Welcome Back

 We walked out to Easton to restock on spice provisions.  Obviously, SweetMart is the obvious place to do this.  It's a couple of miles' walk there but that's an added benefit of the place.

After filling our bag with poppadoms, creamed coconut, rice, lentils and spices we repaired to the Greenbank pub to recover.

It's a really interesting pub.  It pretty much manages to pull off a brilliant trick of simultaneously being cafe, pub and social/community hub.  

They had 4 cask and 3 keg local beers available and a short but interesting little menu from the kitchen (pizza, burgers, casserole, etc).  We've eaten there before and the food was good, if not amazing.

The beers don't set the world alight in terms of range or novelty but what we had was good, cool and well kept.

We watched with interest the wide range of people in the place - from parents with kids, to someone working at one of the tables - to us.

We arrived about 4.15 and it was already buzzing - not bad for a January Thursday.

I've no doubt that we'd be reasonably happy were it very local to us and we'd kill for somewhere that interesting in Eastbourne but, neither of us think there would really be the appetite for it there.

Still - well done the team that have taken it over.  It's a lovely model for a pub.

After two pints we decided to head home and perhaps call in at the Assembly for a pizza if it looked promising.  So we struck out back down St Marks Road.  We discovered that G Brothers is now doing eat-in for their fab pizzas (their website indiciated they were take out only).  It would have been rude not to...

They didn't have keg beer on but they did have a fridge full of canned local beer.  

It was lovely being back in this quirky place and even better to see the stream of orders and callers being serviced.  We weren't the only people eating in, either.

This is another place that pulls off an excellent trick of being more than one thing to maximise it's appeal.

If I needed to buy a house in Easton, I'd be able do so knowing that the local amenities would readily available, and provided by fantastic independent traders.

Bravo!

New Year, New Worries

 Here we are, the beginning of another year.

The cost of living crisis is biting hard - not just for the worst off, but for people and businesses who were doing OK.

The latter part of 2022 saw the closure of two local breweries and, undoubtedly, there will be more before the summer.

We've chatted to a couple of the other small breweries that know us quite well.  Moor said it'll be hard but they have a business model that's allowing them to weather things at the moment.

Martha's is a very different animal - a personal passion project for a small number of people - but they feel reasonably confident just now.

My guess is that the likes of Bristol Beer Factory and Arbor will also be able to cope but there are others who I think are in peril - and especially small bottle/tap shops.

As always, we won't be observing any sort of "dry" January.  Our behaviour will be mostly unchanged, we rarely drink seriously large amounts, and rarely drink nothing - but that's us.  Whilst I hate the moralising "dry january" messages, I equally hate the belittling of anyone who doesn't drink - either by choice, or by necessity.

Whilst we fairly regularly do work meetings in an independent drinking establishment - there are various reasons why we pick particular places - and it's usually based on the fact they have a range of non-alcohol drinks that people actually enjoy drinking.  This means it works for all the people at the gathering and we're still managing to support some of our small local businesses without making anyone feel like alcohol is the only option. (I made this edit after a post by another blogger I follow who feels he needs a beer break without the added guilt of knowing that pubs and breweries have a tough time at this time of year).

We'll have lots of things to do on our house once the building work has finished and, hopefully, a lovely new space to enjoy - nevertheless, we've already pledged between ourselves that we'll make the effort to keep going to the pub and buying beers directly from breweries.  Also, to make sure we eat out at our favourite restaurants because resorts in January can be a pretty bleak place.

Good luck everyone - we're all going to need it.

The Delight of a pub with a fire

 Understandably, a lot of the places we've been drinking beer over this visit to the Shire have a been a little bit on the chilly side.

The Barley Mow has a fire but, for some reason, the warmth from it doesn't always penetrate the space.  Even so, there's a delight to it when you step through the door, the pub isn't too busy and you see the fire on...even more so if there's an adjacent seat.

Tap rooms and other non-pub places really suit themselves better to 3-season (spring, summer, autumn) enjoyment - but that doesn't stop us going there.  But if the weather is cold and/or wet (like it has been the whole time we've been here) they don't present the soul-lifting experience that a cosy be-fired pub has.

