Things Have Definitely Changed

 On Friday, we visited a nephew (F) who lives, literally, around the corner from us.

He is the Eastbourne family member most in tune with us:  football supporter, geek, board-game player, very left wing and enthusiastic (but not excessive) beer drinker.

We took some cans with us as it was a "beer and games" kinda thing because his partner is expecting so she's not drinking (otherwise we may have shared wine with her).

F has taken over beer buddy's season ticket for Brighton and attends with beer buddy's oldest school friend - himself also a good beer drinker.

"I think he's a bit disappointed that you two have gone all craft-beery", say F.

We defended our position of still absolutely loving cask beer but finding that the variety of styles in a single place isn't usually leaves a bit to be desired.  In a pub with many different styles and strengths of cask beer available, we'll typically go through most of the cask list but the recovery of the cask market isn't quite there yet, so it seems.

Then I remember writing about my dislike of keg beer none-too-long ago but it seems like an age.

It's true - the last time we went out with the old-skool cask drinkers of Beer Buddy's youth they were a little surprised that we switched to keg after a couple of cask beers.  Maybe, like me back then, they haven't quite kept up with the quality shift in available keg beers over the years.  Who knows?

We've realised it's definitely us - our tastes have shifted, well broadened I think.

A whole evening of 4% best bitter is no longer something we'll enjoy - even if the best bitter on hand is really good.  Maybe it's because we drink beer often - most days - but no more than 2 - 3 pints.  Others drink far less frequently, but tend to drink greater volume and for longer at any sitting.

I long to take these old friends to the sheer variety of establishments in Bristol, with their myriad styles and hope they'd see them like we do, a welcome addition to styles of beer available.  Mind you, I'm not sure what I'd feel if the still hated it...

Another Rail Less Travelled

 Generally we have an obsession with "efficiency" when we're travelling by train.

By far the most efficient route to Bristol from Eastbourne is Eastbourne - Victoria -Oxford Circus - Paddington - Bristol

We've practiced it for years and we know where to stand on the platform on the Underground to make each change pretty efficient in their own right.

However, at the moment we're still trying to avoid the germ-laded, unmasked, snot monsters on the Tube so we're accepting less efficiency.  We've done the "via Gatwick" route a couple of times and it's good but travelling back this time, on a Monday, I realised with some chagrin that Ninkaci wouldn't be open when we landed at Eastbourne.

For me, the arrival beer is a really good way to chill out after the journey and delay the inevitable thinking about the week of work which was going to be exceptionally busy.

So, instead I suggested we travelled back via Brighton. There's one train a day directly from Temple Meads and it arrives in Brighton at 4.15pm.

I didn't need to suggest to the boy that a trip to the Evening Star would be nice.  It's not something we need to discuss.

Since the FUBAR with Dark Star being taken over by Fullers and Asahi, successively, we no longer love the old beers that were groundbreaking at the time.  Regular beers are now brewed in Chiswick and they're just a shadow of their former selves.

Thankfully, though, the ES still brims with plenty of cask and now 12 keg lines.

We had a very relaxed couple of pints and enjoyed the largely unchanged atmosphere of the pub.  Then we got on the train for the last leg home. 

On Wednesday, I left work and headed around to Bottle Grove to meet the boy there.  On the way I noticed that the promised new taproom/craft bar was now open in Bolton Road.  I reckon that will get tried this week!

Taking it Easy

 When we don't want fuss or crowds, or to be disappointed, we tend to head to Moor.

Yesterday was the last chance we'd have for this trip.

It was cold and threatened rain so we bimbled around the flat doing some bits and pieces of work/fun, watched a bit of rugby and then strolled up.

It's not a cosy taproom, by any means, but there's a gentle familiarity that is reassuring.

The bar manager, despite being in the middle of an order for a few people, gave us a cheery hello.  This always makes me smile.

Resolution on Cask was a good start and I settled down and let the boy get served.  By the time he delivered the bill the score for Brighton was a 2-0 (well, 0-2) win.  A good start.

They had rugby on in a separate room and we toyed with the idea of watching but there was a stag group so we decided to stay put.

As is usual for us, we gradually increase the strength of the beer over successive rounds - I went from Resolution, to Stout to Double Stout - it worked perfectly and I considered how, once upon a time, I would never have willing drunk stout.

After 3 (well, 1 + 2/3rds + half = just over 2 pints) we braved the cold wind and walked home.

They have a slow burn rate of new beer release - unlike some breweries - but each beer is distinct in character and I like it for this.

I've been drinking their beer for as long as they've been making it (they took over in 2007 and moved to the site in 2014) and it remains one of my very favourites.

The Long Walk

 More exploration yesterday.  I promised the boy a walk with green stuff.

I'd realised it was possible to get to Purdown (the place with the big comms tower) very easily by bus.  I've never visited it before.

So we hopped on a bus and off again, ambled up the road in Lockleaze a bit and found ourselves on a big hill.  Pre-spring is never an exciting time for walking since it tends to be a bit underwhelming from the point of view of flora and fauna - but it was sunny and dry so it made for an interesting way to see the outside.

