As we were on our way back to the Hitchin base the other day, S asked whether there were plans for Christmas lunch (silly boy, I'm a project manager, of course there's a plan).
We celebrate our downtime at Christmas very simply. We hole up in a house/cottage/apartment somewhere in the country, batten down the hatches and make the most of not working. Days typically involve some walking, a pub (or two) and return to base to eat.
Of late, we've become specialist in cooking that's ready when we come back from the pub (greatest triumph was the Lancashire Hotpot that we prepared when we got back from a day of hard manual labour, put in the oven and then popped out to the pub for a couple).
So S says "you should write a book about meals that can cook themselves whilst we're at the pub".
I'm not sure about book - but adding it to the blog felt like a good idea.
So - the first one might as well be seasonal.
The official Christmas lunch type thing is quite tricky to just leave to its own devices - birds have a tendency to dry out. Not only that, but turkeys are just too big for us. So - this year we're having pork.
Belly pork will tolerate a lot of slow cooking so it'll go into the oven, just seasoned with some salt and pepper (no extra fat needed) on a slowish oven (about 175-degC) just as we go out for our walk. Spuds will have been peeled and left in a little cold water.
Two - three hours will have passed before we get back, I expect (this isn't very time critical, thankfully). When we get back, we'll pop the spuds on to parboil; whack the oven up to about 220deg; take the foil off the pork to allow the crackling to do its thing and put a roasting tray in the oven with some of the melted fat from the pork poured into it.
By the time the spuds are soft on the outside but not cooked through the fat on the tray will be very hot. We'll drain the spuds, let the dry a bit and shake them to rough up the edges. They'll be tipped into the fat and left to roast for about 40 mins (turning once, probably).
About the same time, the pork can come out to be rested and the rest of the veg prepped and cooked. Gravy will come from the meat juices and vegetable water and we'll be good to go.
If you don't want pork, try lamb shoulder done much the same way.
Not strictly a "when we get back" meal in total, but it's close as I reckon you can get for a celebratory/Sunday meal.
Mmmm....looking forward to it already.
Wednesday, 24 December 2014
Sunday, 7 December 2014
Please leave your scepticism at the door
We have a "tradition" in Hitchin for Saturdays: do some chores/work things for a couple of hours and then bugger off to the pub for the afternoon.
Well, we're in Bristol for a few days and there was something of a backlog of house(flat)work that really needed catching up with. So we applied the Hitchin Saturday to the task.
This preamble is all by way of telling you why we ended up in a brewery tap room at 2pm on a Saturday (not that we need an excuse but...)
A little while ago I learned that Moor Brewery was upping sticks from the Somerset Levels and setting up shop just around the corner from our Bristol flat. Not only that, but they were putting a tap room into the brewery for off sales and some on site consumption.
So, it was only going to be a matter of time before we went to try it out.
I remember, very fondly, an evening drinking Moor Revival (edit: Revival - not Redemption as I previously wrote) in the Robin Hood on St Michael's Hill a couple of years back. S, on the other hand, has never really warmed to the beer - nevertheless, he was eager to try it at source.
So, after one wrong turn and a 10 minute stroll, we found ourselves opening the door to the taproom not really knowing what to expect. Firstly, it isn't...most definitely isn't a pub. It's a room at the end of a warehouse brewery at the edge of an industrial estate so characterful and "traditional" it ain't.
It's clean, light and airy with a few large trestle tables and benches - each of which seat about 8 or so people. When we arrived, all the tables had at least one person on it so we knew we'd have to share. We have no issue with this - it's something we happily do on a regular basis in the Evening Star, the Basketmakers, The Harp and in other places - actually, sometimes it's quite nice to entertain the idea of conversation with a fellow customer.
And so to the beer. There were two casks on a small stillage and about five keg lines on. As you'll know if you've read other blog posts, I'm not usually that fond of keg so it felt like a bit of a restriction but I'd far rather anywhere had limited choice of tip-top beer than loads of choice of tired ale.
The choice was "Revival" and "Raw". I went for Revival and S took the Raw.
The next thing, we were ready for and yet it still gave us pause. The beers are unfined and so are hazy. Actually, they're more than "hazy". I want to use the work "murky" but that makes them sound bad. Lets call it "very hazy" or "cloudy".
Deep breath and then take a sip. The beer was lovely. Simply lovely. Temperature was perfect thanks to a cooling saddle and insulated jacket, flavours are well balanced and any residual reservations I have about cloudy beer evaporate. S concurs.
We sip our beer, chat a bit and read "Pints West". The folk with whom we're sharing a table do similarly until we start talking about the recently printed "Heritage Beer Trail". Suddenly the chap next to us apologises, and chips into our conversation; he wrote a lot of the historical information about the pubs and is eager to tell us about the information he had to leave out.
So for the next couple of hours we chat, on and off, with this group of previously-strangers - helping with a crossword, encouraging a beer novice to be prepared to ask questions and not be put off trying things (also trying to find a cider analogue of Greene King IPA). It was a convivial affair.
At one point, brewery owner Justin came over and asked whether we all knew each other before we arrived - we confirmed we had only just met and he was delighted. He wants the communal tables to encourage people to chat to new folk.
For the second drink I decide I'll branch out and try one of the keg numbers. I opt for a half of "Hoppiness". S sticks with Raw.
Hoppines is lovely beer - that's easy to see. But - and it's quite a big but for me - the hardness of the bubbles do detract from the drinking for me. It was also a good few degrees cooler than I like (partly down to the keg chiller temp not quite settling just yet). That said, I enjoyed my half of it immensely. I also tried a kegged half of "So'hop" which was good, but I preferred the Hoppiness.
After our table mates departed we were the only people left in the room so we got chatting to the guy behind the bar. Clearly passionate about the craft and the product, he was great to chat to. We learned that Moor beers are exactly the same no matter how they're served. Keg versions are matured in-keg, unpasteurised. Interesting stuff.
We got talking about our pet peeve with keg beer - the price. If it's the same product, why does keg cost maybe £1 per pint more than cask? Because the dispense method is more pricey (gas, kegs, keg filling, etc) we're told. Hmmmm. In effect that means you're asking the customer to pay more for the same product which has more longevity and is easier to keep/dispense for the publican. It feels wrong.
I'm not arguing with the economics, exactly - stuff costs what it costs - but the model sounds counter-intuitive.
As we continued chatting, we discussed the difference in texture in keg from cask. He reckoned that the keg version worked better for some of their beers. I can see that - also, it's a matter of personal taste.
Today we thought more about it whilst we were in the Barleymow for Sunday post-chores refreshment. Maybe the premium pays for choice - in Craft AND Real Ale establishments (Barleymow, Moor Taproom, Euston Tap, Small Bar, et al) there are usually more keg lines on (the beer keeps a little longer and there's less chance of spoilage) than casks. So you pays your money and takes your wider choice - and that's OK (not ideal, but definitely OK).
As I've said before, I don't want people to dismiss "craft" (aka good keg) beer out of hand and dismiss it as "not real beer". If I needed any further convincing of this, Saturday's experience in the taproom provided me with adequate reason. I also don't need any further convincing that, given the choice, I prefer the "mouthfeel" of cask beer over the very best keg-dispensed product.
All in all, Saturday's session was the best afternoon we've spent in a "pub" for a long time. It really had everything - great beer; entertaining and educating conversation and just around the corner from the flat.
The Taproom has become an instant 3-pint-plus pub and we'll be going back as soon as we can, that's for sure.
Even if it's a bit of a trek for you - check the opening times on the website and get yourself around there. Don't be put off by the cloudiness of the beer - this is beer made with love, care and knowledge. Go on - you know you want to.
Well, we're in Bristol for a few days and there was something of a backlog of house(flat)work that really needed catching up with. So we applied the Hitchin Saturday to the task.
This preamble is all by way of telling you why we ended up in a brewery tap room at 2pm on a Saturday (not that we need an excuse but...)
A little while ago I learned that Moor Brewery was upping sticks from the Somerset Levels and setting up shop just around the corner from our Bristol flat. Not only that, but they were putting a tap room into the brewery for off sales and some on site consumption.
So, it was only going to be a matter of time before we went to try it out.
I remember, very fondly, an evening drinking Moor Revival (edit: Revival - not Redemption as I previously wrote) in the Robin Hood on St Michael's Hill a couple of years back. S, on the other hand, has never really warmed to the beer - nevertheless, he was eager to try it at source.
So, after one wrong turn and a 10 minute stroll, we found ourselves opening the door to the taproom not really knowing what to expect. Firstly, it isn't...most definitely isn't a pub. It's a room at the end of a warehouse brewery at the edge of an industrial estate so characterful and "traditional" it ain't.
It's clean, light and airy with a few large trestle tables and benches - each of which seat about 8 or so people. When we arrived, all the tables had at least one person on it so we knew we'd have to share. We have no issue with this - it's something we happily do on a regular basis in the Evening Star, the Basketmakers, The Harp and in other places - actually, sometimes it's quite nice to entertain the idea of conversation with a fellow customer.
And so to the beer. There were two casks on a small stillage and about five keg lines on. As you'll know if you've read other blog posts, I'm not usually that fond of keg so it felt like a bit of a restriction but I'd far rather anywhere had limited choice of tip-top beer than loads of choice of tired ale.
The choice was "Revival" and "Raw". I went for Revival and S took the Raw.
The next thing, we were ready for and yet it still gave us pause. The beers are unfined and so are hazy. Actually, they're more than "hazy". I want to use the work "murky" but that makes them sound bad. Lets call it "very hazy" or "cloudy".
Deep breath and then take a sip. The beer was lovely. Simply lovely. Temperature was perfect thanks to a cooling saddle and insulated jacket, flavours are well balanced and any residual reservations I have about cloudy beer evaporate. S concurs.
We sip our beer, chat a bit and read "Pints West". The folk with whom we're sharing a table do similarly until we start talking about the recently printed "Heritage Beer Trail". Suddenly the chap next to us apologises, and chips into our conversation; he wrote a lot of the historical information about the pubs and is eager to tell us about the information he had to leave out.
So for the next couple of hours we chat, on and off, with this group of previously-strangers - helping with a crossword, encouraging a beer novice to be prepared to ask questions and not be put off trying things (also trying to find a cider analogue of Greene King IPA). It was a convivial affair.
At one point, brewery owner Justin came over and asked whether we all knew each other before we arrived - we confirmed we had only just met and he was delighted. He wants the communal tables to encourage people to chat to new folk.
For the second drink I decide I'll branch out and try one of the keg numbers. I opt for a half of "Hoppiness". S sticks with Raw.
Hoppines is lovely beer - that's easy to see. But - and it's quite a big but for me - the hardness of the bubbles do detract from the drinking for me. It was also a good few degrees cooler than I like (partly down to the keg chiller temp not quite settling just yet). That said, I enjoyed my half of it immensely. I also tried a kegged half of "So'hop" which was good, but I preferred the Hoppiness.
After our table mates departed we were the only people left in the room so we got chatting to the guy behind the bar. Clearly passionate about the craft and the product, he was great to chat to. We learned that Moor beers are exactly the same no matter how they're served. Keg versions are matured in-keg, unpasteurised. Interesting stuff.
We got talking about our pet peeve with keg beer - the price. If it's the same product, why does keg cost maybe £1 per pint more than cask? Because the dispense method is more pricey (gas, kegs, keg filling, etc) we're told. Hmmmm. In effect that means you're asking the customer to pay more for the same product which has more longevity and is easier to keep/dispense for the publican. It feels wrong.
I'm not arguing with the economics, exactly - stuff costs what it costs - but the model sounds counter-intuitive.
As we continued chatting, we discussed the difference in texture in keg from cask. He reckoned that the keg version worked better for some of their beers. I can see that - also, it's a matter of personal taste.
Today we thought more about it whilst we were in the Barleymow for Sunday post-chores refreshment. Maybe the premium pays for choice - in Craft AND Real Ale establishments (Barleymow, Moor Taproom, Euston Tap, Small Bar, et al) there are usually more keg lines on (the beer keeps a little longer and there's less chance of spoilage) than casks. So you pays your money and takes your wider choice - and that's OK (not ideal, but definitely OK).
As I've said before, I don't want people to dismiss "craft" (aka good keg) beer out of hand and dismiss it as "not real beer". If I needed any further convincing of this, Saturday's experience in the taproom provided me with adequate reason. I also don't need any further convincing that, given the choice, I prefer the "mouthfeel" of cask beer over the very best keg-dispensed product.
All in all, Saturday's session was the best afternoon we've spent in a "pub" for a long time. It really had everything - great beer; entertaining and educating conversation and just around the corner from the flat.
The Taproom has become an instant 3-pint-plus pub and we'll be going back as soon as we can, that's for sure.
Even if it's a bit of a trek for you - check the opening times on the website and get yourself around there. Don't be put off by the cloudiness of the beer - this is beer made with love, care and knowledge. Go on - you know you want to.
Thursday, 4 December 2014
New Visits and Revisits
Been a tad busy, of late so I've concentrated on drinking beer, rather than writing about drinking beer.
But - we've got a few days in Bristol and some of it is R&R...
Having arrived in the afternoon, we'd planned to meet friends we hadn't seen in a while in the Barley Mow. This pub pulls off a really good trick of seldom seeming to be stupidly busy and yet clearly turns around its beer very quickly. Yesterday was a case in point - having had a couple of really good pints of this and that (mostly BBF beer) we went back for a top up and S chose a pint of BBF "Malz". As the chap was pulling it he said "hmmm...think we might be at the end" then gave S the chance to try it before buying. It was still in top condition which can only mean it hadn't been open very long. Good cellarmanship and top bar keeping.
Today the lunchtime part of our plans were thwarted so, instead, we tried a bit of light Christmas shopping. After a successful initial foray we tried a new place - The Christmas Steps at the bottom of...well, Christmas Steps. It had a fairly rotten incarnation a while ago as the Three Sugar Loaves so I wasn't sure whether the new version would be any good. We were pleasantly surprised.
The website doesn't really do the pub justice inasmuchas the pub is warm and full of character and interest (the website really isn't).
We greeted by a very friendly lady - this is always a good start. The had four beers on - two by Arbor, one Harbour and Dark Star APA.
We were pleased to be offered a try of the beers without even asking, but we didn't really need that and tried the two Arbor beers (both a bit more subtle than I'd come to expect from this excellent brewer. The food was pretty good - a short menu but a nice mix of stuff. Really good burger and a lovely chicken and bacon club sandwich (and someone not afraid to use thigh meat in a sandwich which is great). All in all a really nice place and I'm pretty sure it won't be long until we go back.
After a stroll we landed in the Three Tuns for the first time in ages.
It's an odd place - the beer is pretty much all "modern" in style (that is, light and hoppy) but it's brilliantly kept and we were happy with our choices (Clouded Minds for me, and something unfined and IPAish for him). Thing is, the furniture is tricky in this pub -only half a dozen people in the front part of the bar can make it difficult for other people to sit down so you end up in the slightly draughty back section in the sofas...and it just doesn't make you want to hang around no matter how good the beer is. Bonus point were available for the chap behind the bar, though, when I mentioned that I'd previously had the Clouded Minds 2.7% beer and liked it he chatted about other good 2.7% beers that are available. We'll be revisiting more Bristol pubs over the next few days - I might even let on where we've been.
But - we've got a few days in Bristol and some of it is R&R...
Having arrived in the afternoon, we'd planned to meet friends we hadn't seen in a while in the Barley Mow. This pub pulls off a really good trick of seldom seeming to be stupidly busy and yet clearly turns around its beer very quickly. Yesterday was a case in point - having had a couple of really good pints of this and that (mostly BBF beer) we went back for a top up and S chose a pint of BBF "Malz". As the chap was pulling it he said "hmmm...think we might be at the end" then gave S the chance to try it before buying. It was still in top condition which can only mean it hadn't been open very long. Good cellarmanship and top bar keeping.
Today the lunchtime part of our plans were thwarted so, instead, we tried a bit of light Christmas shopping. After a successful initial foray we tried a new place - The Christmas Steps at the bottom of...well, Christmas Steps. It had a fairly rotten incarnation a while ago as the Three Sugar Loaves so I wasn't sure whether the new version would be any good. We were pleasantly surprised.
The website doesn't really do the pub justice inasmuchas the pub is warm and full of character and interest (the website really isn't).
We greeted by a very friendly lady - this is always a good start. The had four beers on - two by Arbor, one Harbour and Dark Star APA.
We were pleased to be offered a try of the beers without even asking, but we didn't really need that and tried the two Arbor beers (both a bit more subtle than I'd come to expect from this excellent brewer. The food was pretty good - a short menu but a nice mix of stuff. Really good burger and a lovely chicken and bacon club sandwich (and someone not afraid to use thigh meat in a sandwich which is great). All in all a really nice place and I'm pretty sure it won't be long until we go back.
After a stroll we landed in the Three Tuns for the first time in ages.
It's an odd place - the beer is pretty much all "modern" in style (that is, light and hoppy) but it's brilliantly kept and we were happy with our choices (Clouded Minds for me, and something unfined and IPAish for him). Thing is, the furniture is tricky in this pub -only half a dozen people in the front part of the bar can make it difficult for other people to sit down so you end up in the slightly draughty back section in the sofas...and it just doesn't make you want to hang around no matter how good the beer is. Bonus point were available for the chap behind the bar, though, when I mentioned that I'd previously had the Clouded Minds 2.7% beer and liked it he chatted about other good 2.7% beers that are available. We'll be revisiting more Bristol pubs over the next few days - I might even let on where we've been.
Friday, 17 October 2014
My Kind of Beer Festival
One of mine and S's first topics of conversation (a good few years ago, now) was about beer festivals and whether we really liked them or not.
I was, at the time, working on the Bristol Beer Festival for which I have an enormous soft spot and S remarked that beer festivals can be a bit too noisy, too much queuing at the bar and maybe a bit far from home. His feeling was that a pub with a good number of pumps with a regularly changing set of beers was, perhaps, preferable.
