In hindsight, it’s easy to say that when writer David Jesudason pitched me a story on the history and significance of Desi Pubs, I bit his hand off. But reality is never that simple. While it’s true that I was desperate to commission stories by writers from non-white backgrounds, and publish stories that explored previously uncovered elements of British beer culture, I am always wary before I commit to an idea. 

The question I ask myself before I commission a story, whether I like it or not, is “would our readers enjoy this.” Although I get the final say over what we eventually publish on Pellicle it’s not really about what I like, it’s about meeting the expectations of the people who come to the site every week to read about beer, pubs, or whatever we happen to be talking about at the time. 

Thankfully, I loved David’s pitch, and we eventually published his first story on Desi Pubs on the 2nd of June, 2021. It was a hit, and in addition to opening up our readers to this vastly undercovered area of British pub culture, it sent David down a rabbit hole, as he delved ever deeper into researching and covering this topic. 

The eventual result of this would lead to the publication of his first book Desi Pubs, in 2023. On the book’s surface it’s a guidebook to British-Asian pub culture and some of the amazing Desi Pubs that can be found in certain parts of the UK. It’s fantastic, and if you haven’t already I urge you to buy a copy for yourself.  

A few months after the publication of his book, I had the chance to invite David up to Manchester, to join me in conversation for a live podcast, recorded at IndyManBeerCon (or, if you prefer, the Independent Manchester Beer Convention.) We chatted about Desi Pubs, the book itself, about bigger subjects such as the colour bar, and on David’s thoughts and approach to writing about beer and pubs in general.

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