I'd planned the simplest possible walk of 3 miles to the south western end of the green space, and then through to St Werburghs.  However, we took a bit of a diversion and by the time we got to Mina Rd, my poor ol' knees were not having fun.

The boy suggested stopping earlier than our planned first stop of Wiper and True.

We haven't been there for ages and ages so it seemed a good time to reprise it.  100% Dawkins on the cask selection - and we've never loved their beers.  Still, we picked something 5% and IPA-ish, collapsed on the sofa in the quiet roome and were very pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it.

The locals of this pub are mainly a very specific demographic - young professionals with a friendly  social and artistic air and kids called "Fern" and "Bark" (I'm really not sneering, it's a VERY specific family vibe).  I quite like the pub - I just wish the beer were more to my taste.

We always end up interacting with some of the many small kids who attend with parents.  There's definitely no population quite like this in Eastbourne and it's a shame because "coding in the pub" could really be a thing there.

Legs slightly recovered, we decided to head to our originally planned stop.  Wiper and True are not beers we drink all that often - again not totally to our taste on the whole, despite being of very high quality. We popped in, found it a bit chilly (the boy had got very cold on the walk) and the beers not being what we were after.  So we popped out again.

Just down the road is Fierce and Noble so we popped in there.  Their taproom is just like a traditional pub snug.  The boy settled into a seat by the radiatior to warm up as I collected the drinks.  This brewery is probably the least polished in terms of presentation and marketing - they probably have an even smaller marketing budget than most. Nevertheless - I really like the homespun feel to it all.  We got a genuinely friendly welcome and a bit of jolly interaction when another member of staff was wrestling a piece of furniture past our table.

After our drink we really needed to get back home to eat so we grabbed a couple of cans to go, and headed the final mile or so home.

We had an abortive attempt to grab a last one in the Barley Mow - with the possibility of trying their food but the bar was rammed with one (maybe two) group who are clearly pub amateurs (like the ones you see at Christmas).  The look of frustration on the bar manager's face was palpable as he tried to plough through the order.  We gave up and came home and cooked dinner instead.

I'm thinking we'll be a little more relaxed today - maybe an amble around the corner to Moor with their solid but eccelctic range of beer styles.  At least I hope we'll be more relaxed, I'm not sure my knees are ready for another 6 miler.

More exploration

 So we're trying to make the effort to get around the city a bit more on this trip.  The weather is tolerable, work pressures are allowing and the plague feels marginally less threatening.

After discovering the joys of Italian antipasto of meats and cheese, and having different cheeses over the Christmas break we decided that Licata, in Picton Street, was well overdue a visit.

After a bit of a grumble at the state of the pedestrian access around Newfoundland Road we walked up through St Pauls and the infamous Brigstocke Rd.  I quickly noticed that the area has become more multicultural than I'd ever seen.  Whereas the area was almost exclusively Afro-Caribbean 10 years ago (except during Carnival) - there was a much more diverse range of people walking and cycling.  This makes me smile.

For so long "St Pauls" has been a bit of a bogeyman area - mainly in people who don't know the City - it's nice to think that this reputation might be receding a bit.

In any event, it was lovely to arrive at Licata and be welcomed by lovely things.

We bought a trio of italian cheese (not mozzarella, burrata or parmesan), some Proscuito, some bread, pasta, Sicilian sausage (with fennel) and a couple of bottles of wine.  £40 or so in all.

We wanted to go to the Canteen and Crofters rights but discovered with some horror that the Canteen is no longer open all day and wasn't open until 5pm (it was just after 4pm).  Such a shame and I worry, a little, that the Canteen is no longer the chilled haven of everyone being welcome.

So the nearest open pub was the Hare on the Hill.  This meant an ascent of Nine Tree Hill - a hill I know well from when I lived in the area, and had to walk up on a near-daily basis.  Urgh.

Panting, we arrived at the Hare and settled in.  There was a decent range of cask and keg local beers and it was another "proper" pub.  After two pints we mused on a move.  We decided to get half way home for another pint and so we landed at the Swan with Two Necks.

Beer has always been exemplary but bar staff a bit hit and miss.  This visit we had the boss who is very engaging and likes to talk about beer.

Score another one for the "real" pub list for this visit and we promised ourselves we'd be back sooner than later.

Today we're heading out again to an open space I've never visited.  There'll be bus, some walking and then a visit to Fierce and Noble taproom.  Almost, very nearly pub-like.

Perfection in a Proper Pub

 I've rambled on at length about the sheer number of non-pubs we love. In fact, they far outweigh the number of real pubs we visit on a regular basis.

I needed to replace an orchid which didn't survive last summer and there's the rather lovely Riverside Garden Centre over in South Bristol that seemed like the ideal place to try and find one.  It's an employee-owned co-operative with a lovely cafe and everything the gardener needs.  Frankly, if it were walking distance from our house (with a garden) in Eastbourne, it's doubtful I'd ever leave.

We took the afternoon off and decided to make the most of the 2 mile walk there.

We followed the water and noted just how many people have discovered the floating harbour as somewhere to wander around and enjoy the ex-industrial landscape.  It was one of the first places I took the Best Beer Buddy on his inaugural trip to the city. 