At the time, I tended to stick to a few pubs I knew well, none of which really fit that mould. Then I came to Hitchin.
I have to say, I didn't like The Half Moon all that much the first time I visited. The beer was great, but I had a feeling, when we walked in, that it felt like a locals pub and the folk clustered around the bar turned and gawped, as if challenging our right to be there. That feeling has entirely evaporated and I can now say that it is, without doubt, my favourite pub in Hitchin.
Given that our time spent in Hitchin is likely to be dwindling over the next few months, we decided to make the most of the HM and made definite plans to make the most of their autumn beer festival. Craig showed us the beer list with some excitement a few weeks ago and we genuinely got excited about it. About 80 beers in a pub festival is no mean achievement.
I arrived in Hitchin yesterday afternoon and, after a swift "greeting" pint at the Nightingale, we walked around to the HM. We no longer feel the urge to try as many beers as we can and the best bit of this festival at this pub is that we can return to it each day and not feel too pressured.
So, I started with beer No1 on the list "Anarchy Blonde Star" which was...let's not beat about the bush...a perfect golden session pint. At the same time, S drank a pint of Vibrant Forest's Black Forest which was hoppy, coffee-y and chocolatey. Absolutely lovely stuff - even if I probably wouldn't manage a whole pint.
Up for a second pint and I let S choose for me - he came back with (I think) Liverpool Craft Beer's Hop Beast . It was certainly more floral than the Anarchy...and a little less subtle, but much better balanced than the word "Beast" would lay claim to. Another really good drinkable beer.
I think (and looking at the beer list I'm possibly more confused) S had a Hop Studio Porter and this was, again, pretty hoppy but with lots of lovely flavours going on and a nice fruity twang to it.
And that was it. After two (plus one at the Nightingale) we headed home, duly mellowed but not feeling like we'd overdone it.
What's even better is that I'm really looking forward to heading around there again today to take up where we left off. We might even get a cosy table inside today...
Well done Howard, Craig and the team - you've managed something pretty special - the familiarity of a good pub with a stonking additional choice of beer -this is how it should be done.
I was, at the time, working on the Bristol Beer Festival for which I have an enormous soft spot and S remarked that beer festivals can be a bit too noisy, too much queuing at the bar and maybe a bit far from home. His feeling was that a pub with a good number of pumps with a regularly changing set of beers was, perhaps, preferable.
At the time, I tended to stick to a few pubs I knew well, none of which really fit that mould. Then I came to Hitchin.
I have to say, I didn't like The Half Moon all that much the first time I visited. The beer was great, but I had a feeling, when we walked in, that it felt like a locals pub and the folk clustered around the bar turned and gawped, as if challenging our right to be there. That feeling has entirely evaporated and I can now say that it is, without doubt, my favourite pub in Hitchin.
Given that our time spent in Hitchin is likely to be dwindling over the next few months, we decided to make the most of the HM and made definite plans to make the most of their autumn beer festival. Craig showed us the beer list with some excitement a few weeks ago and we genuinely got excited about it. About 80 beers in a pub festival is no mean achievement.
I arrived in Hitchin yesterday afternoon and, after a swift "greeting" pint at the Nightingale, we walked around to the HM. We no longer feel the urge to try as many beers as we can and the best bit of this festival at this pub is that we can return to it each day and not feel too pressured.
So, I started with beer No1 on the list "Anarchy Blonde Star" which was...let's not beat about the bush...a perfect golden session pint. At the same time, S drank a pint of Vibrant Forest's Black Forest which was hoppy, coffee-y and chocolatey. Absolutely lovely stuff - even if I probably wouldn't manage a whole pint.
Up for a second pint and I let S choose for me - he came back with (I think) Liverpool Craft Beer's Hop Beast . It was certainly more floral than the Anarchy...and a little less subtle, but much better balanced than the word "Beast" would lay claim to. Another really good drinkable beer.
I think (and looking at the beer list I'm possibly more confused) S had a Hop Studio Porter and this was, again, pretty hoppy but with lots of lovely flavours going on and a nice fruity twang to it.
And that was it. After two (plus one at the Nightingale) we headed home, duly mellowed but not feeling like we'd overdone it.
What's even better is that I'm really looking forward to heading around there again today to take up where we left off. We might even get a cosy table inside today...
Well done Howard, Craig and the team - you've managed something pretty special - the familiarity of a good pub with a stonking additional choice of beer -this is how it should be done.
Monday, 13 October 2014
All Around Good Stuff
We've discovered a new brewery we're going to keep our eyes out for.
Saturday night, after a hard day walking and staffing a Wish Tower performance, we went to The Eagle in Eastbourne - both as a revisiting of youthful pursuits (an old friend was visiting) and to check out the beer...
The Eagle can be a little hit and miss in what's available but it was Saturday night so there was a fair chance there would be something decent on offer. There was...360 degree Brewery West Coast IPA.
American hopped beers are getting a little bit old-hat (although a good one is still good to drink) but this was a cut above the average. A really good balance, and, despite being strong (5.6%) it doesn't hit you like a sledgehammer.
Half of me was a little bit disappointed that it was still on when we returned on Sunday since they really should be turning beer around a bit quicker. The other half enjoyed a couple of pints whilst watching the football.
Definitely a brewery to keep an eye on.
Saturday night, after a hard day walking and staffing a Wish Tower performance, we went to The Eagle in Eastbourne - both as a revisiting of youthful pursuits (an old friend was visiting) and to check out the beer...
The Eagle can be a little hit and miss in what's available but it was Saturday night so there was a fair chance there would be something decent on offer. There was...360 degree Brewery West Coast IPA.
American hopped beers are getting a little bit old-hat (although a good one is still good to drink) but this was a cut above the average. A really good balance, and, despite being strong (5.6%) it doesn't hit you like a sledgehammer.
Half of me was a little bit disappointed that it was still on when we returned on Sunday since they really should be turning beer around a bit quicker. The other half enjoyed a couple of pints whilst watching the football.
Definitely a brewery to keep an eye on.
Thursday, 2 October 2014
Punching Above Our Weight
A while ago, I wrote an entry about how I met a group of folk from the northern part of Eastbourne who were trying to save their local pub from being turned into a supermarket.
They failed.
We used the Localism Bill (2011) to register the pub as an asset of community value which meant that Punch Taverns couldn't sell the building, or offer a lease of more than 25 years on it without giving the community group a chance to bid for the building.
This week we've learned that the pub (in supermarket clothing) building is going for auction. Further, that the vendors (who I assume are still Punch Taverns) have not notified Eastbourne Council that they intend to dispose of the building.
Then, looking into the terms of the lease granted to Co-op it seems they have a 15 year lease, with an option to extend by a further 10 years at the end of that period. In other words, they have a 25 year lease on the building.
One of two things have happened at Punch/Co-op's end.
1) They genuinely thought that the ACV only had action if the building stayed as a pub and that opening as a supermarket within the shoddy loophole in the planning legislation somehow negated the community's rights.
If they genuinely think this, then they are negligent in their understanding of specific legislation that affects the running of their businesses. Since both companies have had problems of late...maybe this is just one symptom of their wider incompetence.
2) They hoped no one would notice (actually, this is my bet for what happened). Oh look. We did.
In my eyes no amount of advertising of their ethical stance by not funding arms dealers can overcome my impression that Co-op are no better than Tesco in their willingness to fuck over the communities they say they serve, and whose money they are courting.
As for Punch Taverns - they remain the bottom-feeders they always have been...and I'm afraid I hope they go out of business.
They failed.
We used the Localism Bill (2011) to register the pub as an asset of community value which meant that Punch Taverns couldn't sell the building, or offer a lease of more than 25 years on it without giving the community group a chance to bid for the building.
This week we've learned that the pub (in supermarket clothing) building is going for auction. Further, that the vendors (who I assume are still Punch Taverns) have not notified Eastbourne Council that they intend to dispose of the building.
Then, looking into the terms of the lease granted to Co-op it seems they have a 15 year lease, with an option to extend by a further 10 years at the end of that period. In other words, they have a 25 year lease on the building.
One of two things have happened at Punch/Co-op's end.
1) They genuinely thought that the ACV only had action if the building stayed as a pub and that opening as a supermarket within the shoddy loophole in the planning legislation somehow negated the community's rights.
If they genuinely think this, then they are negligent in their understanding of specific legislation that affects the running of their businesses. Since both companies have had problems of late...maybe this is just one symptom of their wider incompetence.
2) They hoped no one would notice (actually, this is my bet for what happened). Oh look. We did.
In my eyes no amount of advertising of their ethical stance by not funding arms dealers can overcome my impression that Co-op are no better than Tesco in their willingness to fuck over the communities they say they serve, and whose money they are courting.
As for Punch Taverns - they remain the bottom-feeders they always have been...and I'm afraid I hope they go out of business.
Monday, 22 September 2014
It got a little bit messy
Beer of mixed quality has been the order of the day, this weekend.
Things were looking up at the Bricklayers in Hitchin - on Friday three of us went for a post-work drink (due to lack of available parking in the Nightingale). A pint of Waggledance, a pint of Colchester London Porter and a pint of Quantock Sunraker. All in great condition, all tasted lovely. At last, we thought, The Bricklayers has got its act together. But no, the next beer (a Nottingham one) was served murky. Probably not ready, rather than off, but it was disappointing.
We revisited on Sunday and noticed several of the beers were still on pump...so tried one of the "house" beers (it's a B&T house) - Dragonslayer. A pint was duly poured and put on the bar. It was barely translucent. It wasn't until S said "Is that the Dragonslayer..." and I turned to look at it that the lady behind the bar said. "Oh, perhaps its not ready".
The Sunday visit compounded our beery disappointment. We'd done some heavy duty chores at home and so had decided the best thing to so was find a late Sunday lunch at the Hermitage Rd. We like that they (usually) serve a decent pint of Brancaster beer there and we've always been happy with the food. The Brancaster arrived at our table, tired, murky and a bit unpleasant-smelling. We each took a sip and pulled faces. I took the beer back to the bar where the guy apologised and replaced it (for Adnams, which was the only other thing they had) - but it was clear he had no real idea what the beer he was serving should look, smell or taste like. The beer was still on when we left.
As we'd met up with folk in the Bricklayers whom we hadn't seen for some time we then moved onto the Half Moon. We noted, here, that beers were being turned around so quickly that each time we'd visited over the weekend, the beer selection was different.
We'd already had an awful lot to drink by the time our friends had left but a new beer had gone on (XT Gold), we were a bit peckish again...so it seemed rude not to stay for a last one and a snack.
Meanwhile, I cornered the landlord and asked him about the throughput of beer. He said that at the weekend all beers turn around in about 24hrs, with some going in a just a few hours if they were strong or unusual. He added that even in the week, he's a bit disappointed if he can't turn a 9 around in 48 hours. That is some going. Nice work, Howard.
Finally through our increasing inebriation, we tried to work out when was the last time we'd had to take a pint back in Bristol. The answer was "a long time ago". Maybe we choose our drinking establishments wisely - maybe we're spoiled for choice - but it is a lovely place for an avid beer drinker to stay.
We're hoping to be able to spend a bit more time there before too long.
Things were looking up at the Bricklayers in Hitchin - on Friday three of us went for a post-work drink (due to lack of available parking in the Nightingale). A pint of Waggledance, a pint of Colchester London Porter and a pint of Quantock Sunraker. All in great condition, all tasted lovely. At last, we thought, The Bricklayers has got its act together. But no, the next beer (a Nottingham one) was served murky. Probably not ready, rather than off, but it was disappointing.
We revisited on Sunday and noticed several of the beers were still on pump...so tried one of the "house" beers (it's a B&T house) - Dragonslayer. A pint was duly poured and put on the bar. It was barely translucent. It wasn't until S said "Is that the Dragonslayer..." and I turned to look at it that the lady behind the bar said. "Oh, perhaps its not ready".
The Sunday visit compounded our beery disappointment. We'd done some heavy duty chores at home and so had decided the best thing to so was find a late Sunday lunch at the Hermitage Rd. We like that they (usually) serve a decent pint of Brancaster beer there and we've always been happy with the food. The Brancaster arrived at our table, tired, murky and a bit unpleasant-smelling. We each took a sip and pulled faces. I took the beer back to the bar where the guy apologised and replaced it (for Adnams, which was the only other thing they had) - but it was clear he had no real idea what the beer he was serving should look, smell or taste like. The beer was still on when we left.
As we'd met up with folk in the Bricklayers whom we hadn't seen for some time we then moved onto the Half Moon. We noted, here, that beers were being turned around so quickly that each time we'd visited over the weekend, the beer selection was different.
We'd already had an awful lot to drink by the time our friends had left but a new beer had gone on (XT Gold), we were a bit peckish again...so it seemed rude not to stay for a last one and a snack.
Meanwhile, I cornered the landlord and asked him about the throughput of beer. He said that at the weekend all beers turn around in about 24hrs, with some going in a just a few hours if they were strong or unusual. He added that even in the week, he's a bit disappointed if he can't turn a 9 around in 48 hours. That is some going. Nice work, Howard.
Finally through our increasing inebriation, we tried to work out when was the last time we'd had to take a pint back in Bristol. The answer was "a long time ago". Maybe we choose our drinking establishments wisely - maybe we're spoiled for choice - but it is a lovely place for an avid beer drinker to stay.
We're hoping to be able to spend a bit more time there before too long.
Friday, 19 September 2014
Friday Beerday
Well, in truth, any day can be a beer day...
Yesterday I arrived in Hitchin about 5.30pm and had to pick up a parcel from Waitrose but that left us good time to have a swift one in the Nightingale before going there.
They had on a seasonal Wychwood beer, a Caledonion red beer and AK Pale - I stuck with the AK Pale which is consistently fine and S tried the Caledonion red one. Neither of us felt moved to have more so we hiked and picked up the parcel before coming home for dinner and glass or two of red all the time whilst I tried to work out how the new camera (for that was what was in the parcel) worked.
This morning more camera settings have been tweaked and I think we're getting closer to how I like things set up and I'm going to stroll out later, camera in hand to put it through its paces. Then I'll meet S at work and there's a fair chance more beer will be involved.
This weekend will likely be less stressful than last (although last weekend was fabulous fun) and it'll be fun to kick back a bit and maybe play some games whilst drinking.
Wherever, and whatever you're drinking, may your beer be lovely.
Yesterday I arrived in Hitchin about 5.30pm and had to pick up a parcel from Waitrose but that left us good time to have a swift one in the Nightingale before going there.
They had on a seasonal Wychwood beer, a Caledonion red beer and AK Pale - I stuck with the AK Pale which is consistently fine and S tried the Caledonion red one. Neither of us felt moved to have more so we hiked and picked up the parcel before coming home for dinner and glass or two of red all the time whilst I tried to work out how the new camera (for that was what was in the parcel) worked.
This morning more camera settings have been tweaked and I think we're getting closer to how I like things set up and I'm going to stroll out later, camera in hand to put it through its paces. Then I'll meet S at work and there's a fair chance more beer will be involved.
This weekend will likely be less stressful than last (although last weekend was fabulous fun) and it'll be fun to kick back a bit and maybe play some games whilst drinking.
Wherever, and whatever you're drinking, may your beer be lovely.
Wednesday, 10 September 2014
Life beyond beer...
In the early hours of this morning I was musing on this blog, and I wondered whether it made me look like someone who has no interests outside beer.
I'll freely admit I drink a lot of it, and I drink it frequently (although I've not drunk any at all since Sunday). More importantly, I drink it because I love the taste, and it's an interesting time to be drinking beer in the UK.
It isn't all I do, though, and although many of my conversations and excursions with my favourite beer-drinking buddy have a beerish theme (after all, we'd never walk miles based upon going somewhere just with a good wine list, or a fancy chef) - that's not all we're interested in.
Here's a list of current interests, just to prove that I haven't got a one-track mind...
I'll freely admit I drink a lot of it, and I drink it frequently (although I've not drunk any at all since Sunday). More importantly, I drink it because I love the taste, and it's an interesting time to be drinking beer in the UK.
It isn't all I do, though, and although many of my conversations and excursions with my favourite beer-drinking buddy have a beerish theme (after all, we'd never walk miles based upon going somewhere just with a good wine list, or a fancy chef) - that's not all we're interested in.
Here's a list of current interests, just to prove that I haven't got a one-track mind...
- Tour of Britain and its visit to Eastbourne
- Electronics education for youngsters and encouraging them in 'making' activities
- Music: listening to, analysing and playing it (current obsession: I Wish I knew How it Would Feel to be Free...played on the piano..badly)
- Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Biology...in abstract, and in little bursts of specific interests
- A Martello Tower in Eastbourne and its future
- The hooting owl I can hear at night - I suspect it's a tawny and it's either in the Rec across the road or in the woods about 600m away...wherever it is, I love the sound.
- The consolidation of the contents of two houses into one (today I've been putting up shelves, and ridding myself of my huge desk to accommodate more stuff in what will be a shared office)
- A funding bid for a heritage project
- Heritage Open days - and Eastbourne first real crack at it (wish us luck)
- A few forthcoming events in our Martello and how we can please all the people, all of the time (I suspect this is not possible)
- Friends coming to stay - so I guess I'd better get the spare room ready
- Friends coming to stay - so I guess I'd better replace the bulb in the only light on the landing
- Football. More specifically BHAFC. Even more specifically a couple of away matches in Norwich and Wolverhampton we're plotting to attend
- Trying (and largely failing ) to get our garden from under the tyrannical yoke of climbers: jasmine, wisteria, grape vine, clematis, honeysuckle and, the devil's work itself - bindweed. Another binful today...and I know by the time the bin has been emptied next week, the bloody stuff will be coming at me again.
- Naiscent plans for an extension to this house so we can make better use of the space (and accommodate the things from the housal consolidation).
- Newly renewed love of reading books (currently Christopher Brookmyre's "Bedlam")
- Walking on the South Downs - almost on our doorstep and a bit of a slog up the hill, but so completely worth it when you get up there.
Tuesday, 9 September 2014
Try it before you knock it...
