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.