Grounded

Our plan was to make the most of a day without rain forecast so we were going to get on a bus to Ashton Gate, walk over to Ashton Court and wander around the woods for a bit before retiring to a pub (or two) in North Street.

As it was, neither us were quite in the zone for extended time in the cold.  So we elected to be "less ambitious" and we donned a couple of extra layers and strolled up the river towards Bedminster (not Bedmo, or Bemmie but possibly "bemminster" if you're a local).

It's a couple of miles of ambling and we do what we always do - notice things, conjecture about things and generally enjoy the streetscape almost as much as nature.

We walked up Bedminster Parade and East Street and noted that, despite more buildings being turned over to residential developments, the area still looks rather tired and run down, barring a few little interesting gems.

Then around the corner into North Street.  We noted that the Steam Crane appeared to have more interesting beer on than the last time we passed, but we didn't stop this time.  We also saw that the Hare has disappeared to become some sort of wine bar place (no great loss) and then we were at the Old Bookshop.

This is a prime example of not judging a lack lustre place without visiting it at least a couple of times:  the first time we went here (several years ago)  the beer was dull and not very well kept.  Then, last Christmas we happened on it and it was terrific.  In the summer we popped in and were very happy with it so we were hopeful.  We were not disappointed - Nor'hop on Cask (yummy), Weeerd on keg (similarly delicious) and then a couple of cheeky halves - him:"not now cato" a sour beer and me "clwb tropicana".  Just lovely.

Staff were quietly friendly and efficient.  Other patrons were considerate and none too noisy.  All in all, as good an experience and choice of beers as we could have hoped for.

We'll definitely be back, since it's certainly our sort of place.

Homeward Bound

A few weeks ago I heard an interview with the parents of an England rugby player.  It made me immediately, and immensely homesick.

They were from Knowle West in south Bristol and, although I'm not actually from that specific part of the city, My family are from the south side of Bristol and that accent is very evocative.

We hadn't been up to Bristol for a little while and although I do love living in Sussex, it's not the same.

So after a busy day of gardening, packing up the house and lunch with family, via a few miles' walking, we find ourselves at the station to head north.

Travelling on a Sunday is never the optimum way and Sunday evening even less so...but we got seats, and we made the journey in 4 hours which isn't at all bad.

We arrived at the flat at 9pm with that lovely feeling that we could chill for a couple of hours before going to bed and the journey was done.  I slept better than I have for weeks.

Yesterday, we did our usual levels of (laptop-based) work whilst looking out at the city from our 10th floor eyrie.

Then we ambled around the corner to the Barley Mow (of course).  The selection of beer was good and the fire was lit.  After about 40 minutes, the bar manager arrived, saw us and gave us a really cheery wave and asked how we were. (I guess, I haven't seen him for 3 months).  Yep, I was home.

Then one of our friends, who also lives just around the corner, popped in to make reservations for the quiz on Tuesday - so he stopped and we had food and drinks and caught up.

Utterly delightful!

I wouldn't normally think of myself as particularly tied to a place - but even though I no longer have work to do here in Bristol (it might be tempting to find some) and I love having a home in a seaside town, Bristol is the place I feel most at home.

What's even nicer is when Best Beer Buddy says to friend in the pub last night: "...as the train draws into the station in Bristol, I always feel immensely happy..."

Yep.

On a Trip to Thanet

We like to take a holiday in the early autumn.

Kids have gone back to school.  The weather is cooler.  There are fewer visitors around.

If you're lucky, there's a chance of an autumn storm.

We like the coast (the sound of waves as I drift off to sleep is pretty much the best thing in the world) and, of course, we like beer.

We also like architecture and interesting town planning.

So this autumn we headed to Thanet -that odd little bulge atop the pointy bit of East Kent.

This is the home of the micropub and, of course, the oasthouse.

We rented a cottage on the seafront at Ramsgate.

Like many resorts, Ramsgate is a little tired and run down.  Closed shops abound.  Derelict building sites pepper the town and you can see loads of evidence of poverty and homelessness.

On the plus side, there are many beautiful buildings which are great to wander amongst.

When we arrived we had an hour to kill before we could pick up the keys to the cottage so we made tracks to the "Hovelling Boat": a micropub near the harbour.

We  were greeted enthusiastically by the lady serving and she'd soon brought us a couple of local pints  (Gadd Green Hop and Margate IPA) which were very nice.

The other folk in the pub were clearly regulars.