We've got a nasty habit of making eating a secondary consideration to where we want to drink beer. We both know it's not a good idea (for several reasons) and yet time after time...
Sometimes, we almost forget to eat, especially on days when we've traveled and have a lot to catch up on. Also, since we're quite fussy about what we drink with food we often lapse into drinking wine when what we really want is beer.
So, we were quite pleased with ourselves, having inveigled our way into a busy Turkish restaurant for the first time, to choose Turkish beer to drink with our food. They had Efes on draft (which neither of us had had before). We were pretty skeptical about it and the first mouthful made us nod knowingly...you know the way Real Ale drinkers do when drinking foreign lagerish beers.
Then the waiter brought us some hummous and bread. What a revelation - they all worked really well together.
Don't get me wrong - it's not a beer we'll drink often but sometimes you have to give it try, don't you.
Sometimes, we almost forget to eat, especially on days when we've traveled and have a lot to catch up on. Also, since we're quite fussy about what we drink with food we often lapse into drinking wine when what we really want is beer.
So, we were quite pleased with ourselves, having inveigled our way into a busy Turkish restaurant for the first time, to choose Turkish beer to drink with our food. They had Efes on draft (which neither of us had had before). We were pretty skeptical about it and the first mouthful made us nod knowingly...you know the way Real Ale drinkers do when drinking foreign lagerish beers.
Then the waiter brought us some hummous and bread. What a revelation - they all worked really well together.
Don't get me wrong - it's not a beer we'll drink often but sometimes you have to give it try, don't you.
Monday, 8 September 2014
Great North Pub
So, we were watching a bit of the Great North Run coverage today.
At one point, S says "Ah...just up from where she's running at the moment is where we crossed that dual-carriageway to walk up to the pub in Felling..."
Then I remembered, possibly the weirdest, most fabulous pub we went to during our stay in Newcastle (and Gateshead, she added carefully) a couple of years back.
Newcastle is awash with good pubs in the town centre but out in the 'burbs it gets a little bit harder to find really good beer. We'd spent the day in the city ambling around and taking in the sights (and beers) but I don't really remember much of the detail about that day until the time we decided to strike out and try find this outlying area of town called Felling, as it promised two pubs in the Guide. The first bit of the walk was pleasant enough, on the banks of the river and whilst not particularly picturesque per se, it was nice to have a bit of greenery around. But the more we walked the less the surroundings made us want to stroll. At one point we passed a trading estate where two ponies had been corralled by the authorities and were waiting for their owners to be found.
Eventually we found ourselves on the main road (the one the GNR competitors were running along) and we crossed and ascended into Felling. We passed a couple more scruffy-looking ponies tethered on a green (what is it with ponies in the area...we saw loads of 'em) and a handful of slightly run-down houses. Then we saw the Wheatsheaf.
It wouldn't be fair to say our hearts sank, but let's just remark that we didn't anticipate feeling particularly welcomed there. Nevertheless, having walked a couple of miles and this being the only Big Lamp brewery pub we would see, we took a deep breath and entered the pub.
It was the very definition of a "locals' pub" - we all know what that term means and it's never really meant as a compliment. We ordered a couple of pints, and the Landlord was friendly enough. It was the day of Margaret Thatcher's funeral, and let's just say that the pub was giving her their own special kind of send off. The CD player was playing a special compilation including "Tramp the Dirt Down" by Elvis Costello and "Shipbuilding" by Robert Wyatt...I think you get the idea.
Then we realised that almost all the beer had been renamed with their standard beer clip showing a picture of the late Baroness, with a single word underneath - "Bitter".
To be honest, we found all this pretty amusing.
At one point, a chap standing at the bar let out a brief torrent of Anglo-Saxon, then saw me (I think I might have been the only woman in the main bar at the time) and apologized. I smiled, indicated that his apology was unnecessary and he carried on.
After our first pint, it was my turn to buy so I asked S what he wanted. He scanned the pumps (three of them, I think) and said..."that one...Black something...". The landlord appeared and I said "a pint of Blackout, please" and the landlord raised an eyebrow, and sucked in air a little (like a builder who's just spotted a bit of dry rot in your joists). Then silence fell in the bar and everyone looked at me...
...I read the pump clip "ABV 11%", let out a "oh bloody hell..." and turned around to S and said "are you sure you want a pint?".
He gasped, and suggested a half might be enough...and there was a collective disappointed giggle from the other punters who tried to egg him on.
It seems to have been some sort of initiation, because we were definitely part of the "gang" after that.
The pub up the road was also in the guide and, as at home as we felt in the Wheatsheaf, we thought it was daft not to at least try the place, since we'd come so far. So, we said our goodbyes and headed out into the rainy night...we walked into The Fox, saw that it was empty and they only had one beer on and decided not to stay. So we had a choice - go and catch a Metro train back to our house or go back into the Wheatsheaf. We knew they'd laugh at us but what the hell. We walked back into the bar to a roar of approval, and stayed for a couple more pints in the warm fug of damp friendliness.
My recommendation is to try pubs like this. You won't always like them, and you won't always be made to feel welcome in locals' pubs but every now and again, you'll get an absolute corker of a place. My second recommendation for this particular pub is get the bloody train out there, rather than walking.
At one point, S says "Ah...just up from where she's running at the moment is where we crossed that dual-carriageway to walk up to the pub in Felling..."
Then I remembered, possibly the weirdest, most fabulous pub we went to during our stay in Newcastle (and Gateshead, she added carefully) a couple of years back.
Newcastle is awash with good pubs in the town centre but out in the 'burbs it gets a little bit harder to find really good beer. We'd spent the day in the city ambling around and taking in the sights (and beers) but I don't really remember much of the detail about that day until the time we decided to strike out and try find this outlying area of town called Felling, as it promised two pubs in the Guide. The first bit of the walk was pleasant enough, on the banks of the river and whilst not particularly picturesque per se, it was nice to have a bit of greenery around. But the more we walked the less the surroundings made us want to stroll. At one point we passed a trading estate where two ponies had been corralled by the authorities and were waiting for their owners to be found.
Eventually we found ourselves on the main road (the one the GNR competitors were running along) and we crossed and ascended into Felling. We passed a couple more scruffy-looking ponies tethered on a green (what is it with ponies in the area...we saw loads of 'em) and a handful of slightly run-down houses. Then we saw the Wheatsheaf.
It wouldn't be fair to say our hearts sank, but let's just remark that we didn't anticipate feeling particularly welcomed there. Nevertheless, having walked a couple of miles and this being the only Big Lamp brewery pub we would see, we took a deep breath and entered the pub.
It was the very definition of a "locals' pub" - we all know what that term means and it's never really meant as a compliment. We ordered a couple of pints, and the Landlord was friendly enough. It was the day of Margaret Thatcher's funeral, and let's just say that the pub was giving her their own special kind of send off. The CD player was playing a special compilation including "Tramp the Dirt Down" by Elvis Costello and "Shipbuilding" by Robert Wyatt...I think you get the idea.
Then we realised that almost all the beer had been renamed with their standard beer clip showing a picture of the late Baroness, with a single word underneath - "Bitter".
To be honest, we found all this pretty amusing.
At one point, a chap standing at the bar let out a brief torrent of Anglo-Saxon, then saw me (I think I might have been the only woman in the main bar at the time) and apologized. I smiled, indicated that his apology was unnecessary and he carried on.
After our first pint, it was my turn to buy so I asked S what he wanted. He scanned the pumps (three of them, I think) and said..."that one...Black something...". The landlord appeared and I said "a pint of Blackout, please" and the landlord raised an eyebrow, and sucked in air a little (like a builder who's just spotted a bit of dry rot in your joists). Then silence fell in the bar and everyone looked at me...
...I read the pump clip "ABV 11%", let out a "oh bloody hell..." and turned around to S and said "are you sure you want a pint?".
He gasped, and suggested a half might be enough...and there was a collective disappointed giggle from the other punters who tried to egg him on.
It seems to have been some sort of initiation, because we were definitely part of the "gang" after that.
The pub up the road was also in the guide and, as at home as we felt in the Wheatsheaf, we thought it was daft not to at least try the place, since we'd come so far. So, we said our goodbyes and headed out into the rainy night...we walked into The Fox, saw that it was empty and they only had one beer on and decided not to stay. So we had a choice - go and catch a Metro train back to our house or go back into the Wheatsheaf. We knew they'd laugh at us but what the hell. We walked back into the bar to a roar of approval, and stayed for a couple more pints in the warm fug of damp friendliness.
My recommendation is to try pubs like this. You won't always like them, and you won't always be made to feel welcome in locals' pubs but every now and again, you'll get an absolute corker of a place. My second recommendation for this particular pub is get the bloody train out there, rather than walking.
Friday, 5 September 2014
Trial and Error
I made the journey up to Hitchin yesterday, after schlepping around Eastbourne dropping off leaflets for our forthcoming "Heritage Open Days" event in Eastbourne, "Open Eastbourne".
Well, as an aside, we're quite excited about next weekend because the Tour of Britain is passing through, and we're doing "Open Eastbourne" (which we've been co-ordinating) and we've got some friends visiting for both events...and, possibly more importantly, for P (who is one of S's oldest friends) and S to revisit their beer-drinking youth. Yes, you knew it would come back to beer, didn't you?
As lads, S, P and M (with whom we drink regularly in Brighton before and after football) had a few regular haunts - the Eagle, the Dolphin, the Hurst Arms and the Victoria and I'm pretty sure that we'll need to visit several of these.
But S is particularly keen to take P to the Crown which is not somewhere they ever frequented because we're pretty sure P will be as smitten as us by good beer served straight from the cask.
Anyhow, enough of looking ahead...last night we, as ever, dropped into the Nightingale upon my arrival.
Since buying out the tie of the pub, the landlady and landlord have been able to vary the beer they buy a bit...and the price has dropped a little (that's right, you heard me...they didn't trouser the extra revenue, they passed at least some onto their customers).
Yesterday they had a dark beer by Wolf (the name of which I can't remember, and isn't on their standard cask list) which was decent enough - a bit like a better version of Tring's Colley's Dog. But they also had on Newby Wyke Banquo which is a lovely, lovely beer. Yes, it's golden and hoppy but it's well balanced and very drinkable.
So it was that we decided to stay for a third pint before venturing off to get something to eat and as I ordered - Sue, the landlady, says "Do you like Theakston beers?" (they had some Grousebeater on another pump which I hadn't even considered buying) - so when I said "not really" she smiled and pointed to the pump and said "I've no idea what got into them with this one - it's terrible, would you like to try it?". So she poured me a snifter.
I'm not wholly convinced by Theakston doing pale beers - the Lightfoot I had when I was in Robin Hood's bay last year was nice enough but, by and large, it didn't seem a natural style for them. I think I said as much to Sue as I swirled the taster and sniffed.
It smelt AWFUL. A little bit like teenagers' sweaty socks. There was a fruity note in there somewhere but it was completely overwhelmed.
Then I tasted it. If possible, it tasted worse than it smelled. It was barely like beer at all - much more like wheaty-tasting jelly-tots.
I passed it to S - who was even more scathing than me.
This is where the seasoned beer-drinker gets to remind themselves there's a difference between bad beer, and beer which has gone bad.
This stuff was fresh and decently kept. I think it was a tad hazy but that's probably as a result of the fruit in it. There weren't spoiled flavours in it at all. It was just nasty beer.
Sue said "the people who were in here a moment ago really liked it, I don't understand" - well, each to his own, I reckon.
She shook her head ruefully as she put a "Special price £2.50" sticker on the pump.
Well, as an aside, we're quite excited about next weekend because the Tour of Britain is passing through, and we're doing "Open Eastbourne" (which we've been co-ordinating) and we've got some friends visiting for both events...and, possibly more importantly, for P (who is one of S's oldest friends) and S to revisit their beer-drinking youth. Yes, you knew it would come back to beer, didn't you?
As lads, S, P and M (with whom we drink regularly in Brighton before and after football) had a few regular haunts - the Eagle, the Dolphin, the Hurst Arms and the Victoria and I'm pretty sure that we'll need to visit several of these.
But S is particularly keen to take P to the Crown which is not somewhere they ever frequented because we're pretty sure P will be as smitten as us by good beer served straight from the cask.
Anyhow, enough of looking ahead...last night we, as ever, dropped into the Nightingale upon my arrival.
Since buying out the tie of the pub, the landlady and landlord have been able to vary the beer they buy a bit...and the price has dropped a little (that's right, you heard me...they didn't trouser the extra revenue, they passed at least some onto their customers).
Yesterday they had a dark beer by Wolf (the name of which I can't remember, and isn't on their standard cask list) which was decent enough - a bit like a better version of Tring's Colley's Dog. But they also had on Newby Wyke Banquo which is a lovely, lovely beer. Yes, it's golden and hoppy but it's well balanced and very drinkable.
So it was that we decided to stay for a third pint before venturing off to get something to eat and as I ordered - Sue, the landlady, says "Do you like Theakston beers?" (they had some Grousebeater on another pump which I hadn't even considered buying) - so when I said "not really" she smiled and pointed to the pump and said "I've no idea what got into them with this one - it's terrible, would you like to try it?". So she poured me a snifter.
I'm not wholly convinced by Theakston doing pale beers - the Lightfoot I had when I was in Robin Hood's bay last year was nice enough but, by and large, it didn't seem a natural style for them. I think I said as much to Sue as I swirled the taster and sniffed.
It smelt AWFUL. A little bit like teenagers' sweaty socks. There was a fruity note in there somewhere but it was completely overwhelmed.
Then I tasted it. If possible, it tasted worse than it smelled. It was barely like beer at all - much more like wheaty-tasting jelly-tots.
I passed it to S - who was even more scathing than me.
This is where the seasoned beer-drinker gets to remind themselves there's a difference between bad beer, and beer which has gone bad.
This stuff was fresh and decently kept. I think it was a tad hazy but that's probably as a result of the fruit in it. There weren't spoiled flavours in it at all. It was just nasty beer.
Sue said "the people who were in here a moment ago really liked it, I don't understand" - well, each to his own, I reckon.
She shook her head ruefully as she put a "Special price £2.50" sticker on the pump.
Sunday, 31 August 2014
The Connectness of all Things
Well, that was weird. Weird in a really good way, but definitely weird.
It starts with a conversation about a conversation about beer. The conversation in my previous blog.
S is my mentor in beeriness (in other things too but this blog's about beer, innit) so we're walking through the woods, chatting about the keeping of beer, the selling of beer and the economics of beer. By the time we got to The Lamb, we're reasonably thirsty so we swing by the "locals'" bar for swift one.
Hunger set upon us so we naturally gravitated to Eastern Wok for dinner where we drink some chenin blanc...all the while talking about lots of things, but quite a lot about beer, still.
Somewhere in the conversation we talked about the enjoyment of things, and how context has a big part to play in sensory enjoyment. How The Royal Oak in Southwark/Bermondsey is the nicest place to drink Harvey's and how Jaipur was very briefly my very favourite beer but that might have been related in part to the circumstances of the first time I drank it.
We finished our dinner and repaired "next door" to The Crown who, we are coming to believe, is probably the most consistent keeper of beer in Eastbourne.
Now, Andy has some staples he serves: Wadworths 6X and Shepherd Neame Spitfire. Neither of these tickle my fancy but clearly they do other people's.
Then he usually has Harveys Best (of course) and Hophead in casks in the cellar. So we typically drink Hophead.
Frequently, he also has another guest beer in the cellar.
For this visit, we were staggered to see he had Jaipur on.
I've drunk Jaipur from a handpump in the Cask and Kitchen, from the cask at the Bristol Beer Festival, from a bottle from Waitrose and I've even had a taster of a keg version but I have to say this was the nicest pint of Jaipur I've had. Well, two pints, actually.
So good was it, that we went back the next evening.
It's not for the faint of heart - at 5.9% it packs a wallop but it really is a good beer and I'm delighted that my local had it.
Here's to coincidences, to Jaipur and to the Crown (and if the Crown's not in the GBG this year, then I'll be having a word.)
It starts with a conversation about a conversation about beer. The conversation in my previous blog.
S is my mentor in beeriness (in other things too but this blog's about beer, innit) so we're walking through the woods, chatting about the keeping of beer, the selling of beer and the economics of beer. By the time we got to The Lamb, we're reasonably thirsty so we swing by the "locals'" bar for swift one.
Hunger set upon us so we naturally gravitated to Eastern Wok for dinner where we drink some chenin blanc...all the while talking about lots of things, but quite a lot about beer, still.
Somewhere in the conversation we talked about the enjoyment of things, and how context has a big part to play in sensory enjoyment. How The Royal Oak in Southwark/Bermondsey is the nicest place to drink Harvey's and how Jaipur was very briefly my very favourite beer but that might have been related in part to the circumstances of the first time I drank it.
We finished our dinner and repaired "next door" to The Crown who, we are coming to believe, is probably the most consistent keeper of beer in Eastbourne.
Now, Andy has some staples he serves: Wadworths 6X and Shepherd Neame Spitfire. Neither of these tickle my fancy but clearly they do other people's.
Then he usually has Harveys Best (of course) and Hophead in casks in the cellar. So we typically drink Hophead.
Frequently, he also has another guest beer in the cellar.
For this visit, we were staggered to see he had Jaipur on.
I've drunk Jaipur from a handpump in the Cask and Kitchen, from the cask at the Bristol Beer Festival, from a bottle from Waitrose and I've even had a taster of a keg version but I have to say this was the nicest pint of Jaipur I've had. Well, two pints, actually.
So good was it, that we went back the next evening.
It's not for the faint of heart - at 5.9% it packs a wallop but it really is a good beer and I'm delighted that my local had it.
Here's to coincidences, to Jaipur and to the Crown (and if the Crown's not in the GBG this year, then I'll be having a word.)
Friday, 29 August 2014
Beer Drinking Skillz
You're very knowledgeable about your beer, says P as we catch up over a couple of pints and a burger at The Dolphin in Eastbourne.