We've been to a few different places this break - Barley Mow, Moor, LHG, Kings Head, Newtown Park, Marthas, Swan with Two Necks, King Street Brewhouse, Llandogger Trow, Oxford but yesterday we struck out a little further.

We were thinking about walking to Easton to pick up spice supplies but other things intervened and so it was about 4.15pm when we were ready to go and that would have been a bit of a stretch for running errands and going to the pub.  So, instead, we just walked to the Duke of York.

It wasn't particularly a cold walk but it was pretty damp so when we got to the pub and realised there were a pair of chairs right next to the small, but perfectly formed fire I leapt on the chance.

The DoY is a lovely, cosy, little pub.  Never a large range of beers but enough to keep us happy for a couple of hours.  Getting into conversation with a chap after his family had a falling out was an interesting experience but that's part of what the pub is about...the odd occasion to get chatting.

Today is promising to be nasty and wet all day - so if we go out, it'll be local.  Will it have a fire?  Hmmm it's about a 50/50 chance.

New Places, and Old

 The weather was really cold and then really wet so it hadn't felt like trekking weather.

I'd had quite a lot of work to do and there are train strikes so all these things have dictated against going anywhere too far away.

We'd been to the Barleymow a couple of times - always quite busy, we'd been to Moor twice (because, you know, Moor) and Martha's once.

So the boy said "shall we try somewhere new?" so we decided to amble down Old Market Street.

We started at the Stag and Hounds which is a 13th Century building - although very few features remain recognisable.

They had a Bristol Beer Factory Seasonal Beer plus a Butcombe beer on cask but nothing interesting on keg.  Naturally we opted for the BBF which was cool and decently kept.  The pub is a really nice set of interlocking spaces so, whilst being quite big, feels like it has plenty of corners to cosy up in.  They also do pizzas which look really nice, so that's worth remembering.

Not wanting a second pint of the BBF, we decided to continue strolling. Next venue was Elmers Arms.  An odd little place but with a decent range of keg beers and a friendly person on the bar.  The music was streamed but good and we looked enviously at a juke box which is, sadly, non-functional.  Apparently, whilst opening in the afternoon, it's really a late-night venue so it's relatively unlikely we'll see it in its pomp.

Our final venue was just around the corner from Elmers, and in the general direction of home.  "To the Moon" has always seemed a bit of a strange place and has probably been through a few different hands of late.  Most noticeable when we stepped inside was a pungent smell of limes being squeezed - looks like they were expecting to be making a LOT of Margaritas.  They had two or three local good keg beers on so we picked the strongest (not at all strong, to be honest) and found a little cost seat to sit in.  I'm forced to observe that it isn't a pub, of course, but it is a really nice little place that some of our friends would really like.

Oddly - none of these places sold beer in 2/3rd measures which we found a bit odd and although they'll not be regular haunts - we'll almost certainly be back.

We've also returned to Marthas and, yesterday, reprised LHG brewpub after running an errand.

Today we're heading up to Moor partly because - y'know, Moor - but also we need to pop a bit more beer in the fridge because nowhere will be open tomorrow and there's only so much tea we'll want to drink whilst doing our traditional "playing board games on Christmas Day".

Finding somewhere open on Monday (Boxing Day) will likely be a challenge too...but come 27th I'm pretty sure we'll be out and looking for somewhere to support.

January is going to be REALLY hard for lots of venues.  I've already heard of a couple of places who are writing off the first week or two and taking the opportunity to have holidays, etc.  We'll have a new extension/kitchen to attend to when we get back to Sussex but I'm pretty sure we'll still venture out when we can and I'm also pretty sure we'll be doing a fair bit of buying cans from breweries to try and support people in that way.

Another revisit

 We got the good news, a few weeks ago, that the team behind Good Chemistry brewery had taken over the old Kings Head in Victoria street.  It's the only pub in Bristol which merits a listing i CAMRA's historic interiors and so it's been really sad that it was closed for so long.

I occasionally used to go there at lunchtime to have a half of something and a VERY basic roll/sandwich. I also remember having a FlickrMeet there once and it feeling both strange and wonderful being in the snug.

Last time I went in it was a bit tired and the beer was OK but not great.  Still, it was nice to show it off to the BBB who also, appreciated its uniqueness.