We only had time for one but vowed to come back (we did another 3 times).

Venturing out later we walked up to the Montifiore Arms - a small corner local (also in the GBG).  It was pleasant but the beer choices were a little limited.  Once again, we enjoyed a single pint and then left.

One of the good things of the new CAMRA app is that it will list all drinking establishments so you can read the descriptions and make your own mind up if you might like to try it.  So we tried the Ravensgate Inn which promised craft beers.

The beers were good, but it being Friday, it was quite noisy and busy so we drank our pints and went around the corner to the supermarket to pick up provisions and go back to the cottage.

The next day was spent ambling around the harbour, enjoying the industrial nature of parts of it.  Ascending "Jacob's Ladder" from the far reach of the harbour up to the top of the cliff road we decided to try the other Micropub in the GBG "Conqueror".  Again, this was clearly a place that has its own clientele and there seems to be an expectation that all patrons join in the conversations. In addition, it has to be said that the choices of beer "Betty Stogs" and "Muggy Porter" weren't really what we were hoping for.  Nevertheless we stayed for a pint, joined in the conversation and walked some more.

Admiring regency terraces and intriguing public buildings we made our way to the Admiralty.  Another traditional corner pub.  The beer was a little more interesting here:  5 or 6 beers, including one from Oakham and we enjoyed a quiet pint at the back of the pub.

As we hadn't eaten properly, we decided on an early dinner and relax in our cottage.

Our plan was always to visit the other resorts in Thanet:  Margate and Broadstairs.

To be honest, the story was pretty much the same in all of them - relatively narrow range of cask ales available and nothing to scare the horses.

Decent beer was easy to find.  Great beer elusive.

Probably the Chapel in Broadstairs and a pub in Margate (I forget the name) - which are sister pubs offered the best beer  but there was no establishment that we visited that we really wanted to linger and return to.

We weren't that surprised, to be honest, but we were both secretly hoping for more.

No matter.  We had a lovely holiday - minor illnesses notwithstanding - with our usual balance of much walking, staring at the tide coming in and out and that sort of thing. 

Now we're wondering when we can get back up to Bristol to recharge the hipster-beer-batteries...

Tap Dancing

We were on a mission, this trip.

We'd asked the lovely Gregor, from our bottle shop in Eastbourne, which of the Bristol breweries we could list was he aware of.  The man's a complete beer geek and so knew a lot of them (Moor, BBF, Wiper and True, LHG, Arbor...) but there were a few he hadn't heard of.

One brewery doesn't have a taproom yet (Incredible) and one we weren't particularly interested in visiting having had some of their beer a day or so earlier (it wasn't bad beer, just not to our taste).

So we planned to visit some other taprooms we hadn't yet made our way to and see if we could also find a can or two for Greg.

Friday evening we popped around to Croft Ales - now we've been here before but as we were in the area it seemed rude not to reprise.  It's a very basic set up but the staff are smiley and the beer's good.  A couple of pints down we also managed to pick up a can of their APA (we really wanted BS2 purely for the name but they were out...).

After that, we strolled the quarter mile or so to the New Bristol Brewery.  Again, we know this place since we attended a brewing course a couple of years earlier, but it's still a friendly, jolly place.  Beer was great - no cans available though, sadly.

We can't manage more drinking than that so then it was home for food.

Yesterday, post-Tour, we went for a pleasant stroll to St Werburghs.  I have to admit this isn't a walk that everyone would enjoy.  It's a little run down and unloved part of town and along the course of the river that's overgrown, alongside old industrial buildings.  Pretty, it's not.  But it's very grounding. 
The walk leads you to a junction of the M32, and you have to navigate a large junction roundabout.  The boy was confident that he could navigate to the first brewery: Fierce and Noble.  We couldn't remember having had their beers but we know they've been around for a few years.
Having crossed the big roundabout, we weren't certain where we were but Best Beer Buddy said, "it should be really close to where we are now".  And then we looked up and lo, it was indeed.

The taproom snug has been beautifully done - warm wood, dark, comfy chairs.  It was warm and sunny, though so we chose the outside seating area.  We bought our beers and picked up a loyalty card (how awesome is that?) - and settled down on a slightly rickety seat/bench made from pallets. The outside is a basic set up - it's a brewery yard, after all, but it was chilled and welcoming.  We also watched the contract canners do their work.  Again, we drank 4 pints between us:  an APA, a Brown Ale, a black IPA and a modern hazy number by the smaller brewery which shares their premises (Masquerade) all of the them were great.  We stopped to purchase a can of Black IPA and headed off to our last brewery of the day  - Wiper and True.