I'm not, although all things are relative and P drinks Peroni or similar so I might as well have had a degree in the subject for all P knows about (or is really interested in) Real Ale.
I am more passionate than learned about it. But I drink it. A lot.
We got onto chatting about how you know when a pint is bad, and what to do about it when you do. It minded me of an article on one of the beer blogs I follow where a couple of women beer drinkers (who, I think have recently hit on Real Ale from the Craft side of the street...but I might be wrong) who last year chatted to other women at the Great British Beer Festival.
I was a bit horrified by what they purport to have found...that:
- women often don't drink pints (or even beer) on dates because it's not very feminine, and that men agree with this assertion.
- women are nervous of drinking beer, or asking about beer because they think (or even have experienced) that men belittle them for not knowing.
- women would like to know more about beer...but don't think there's any way to find out. There seemed to be an implication that a women-only education/tasting session would help this.
What an enormous shame this is...although I suspect that it's not only women who fear they don't know their beer.
Taking the first point, first, I'll grant you that I've been enormously lucky. The men in my life have not only tolerated, but actively encouraged my beer-drinking. And, with the exception of one male school friend (and it was a long time ago, although I've never really forgiven him for it), I've not heard any guy make derogatory comments on women drinking pints.
(To be fair though...my drinking habits are not really the least feminine thing about me.)
If it's true though, I might suggest that the women question think very carefully about dating blokes who actively make you feel that way about the drink of your choice.
I was amused the other day when I went into a pub and bought myself a pint whilst I was waiting for someone to join me and a fella next to me looked at the pint that I'd just sipped, smiled at me and just said "good girl!" Sexist? Maybe, I guess. Offensive? No way - quite amusing, really.
Next point...
If bar staff can't be gracious about the way they sell their product then they're not fit to serve behind a bar and should just f*ck right off. Know the product. If possible, like the product, and share your enthusiasm with your customers.
I would imagine that guys who are new to drinking real ale (or craft beer of any kind) don't really have the vocabulary, or mebbe the confidence to know what they like...so, not unlike women, then. That shouldn't matter.
Any good pub should offer you a taste if you don't know the relative merits of the choices in front of you. If they don't offer, ask. Now, don't take the p*ss - you can't expect them to accommodate the time and cost of you trying all of the 12 beers on offer. So try a couple and then buy a pint...or buy a half to try. If you don't like it - then chalk it down to experience and don't have it again. But give it a full half to decide...some beers really do grow on you.
If you don't know where to buy your beer, start with the Good Beer Guide. It's relatively reliable and there's a better than average chance they keep their beer consistently well. If you can't stump up the cost of a guide, then look in the windows of the pub. If they're in they'll often have a notice bragging about it.
If you want to get some real exposure to a lot of well kept beer at a single strike - then go to a CAMRA run beer festival. It doesn't need to have 500 cask beers to be worthwhile - after all, how many can you actually try?
Go to one which has 20 beers, or 40 beers - then engage the volunteers behind the bar and ask them what they like. Any beer drinker worth their salt will extol the virtues of their favourite brew and they'll tell you why. Actually, you'll probably find it hard to get away from us once you ask the question.
So back to the question of how you know a pint is bad.
Well, beer ought to be mostly clear, about 12degC, smell pleasant, and taste of...well, beer.
Yes - some beers have unusual flavours in them that not all people like (a bit grassy, a touch of the silage about them) but off flavours and smells are mostly pretty distinctive.
If you drink enough beer, those off-tastes are easy to spot.
There's a borderline of "tiredness" when the cask's been open for half a day too long with too little in it which sometimes you just have to take on the chin. But really bad beer...never, never accept it.
Take it back to the bar (actually, not leaving the bar before taking the top off it is even better, if you can remember) - smile, be pleasant and explain.
My thing is usually to apologise or to say words like "I'm afraid this pint's off"...
What should happen is that they take it back, offer you something else and take the beer off sale immediately without making you feel bad. If they don't, then I'd recommend giving that pub a miss in future.
Bar staff should know, roughly, whether a cask is fresh or been on the go for a few days...and so telling them a pint is off, shouldn't really come as any surprise.
I've only ever had arguments three times with off beer - and I've taken maybe 20 or 30 pints back in 30 years of beer drinking.
Why not just leave the pint, and leave the pub?
Well - firstly, every pub gets it wrong once in a while. Give them the chance to right their mistake and be gracious doing it. If the replacement pint you got is good, then it's probably just bad luck.
But it's not just about that pub. If people don't complain, then other people with less beer experience under their belts might be put off drinking the beer of that brewery...or all real beer because they thought what they just tasted is how it's supposed to taste. That makes it degree harder for all the good places out there.
I honestly don't think tutored beer tasting sessions are the answer to becoming better with beer. You need to find yourself a knowledgeable companion...and drink the stuff.
I'm not, although all things are relative and P drinks Peroni or similar so I might as well have had a degree in the subject for all P knows about (or is really interested in) Real Ale.
I am more passionate than learned about it. But I drink it. A lot.
We got onto chatting about how you know when a pint is bad, and what to do about it when you do. It minded me of an article on one of the beer blogs I follow where a couple of women beer drinkers (who, I think have recently hit on Real Ale from the Craft side of the street...but I might be wrong) who last year chatted to other women at the Great British Beer Festival.
I was a bit horrified by what they purport to have found...that:
- women often don't drink pints (or even beer) on dates because it's not very feminine, and that men agree with this assertion.
- women are nervous of drinking beer, or asking about beer because they think (or even have experienced) that men belittle them for not knowing.
- women would like to know more about beer...but don't think there's any way to find out. There seemed to be an implication that a women-only education/tasting session would help this.
What an enormous shame this is...although I suspect that it's not only women who fear they don't know their beer.
Taking the first point, first, I'll grant you that I've been enormously lucky. The men in my life have not only tolerated, but actively encouraged my beer-drinking. And, with the exception of one male school friend (and it was a long time ago, although I've never really forgiven him for it), I've not heard any guy make derogatory comments on women drinking pints.
(To be fair though...my drinking habits are not really the least feminine thing about me.)
If it's true though, I might suggest that the women question think very carefully about dating blokes who actively make you feel that way about the drink of your choice.
I was amused the other day when I went into a pub and bought myself a pint whilst I was waiting for someone to join me and a fella next to me looked at the pint that I'd just sipped, smiled at me and just said "good girl!" Sexist? Maybe, I guess. Offensive? No way - quite amusing, really.
Next point...
If bar staff can't be gracious about the way they sell their product then they're not fit to serve behind a bar and should just f*ck right off. Know the product. If possible, like the product, and share your enthusiasm with your customers.
I would imagine that guys who are new to drinking real ale (or craft beer of any kind) don't really have the vocabulary, or mebbe the confidence to know what they like...so, not unlike women, then. That shouldn't matter.
Any good pub should offer you a taste if you don't know the relative merits of the choices in front of you. If they don't offer, ask. Now, don't take the p*ss - you can't expect them to accommodate the time and cost of you trying all of the 12 beers on offer. So try a couple and then buy a pint...or buy a half to try. If you don't like it - then chalk it down to experience and don't have it again. But give it a full half to decide...some beers really do grow on you.
If you don't know where to buy your beer, start with the Good Beer Guide. It's relatively reliable and there's a better than average chance they keep their beer consistently well. If you can't stump up the cost of a guide, then look in the windows of the pub. If they're in they'll often have a notice bragging about it.
If you want to get some real exposure to a lot of well kept beer at a single strike - then go to a CAMRA run beer festival. It doesn't need to have 500 cask beers to be worthwhile - after all, how many can you actually try?
Go to one which has 20 beers, or 40 beers - then engage the volunteers behind the bar and ask them what they like. Any beer drinker worth their salt will extol the virtues of their favourite brew and they'll tell you why. Actually, you'll probably find it hard to get away from us once you ask the question.
So back to the question of how you know a pint is bad.
Well, beer ought to be mostly clear, about 12degC, smell pleasant, and taste of...well, beer.
Yes - some beers have unusual flavours in them that not all people like (a bit grassy, a touch of the silage about them) but off flavours and smells are mostly pretty distinctive.
If you drink enough beer, those off-tastes are easy to spot.
There's a borderline of "tiredness" when the cask's been open for half a day too long with too little in it which sometimes you just have to take on the chin. But really bad beer...never, never accept it.
Take it back to the bar (actually, not leaving the bar before taking the top off it is even better, if you can remember) - smile, be pleasant and explain.
My thing is usually to apologise or to say words like "I'm afraid this pint's off"...
What should happen is that they take it back, offer you something else and take the beer off sale immediately without making you feel bad. If they don't, then I'd recommend giving that pub a miss in future.
Bar staff should know, roughly, whether a cask is fresh or been on the go for a few days...and so telling them a pint is off, shouldn't really come as any surprise.
I've only ever had arguments three times with off beer - and I've taken maybe 20 or 30 pints back in 30 years of beer drinking.
Why not just leave the pint, and leave the pub?
Well - firstly, every pub gets it wrong once in a while. Give them the chance to right their mistake and be gracious doing it. If the replacement pint you got is good, then it's probably just bad luck.
But it's not just about that pub. If people don't complain, then other people with less beer experience under their belts might be put off drinking the beer of that brewery...or all real beer because they thought what they just tasted is how it's supposed to taste. That makes it degree harder for all the good places out there.
I honestly don't think tutored beer tasting sessions are the answer to becoming better with beer. You need to find yourself a knowledgeable companion...and drink the stuff.
Thursday, 28 August 2014
Old Favourites
Twice in the last couple of weeks, and in two different towns, I've been reminded of a beer of my early forays into beer festivals (well, one really - the Bristol Beer Festival).
The Crown in Eastbourne had a nice little beer festival the weekend of the local airshow and whilst we didn't have much time to spend there, it was great to see a length of stillage and some casks in jackets set up in the back room.
I didn't have to look any further than Kelham Island - Pale Rider. Actually, I was really excited to see it.
It's a great beer, and it has been around for quite a while. It's been around, I think, since well before pale real ales were ubiquitous. And I almost forgot that. It's not 'hopped to fuck and back'; it's 5.2% it's pretty strong, but is well balanced. In short, it's a great beer.
It was great to be reminded of it and drinking it made me smile.
So it was quite a shock, last weekend, to see it on the pumps in the Bricklayers in Hitchin. I did something I rarely do, these days, instead of trying something different for the sake of it - I picked the Pale Rider. I was pleased I did.
Sometimes, it's hard to remember that golden beers are not just the new big thing - they've been around a while. It's just that some of the new boys are a little bit less considered and subtle in their approach.
Don't get me wrong, I love Oakham beers, and Arbor beers...and many of the others of their ilk. I also like it when the hops are not turned up to 11.
The Crown in Eastbourne had a nice little beer festival the weekend of the local airshow and whilst we didn't have much time to spend there, it was great to see a length of stillage and some casks in jackets set up in the back room.
I didn't have to look any further than Kelham Island - Pale Rider. Actually, I was really excited to see it.
It's a great beer, and it has been around for quite a while. It's been around, I think, since well before pale real ales were ubiquitous. And I almost forgot that. It's not 'hopped to fuck and back'; it's 5.2% it's pretty strong, but is well balanced. In short, it's a great beer.
It was great to be reminded of it and drinking it made me smile.
So it was quite a shock, last weekend, to see it on the pumps in the Bricklayers in Hitchin. I did something I rarely do, these days, instead of trying something different for the sake of it - I picked the Pale Rider. I was pleased I did.
Sometimes, it's hard to remember that golden beers are not just the new big thing - they've been around a while. It's just that some of the new boys are a little bit less considered and subtle in their approach.
Don't get me wrong, I love Oakham beers, and Arbor beers...and many of the others of their ilk. I also like it when the hops are not turned up to 11.
Thursday, 14 August 2014
Pleasant Surprises
Our community group went on an away match last weekend to see a Martello Tower in Dymchurch (yep, that's how we like to roll). The weather was foul but the tower was awesome. By the time we'd done battle with the elements just to see a 24-pounder napoleonic-era cannon in its native setting we were pretty thirsty.
Now, it has to be said that Dymchurch isn't the most enticing place for a beer drinker and as there were a whole bunch of us (and only two were really beer drinkers) then we couldn't allow beer exploration to take precedence.
So, we headed into the Ocean Inn which we knew could accommodate a last supper-sized group on spec.
There was only Courage Directors, and Courage Best on tap which made us very sad, but we tried it anyway.
Early in my beer drinking career I was told that "The best kept pint of Courage Best is the best beer in the world" and I've never believed it (or experienced it) - and I've never liked the overly toffee flavour of Directors. Nevertheless, we both enjoyed our beer a great deal.
The food we had was also really good - not fancy or "gastro" but nicely done, proper pub food.
So whilst I'm never going to choose Courage over...you know, nice beer...at least I'd be willing to give it a go in a pinch.
And then, today, I stumble on another new beer blog wherein they talk about Oakham Ales (one of my favourite breweries) and how their pub/food outlets specialise in oriental food. Now I'm craving some home-cooked thai-style pork for tea with a bottle of the Citra I know we have in the fridge. It's not often (or possibly ever) that I crave something to eat based on what I want to drink. Now, there's a thing.
Having read more of said blog, I'm now musing, once again on the apparent gender bias in what we eat and drink. I've covered this myself in a more general blog and I think I'd hoped life had changed a bit...hmmm...more thinking required.
Now, it has to be said that Dymchurch isn't the most enticing place for a beer drinker and as there were a whole bunch of us (and only two were really beer drinkers) then we couldn't allow beer exploration to take precedence.
So, we headed into the Ocean Inn which we knew could accommodate a last supper-sized group on spec.
There was only Courage Directors, and Courage Best on tap which made us very sad, but we tried it anyway.
Early in my beer drinking career I was told that "The best kept pint of Courage Best is the best beer in the world" and I've never believed it (or experienced it) - and I've never liked the overly toffee flavour of Directors. Nevertheless, we both enjoyed our beer a great deal.
The food we had was also really good - not fancy or "gastro" but nicely done, proper pub food.
So whilst I'm never going to choose Courage over...you know, nice beer...at least I'd be willing to give it a go in a pinch.
And then, today, I stumble on another new beer blog wherein they talk about Oakham Ales (one of my favourite breweries) and how their pub/food outlets specialise in oriental food. Now I'm craving some home-cooked thai-style pork for tea with a bottle of the Citra I know we have in the fridge. It's not often (or possibly ever) that I crave something to eat based on what I want to drink. Now, there's a thing.
Having read more of said blog, I'm now musing, once again on the apparent gender bias in what we eat and drink. I've covered this myself in a more general blog and I think I'd hoped life had changed a bit...hmmm...more thinking required.
Monday, 4 August 2014
Playing for time
Shove ha'penny, pool, bar billiards, darts and table skittles are well accepted activities in pubs but S and I are becoming aficionados of more obscure games.
We found out, not long after we first met, that we both really liked board games, but that we didn't get to play them as often as we would like. So it's a special delight that my favourite drinking buddy, is also my favourite game partner/opponent.
How fitting, then, to combine playing games and drinking beer. Games don't take the place of conversation - they often augment it, so it's all kinds of good.
Quite a lot of pubs have board games in them - but we've only one or twice indulged in provided games. I think that's mostly because there are only usually the two of us and a lot of board games are better with more people.
So - generally, we take our own games with us. When we play at home size and complication of game isn't really a consideration. When you go to the pub - there are things you really need to take into account.
If you're not going straight to the pub, you need to carry the game(s) with you so it needs to fit easily into a bag you're happy to carry on your walk (in our case, typically a 15l rucksack which also has glasses, phones, water, coats, etc as well)
It may need to be played on a fairly small, circular, pub table (you really don't want to act like a jerk in a busy pub and monopolise a table big enough for six people).
It probably needs to have a fairly basic set of playing rules but with built in deeper strategies - that means you're not forever having to consult a huge rule book or forget what you were doing as soon as you have to fetch more beer or go to the loo.
Shortish playing time is probably a good idea too since you don't want your six hour marathon to be prematurely terminated when a bystander accidentally stumbles against your table and sends all the pieces to the floor in an irretrievable mess.
In our case - we quite like games not to be totally abstract...so they're games that sort of tell a story. That means most traditional card games like crib wouldn't make the cut (although personally I had a tremendous evening a couple of years back playing crib all evening with my much-missed buddy/workmate, TD in a pub in Maidstone whilst on a business trip).
So - you're probably thinking that the choice is very limited. Actually you'd be quite wrong as the Boardgame Geek website would show you.
I guess we started with "Battle Line" which we bought to take on holiday when we were travelling by train. It's a strategy game...which is kind of like poker in some respects. It's simple to learn but takes a while to get the strategies in your head and for play to get interesting. It can be played (just about) on a standard smallish round pub table and each round seems to take us about 30mins, depending on the draw of cards and what other converations we might be having. I usually lose.
Then there's Fluxx. My brother-outlaw, M, bought me my original pack years and years ago from the US. It's now much more widely available, and in several different variations - hence I bought a pack of "Monty Python" Fluxx cards for S for a present a couple of years back and both our sets get regular outings. Fluxx can be played in next to no space and can take 5 minutes or an hour to play. It's very simple but it can take a couple of hands to get your head around. It's the most portable thing we have because it's simply a pack of cards. It's a game of skill but there's a LOT of luck involved as well.
Our daftest game for an excursion has to be Zombies!!!
It's a little bit bigger than you'd normally want to carry (a bit like a very thick hard-back book) - but we weren't travelling far and we'd already decided to go to the Half Moon on a gloomy winter afternoon; sit by Howard's roaring fire; drink beer and play.
Our table was on the main thoroughfare in the pub so we got lots of people passing. Most of these looked to see what we were doing but then politely passed by. Then one of the bar staff (and daughter of the owners) looked quizzically for a while...then got Howard to come and confront us. "Are you playing with Zombies in my pub?", he asked. "Uh...yep", we replied. "Fair enough" said Howard, with a chuckle and went back to doing what a good landlord should.
