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.