Where There's Beer, There's Hope

OK - that title's come across a bit more needy than I'd like...but I can't think of anything better to be honest.

We're in Bristol for a few days, where we take the quality and choice of pubs and their beer largely for granted.

We arrived on Friday and we assumed that our local, at 5pm, would have enough room for us to have a couple of beers and something tasty to eat.  Boy were we wrong!

Whether it was the local snow conditions meaning work kicked out early, or it being the 1st February so the Dryanuaries were gagging for beer, or the fact that the pub was showing the rugby...or maybe that it was just after payday...or all of it..I just don't know.

We hadn't seen the pub that busy since pre-Christmas.  There was barely anywhere to stand, let alone sit, and the beer line up was fine but not as exciting as we were hoping for.  We stood with our pints and chuntered at each other before giving ourselves a good talking-to.  We knew that, being here for a few days, we'd easily be able to return and then we saw the positive in the upcoming beer list.

We kicked around a couple of possibilities, before settling on the Old Market Assembly (despite having been a little disappointed in it last time).  It had their house beer and an Arbor beer on cask; we could find a little table on the balcony and we had their lovely pizzas.  All in all, as good as an experience as we could wish for.  Again, we resolved to remember that everyone can have an off-day and we should allow for it.

Saturday we fancied watching some rugby in a pub but thought the BM would be heaving again (and we wern't quite ready to be disappointed so soon).  I had to pick up a parcel (I so love Amazon Locker...) so we headed in that direction and found ourselves near the Seven Stars.  It's a weird old place and I think that the beer isn't as good since the old bar manager left and set up his own place, but it has character.  Actually, since there was a punk festival next door in the Fleece there were many characters.  The place was rammed to the gunwhales with "original" punks....that's to say people who could have been punks when punk was first a thing.  That is to say...people rather like us...but with plaid, mohicans and leather jackets.  It was brilliant!  Most of them in the pub were drinking Real Ale and the atmosphere was jolly.  We shared a table with some other folk and bought a local punk-scene CD from them (£2, bargain).  The beer was fine, rather than great, but the whole experience was fab.

The Seven Stars wasn't showing the rugby but, just around the corner, the Cornubia was.  This is, again, a pub that typically does good but not particularly exciting beers.  We got a couple of pints and found a seat from which to watch.  We shared a few comments with the bloke next to us and, after the match, had quite a long local-based conversation with a couple of women.  Once again, I remind myself that although I'm quite reserved and introverted, if I'm going to be sociable, it's much easier and more enjoyable in the pub,

Sunday was for quietly sloping somehwere with a fire (I was cold) so we arrived at the Naval Volunteer (The Vollie) and, again, this has been a place not without its irritations for us but it fit the bill perfectly.  Reasonably quiet, a really good range of beer to choose from (cask a butnd keg), and altogether pleasant.

There will be more places to try whilst we're here.  Some will be perfect, some may be having an off-day  but I'm pretty sure most of them will be fun.