Zombies!!! is a tremendously silly game (if that's not obvious from the name) and you make a playing board from tiles that you play in your turn. It needs a bit more space than our other games so doesn't get that pub outing as often but if you've got the space without making yourself a nuisance, it's definitely worth a go. It's a combined luck and strategy game. I don't think I've ever won.
The latest addition (and it was playing this that made me think about posting on this subject) is Chrononauts. Invented by the maker of Fluxx, it's again based on cards and so is very portable.
You create a game board from 32 of these cards so you need a bit of space to play it. It's a nice strategy game with a few twists and turns and one where the game seems to get longer the more you play it (and become aware of how your opponent might be able to thwart you). I bought this for S for his recent birthday and we've played it in the garden of the Nightingale, in the Half Moon and in The Bricklayers. Once again, because it's an unusual-looking game, it draws a few glances but that's part of the fun.
We don't only play games in pubs where people know us. We take them on holiday and play in the pubs there. So if you see us - please don't judge us...we're just a couple of middle-aged folk who, being the youngest siblings in our families by a long way, didn't get to play as many board games as we wanted when we were kids. Or maybe it just gives us a good excuse to stay in the pub longer...
We found out, not long after we first met, that we both really liked board games, but that we didn't get to play them as often as we would like. So it's a special delight that my favourite drinking buddy, is also my favourite game partner/opponent.
How fitting, then, to combine playing games and drinking beer. Games don't take the place of conversation - they often augment it, so it's all kinds of good.
Quite a lot of pubs have board games in them - but we've only one or twice indulged in provided games. I think that's mostly because there are only usually the two of us and a lot of board games are better with more people.
So - generally, we take our own games with us. When we play at home size and complication of game isn't really a consideration. When you go to the pub - there are things you really need to take into account.
If you're not going straight to the pub, you need to carry the game(s) with you so it needs to fit easily into a bag you're happy to carry on your walk (in our case, typically a 15l rucksack which also has glasses, phones, water, coats, etc as well)
It may need to be played on a fairly small, circular, pub table (you really don't want to act like a jerk in a busy pub and monopolise a table big enough for six people).
It probably needs to have a fairly basic set of playing rules but with built in deeper strategies - that means you're not forever having to consult a huge rule book or forget what you were doing as soon as you have to fetch more beer or go to the loo.
Shortish playing time is probably a good idea too since you don't want your six hour marathon to be prematurely terminated when a bystander accidentally stumbles against your table and sends all the pieces to the floor in an irretrievable mess.
In our case - we quite like games not to be totally abstract...so they're games that sort of tell a story. That means most traditional card games like crib wouldn't make the cut (although personally I had a tremendous evening a couple of years back playing crib all evening with my much-missed buddy/workmate, TD in a pub in Maidstone whilst on a business trip).
So - you're probably thinking that the choice is very limited. Actually you'd be quite wrong as the Boardgame Geek website would show you.
I guess we started with "Battle Line" which we bought to take on holiday when we were travelling by train. It's a strategy game...which is kind of like poker in some respects. It's simple to learn but takes a while to get the strategies in your head and for play to get interesting. It can be played (just about) on a standard smallish round pub table and each round seems to take us about 30mins, depending on the draw of cards and what other converations we might be having. I usually lose.
Then there's Fluxx. My brother-outlaw, M, bought me my original pack years and years ago from the US. It's now much more widely available, and in several different variations - hence I bought a pack of "Monty Python" Fluxx cards for S for a present a couple of years back and both our sets get regular outings. Fluxx can be played in next to no space and can take 5 minutes or an hour to play. It's very simple but it can take a couple of hands to get your head around. It's the most portable thing we have because it's simply a pack of cards. It's a game of skill but there's a LOT of luck involved as well.
Our daftest game for an excursion has to be Zombies!!!
It's a little bit bigger than you'd normally want to carry (a bit like a very thick hard-back book) - but we weren't travelling far and we'd already decided to go to the Half Moon on a gloomy winter afternoon; sit by Howard's roaring fire; drink beer and play.
Our table was on the main thoroughfare in the pub so we got lots of people passing. Most of these looked to see what we were doing but then politely passed by. Then one of the bar staff (and daughter of the owners) looked quizzically for a while...then got Howard to come and confront us. "Are you playing with Zombies in my pub?", he asked. "Uh...yep", we replied. "Fair enough" said Howard, with a chuckle and went back to doing what a good landlord should.
Zombies!!! is a tremendously silly game (if that's not obvious from the name) and you make a playing board from tiles that you play in your turn. It needs a bit more space than our other games so doesn't get that pub outing as often but if you've got the space without making yourself a nuisance, it's definitely worth a go. It's a combined luck and strategy game. I don't think I've ever won.
The latest addition (and it was playing this that made me think about posting on this subject) is Chrononauts. Invented by the maker of Fluxx, it's again based on cards and so is very portable.
You create a game board from 32 of these cards so you need a bit of space to play it. It's a nice strategy game with a few twists and turns and one where the game seems to get longer the more you play it (and become aware of how your opponent might be able to thwart you). I bought this for S for his recent birthday and we've played it in the garden of the Nightingale, in the Half Moon and in The Bricklayers. Once again, because it's an unusual-looking game, it draws a few glances but that's part of the fun.
We don't only play games in pubs where people know us. We take them on holiday and play in the pubs there. So if you see us - please don't judge us...we're just a couple of middle-aged folk who, being the youngest siblings in our families by a long way, didn't get to play as many board games as we wanted when we were kids. Or maybe it just gives us a good excuse to stay in the pub longer...
Monday, 28 July 2014
When the pubs are the best bit of the place.
We like Bristol. We like the city, and what's in the city, and we like the pubs in the city. Our liking of the city is attributable to those things, in roughly that order. The sum of them are greater than the parts.
Actually, I never thought much about the city since I lived there, full time, for most of my adult life. There was no reason to leave it but I'd never really considered whether I liked the city. It was where my life was. Introducing S to Bristol made me see it in an entirely new light...and I got to like it more because of that.
Peterborough, on the other hand is a city we like to visit from time to time. The first time I went was because the guys were off to watch football (BHAFC and Peterborough being in the same league at the time). "It's always a good day out" saith he. This has a fairly specific meaning in the context...it means the travel from station to lunchtime pub, to football ground, to after match pub and back to station is a coherent series of pleasant strolls and that the fellow fans aren't too lairy when you're there.
I liked the very centre of the place that day because, even though I wasn't going to football there was just enough for me to explore over the course of a couple hours and it has a superb and photogenic cathedral.
On Saturday, we made the trip up for a pre-season friendly (BHAFC and Peterborough are no longer in the same league). We planned to visit two of the usual haunts and perhaps explore a couple of new ones...
The old haunts were great - Charters (a floating Oakham pub) was less busy than we expected and had a really good range of great beer and fabulous thai lunches. The Brewery Tap was much as we'd expect late on a Saturday night - noisy, crowded but excellent (Oakham) beers and a shared dish of good Thai noodles.
Ah but those were not the highlights of the day...
Our first after-match pint was about a 10 minute walk from the ground - The Coalheavers - it needed a bit of a spruce up (and if I'm honest I would have preferred the beer to be a couple of degrees colder) but the beer was good, the garden was pleasant and the young barman, who was taking a break and taking a phone call on his mobile out front when we left, stopped his conversation and thanked us for visiting as we left. That's classy.
The Isle of Purbeck and Milton beers were very pleasant too.
A further 10 minutes walk from the Coalheavers...(back towards town, which was welcome) we found The Palmerston Arms. Not very prepossessing from the front but what a find! Inside it was all proper pubby and next to no pumps on the bar, since most of the beer comes straight from the casks in the cellar which is situated immediately behind the bar. So, we placed our order and glanced at the mirror on the wall behind the bar. Only it wasn't a mirror...it was a window...a window into the cellar. What a simple, and great idea. The beers were in great condition (no, I can't remember what they were to be honest) and a lovely temperature.
If you've read any of my other posts in this blog, it'll not surprise you that this feature instantly got added to our wishlist for our fictional, perfect, pub.
There are at least another two pubs in The Guide and one or two other pubs that looked like they might be worth swinging by. Not that we needed any more beer...and I wouldn't have wanted to miss any of the pubs we went to.
But if you've got more capacity then Peterborough is definitely worth it for the pubs...but I'm not sure that there's all that much else to recommend it: the shopping centre has ruined the permeability of the city which makes it annoying to wander around and the ring road is hideous.
Nope - just go there for the pubs, that'll do.
Actually, I never thought much about the city since I lived there, full time, for most of my adult life. There was no reason to leave it but I'd never really considered whether I liked the city. It was where my life was. Introducing S to Bristol made me see it in an entirely new light...and I got to like it more because of that.
Peterborough, on the other hand is a city we like to visit from time to time. The first time I went was because the guys were off to watch football (BHAFC and Peterborough being in the same league at the time). "It's always a good day out" saith he. This has a fairly specific meaning in the context...it means the travel from station to lunchtime pub, to football ground, to after match pub and back to station is a coherent series of pleasant strolls and that the fellow fans aren't too lairy when you're there.
I liked the very centre of the place that day because, even though I wasn't going to football there was just enough for me to explore over the course of a couple hours and it has a superb and photogenic cathedral.
On Saturday, we made the trip up for a pre-season friendly (BHAFC and Peterborough are no longer in the same league). We planned to visit two of the usual haunts and perhaps explore a couple of new ones...
The old haunts were great - Charters (a floating Oakham pub) was less busy than we expected and had a really good range of great beer and fabulous thai lunches. The Brewery Tap was much as we'd expect late on a Saturday night - noisy, crowded but excellent (Oakham) beers and a shared dish of good Thai noodles.
Ah but those were not the highlights of the day...
Our first after-match pint was about a 10 minute walk from the ground - The Coalheavers - it needed a bit of a spruce up (and if I'm honest I would have preferred the beer to be a couple of degrees colder) but the beer was good, the garden was pleasant and the young barman, who was taking a break and taking a phone call on his mobile out front when we left, stopped his conversation and thanked us for visiting as we left. That's classy.
The Isle of Purbeck and Milton beers were very pleasant too.
A further 10 minutes walk from the Coalheavers...(back towards town, which was welcome) we found The Palmerston Arms. Not very prepossessing from the front but what a find! Inside it was all proper pubby and next to no pumps on the bar, since most of the beer comes straight from the casks in the cellar which is situated immediately behind the bar. So, we placed our order and glanced at the mirror on the wall behind the bar. Only it wasn't a mirror...it was a window...a window into the cellar. What a simple, and great idea. The beers were in great condition (no, I can't remember what they were to be honest) and a lovely temperature.
If you've read any of my other posts in this blog, it'll not surprise you that this feature instantly got added to our wishlist for our fictional, perfect, pub.
There are at least another two pubs in The Guide and one or two other pubs that looked like they might be worth swinging by. Not that we needed any more beer...and I wouldn't have wanted to miss any of the pubs we went to.
But if you've got more capacity then Peterborough is definitely worth it for the pubs...but I'm not sure that there's all that much else to recommend it: the shopping centre has ruined the permeability of the city which makes it annoying to wander around and the ring road is hideous.
Nope - just go there for the pubs, that'll do.
Tuesday, 22 July 2014
Lack Lustre
More busy times and mainly drinking in the usual haunts of late.
Downlands Brewery continues to give glimpses of interest, and the occasional m'eh seasonal beer. A disappointing pint of Pele on a Saturday was followed by the altogether lovelier Day Tripper a few days later. Both of these drunk in the Dolphin, of course.
Don't get me wrong - I understand I'm not always going to like a brewer's new recipe so I'm happy to keep trying.
In a group trip for refreshment where more people wanted tea and cake than beer, we compromised in a cafe which had bottled HSB, which was a lot better than we expected - and Guinness in a can for one of our number. Then a weird thing happened. After pouring the Guinness out of the can, the barmaid then placed it on a strange contraption which conjured a creamy head. Our Guinness drinking buddy wasn't completely convinced by this dispense method which I now learn is the Guinness Surger...and it was as close to witchcraft as you can imagine.
Highlight of the past couple of weeks was probably the welcome addition of Dark Star APA in the Dolphin last Saturday when we need a quick fix of something lovely and nerve settling before an event.
Lowlight definitely a bad pint in the DewDrop, a pub which I had been warming to, of late. Actually it wasn't so much the badness of the pint (although it was rank)...but the initial reaction of the barman as I took it back. In reply to my "I'm sorry - but the beer's off" he said "let me just check" in a tone that suggested he didn't believe me. As he pulled a small amount into another glass and sniffed it I'm afraid I said in a slightly irritated tone "Trust me - this beer's off". To be fair, after that he was apologetic and gracious and happily got me a pint of something else (though he did try to choose it for me, which again irritated me) although even the replacement was a bit tired and murky.
Such a shame because the Dew Drop has really good days but we're less likely to keep trying it when even the best beer on offer is a bit tired.
Prize for consistency goes to Andy in the Crown in Eastbourne's Old Town. After (well, sort of during) the thunderstorms of Friday night, with S arriving on a train, we met in Crown for a couple of pints. His regular beers are Harveys Best, 6x and Hophead and he often has a guest on. So there's never much choice for me...but I don't mind because I think the Hophead is about as good as it gets anywhere (and that includes the Evening Star in Brighton) so it something I never tire of drinking. So it was on Friday - a lovely start to the weekend.
There's definitely room for more really good real ale pubs in Eastbourne...
Downlands Brewery continues to give glimpses of interest, and the occasional m'eh seasonal beer. A disappointing pint of Pele on a Saturday was followed by the altogether lovelier Day Tripper a few days later. Both of these drunk in the Dolphin, of course.
Don't get me wrong - I understand I'm not always going to like a brewer's new recipe so I'm happy to keep trying.
In a group trip for refreshment where more people wanted tea and cake than beer, we compromised in a cafe which had bottled HSB, which was a lot better than we expected - and Guinness in a can for one of our number. Then a weird thing happened. After pouring the Guinness out of the can, the barmaid then placed it on a strange contraption which conjured a creamy head. Our Guinness drinking buddy wasn't completely convinced by this dispense method which I now learn is the Guinness Surger...and it was as close to witchcraft as you can imagine.
Highlight of the past couple of weeks was probably the welcome addition of Dark Star APA in the Dolphin last Saturday when we need a quick fix of something lovely and nerve settling before an event.
Lowlight definitely a bad pint in the DewDrop, a pub which I had been warming to, of late. Actually it wasn't so much the badness of the pint (although it was rank)...but the initial reaction of the barman as I took it back. In reply to my "I'm sorry - but the beer's off" he said "let me just check" in a tone that suggested he didn't believe me. As he pulled a small amount into another glass and sniffed it I'm afraid I said in a slightly irritated tone "Trust me - this beer's off". To be fair, after that he was apologetic and gracious and happily got me a pint of something else (though he did try to choose it for me, which again irritated me) although even the replacement was a bit tired and murky.
Such a shame because the Dew Drop has really good days but we're less likely to keep trying it when even the best beer on offer is a bit tired.
Prize for consistency goes to Andy in the Crown in Eastbourne's Old Town. After (well, sort of during) the thunderstorms of Friday night, with S arriving on a train, we met in Crown for a couple of pints. His regular beers are Harveys Best, 6x and Hophead and he often has a guest on. So there's never much choice for me...but I don't mind because I think the Hophead is about as good as it gets anywhere (and that includes the Evening Star in Brighton) so it something I never tire of drinking. So it was on Friday - a lovely start to the weekend.
There's definitely room for more really good real ale pubs in Eastbourne...
Thursday, 10 July 2014
Drinks after work
I was working at the Wish Tower yesterday - just a couple of tours but since it means being on your feet for a few hours. So I was really pleased that one of the other volunteers came and helped out...and fancied a chat over a pint afterwards.
We usually go to the nearest pub, the Buccaneer, but as we both needed to eat we fancied a change. So we ended up in The Dolphin. Their beer selection can be a little bit dull from time to time but it's usually in good condition so it's always a good bet.
As we tipped up in the bar, I was beside myself with joy to see that they had Burning Sky Aurora which was a new (to me) beer from a familiar brewer. At 5.6% it needs to be treated with a bit of respect but by golly did it hit the spot.
We settled down in the sofas and ordered some food and enjoyed our beers (P was drinking Peroni, but I try not to hold that against him) and it was for all the world like proper after work drinks.
The Aurora was so good that I didn't even check the alternatives when choosing my second drink.
I do hope that the Dolphin continues to up their game because it's probably closest thing Eastbourne has to a proper craft ale and beer emporium.
Really good evening.
We usually go to the nearest pub, the Buccaneer, but as we both needed to eat we fancied a change. So we ended up in The Dolphin. Their beer selection can be a little bit dull from time to time but it's usually in good condition so it's always a good bet.
As we tipped up in the bar, I was beside myself with joy to see that they had Burning Sky Aurora which was a new (to me) beer from a familiar brewer. At 5.6% it needs to be treated with a bit of respect but by golly did it hit the spot.
We settled down in the sofas and ordered some food and enjoyed our beers (P was drinking Peroni, but I try not to hold that against him) and it was for all the world like proper after work drinks.
The Aurora was so good that I didn't even check the alternatives when choosing my second drink.
I do hope that the Dolphin continues to up their game because it's probably closest thing Eastbourne has to a proper craft ale and beer emporium.
Really good evening.
Thursday, 3 July 2014
Unskilled labour
Our discourse in a familiar pub might often revolve around why we like (or don't like) this and other pubs.
So it was on Sunday, in the Half Moon.
We're regularly irked by the people who cling around a bar obscuring the pumps and making it hard to get served. At the Half Moon, it's actually less of a problem than in other places since the bar staff are very good at serving through people and we're confident enough in the pub to inveigle our way to the bar in order to get a view at the pumps (oh, and there's also a handy board on the wall with an up to date list of beers and ciders).
There was one chap on a stool with a small dog on a long lead, and this was a bit more annoying than the usual run of bar clingers...mostly because I wasn't sure I could deliver beer from the bar without tripping over the diminutive mutt...and the chap was making absolutely no effort to get his dog out of my way.
