Independence

Each time we come to Bristol we try to catch up with (a manageable number of) friends and family.  Inevitably this tends to happen in a pub (or similar).

As all of us get older, we're all more tolerant of each others' need for "not too much peopling", finding mutually convenient places, accommodating eating/drinking times and habits, etc.  That means it's not terribly difficult to find somewhere but it does need a bit of research and assent.

This time, we were meeting with brother and sister-in-law.  They live on the far eastern side of the city - and we live in the centre.  They have bus passes, we're happy and used to travelling on public transport.  So this time, I suggested Bath as a venue - there was a new(ish) bus service that served them and we can be in Bath in about 15 minutes. 

The BBB has an irrational (but good-natured) dislike of Bath because about 35 years ago and in a different life he visited and declared it "closed" (the long story is that between shops closing and pubs opening there wasn't anywhere to go). It's been a struggle to get him to see it as a viable pub destination - with the notable exception of the "Royal Oak" in Oldfield Park.  This means I can't confidently suggest anywhere which might be specific to our various wants. 

My brother has not made the transition to "hipster" beer - likes golden/pale but fairly traditional cask beer - obviously that doesn't provide a complete overlap with my love of pale, hoppy (even hipster) beer. 

 My research for matching beer spec beer and decent food pubs really only turned up The Raven as a pretty sure-fire thing but as I was about to suggest it they suggested the "Bath Brew House".  I'd heard of it, and thought we'd been there a few years ago. Sounded like a decent deal.

When we got inside we realised we hadn't actually been there at all (not sure what pub I'm thinking of, then).  Anyhow - as a brew pub it was obviously majoring on their own beers, with a decent offering of about 5 cask and 6 keg beers.

Our companions had had the bitter and a golden ale, we went for their American Pale - all were in the 4 - 4.5% bracket.  Pretty good price, too, for Bath (I'm told).

We settled into catching up and eventually decided that we really needed to order some lunch.  It was then I noticed that the literature on the table indicated that this was a Youngs-owned place.  I was quite surprised a little while back when Boak and Bailey identified that the King Street Brewhouse which we go to infrequently, but not unhappily, was a Youngs place.

When I paid a bit more attention to the building and the decor I realised that it was very similar to the King Street place.  It all made sense.

We're very keen, on the whole, on small independent breweries and venues.  There are only so many places we can go and drink so we like, wherever possible, to use our beer-buying power to support them.

Now, as far as I can tell, Youngs is still independent but it's far from small and the last time I tried their beers, I wasn't at all inclined to try them again. So this micro-sub-brand thing is a bit of a dilemma for me.

The beer served from the brewery was good, the staff we dealt with were professional and friendly, doing a really good job.  The food was OK and the space was pleasant and not too noisy (apparently it gets so later in the day) - but I still feel a bit cheated at the "Youngsness" being slightly sotto voce.  It makes the homespun-looking chalk graphics of the brewing process reek of artifice and trying to trick us into thinking it's a small organisation. 

I actually liked it a bit better than the King Street venue - that might be down to where it is in Bath or something else. 

 BBB and I wouldn't rush back on our own, but it would make an acceptable compromise venue, for sure.

As an aside, we decided to try somewhere else, closer to my Brother's homebound bus stop for one last one.  "Trinity" was the nearest place - neither of us had any knowledge of the place.  It was somewhat different.  Very much a locals pub, one probably owned by Heineken.  London Pride on cask and the usual Camden/Beavertown offerings on keg.  We decided on a quick one anyway as they didn't have long to wait and there are 4 trains an hour back to Bristol.

Yeah, well - the staff member serving was great, but that was the high point of the pub...at least it got us out of the rain.  Neck Oil is really insipid now, isn't it? (even in lovely, funky half pint glasses).