has been at the forefront of enthusing thousands of people from around the world on the delights and pleasures of beer for more than 20 years. He is widely considered the most accomplished cask cellarman in England. Trained as an economist, Dorber worked in the City of London for a major legal firm in the 1980s but outside the day job his passion was beer, particularly traditional cask beer. His mentor was the great Michael Jackson who both educated and guided Dorber in the beers of the world. Dorber worked in the evenings at the White Horse pub in Parson’s Green, south London, acquiring the skills required to keep and serve a great pint of cask beer, with Jackson, a regular at the pub, on hand to sample and savor his work. Eventually the pull of the trade proved too much for Dorber and he gave up his day job to become full-time manager at the White Horse. The White Horse became the Mecca for both beer aficionados and novices from around the world. Staff at the White Horse were also recruited internationally and under Dorber’s watchful eye were trained and inspired by the delights of beer. Many returned home to start their own breweries and pubs. In addition to a great range of draught beers, not only cask beers but classic beers from Europe and North America, the White Horse also established a wonderful portfolio of bottled beers, particularly from Belgium, a country to which Mark was a frequent visitor. Dorber is a passionate advocate of matching beer with food and his menus at the pub always included a recommendation on a beer for each dish offered.

Such was the reputation of Mark Dorber and the White Horse that many brewers used the pub as a launch venue for new beers, knowing that a nod of approval from Dorber was the beer equivalent of a royal warrant. In 2006, Dorber and his wife Sophie took over the lease of a charming inn, the Anchor, in the coastal village of Walberswick, Suffolk, close to the home of the Adnam’s brewery in Southwold. Mark and Sophie have continued where they left off in London, providing great beers (and wine), excellent food, and a bracing learning environment for the international staff, customers, and beer enthusiasts. Dorber has converted an old barn adjacent to the inn to a state-of-the-art training facility which is used for training courses, most notably through the Beer Academy, an organization that Dorber was not only pivotal in setting up but which continues to enjoy his support and encouragement as a director.

See also beer academy.