So, I was rolling my eyes and gritting my teeth by the time I got to the table S was sitting at and he nodded in silent understanding.
But, that did at least prompt conversation about how the very busy pubs we like deal with the vast numbers of people, including bar clingers.
A little bit of it is organizational - bar not too big, or too small, bar kept uncluttered, etc...
But for the most part the real thing is bar staff. Those who pay attention to the queue and know who is where in it. Those who make eye contact and let you know they'll be with you in a second when they're finishing dealing with another customer. Then there are those who have almost super-human powers of lip-reading, simultaneous-multiple-pint-pouring and other skills not apparently available in other walks of life.
So, please don't think of bar-keeping as unskilled labour - and make sure you appreciate those who do it well.
So it was on Sunday, in the Half Moon.
We're regularly irked by the people who cling around a bar obscuring the pumps and making it hard to get served. At the Half Moon, it's actually less of a problem than in other places since the bar staff are very good at serving through people and we're confident enough in the pub to inveigle our way to the bar in order to get a view at the pumps (oh, and there's also a handy board on the wall with an up to date list of beers and ciders).
There was one chap on a stool with a small dog on a long lead, and this was a bit more annoying than the usual run of bar clingers...mostly because I wasn't sure I could deliver beer from the bar without tripping over the diminutive mutt...and the chap was making absolutely no effort to get his dog out of my way.
So, I was rolling my eyes and gritting my teeth by the time I got to the table S was sitting at and he nodded in silent understanding.
But, that did at least prompt conversation about how the very busy pubs we like deal with the vast numbers of people, including bar clingers.
A little bit of it is organizational - bar not too big, or too small, bar kept uncluttered, etc...
But for the most part the real thing is bar staff. Those who pay attention to the queue and know who is where in it. Those who make eye contact and let you know they'll be with you in a second when they're finishing dealing with another customer. Then there are those who have almost super-human powers of lip-reading, simultaneous-multiple-pint-pouring and other skills not apparently available in other walks of life.
So, please don't think of bar-keeping as unskilled labour - and make sure you appreciate those who do it well.
Monday, 30 June 2014
So have you blogged recently?
...S asked me yesterday.
The answer was "no".
Partly because I've been dashing between residences, partly because I've been tied up with a few projects in Eastbourne and partly because beer had been very much "some ol', same ol'" for a little while.
Still, we went on holiday in Appledore in Devon which was sooooo nearly the perfect place that it hurt. Why was it not perfect?
Well, the walking wasn't terribly interesting for one - there was a dearth of footpaths and there's only so many times you want to walk up and down a railway path.
The other reason were the pubs - of which there were six (of which we tried five). They were fine. But that's all and that's really quite sad.
There was real ale in all the pubs we did try - but for the most part it was the Otter, St Austell, Sharps triumvirate you inevitably get in the area with only rarely a ray of something a little more unusual - viz Clearwater Brewery "Real Smiler".
The one pleasant surprise was in Appledore's "posh" pub - The Seagate. This is one of the places that served the Smiler. The second time we went in, the young chap who served us said "ooh - that's just gone off, hang on a second and I'll change the barrel". Now, this is usually a bad sign since we don't really approved of serving beer back-to-back once a cask has emptied...so I stood with trepidation waiting for him to come back. He pulled about five or six pints through the pump, then carefully drew a half, put it on the bar and watched it clear. Then he sniffed it, swished it and tried it.
Only then did he draw our two pints and apologised for keeping us waiting. The beer was perfect.
Real Smiler isn't a truly great beer, it's a nice beer. But it was probably the best beer we had all week.
Is it really so hard to get something different on a bar with four pumps?
Actually, we noticed that the beer that seemed to sell best was Doom Bar. We guessed it's a little like the "Harveys" effect in Eastbourne - it's what people know, and what they like. There's no crime in that, but as S is wont to say "It's a bit like paying to see your wife's knees".
Getting back to civilisation, I started to catch up with my blog reading and stumbled on this blog and it pretty much sums it up for me. And we've been to that neck of the woods and I know what she means...
If you've read other posts in this blog - you'll not be surprised to learn that, whilst under the influence, S & I spent quite a lot of time musing whether we could set up a pub in Appledore with a better range of beer. I mean...how hard can it be?
The answer was "no".
Partly because I've been dashing between residences, partly because I've been tied up with a few projects in Eastbourne and partly because beer had been very much "some ol', same ol'" for a little while.
Still, we went on holiday in Appledore in Devon which was sooooo nearly the perfect place that it hurt. Why was it not perfect?
Well, the walking wasn't terribly interesting for one - there was a dearth of footpaths and there's only so many times you want to walk up and down a railway path.
The other reason were the pubs - of which there were six (of which we tried five). They were fine. But that's all and that's really quite sad.
There was real ale in all the pubs we did try - but for the most part it was the Otter, St Austell, Sharps triumvirate you inevitably get in the area with only rarely a ray of something a little more unusual - viz Clearwater Brewery "Real Smiler".
The one pleasant surprise was in Appledore's "posh" pub - The Seagate. This is one of the places that served the Smiler. The second time we went in, the young chap who served us said "ooh - that's just gone off, hang on a second and I'll change the barrel". Now, this is usually a bad sign since we don't really approved of serving beer back-to-back once a cask has emptied...so I stood with trepidation waiting for him to come back. He pulled about five or six pints through the pump, then carefully drew a half, put it on the bar and watched it clear. Then he sniffed it, swished it and tried it.
Only then did he draw our two pints and apologised for keeping us waiting. The beer was perfect.
Real Smiler isn't a truly great beer, it's a nice beer. But it was probably the best beer we had all week.
Is it really so hard to get something different on a bar with four pumps?
Actually, we noticed that the beer that seemed to sell best was Doom Bar. We guessed it's a little like the "Harveys" effect in Eastbourne - it's what people know, and what they like. There's no crime in that, but as S is wont to say "It's a bit like paying to see your wife's knees".
Getting back to civilisation, I started to catch up with my blog reading and stumbled on this blog and it pretty much sums it up for me. And we've been to that neck of the woods and I know what she means...
If you've read other posts in this blog - you'll not be surprised to learn that, whilst under the influence, S & I spent quite a lot of time musing whether we could set up a pub in Appledore with a better range of beer. I mean...how hard can it be?
Thursday, 22 May 2014
The Good, the Bad and the downright annoying
OK - I'll start with the last one first and it relates to beer in no way whatsoever, unless you think my frustration might have been heightened by my urge to get back to Hitchin for a nice pint...
...I'd spent just the day in Eastbourne for an hour's light housework, a community project meeting and a catch up with fellow community-project-eer. I caught the Victoria train from Eastbourne at 5pm and it was a reasonable enough journey...right up until the point we alighted at London Victoria.
All the badly behaved, twattish, irritating people in the entire universe had congregated there solely for the purpose of making the next stage of the journey a complete nightmare.
From the usual thoughtless trolley-bag draggers who seem to have no sense of how their swerving affects people around them walking in a straight line...to the people who know the ticket barrier is coming up but don't even think about getting their ticket out UNTIL THEY ARE BLOCKING ONE OR MORE BARRIERS to those that stop abruptly at the top or bottom of escalators and stairs to pick up/put down their wretched trolley bag thereby completely disrupting everyone behind them...
But worse than that yesterday were people like the cyclist who both queue-jumped the manual ticket barrier queue and proceeded to try and elbow me out of the way in order to get in front of me and everyone else...well, I say elbow...I mean handlebar (I mean it doesn't help that there are days when the Victoria Mainline station ticket barriers just don't seem to work properly at all and all you can hear is the beep of rejected tickets, and the ensuing colourful language as everyone joins the manual barrer...AGAIN). And then there was the chap who fairly loudly announced to his companion that the best bit of the underground platform to stand on is the bit exactly where the doors to the train are so you can be first on (f*ck those trying to get off, eh?). Yes, it's just possible I derived far too much pleasure from ensuring that neither of these idiot people benefited from their twattish behaviour...but that's not the point, is it?
Oddly, you don't seem to get this level of bad behaviour at Kings Cross... demographics or station design, I wonder.
Anyway...once I finally got to Kings Cross (narrowly missing one train) I had a pleasant journey back to Hitchin and we decided we'd give the Radcliffe another try. The last time we walked in there there had only been stout on the bar, which is a pretty bad show for a GBG pub - I tweeted them to berate them later and got a bit of a token apology with an inferred "it's not our fault, we don't sell enough beer". So we weren't confident we wouldn't have a repeat performance. Thankfully, two Buntingford beers were on (Britannia and Twitchell) and were in good condition. The food, as ever, was lovely and it made a good end to the day.
Ooh - another good was a surprise trip to the Highlander for a pint last Sunday to catch the tail end of what seems to have been a jolly good beer festival. Well done, chaps.
Lastly, the bad. It's not a surprising bad, but a bad nonetheless. Last weekend we went into the Bricklayers and had a couple of pints. I had been eyeing up the Charles Wells "DNA" beer for a couple of visits and finally though that I should stop being sniffy about it and actually try it. Yuk :-(
Ah well, at least I can now be rude about it from a position of knowledge, rather than prejudice...every cloud, eh?
...I'd spent just the day in Eastbourne for an hour's light housework, a community project meeting and a catch up with fellow community-project-eer. I caught the Victoria train from Eastbourne at 5pm and it was a reasonable enough journey...right up until the point we alighted at London Victoria.
All the badly behaved, twattish, irritating people in the entire universe had congregated there solely for the purpose of making the next stage of the journey a complete nightmare.
From the usual thoughtless trolley-bag draggers who seem to have no sense of how their swerving affects people around them walking in a straight line...to the people who know the ticket barrier is coming up but don't even think about getting their ticket out UNTIL THEY ARE BLOCKING ONE OR MORE BARRIERS to those that stop abruptly at the top or bottom of escalators and stairs to pick up/put down their wretched trolley bag thereby completely disrupting everyone behind them...
But worse than that yesterday were people like the cyclist who both queue-jumped the manual ticket barrier queue and proceeded to try and elbow me out of the way in order to get in front of me and everyone else...well, I say elbow...I mean handlebar (I mean it doesn't help that there are days when the Victoria Mainline station ticket barriers just don't seem to work properly at all and all you can hear is the beep of rejected tickets, and the ensuing colourful language as everyone joins the manual barrer...AGAIN). And then there was the chap who fairly loudly announced to his companion that the best bit of the underground platform to stand on is the bit exactly where the doors to the train are so you can be first on (f*ck those trying to get off, eh?). Yes, it's just possible I derived far too much pleasure from ensuring that neither of these idiot people benefited from their twattish behaviour...but that's not the point, is it?
Oddly, you don't seem to get this level of bad behaviour at Kings Cross... demographics or station design, I wonder.
Anyway...once I finally got to Kings Cross (narrowly missing one train) I had a pleasant journey back to Hitchin and we decided we'd give the Radcliffe another try. The last time we walked in there there had only been stout on the bar, which is a pretty bad show for a GBG pub - I tweeted them to berate them later and got a bit of a token apology with an inferred "it's not our fault, we don't sell enough beer". So we weren't confident we wouldn't have a repeat performance. Thankfully, two Buntingford beers were on (Britannia and Twitchell) and were in good condition. The food, as ever, was lovely and it made a good end to the day.
Ooh - another good was a surprise trip to the Highlander for a pint last Sunday to catch the tail end of what seems to have been a jolly good beer festival. Well done, chaps.
Lastly, the bad. It's not a surprising bad, but a bad nonetheless. Last weekend we went into the Bricklayers and had a couple of pints. I had been eyeing up the Charles Wells "DNA" beer for a couple of visits and finally though that I should stop being sniffy about it and actually try it. Yuk :-(
Ah well, at least I can now be rude about it from a position of knowledge, rather than prejudice...every cloud, eh?
Monday, 28 April 2014
Long Time no Write
I've been frantically busy for the last couple of weeks on a community project that is properly coming to fruition now. Also, S & I decided it was high time to sort out some Eastbourne domestic bits and pieces so we've spent a jolly couple of days in and around the house getting things done.
I've not sworn off the stuff of malt and hops, though and the time has been spent in a variety of pubs - including one new one and I can report (in no particular order) that:
- The Half Moon in Hitchin can shift a LOT of beer in a festival. Howard put on about 60 beers (so that's 60 x 9 gallons = 540 x 8 pints) starting last Thursday and by the time we were able to pop in yesterday afternoon...there was pretty much nothing left. Respect, Howard and Wendy.
Oddly the slight tinge of disappointment that there was little unusual beer to choose from (the normal bar had a full range, of course) was balanced with the delight that the pub was nice and quiet and allowed us a couple of games of Battleline over our beers.
- The Bricklayers (also in Hitchin) continues to have so much potential...but misses it almost every time. We could only manage one pint in there yesterday because the beer simply wasn't very good. Can't tell if it was tired or just not very good but it was a struggle to finish before we sloped off home.
- You can tire of Harveys so it's good to be able to rely on a couple of different pubs in Eastbourne to supply something different to try. It was nice to stumble on a joint Eagle/Dewdrop beer festival and try a few new beers. Nicely done, folks.
- I've now managed to try some Burning Sky beer from the cask - two in fact. Both excellent. Both unsurprisingly reminiscent of Dark Star brews. More strength to your elbow, sir.
- Someone in Eastbourne is talking about wanting to start a food and drink festival...as I chip into the conversation, all I can think about is how to shoehorn beer in as often as possible. Ah well.
- I think my very favourite Friday evening in Eastbourne is an early evening trip to the Eastern Wok - quite possibly the best restaurant in Eastbourne - followed by a couple of pints almost-next-door in The Crown. It means we eat well (which we're quite bad at doing sometimes), then we enjoy really good beer (not much choice but what there is often drawn by gravity) and only have to walk for about 8 minutes in order to reach bed.
Simple things for a simple woman.
I've not sworn off the stuff of malt and hops, though and the time has been spent in a variety of pubs - including one new one and I can report (in no particular order) that:
- The Half Moon in Hitchin can shift a LOT of beer in a festival. Howard put on about 60 beers (so that's 60 x 9 gallons = 540 x 8 pints) starting last Thursday and by the time we were able to pop in yesterday afternoon...there was pretty much nothing left. Respect, Howard and Wendy.
Oddly the slight tinge of disappointment that there was little unusual beer to choose from (the normal bar had a full range, of course) was balanced with the delight that the pub was nice and quiet and allowed us a couple of games of Battleline over our beers.
- The Bricklayers (also in Hitchin) continues to have so much potential...but misses it almost every time. We could only manage one pint in there yesterday because the beer simply wasn't very good. Can't tell if it was tired or just not very good but it was a struggle to finish before we sloped off home.
- You can tire of Harveys so it's good to be able to rely on a couple of different pubs in Eastbourne to supply something different to try. It was nice to stumble on a joint Eagle/Dewdrop beer festival and try a few new beers. Nicely done, folks.
- I've now managed to try some Burning Sky beer from the cask - two in fact. Both excellent. Both unsurprisingly reminiscent of Dark Star brews. More strength to your elbow, sir.
- Someone in Eastbourne is talking about wanting to start a food and drink festival...as I chip into the conversation, all I can think about is how to shoehorn beer in as often as possible. Ah well.
- I think my very favourite Friday evening in Eastbourne is an early evening trip to the Eastern Wok - quite possibly the best restaurant in Eastbourne - followed by a couple of pints almost-next-door in The Crown. It means we eat well (which we're quite bad at doing sometimes), then we enjoy really good beer (not much choice but what there is often drawn by gravity) and only have to walk for about 8 minutes in order to reach bed.
Simple things for a simple woman.
Tuesday, 15 April 2014
Place in the Playoffs
Now, it's that time of year when hopeful football fans everywhere are chewing their nails watching to see whether they make it into or can keep a foot in the playoff places.
Ah, but you see there are other playoffs that you're not even aware of. Those for pubs worth frequenting. Some are always destined to stay mid-table, and some always languish at the bottom and those who float to the top...then there are those that tantalise with their straying into playoff places, only to demonstrate disappointing form when they need to shine.
OK, enough with the metaphors (or allegories, or whatever).
The Bricklayers Arms in Hitchin. Hugely improved since its take-over by Banks and Taylor but has a tendancy to serve somewhat uninteresting beers.
It's possible they try and keep too many beers on the bar to sell quickly enough and so you get the odd tired pint. I also have to say that the service can be a tiny bit lack-lustre and inconsistent.
However, all this went by the wayside on Sunday. We knew the Half Moon would be heaving and we weren't in the mood for a noisy crowd. We'd already discovered, a few days earlier, that Bricklayers has a rather decent garden, the top part of which catches the evening sun very nicely.
And so it was that I had a pint of Bunny Hop Blond from the Peerless Brewery. I knew it was pretty fresh since it wasn't on when we went in there on Friday. It was very nice indeed. Nothing unusual, no unsubtle flavours and not particularly distinctive - but really well balanced and well kept. So good that I didn't feel the need to try anything else and had 3 (yes, that's right, three!) pints.
S opted for two pints from the Black Country Brewery (Pig on the Wall and Fireside Bitter) and declared that this brewery should be "watched out for". This time he was a little disappointed by the pint of B&T Dragon Slayer - we suspect the cask had been open for a few days.
So, I do believe that The Bricklayers is showing potential for promotion (some three pint days aren't a good indicator of long-term form) so we'll be making more trips there to see.
Ah, but you see there are other playoffs that you're not even aware of. Those for pubs worth frequenting. Some are always destined to stay mid-table, and some always languish at the bottom and those who float to the top...then there are those that tantalise with their straying into playoff places, only to demonstrate disappointing form when they need to shine.
OK, enough with the metaphors (or allegories, or whatever).
The Bricklayers Arms in Hitchin. Hugely improved since its take-over by Banks and Taylor but has a tendancy to serve somewhat uninteresting beers.