So, when I learned it opened on a Monday I thought it might be quite quiet and rather nice to go and sit in the snug and see what they had to offer.

They haven't changed much - a lick of paint on the ceiling and some rather nice wall paper but other than that it feels unchanged.

A fairly small but rather nice list of beers were available - including a few keg ones.

So much for quiet, though.

There were a few people in the front bar and four in the snug when we arrive around 4.45.  Within 20 minutes, though, people were streaming in and by the time we left, around 7pm we had to squeeze our way out.

It might not be an "everyday" venue for us but I'm pretty confident we'll be back there before too long.

A Place Changed

 After the chap in the Moor Tap said he'd be in the Swan With Two Necks on Sunday, we decided to give it ago.

The pub has been a little bit mixed for us:  sometimes friendly, interesting staff and pleasant atmosphere, sometimes a bit cheerless.  We always like the beer so we do try to make an effort to go there but it's never been on our list of "definitely" or "relaxing" to go to.

It was bloody chilly but when it was time to do the "shall we go somewhere?" musing, we decided wrapping up and getting some fresh air would be a good idea.

So we struck out.  The snow had melted and not yet refrozen so it was a pleasant enough - and we took a bit of a diversion through streets that had undergone development since the last time we went that way.

As we arrived at the pub we were really quite surprised at the number of people.  Nevertheless we found a couple of stools at the bar and had a cheery exchange with the barman.

We've never seen the pub this busy or with such a mix of people.

Good beers, excellent bar service and a lively atmosphere - it feels like the pub has found its feet.

Uncommon Skill

 Bar staffing is seriously underrated in terms of skill level.

Like any service industry job, when done well you barely notice the skill involved it appears effortless and normal.  How many times, however, have you been to a pub or bar you don't know well (or at all) and felt largely ignored by the staff and served rather carelessly.  Worse, as a beer drinker, if served with a cask beer that's past its best being told it's fine to drink and, even with insistence, only grudginly given a replacement.

Thankfully it's been a good few years since that latter thing happened - I'm happy to challenge it, but it always makes for a poor experience even if the subsequent pint is the most superb thing ever.

So, whilst I always say that the beer is the main thing in my choice of venue - given the choice it'll be the place with the good staff I'll aim for.

On Friday when we went to the BM I had over 5 hours travel on me after a pretty trying week and I was just relieved to be at Bristol home, reunited with the Best Beer Buddy, and a proper pint in my hand.  Even then, when I went to the bar for the second pint, forgetting (once again) that jugs are the default cask vessel at the pub these days, the defining moment was when the guy behind the bar waved two straight glasses and said "these?" with a smile.  When I expressed delight, the other barman who was perched on a stool on the other side of the bar said "I remembered too!" - and it's moments like this when you feel the transaction is a shared one.

Yesterday, we went to Moor both to enjoy the beer and grab some fridge-beer as they won't be open again for drinking-in until Thursday.

Remembering again that it's the first time we've been there for a couple of months I'm still stunned that the guy behind the bar launched straight into a conversations about Harvey's Bitter and how he thinks that the Nano Cask that was the cask offering is like it, but for the yeast.

This is no random observation - most of the drinkers in the tap room would have no idea what Harvey's is (or where, or that it has a pseudo-legendary status amongst certain sorts of cask drinkers).  Conversation with him is always about the beer.  He knows his stuff and delights in people who know theirs.

This is the very antithesis to the odd drinking experience I've had when a member of bar staff (sadly, always a young chap) tries to tell me what I should drink or what I should drink it out of.  I'm pretty lucky - my age and experience (and general bossiness) means that I'm no longer intimidated by that sort of attitude and an often minded to call it out.  But this is what I mean about bar service done well is almost unnoticeable and we're more likely to remember the negative experiences, then it could appear that job as a whole is unskilled.

So - remember the places where staff make you feel welcome and valued. Remember that bar-work especially in December is really hard work, on low pay and having to deal with lots of people who only go to pubs around Christmas and have no idea how it's done.

Say thank you, as you leave the pub (especially if it's quiet)...and for goodness sake, take your empty glasses back to the bar if you can.  It's a small thing but I can guarantee it'll be appreciated by the good staff behind the bar.