Anyhow, we veered off just before the Great Britain and noted how quickly the footfall dropped off.  So it is still possible to find secret areas in the ctiy centre.

Naturally, visiting the Orchard was all in the plan.  The boy loves his cider and we love that they have rustic rolls and delightful pastry-based treats to have for lunch.  It's the first time we've had lunch "out" (other than in a business meeting) for years and years.

The pub was fairly empty with just a small gaggle of old boys in one corner.  I chose beer - a really nice BBF cask number he chose the house still cider.  We also had a pasty and a sausage roll to share.

It's always been a place we're fond of (following our first visit where we sort of crashed a sort of wedding party) but the new owner has pushed it up a notch.

The beer was cooler than before (yumsk) and everything was obviously clean and cared-for.

Overhearing the old boys chatting about a farm in the far south of the city (subject of a controversial thing at the moment) was like hearing the distant voice of my Dad.  He was from the area they were talking about (and probably were brought up there too).  It made me oddly nostalgic and yet, so delighted to hear an accent rarely heard in the main drag of the city.

I'm not having a go at the people who move here from elsewhere but sometimes it's a bit sad to see the accent that I hated when I was growning up, but now view more fondly, pushed to the peripheries.  The Orchard is, though, as ever a bastion of localness.

After a while another couple of blokes and their dog (Ernie) came in and sat next to us.  Still locals - but locals from the northern part of the city (think Ian Holloway, whereas the other chaps were more Fred Wedlock).

We struck up a casual conversation and they remarked that I was "...from Bristol, obviously..." (not sure what the giveaway was but these days happy there was one). It was all very jolly and relaxing.

At one point a very local phrase was overheard:

"Where's 'ee to, then?"

Yep, I was in my home city for sure.

Anyhow, we bade our farewells and struck out to the garden centre. 

We quickly found our new orchid (Julio, since you ask) and then ambled around to the Bristol Beer Factory tap room.

This taproom manages to feel more pub-like than all the others.  We had a couple of pints and decided that, in view of an impending 7.45 kick-off around the corner, it would be best to head home.

Fortunately, the bus service has improved and we could leave the taproom, leap on a bus 3 minutes later and get off just around the corner from the flat.  Perfect.

Yes, I planned the route and the activities - but you can't plan the encounters or the interest and that's the delight of it all.

Returning to a Railway Arch

 So we had particular plans yesterday - but a few things conspired to thwart them.

Instead, we watched the rugby (and football) at home with fridge beer and then decided to go and grab a quick one in Martha's between the end of one match, and the start of another.

What's delightful is how close it is and its place in a railway arch is such a great use of quirky space.  Yes, I know the Bermondsey Mile did it first and there are other great eating and drinking venues in railway arches in Newcastle but this one - can I just say it again - is within spitting distance of our flat.

Last time we visited, they'd only just opened and it wasn't terribly busy at any point when we'd visited (three times, I think).

When we'd passed by on Friday night it was rammed - just as well we were heading up to Moor (yes, it's on the way to the Moor tap).

So - on a Saturday at about 6.45?  Busy but not stupidly so.

He grabbed a beer and I grabbed a table.

We started with the only one of their brews on the bar.  It's not going to win any awards - at least not in Bristol - but it was a really nice West Coast IPA style.  Very drinkable indeed.

Originally, we were going to just have the one but resolution broke and we had a second. Runaway Porter for him and Newtown Park something or other for me.

 Chatting to the guy minding the bar, I learned that they had become more successful than they had expected.  Their guest beers all seeming to disappear very quickly indeed.  He also told me that they were starting to see "regulars" which makes them very happy.

This is your regular reminder that "districts" in cities have always been a thing. Having several venues selling the same thing in a small area is often a good thing since it's much more likely to get a reputation and pull more people in - especially where the thing you're selling is hand-made like musical instruments, jewelery or, in this case, beer. 

We chose out Bristol home partly on the basis of having a couple of really good pubs nearby - now it looks like we knew that this - previously unfashionable - corner of the city was at the beginning of a renaissance which suits us particularly well.

 

...and we're back!

 Yeah, back in the shire.

Exactly a month since we went back down south.

The trains were all really quiet yesterday - we reprised the Eastbourne-Gatwick-Reading-Bristol route and it felt even less stressful, simply because of the familiarity.  5 hours front door to front door.

Unsurprisingly, after a brief regather, we ambled around to the Barley Mow.  Home from home.

It was quite lively but seating was easy.  We noted there was a lot of "bitter" in the cask line-up and we weren't really in the mood for that.  So we had Notorious followed by some of the best Moor Distortion I've had.  I'm looking forward to comparing it when we head up to Moor shortly.

We toyed with the idea of the new food offering - but decided against it.  Then we saw the indian-inspired small plates come and and started to think we might have enjoyed (there are other days).

We finished off with Southville Hop which is still one of the best strong but not stupid beers you can get.

There's a comforting rhythm to our arrival.  No angsting about where to go, no polite tiptoeing about who wants to go where (yeah, we still do that).  We are very dull in our approach but it adds to the relaxation.

Moor this evening, and tomorrow there may be excurting...who knows.