It's possible they try and keep too many beers on the bar to sell quickly enough and so you get the odd tired pint. I also have to say that the service can be a tiny bit lack-lustre and inconsistent.
However, all this went by the wayside on Sunday. We knew the Half Moon would be heaving and we weren't in the mood for a noisy crowd. We'd already discovered, a few days earlier, that Bricklayers has a rather decent garden, the top part of which catches the evening sun very nicely.
And so it was that I had a pint of Bunny Hop Blond from the Peerless Brewery. I knew it was pretty fresh since it wasn't on when we went in there on Friday. It was very nice indeed. Nothing unusual, no unsubtle flavours and not particularly distinctive - but really well balanced and well kept. So good that I didn't feel the need to try anything else and had 3 (yes, that's right, three!) pints.
S opted for two pints from the Black Country Brewery (Pig on the Wall and Fireside Bitter) and declared that this brewery should be "watched out for". This time he was a little disappointed by the pint of B&T Dragon Slayer - we suspect the cask had been open for a few days.
So, I do believe that The Bricklayers is showing potential for promotion (some three pint days aren't a good indicator of long-term form) so we'll be making more trips there to see.
Friday, 11 April 2014
That'll Give You Something to Blog About...
...he said.
Trust me, if I wasn't blogging about beer, I'd be blogging about what has pissed me off with humanity (or at least that section of it that annoyed me on the train/tube/bus/shop/pub/out in the street...) today or yesterday.
Anyhow - to what was he referring...? Actually, I don't really remember but I know we were in the Half Moon. Conceivably, it was at my initial disappointment about the flavour of Ringwood Fortyniner which has been a favoured "beer of my youth" (where youth = 20's to 30's).
Howard always has some tied beers (Youngs, Adnams) some old favourites (Crouch Vale, Tring, Oakham) and almost always the odd special. A couple of weeks ago, Ringwood Fortyniner made an appearance.
I remember drinking it fairly regularly when I lived near a real ale off licence in Bedminster (it was called the Brown Jug) and I think we had a polypin of it one Christmas.
More recently, about 5 years ago, I had a holiday with "the boys" in the Isle of Wight and although there weren't any really good pubs in the village, there were a couple of not bad ones, and one of them put Fortyniner on as a guest one afternoon. I remember sitting in the sunny beer garden and introducing C to its delights as we drank rather too much for an afternoon. The same evening, all six of us went to the pub and managed to wipe them out of the remainder.
So, back to the Half Moon...I think I'd had a pint of Oakham Citra and decided that I'd have a half of Fortyniner. As I took the first swig, S noticed my face took on a disappointed look. He tried my beer. "Yeah - that's how beer used to taste" saith he. It's a good pint but things have changed...our tastes have changed.
Maybe in Hampshire, and if I hadn't just had some Citra, it would still have been as great as ever. But am I so swayed to way of the "hopped to fuck and back" beer that something a little more subtle disappoints me?
I do hope not.
Trust me, if I wasn't blogging about beer, I'd be blogging about what has pissed me off with humanity (or at least that section of it that annoyed me on the train/tube/bus/shop/pub/out in the street...) today or yesterday.
Anyhow - to what was he referring...? Actually, I don't really remember but I know we were in the Half Moon. Conceivably, it was at my initial disappointment about the flavour of Ringwood Fortyniner which has been a favoured "beer of my youth" (where youth = 20's to 30's).
Howard always has some tied beers (Youngs, Adnams) some old favourites (Crouch Vale, Tring, Oakham) and almost always the odd special. A couple of weeks ago, Ringwood Fortyniner made an appearance.
I remember drinking it fairly regularly when I lived near a real ale off licence in Bedminster (it was called the Brown Jug) and I think we had a polypin of it one Christmas.
More recently, about 5 years ago, I had a holiday with "the boys" in the Isle of Wight and although there weren't any really good pubs in the village, there were a couple of not bad ones, and one of them put Fortyniner on as a guest one afternoon. I remember sitting in the sunny beer garden and introducing C to its delights as we drank rather too much for an afternoon. The same evening, all six of us went to the pub and managed to wipe them out of the remainder.
So, back to the Half Moon...I think I'd had a pint of Oakham Citra and decided that I'd have a half of Fortyniner. As I took the first swig, S noticed my face took on a disappointed look. He tried my beer. "Yeah - that's how beer used to taste" saith he. It's a good pint but things have changed...our tastes have changed.
Maybe in Hampshire, and if I hadn't just had some Citra, it would still have been as great as ever. But am I so swayed to way of the "hopped to fuck and back" beer that something a little more subtle disappoints me?
I do hope not.
Wednesday, 26 March 2014
Bottled Oakham Citra
In a rare excursion into lone drinking of bottled beer I had one of these last night.
Lovely stuff.
Nuff said.
Lovely stuff.
Nuff said.
Monday, 24 March 2014
Moon Over Water
Orwell's Moon Over Water is a fictional perfect pub.
S&I have been musing a lot over the pub we'd have if we owned one. Now, we're not actually thinking of throwing in our current lives and buying a pub. We both know the reality of the life of a publican: busy, relatively little reward, hostage to government policies on alchol control and, all too often, dependence or abuse of your product.
We've been thinking about it because of the three pubs we have been involved in try to save from being turned into something else. If the campaigns on any of them were to be successful, we'd want to be in the forefront of the people putting their money where their mouth is.
Whilst understanding that the context of the pub is important in deciding how you run it, we'd want it to be a place that we really wanted to go to.
Our Moon Over Water would, obviously, serve Real Ale. Now, one reason I would never want to be involved in a pub with a beer tie is that I'm learning how stupidly expensive and restrictive that is. When your beer supplier can not only restrict what you sell to a list of things that you have to buy from them and/or charge you over the odd for it, then the ability to give your punters something new or exciting pretty much evaporates. As a result, the consumer's price for their beer goes up. A lot. that means you're either pricing some customers out entirely or the rest of your offering has to be even better to make up for the expensive beer. What a stupid choice that is when we have a so-say free market economy.
So, I'm talking about us having a freehold pub, with no beer tie, thanks very much.
Yesterday we mused over lagers (the big brands you see on every bar) and nitro-stout. Is it essential to have Fosters, Peroni, Heineken and Kronenburg 1664? (or any similar range?). First off, we both said "no" because they all taste the same, right? And lager drinkers will actually drink any of them. Then we had to review that because we could both put those lagers in the order in which we would actually drink them so probably lager drinkers can tell them apart...so, OK, maybe a choice of a couple of lagers. But I can't help wonder if we could put in craft lagers alongside the mass produced stuff and price it more competitively just to see whether there's price sensitivity to it. Giving people the option to try something more lovingly made.
A good wine list and a mix of spirits are a must - and since they're a lot less time-restricted for sale (unlike real ale) there's not really any excuse for not buying good quality.
Ah, then soft drinks. Not important, you say? Oh they so are. If you don't drink, chances are the pub may not be your favourite venue - but since all your friends drink you'll end up in the pub sometimes. What you need is to be able to choose from some pleasant, grown up, soft drinks or beverages. So - not just manky coke served from a gun...but some decent high quality soft drinks that you don't charge the earth for. Yeah, maybe gun-dispense soda drinks are available too since it should make them very cheap, and useful from time to time.
Now food. First, it has to be available all day (even if not all the menu is). There are strange people like S and I who are about half-a-mealtime out from the rest of the world. It's no good if you stop serving lunch at 2pm and don't serve dinner until 6.30pm. We quite often need to eat at around 3 or 4pm. food doesn't have to be stupidly fancy to be attractive. A good burger (beef, lamb, chicken and veggie) with a nice salad (dressing optional) and chips makes a fine meal. Do a short menu, with style options and do it well. Oh - and not all children only eat McNuggets - so let's have proper meals for children whilst we're at it.
And in a neat segue...children in the pub.
Hmmmm
As an adult drinker - I'd generally rather not be surrounded by other people's children. It's absolutely fine when they're quiet, part of the adult group and they're not generally heard above the general chatter...sadly you can't legislate for that and so I think our pub would need a place for just adults to be.
And while we're at it - I don't hate dogs at all...but I don't want one sniffing my crotch/licking my hands/barking at another dog/eyeing my lunch whilst I'm out for a pleasant drink, thanks. Personally, I think if you can't keep your dog (or child) under control you shouldn't have one...and you certainly shouldn't have one in the pub.
So there would also need to be some four-leg/two-leg segregation.
Actually, thinking about it - rather than pushing the people we don't want out of the main bar...maybe we have a special bar (grumpy old man's room, or similar) for the rest of us, instead.
I think it's all doable...question is would anyone want to come to our pub once we've done it...
S&I have been musing a lot over the pub we'd have if we owned one. Now, we're not actually thinking of throwing in our current lives and buying a pub. We both know the reality of the life of a publican: busy, relatively little reward, hostage to government policies on alchol control and, all too often, dependence or abuse of your product.
We've been thinking about it because of the three pubs we have been involved in try to save from being turned into something else. If the campaigns on any of them were to be successful, we'd want to be in the forefront of the people putting their money where their mouth is.
Whilst understanding that the context of the pub is important in deciding how you run it, we'd want it to be a place that we really wanted to go to.
Our Moon Over Water would, obviously, serve Real Ale. Now, one reason I would never want to be involved in a pub with a beer tie is that I'm learning how stupidly expensive and restrictive that is. When your beer supplier can not only restrict what you sell to a list of things that you have to buy from them and/or charge you over the odd for it, then the ability to give your punters something new or exciting pretty much evaporates. As a result, the consumer's price for their beer goes up. A lot. that means you're either pricing some customers out entirely or the rest of your offering has to be even better to make up for the expensive beer. What a stupid choice that is when we have a so-say free market economy.
So, I'm talking about us having a freehold pub, with no beer tie, thanks very much.
Yesterday we mused over lagers (the big brands you see on every bar) and nitro-stout. Is it essential to have Fosters, Peroni, Heineken and Kronenburg 1664? (or any similar range?). First off, we both said "no" because they all taste the same, right? And lager drinkers will actually drink any of them. Then we had to review that because we could both put those lagers in the order in which we would actually drink them so probably lager drinkers can tell them apart...so, OK, maybe a choice of a couple of lagers. But I can't help wonder if we could put in craft lagers alongside the mass produced stuff and price it more competitively just to see whether there's price sensitivity to it. Giving people the option to try something more lovingly made.
A good wine list and a mix of spirits are a must - and since they're a lot less time-restricted for sale (unlike real ale) there's not really any excuse for not buying good quality.
Ah, then soft drinks. Not important, you say? Oh they so are. If you don't drink, chances are the pub may not be your favourite venue - but since all your friends drink you'll end up in the pub sometimes. What you need is to be able to choose from some pleasant, grown up, soft drinks or beverages. So - not just manky coke served from a gun...but some decent high quality soft drinks that you don't charge the earth for. Yeah, maybe gun-dispense soda drinks are available too since it should make them very cheap, and useful from time to time.
Now food. First, it has to be available all day (even if not all the menu is). There are strange people like S and I who are about half-a-mealtime out from the rest of the world. It's no good if you stop serving lunch at 2pm and don't serve dinner until 6.30pm. We quite often need to eat at around 3 or 4pm. food doesn't have to be stupidly fancy to be attractive. A good burger (beef, lamb, chicken and veggie) with a nice salad (dressing optional) and chips makes a fine meal. Do a short menu, with style options and do it well. Oh - and not all children only eat McNuggets - so let's have proper meals for children whilst we're at it.
And in a neat segue...children in the pub.
Hmmmm
As an adult drinker - I'd generally rather not be surrounded by other people's children. It's absolutely fine when they're quiet, part of the adult group and they're not generally heard above the general chatter...sadly you can't legislate for that and so I think our pub would need a place for just adults to be.
And while we're at it - I don't hate dogs at all...but I don't want one sniffing my crotch/licking my hands/barking at another dog/eyeing my lunch whilst I'm out for a pleasant drink, thanks. Personally, I think if you can't keep your dog (or child) under control you shouldn't have one...and you certainly shouldn't have one in the pub.
So there would also need to be some four-leg/two-leg segregation.
Actually, thinking about it - rather than pushing the people we don't want out of the main bar...maybe we have a special bar (grumpy old man's room, or similar) for the rest of us, instead.
I think it's all doable...question is would anyone want to come to our pub once we've done it...
Friday, 21 March 2014
Sectarianism
I had an odd experience today.
I met a pal for a lunchtime worky kinda meeting in a pub in town. The Dolphin is a lovely place - nice lunch, a decent range of beer and friendly staff.
Today I particularly appreciated the ease with which I could swap chips and slaw for a salad with no dressing to go with my burger.
We both know the landlady pretty well so it wasn't surprising that she stopped by for a chat.
We got talking about keg vs cask (in a craft beer context) and she looked apologetic for a moment and said "ah, you're a CAMRA member, aren't you..." and then shuffled a bit uncomfortably as if I might suddenly disapprove of the pub because they were thinking about maybe holding an event that would serve some keg craft beer.
Or, worse, that I'd call the CAMRA police and have them banished from the GBG.
That I don't like keg beer, as a rule, is a matter of personal choice. I generally find it too cold, too fizzy and lacking the subtlety that a really good cask beer can have. My looking disappointed when she talked about the keg beer was that it would be an event I probably wouldn't rush to attend...rather a look of disapproval.
I would hope that the CAMpaign for Real Ale was more about being for real ale, and less against all other forms of beer...isn't it?
Real Ale is served from a cask but not all Good Beer is Real Ale, surely.
I applaud anyone's effort to produce a lovingly created product in the hope that people will enjoy it.
I'm also a CAMRA member but please don't think that makes me hate everything that isn't cask beer.
I met a pal for a lunchtime worky kinda meeting in a pub in town. The Dolphin is a lovely place - nice lunch, a decent range of beer and friendly staff.
Today I particularly appreciated the ease with which I could swap chips and slaw for a salad with no dressing to go with my burger.
We both know the landlady pretty well so it wasn't surprising that she stopped by for a chat.
We got talking about keg vs cask (in a craft beer context) and she looked apologetic for a moment and said "ah, you're a CAMRA member, aren't you..." and then shuffled a bit uncomfortably as if I might suddenly disapprove of the pub because they were thinking about maybe holding an event that would serve some keg craft beer.
Or, worse, that I'd call the CAMRA police and have them banished from the GBG.
That I don't like keg beer, as a rule, is a matter of personal choice. I generally find it too cold, too fizzy and lacking the subtlety that a really good cask beer can have. My looking disappointed when she talked about the keg beer was that it would be an event I probably wouldn't rush to attend...rather a look of disapproval.
I would hope that the CAMpaign for Real Ale was more about being for real ale, and less against all other forms of beer...isn't it?
Real Ale is served from a cask but not all Good Beer is Real Ale, surely.
I applaud anyone's effort to produce a lovingly created product in the hope that people will enjoy it.
I'm also a CAMRA member but please don't think that makes me hate everything that isn't cask beer.
Thursday, 20 March 2014
Know your customer
Last night, The Crown - in Old Town - increased another notch in my estimation.
We'd convened a community group meeting there - partly because it's the nearest pub for at least three of the attendees - and I turned up about 15 mins early to ensure I was there to greet people.
It's a sort of a three room pub but the divisions are more-or-less virtual.
The room I chose had the least people in it, and the benefit of a decent-sized round table which was available.
As people trickled into the pub for the meeting, the landlord popped over to the table and said "are you having a meeting here?" - I waited for the "I'm sorry, but..." excuse when I answered "yes". Instead, I got a cheery - "would you like me to turn off the speaker above your head so you can hear yourselves chat?".
Now, I call that a man who understands his pub and is paying attention to what's going on.
I've promised to spread our meetings around because the group come from all over the town...but we'll definitely be back.
Oh, and as usual, I had a couple of great pints of Hophead straight from a cask. Yum.
We'd convened a community group meeting there - partly because it's the nearest pub for at least three of the attendees - and I turned up about 15 mins early to ensure I was there to greet people.
It's a sort of a three room pub but the divisions are more-or-less virtual.
The room I chose had the least people in it, and the benefit of a decent-sized round table which was available.
As people trickled into the pub for the meeting, the landlord popped over to the table and said "are you having a meeting here?" - I waited for the "I'm sorry, but..." excuse when I answered "yes". Instead, I got a cheery - "would you like me to turn off the speaker above your head so you can hear yourselves chat?".
Now, I call that a man who understands his pub and is paying attention to what's going on.
I've promised to spread our meetings around because the group come from all over the town...but we'll definitely be back.
Oh, and as usual, I had a couple of great pints of Hophead straight from a cask. Yum.
Monday, 17 March 2014
Beer, beer, beer
So it was S & my first chilled weekend for seemingly ages so we had plans to do very little after the beer festival on Friday night.
The festival itself settled around us like a loud, but jolly friend of whom we are immensely fond but can't cope with too often. The evening always starts slowly but as we settled into the groove it zooms away amongst loud chatter, the trying of the beer (yours and other people's), eating of pasties and chocolate and increasing inebriation.
I managed to tick my list of beers I wanted to try - but I don't have it to hand here. I was a little disappointed by local new brewery "Twisted Oak", but enjoyed the Penzance "Thirty Summit" which is a new brew. A couple of the beers I was hoping to try (Rocket Science and Tiny Rebel Fubar) weren't available when I was...so they got missed but I think my star was a black IPA by Salopian, called Black Ops. At 7.4% it packed a hell of a punch but it was really nicely balanced and dangerously drinkable. I also, rather rashly, had some Sadlers "Dr Hardwicke's IPA" which, again, was strong and delicious.
Needless to say, after all those, and probably 4 more (though I really can't remember) I was largely fit for nothing. It's unusual for me to be quite so drunk, but since all S&I had to do was stroll the five minutes back to the flat, it was quite nice to be able to let go and let the beery haze wash over me.
Weirdly enough, there was next to no next-day aftermath. Both of us were a little dehydrated but coffee and cereal set us up sufficiently to go out for some fresh air, ....errr...and pub in which to watch the culmination of the Six Nations.