To say that W&T was a different experience would be to totally understate.  The two breweries are no more than a quarter mile apart from each other.  Both are in industrial buildings, both have indoor and outdoor space but nothing else about them are similar.
W&T are slick and practiced in their hipsterness.   The outside seating was already full and the clientele were subtly different to those in F&N.
There was a food truck selling Japanese street food.
We went inside to get beer - staff were friendly but not overly enthusuastic.
We found a pleasant indoor seat next to a FV and enjoyed the view of the brewery kit and enjoyed the DJ who set up just across the way and did a brilliant job of mixing music that you could listen to but not be distracted by.
Of course the beer was good - it's Wiper and True - and I was intrigued that my first beer was from "the tank"
The number of people and the atmosphere was so different from F&N, despite being so close, that we spent some time musing on the reason for that.  We didn't come to any firm conclusion other than it's got a more cult reputation than F&N. 
Unsurprisingly, although we really enjoyed being there, we definitely preferred the atmosphere of Fierce and Noble.
It was quite late when we left so we knew we needed to eat on the way back - so we stumbled into Cauldron to check it out.  We were not disappointed.  They had good beers on tap but we decided to drink wine. Staff wer friendly, menu was short but intriguing and portions were just right for us (shared starter, two mains) and we left feeling pleasantly full but not stuffed. 

After that, it was time to stagger off home the mile and a half or so and go to bed.

When I woke up this morning I was still smiling at what an enjoyable night out it was.

New Dispense Method?

So, yesterday afternoon, we decided to try out the newest of new beer places that have opened in Bristol - the Left Handed Giant brewery/bar.

We tried it on a Monday since every other time we'd gone past it had been heaving so we thought our best chance would be 4pm on a Monday.

There were loads of people there but no problem getting a seat.  To be absolutely honest, it was almost painfully hipsterish but, I guess that's no real surprise.

Like LHG's other main outlet (Small Bar) it's a card only affair.  I didn't see the notice until the last minute (a chalked sign underneath and identical chalked sign with the name of a drink on it...so easy to miss) but I half expected it so I wasn't tripped up by it.

They had 20 or so beers from something like 6 different breweries on tap but no cask.  That said, they are nothing if not explicit about their dispense methods since along with the name of the beer, the ABV and the price (all arranged into groups by beer style) the sign tells you whether it comes from keg, key keg or "tank".

We stuck to two of LHG's own brews (which are the ones served from a tank) and it has to be said both of us noticed the slight difference in texture between keg and tank.  We liked its slightly less fizzy texture.

We really enjoyed the beers.  We quite liked the large open space with broad doors which open onto a terrace so even inside you feel sort of outside.

The pizzas looked interesting but we weren't in the market for food at the time.

Did we really enjoy it?  To be honest, not as much as I'd hoped.

Like Small Bar the prices are very high so a 4% beer comes in at about 3.50 for 2/3rds - and that's for their own beer.  This absolutely isn't a criticism - they can charge whatever they want/need - but it does figure in our decision as to where we want drink beer.  So it simply means we won't go there as much as we might if the prices were a little lower.

As the Best Beer Buddy said - the nice range of strong beers available, and its proximity to home might mean we'll treat it as a "night cap" kind of place.

All in all, like many other place, I love that it exists.  It add colour to the local eating and drinking scene.

Well done LHG

The World Does Not Revolve Around You!

This is somewhat related to the previous post and somewhat to other posts when I grumble about other people's behaviour.

I'd like to think I'm a fairly public spirited sort of lass.  Whilst not naturally outgoing, I try and ensure my interactions with people are pleasant, tolerant and maybe even friendly (actually, you might not be able to tell I'm being friendly, you need to set your bar a little higher for me).

I've mentioned before our dislike of tables being booked in pubs.  It's not that I don't understand it - but I believe it can totally disrupt the nature of a good pub.  If you don't allow booking of tables, but you make sure your furniture lends itself to multiple configurations you offer the chance to pack a place a little bit tighter and it encourages people to share their table with strangers.

Anyhow.

As is our wont on Friday arriving at the Bristol digs late in the afternoon, all we really want to do is stroll around to the Barleymow, grab a couple of good pints and have dinner brought to us (shopping is being delivered next day and the only food shop near the flat is a pretty dire Tesco Express).

