon understand why. Taking her on as an associate editor deepened her connection to the work we publish. What editors do largely happens behind the curtain, but you can see her influence on pieces such as Josh Barrie’s profile of a very special branch of Londis in North London, or in my own feature about Sheffield’s Brewery of St. Mars of the Desert. We are so stoked to get to work with her, and can’t wait to see what else she brings to our little magazine.

But the depth of Katie’s talents don’t end there. In late 2019, she and her husband Tom finally got the keys to their bar, Corto. Based in their hometown of Clitheroe, situated in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley, Corto is part of a new wave of bars slowly emerging within the United Kingdom. Inspired by the food and drink culture of Northern Spain, the bar merges the concepts of craft beer, natural wine, cider and delectable small plates into something that is far greater than the sum of its parts. I’m biased, but you should visit. You’ll be planning your next trip there before you’ve got halfway through your first pint, or whatever’s by the glass on that particular day.

As a bonus, before the interview I dig into some of the bigger beer news that’s occurred lately. From Monster acquiring the Canarchy collective of breweries in the United States, to Lion announcing it is to sell UK acquisitions Fourpure and Magic Rock, there’s a lot to dig into. And that’s before I take the chance to chew through the BBC’s recent documentary on Scottish brewery BrewDog, and why I think its behaviour reflects badly on the entire British craft beer scene.

It’s a bumper episode, and I hope you enjoy listening. Don’t forget to hit subscribe and leave a rating if you’ve got a second, as this will help more folks find the show. You might also see we’ve got a new logo thanks to our resident designer Tida Bradshaw. It felt like it was time to give the podcast a little spruce up, so we hope you like that. 

This episode of The Pellicle Podcast is sponsored by Hand & Heart. We’ve partnered with them to offer listeners of The Pellicle Podcast a free 30-minute advice session. You could be a business owner wondering what the hell DEI means, an employee wanting to upskill, thinking about starting a business, or at a loss of how to develop your current business. To sign up head to www.handandheart.eu/pellicle

In the show an article I wrote for Novara Media is referenced, which can be read here: https://novaramedia.com/2021/06/15/could-brewdogs-cancellation-trigger-a-reckoning-across-the-craft-beer-industry/