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.
Monday, 28 July 2014
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.
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