When we arrived it wasn't very busy but three tables had been booked.  One from 4.30pm, one from 7pm and the third from 7.30.
The 4.30 table was empty...but it was already 4.45.  "It's for the Bristol Hoppers Group" says Harry.  This is a paid-for event where a group of folk are taken for a walk and a drink in various pubs.

We sat at a larger table which was booked from 7pm - we guessed another table would come free before we wanted to eat and so this didn't stress (or even annoy) us at all.

We looked over to the third booked table (booked from 7.30) which is a table which can easily sit six but it was currently occupied by just two people who spread themselves out in a most un-community-minded manner.  We tutted sotto voce.

At about 6.15 a smaller table adjacent to ours emptied and we quickly grabbed it. Another group had grabbed the 7.30 table when the "spreaders" departed but they fretted a bit about the booked table.

We ordered some food and another pint.

By 7.30 - the 7pm table was still stubbornly empty and even 10 minutes or so later the 7.30 table was empty (the squatters having moved to another table which became free).  Another couple slunk to the empty table and sat at the end looking guilty. 

In the end both tables were filled by just before 8pm by their respective bookers. I don't know whether the "Hoppers" ever appeared.

On Saturday we went to the Three Tuns.  This is an odd pub which never really feels quite satisfactory and this feeling was amplified by the presence of garish "tablecloths" on the tables (WTF?) presumably to complement the TexMex offering.

Again there were three tables booked (this time all in one name) which took up more than 3/4s of the table seating.  We couldn't decide whether to order food or not but, in the long run decided not.  As we left at 7.15pm we noticed that the booked tables had been booked for 6pm.

I get miffed because a booked table might mean I can't sit down (this means I drink quicker...) but my concern is much more for the business.  When you don't turn up, or you turn up late for your table it might well affect their business.  It can put off other customers from staying and can make a pub feel sterile and unwelcoming.  For goodness sake, if you book a table, have the decency to arrive on time.

And while I'm about it - if you're sitting near the bar, or if you have to pass the bar on your way out take your bloody glasses back!  All it takes is a little bit of consideration for your fellow humans.

A Sobering Reminder...

Reading my Twitter feed and news and seeing restaurant chains, and much-loved neighbourhood venues closing in the face of financial pressures want me to remind myself, if no one else, that businesses are very much a "lose it or use it" affair.

The social enterprise I run (which is, surprisingly, nothing to do with beer - much more with teaching kids to code...which is why I need the beer) is faced with the self-same problem.

You start a new thing and people love it.

People come in and they tell their friends how awesome it is.

Their friends come in to see what all the fuss is about.

Their friends love it and they tell their friends who come in to see what all the fuss it about...and so on.

They give it great reviews on Twitter, on Facebook and any other platforms you happen to be active in.

But, in the face of financial pressure, or maybe the novelty wears off or maybe a similar thing is available cheaper or nearer, or whatever...they don't come in regularly.  They just assume you'll always be there for them since, in the heady days of discovery, it was always really busy and getting was hard because it was so busy.

And so there are fewer people "discovering" it because there are fewer people who haven't discovered it yet.  So the buzz goes.  Then the customers dry up.

When the customers dry up, the business becomes unsustainable and so it stops.  Then everyone bemoans the lack of that facility.

That facility can be a restaurant, a pub, a bookshop, a camera shop, an after-school club organisation, or anything that has a physical presence, really.

We all do it.  We all "mean to go back" but never get around to it.

We probably didn't want the perceived hassle of going into this place we perceive as really busy, or we're busy trying the next new thing, or maybe life has just moved on and it doesn't suit our needs any more.

We went to the Barleymow yesterday (Sunday) evening for a couple of pints and learned that it had been so busy the day before and for Sunday lunchtime that they'd run out of several beers and hadn't had time to change them over.  Also, that they were going to close at 8pm because pretty much no one goes into the pub at that time on a Sunday.


We know we're guilty of grumbling when a pub we love is really busy at a particular time we happen to choose to go in.  We try and check ourselves, but we don't always manage it.

But we've started to make a real effort to frequent places when they'll be open, but less busy.  We also try, when a restaurant we like apologises for not having any available tables, to tell them that we're delighted they're busy and we'll be back when it's quieter.

So - don't forget that thing you love (be it shop, pub, restaurant or other service) and assume it'll always be there for you - you need to be there for it too!