There don't seem to be many pubs nearby that are in "the guide" and have sports coverage...but we ambled around to the "Naval Volunteer"
The last time we came in here it had literally just opened and had a "trying a bit hard" feel which doesn't make for a relaxed atmosphere. Also, they only had a couple of cask ales on and we hadn't been moved to come back so far. Nevertheless it promised sport and good beer so we thought we'd give it a try.
We were pleasantly surprised. TV's were spread around the place but weren't so intrusive that you couldn't do anything but watch them. This time there were 10 beers on cask and no complaints about the range of styles or the quality of the offering.
I had a couple of pints of an Anarchy Blonde beer which was good and S had a stout which he enjoyed, and Cheddar Goat's Leap which was alright but not great.
The service was a bit lack-lustre - they could really take a lesson out of the Evening Star's book for vigilance over who is next in the queue or even just an acknowledgement they've seen you - but I know this is a quibble.
I have to say the prices are a bit eye watering (£4+ for a pint of cask ale) but oddly, we didn't begrudge it because the atmosphere was pleasant. It's still not going to be on my list of places I go to regularly but it has gone up in my estimation.
After we watched England beat Italy it was time for more fresh air - and a bit of culture so we wandered around the harbourside, stopping in at the Arnolfini, Architecture Centre and the MShed for a quick look.
Thence to the Orchard - a favourite backstreet haunt, mostly for the "proper pubbiness", definite feeling of "localness" and (for S, at least) a cracking range of cider.
It was rammed and loud and the cider was far better than the beer - which is a shame since I've had great beer there before - but it was mostly about watching the France v Ireland match.
We had a seat (we'd have probably left if we didn't) so it served the purpose - but the sheer volume of people somewhat wrecked the usual chilled atmosphere we like in there.
Still - once again, purpose was served and we walked home grateful for a bit of peace.
Sunday morning, S asks me "so where's the 'new pub'" this time, then?
As I've probably mentioned before, every time S stays in Bristol I try and take him to a new pub (it doesn't have to be in the guide, but I do try to get them covered).
So this time we went to the Totterdown/Bedminster part of town.
The walk part of the expedition was through Victoria Park which was very nice in the sunshine and gives excellent views from the centre part of it (it being set around a hill).
We'd had an abortive attempt to go to The Windmill a couple of Christmasses ago - but it seemed rude not to try again.
Very nice pub, but with average beer. I can't even remember what beer it was. But I'd probably be happy enough to try there again (the Sunday lunch looked really nice) assuming that they changed their beer regularly.
So after one pint we did a bit of urban exploration (even walking through city back-streets is pleasant with a companion who, like you, likes to do a bit of architectural sherlocking) and strolled in a wide curve around to St John's lane and headed for the Victoria Park.
Now, this is a place that offers so much: good-looking food; real ale; good coffee; spirits of every type and (very oddly for somewhere set in a tight-packed Victorian housing estate ) an immense garden.
Sadly, on a sunny Sunday with the place lousy with thirty-somethings and their numerous offspring they simply didn't have sufficient staff on bar duty. There were just two chaps - one of whom was making a round of coffees and the other who was doing alchemy with bloody-marys (maries?).
As we muttered darkly next to the chap calmly putting together a cappuccino, a latte and an americano he didn't miss a beat and as soon as he took them out for delivery in the garden (seriously, bar staff waiting table??? come on) he said "I'll serve you as soon as I get back" - which I liked.
He was as good as his word, and the second he returned he was there with a smile and a "what can I get you". He appreciated the joke that we said at least we were simple as we ordered a pint of Butty Bach and an Arbor Best Bitter (can't remember the name) and he poured them quickly, efficiently and with good spirit - then smiled as I awarded him brownie points for remaining composed under pressure.
The beer was excellent. They had three beers on: one gold, one brown, one stout. This is what we like to see.
We took our drinks and enjoyed them in the garden (despite it being a bit yummy-mummy-central).
We agreed that if this was our local, we wouldn't be disappointed, but it's not likely to be a frequent drop-in for us.
So we took our leave and I was horrified to see the length of the queue at the bar as we left - probably 20 people waiting in line to be served. If we'd have arrived to that length of queue, we would have walked straight out. Such a shame.
So we wended back through the park and landed at the Star and Dove. Another (like the Victoria Park) which was a hideous dive 10 years ago and has now responded to the gentrification of the area in which it sits and has been transformed.
This was much quieter since we'd clearly missed the lunchtime rush. We got a couple of pints (Goffs Jouster and something I can't remember) and some sausage-based bar snacks (sausage roll and scotch egg) and found a good seat.
The live music in the next room was a bit oppressive but it stopped after about 15 minutes.
All in all this, too, is a nice enough place - but in line with the themes of the other two places...it's not really a pub as such.
I mean, they all look like pubs but they're clearly opening their options to as many people as they possibly can - and I absolutely don't blame them - but in doing that, they lose some of the essential pubbiness of the buildings they have taken over.
They are cafes for the yummy mummy generation who don't want their social lives to stop with the arrival of children.
The walk back to the flat was full of talk about the best pub we could craft from somewhere in Eastbourne...then we packed bags, cleaned the kitchen and headed out for our pre-leaving beer. This time, we weren't parting so it felt more upbeat than our usual parting Sundays.
We headed for the Bridge, which we hadn't visited for while. This is a pub that can feel too crowded with three people in it, if those people are of a "spread my stuff around" nature.
But, it's most definitely a pub.
Now, you might be getting the idea that we're extremely hard to please when it comes to drinking establishments. OK, I'll grant you that.
We're open to a wide range of styles of places - each of which has their own charms - but within that, we're very fussy indeed as to what constitutes a place we really like.
Happily, the Bridge was just what we wanted. Half a dozen other punters, really good beer (not a huge choice, but what they had was delicious) and a place of pleasant chatter and trivia game playing (which I won, unusually) for an hour or so. And at £2.50 a pint at this time on a Sunday, a very welcome price, too.
Bristol has certainly gone from strength to strength in the range and quality of beer available in the city and for that I'm thankful. To the extent that I don't really need the annual fix of 120 beers in one place (since even with halves I can't do more than about eight of them). So my decision to leave the staff of the festival (and with it, leaving attending the festival) due to my lack of time in Bristol, seems the right one, at the right time.
The festival will go on - and, I hope, beer will continue getting better in the city.
The other thing this weekend has reinforced is that you have to go a long way to beat The Barleymow for a local.
The festival itself settled around us like a loud, but jolly friend of whom we are immensely fond but can't cope with too often. The evening always starts slowly but as we settled into the groove it zooms away amongst loud chatter, the trying of the beer (yours and other people's), eating of pasties and chocolate and increasing inebriation.
I managed to tick my list of beers I wanted to try - but I don't have it to hand here. I was a little disappointed by local new brewery "Twisted Oak", but enjoyed the Penzance "Thirty Summit" which is a new brew. A couple of the beers I was hoping to try (Rocket Science and Tiny Rebel Fubar) weren't available when I was...so they got missed but I think my star was a black IPA by Salopian, called Black Ops. At 7.4% it packed a hell of a punch but it was really nicely balanced and dangerously drinkable. I also, rather rashly, had some Sadlers "Dr Hardwicke's IPA" which, again, was strong and delicious.
Needless to say, after all those, and probably 4 more (though I really can't remember) I was largely fit for nothing. It's unusual for me to be quite so drunk, but since all S&I had to do was stroll the five minutes back to the flat, it was quite nice to be able to let go and let the beery haze wash over me.
Weirdly enough, there was next to no next-day aftermath. Both of us were a little dehydrated but coffee and cereal set us up sufficiently to go out for some fresh air, ....errr...and pub in which to watch the culmination of the Six Nations.
There don't seem to be many pubs nearby that are in "the guide" and have sports coverage...but we ambled around to the "Naval Volunteer"
The last time we came in here it had literally just opened and had a "trying a bit hard" feel which doesn't make for a relaxed atmosphere. Also, they only had a couple of cask ales on and we hadn't been moved to come back so far. Nevertheless it promised sport and good beer so we thought we'd give it a try.
We were pleasantly surprised. TV's were spread around the place but weren't so intrusive that you couldn't do anything but watch them. This time there were 10 beers on cask and no complaints about the range of styles or the quality of the offering.
I had a couple of pints of an Anarchy Blonde beer which was good and S had a stout which he enjoyed, and Cheddar Goat's Leap which was alright but not great.
The service was a bit lack-lustre - they could really take a lesson out of the Evening Star's book for vigilance over who is next in the queue or even just an acknowledgement they've seen you - but I know this is a quibble.
I have to say the prices are a bit eye watering (£4+ for a pint of cask ale) but oddly, we didn't begrudge it because the atmosphere was pleasant. It's still not going to be on my list of places I go to regularly but it has gone up in my estimation.
After we watched England beat Italy it was time for more fresh air - and a bit of culture so we wandered around the harbourside, stopping in at the Arnolfini, Architecture Centre and the MShed for a quick look.
Thence to the Orchard - a favourite backstreet haunt, mostly for the "proper pubbiness", definite feeling of "localness" and (for S, at least) a cracking range of cider.
It was rammed and loud and the cider was far better than the beer - which is a shame since I've had great beer there before - but it was mostly about watching the France v Ireland match.
We had a seat (we'd have probably left if we didn't) so it served the purpose - but the sheer volume of people somewhat wrecked the usual chilled atmosphere we like in there.
Still - once again, purpose was served and we walked home grateful for a bit of peace.
Sunday morning, S asks me "so where's the 'new pub'" this time, then?
As I've probably mentioned before, every time S stays in Bristol I try and take him to a new pub (it doesn't have to be in the guide, but I do try to get them covered).
So this time we went to the Totterdown/Bedminster part of town.
The walk part of the expedition was through Victoria Park which was very nice in the sunshine and gives excellent views from the centre part of it (it being set around a hill).
We'd had an abortive attempt to go to The Windmill a couple of Christmasses ago - but it seemed rude not to try again.
Very nice pub, but with average beer. I can't even remember what beer it was. But I'd probably be happy enough to try there again (the Sunday lunch looked really nice) assuming that they changed their beer regularly.
So after one pint we did a bit of urban exploration (even walking through city back-streets is pleasant with a companion who, like you, likes to do a bit of architectural sherlocking) and strolled in a wide curve around to St John's lane and headed for the Victoria Park.
Now, this is a place that offers so much: good-looking food; real ale; good coffee; spirits of every type and (very oddly for somewhere set in a tight-packed Victorian housing estate ) an immense garden.
Sadly, on a sunny Sunday with the place lousy with thirty-somethings and their numerous offspring they simply didn't have sufficient staff on bar duty. There were just two chaps - one of whom was making a round of coffees and the other who was doing alchemy with bloody-marys (maries?).
As we muttered darkly next to the chap calmly putting together a cappuccino, a latte and an americano he didn't miss a beat and as soon as he took them out for delivery in the garden (seriously, bar staff waiting table??? come on) he said "I'll serve you as soon as I get back" - which I liked.
He was as good as his word, and the second he returned he was there with a smile and a "what can I get you". He appreciated the joke that we said at least we were simple as we ordered a pint of Butty Bach and an Arbor Best Bitter (can't remember the name) and he poured them quickly, efficiently and with good spirit - then smiled as I awarded him brownie points for remaining composed under pressure.
The beer was excellent. They had three beers on: one gold, one brown, one stout. This is what we like to see.
We took our drinks and enjoyed them in the garden (despite it being a bit yummy-mummy-central).
We agreed that if this was our local, we wouldn't be disappointed, but it's not likely to be a frequent drop-in for us.
So we took our leave and I was horrified to see the length of the queue at the bar as we left - probably 20 people waiting in line to be served. If we'd have arrived to that length of queue, we would have walked straight out. Such a shame.
So we wended back through the park and landed at the Star and Dove. Another (like the Victoria Park) which was a hideous dive 10 years ago and has now responded to the gentrification of the area in which it sits and has been transformed.
This was much quieter since we'd clearly missed the lunchtime rush. We got a couple of pints (Goffs Jouster and something I can't remember) and some sausage-based bar snacks (sausage roll and scotch egg) and found a good seat.
The live music in the next room was a bit oppressive but it stopped after about 15 minutes.
All in all this, too, is a nice enough place - but in line with the themes of the other two places...it's not really a pub as such.
I mean, they all look like pubs but they're clearly opening their options to as many people as they possibly can - and I absolutely don't blame them - but in doing that, they lose some of the essential pubbiness of the buildings they have taken over.
They are cafes for the yummy mummy generation who don't want their social lives to stop with the arrival of children.
The walk back to the flat was full of talk about the best pub we could craft from somewhere in Eastbourne...then we packed bags, cleaned the kitchen and headed out for our pre-leaving beer. This time, we weren't parting so it felt more upbeat than our usual parting Sundays.
We headed for the Bridge, which we hadn't visited for while. This is a pub that can feel too crowded with three people in it, if those people are of a "spread my stuff around" nature.
But, it's most definitely a pub.
Now, you might be getting the idea that we're extremely hard to please when it comes to drinking establishments. OK, I'll grant you that.
We're open to a wide range of styles of places - each of which has their own charms - but within that, we're very fussy indeed as to what constitutes a place we really like.
Happily, the Bridge was just what we wanted. Half a dozen other punters, really good beer (not a huge choice, but what they had was delicious) and a place of pleasant chatter and trivia game playing (which I won, unusually) for an hour or so. And at £2.50 a pint at this time on a Sunday, a very welcome price, too.
Bristol has certainly gone from strength to strength in the range and quality of beer available in the city and for that I'm thankful. To the extent that I don't really need the annual fix of 120 beers in one place (since even with halves I can't do more than about eight of them). So my decision to leave the staff of the festival (and with it, leaving attending the festival) due to my lack of time in Bristol, seems the right one, at the right time.
The festival will go on - and, I hope, beer will continue getting better in the city.
The other thing this weekend has reinforced is that you have to go a long way to beat The Barleymow for a local.
Thursday, 13 March 2014
Festival Fever
It's been a busy week for me.
For the last few years I've volunteered to help set up the Bristol Beer Festival.
If you've ever wondered what it takes to run a festival, then I can tell you - a LOT of organization, a LOT of patience, a good sense of humour and a vast number of lovely volunteers.
In Bristol we start with a lovely venue - "Brunel's Old Station" at Temple Meads in Bristol
This is particularly fortunate for those who like to associate their beer with trains...
Then you need stillage to put your casks on. But it arrives in pieces, like a Meccano set.
Of course - you also need beer. In this case more than 100 casks of the stuff. Many hands are needed to roll the casks in from the lorry to the hall...
Casks get sorted and stored whilst the length of stillage continues to be built. Everyone trying not to get in each others' way.
Meanwhile, there are less physical jobs to do: taps and other accoutrements need to be thoroughly washed to ensure the beer stays in tip-top condition.
Casks are carefully lifted onto the stillage using hoists.
They have to steadied and properly oriented (with the tap hole at the bottom) and then chocked in place
By the end of day one of set-up all the casks are neatly racked on the stillage settling nicely.
Day two is mostly about preparing the rest of the room: a secure area to sell tokens and memorabilia...
Tables to seat about 400 people (out of a capacity of nearly 1000) are positioned, covered and chairs arranged around them.
There are long ladders to be climbed so that banners can be hung - from CAMRA, from local breweries and from a charity we're supporing. All this goes to make the room feel more festive.
Some of our volunteers even help man-handle the staff loos into a tight parking space.
In addition to all this are such diverse jobs as putting programmes and tokens in glasses ready to hand to people as they arrive; putting up signage to loos, exits, for tokens and so that people can see roughly where their chosen beer might be.
Some of the jobs take a bit of experience and skill, others just take a bit of effort and it's great to be part of a big group of people all coming together for one purpose, and because they enjoy it.
So the next time you attend a beer festival, remember the volunteers who are not only working to serve behind the bar, or check your ticket as you come in - there are oodles of people who have also set the place up...and there will be volunteers after to take it all down.
Why not think about becoming a volunteer yourself? Almost all festivals would welcome more help, and even if you're a bit shy or reserved, it's a really nice way to meet people. There's a job that suits everyone and anyone...so join in!
For the last few years I've volunteered to help set up the Bristol Beer Festival.
If you've ever wondered what it takes to run a festival, then I can tell you - a LOT of organization, a LOT of patience, a good sense of humour and a vast number of lovely volunteers.
This is particularly fortunate for those who like to associate their beer with trains...
Then you need stillage to put your casks on. But it arrives in pieces, like a Meccano set.
Of course - you also need beer. In this case more than 100 casks of the stuff. Many hands are needed to roll the casks in from the lorry to the hall...
Casks get sorted and stored whilst the length of stillage continues to be built. Everyone trying not to get in each others' way.
Meanwhile, there are less physical jobs to do: taps and other accoutrements need to be thoroughly washed to ensure the beer stays in tip-top condition.
Casks are carefully lifted onto the stillage using hoists.
They have to steadied and properly oriented (with the tap hole at the bottom) and then chocked in place
By the end of day one of set-up all the casks are neatly racked on the stillage settling nicely.
Day two is mostly about preparing the rest of the room: a secure area to sell tokens and memorabilia...
Tables to seat about 400 people (out of a capacity of nearly 1000) are positioned, covered and chairs arranged around them.
There are long ladders to be climbed so that banners can be hung - from CAMRA, from local breweries and from a charity we're supporing. All this goes to make the room feel more festive.
Some of our volunteers even help man-handle the staff loos into a tight parking space.
Some of the jobs take a bit of experience and skill, others just take a bit of effort and it's great to be part of a big group of people all coming together for one purpose, and because they enjoy it.
So the next time you attend a beer festival, remember the volunteers who are not only working to serve behind the bar, or check your ticket as you come in - there are oodles of people who have also set the place up...and there will be volunteers after to take it all down.
Why not think about becoming a volunteer yourself? Almost all festivals would welcome more help, and even if you're a bit shy or reserved, it's a really nice way to meet people. There's a job that suits everyone and anyone...so join in!
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