Up the (Gloucester) Road

We scooted back to the Bristol base for just a flying visit and to check how badly our orchids (which live on a shelf in a well-lit flat and so love the light...but not so keen on the regular drought) were doing.

It was really mostly about checking up on things, picking up the post and doing a little bit of housework just in case of guests in a couple of weeks.

So we didn't really have time to catch up with anyone or plan anything other than getting ourselves fed (and watered).

We arrived on Saturday and it was a no-brainer to go to the Barley Mow.  The beers we happened to choose were nice, but not stunning but they were from the usual array of breweries - Bristol Beer Factory, Arbor, Moor, Siren and Tapstone (who we're really getting to like) - and, as such, were refreshing and a pleasant start to the weekend.

Sunday saw us both doing some work and watching the weather worsen before forcing ourselves out into the rain.  We could only bear to go as far as the Cornubia and we weren't expecting the beer to be particularly exciting - but we were pleasantly surprised.  I can't even remember whose beer we drank but I do remember a couple of IPAs - one of which was 7.3% but shockingly drinkable.

Monday was our final full day in town and there was proper housework to do (including hoovers to fix) but late afternoon we did have time to wander to Gloucester Road for another of the "chores" we planned (and it's not a chore at all) - to visit Plastic Wax for more Juke Box fodder.

From there we strolled northwards and tried a couple of hitherto untried hostelries that have opened/reinvented themselves relatively recently:

• The Cider Press - who just had a list of ciders' names with no tasting notes.  When asked for tasting notes they had none to hand "...because we've just changed the ciders...".  The staff were clueless - when asked "what have you got that's dry" - she offered us Blackthorn.  This is hardly the venue serious about real cider.
  The beer was Butcombe and well kept...but dull.  We had one drink and moved on...
  
• ...to the pub almost next door "The Bristol Flyer"
  Real Ale on offer was a trio of something like "Doom Bar", "Gem" and something else almost ubiquitous.  We left without buying.
  
• Further up the road is a bar that was better known for getting you a kicking than a real ale.  "The Anchor" has clearly been smartened up and fitted out by the same people who did the cider press installation.  Same Cider, same taps, same lack of information.  But they did have A Tiny Rebel "Juicy" beer on.  So we stopped.
  The server was surly and, in the throes of serving someone else, made no attempt at eye contact or the usual "I'll be with you in a moment".  This was a portent.
  We were about to leave when she served us.  Two pints, well kept, a bit pricey and the in the antiseptic atmosphere we weren't feeling the love.  So we left after a pint.

After those three, we didn't have any more patience for disappointment so we passed a couple of places by which looked ok but where the beers were, once again, not something we would stop for unless that's all there was.

So it was that we ended up in the "Drapers Arms" - Bristol's first Micro pub and one that has now been given the acolade as pub of the year for the Bristol and District CAMRA branch.  In Bristol, that's some feat because the bar is awfully high.

We had two different light, hoppy (but not too much) beers here - Tapstone and something else and they were lovely.  I think that the place may have been atypically busy for a Monday as before long three of the beers that were on had disappeared leaving beers we didn't much fancy.  This is a mix of disappointment and delight that the place shifts so much beer so quickly since the beers we drank were in perfect nick it was just a bit of a shock that three went off so quickly and nothing came on to replace them.

The only place in Gloucester Road proper we'll be visiting any time soon will be The Drapers.  Still, the lower reaches (ie Stokes Croft) still has Crofters Rights and The Canteen (for now at least) - not to mention the Hare on the Hill and the Hillgrove nearby...it's just a bit of a shame there's that deadspace in between.

As for the orchids - they were a bit limp but they'll pick up.

...and now we're back down South there's a beer festival at our local on the bank holiday weekend so that's a bonus!

Glimmer

Had a lovely afternoon with the beer-drinking buddy yesterday.

I failed to buy some shoes, he succeeded.  I succeeded in buying a greetings card.  He failed to buy other things.  Still, an approximate 50% shopping success rate is considered a good rate in our household so it seemed appropriate to celebrate.  Actually it was more that a minor ear infection was making me dizzy so I needed to sit...and where else could we sit at that time of day...?

We, naturally, went to The Eagle which has become a fairly regular haunt of late.  Either we've been especially lucky, or the pub has upped its beer game a little.

There was a choice of three good beers on - Dorking Gold , Downlands Bramber,  and Firebird Paleface IPA.

So, basically we sat comfortably watching the first Saturday of the Football League unfold on Sky Sports in the pub.  We would have left after the third pint but then the heavens opened...so we stayed for another before strolling home.

Unplanned afternoons in the pub are so often the most fun times.

North of the Border

We've just got back from a lovely trip to the west coast of Scotland:  Oban, to be precise.  We go by train because - well, why wouldn't you?

For people who love beer as much as we do, I guess rural/coastal Scotland might seem to be an odd choice for a holiday - but we do also love scenery, walking, the odd hill, water and wildlife.

We knew, in our hearts, that we would have to manage our own beer hopes and aspirations - and that's fine.

We went north in two legs - stopping at Glasgow, but when you know you have to change trains at Euston it would be rude not to slip into the Euston Tap for a cheeky one en route.  So, we left Eastbourne on an earlier train, giving ourselves just long enough to enjoy a pint (and a non-train loo).  Needless to say, the beers we had (a Harbour IPA and something by Moor, I believe) were in tip-top condition, and the act of stopping itself means you don't feel the drag of travelling quite so much.

We arrive in Glasgow at 6.30pm on a Saturday evening and, like most cities, that makes it a bit of a noisy time to be looking for good beer and food.  Nevertheless we reacquainted ourselves with both "Cafe Gandolfi" for dinner and "Blackfriars" for post food beer.  Gandolfi was a bit lacking on beer (if only it were, it might well be the best place in the world) - So we had a local draught keg beer and a bottle of Arran blonde.  Both were fine but didn't quite hit the mark  Mind you, the best Finnan Haddock makes up for the beery shortcomings and we left perfectly satisfied with our choices.  Then we crossed the road to Blackfriars - it was heaving but we did manage to find a table at the back and enjoyed a couple of pints (to my shame, I have no idea what other than my first was a Citra-based beer which was black...) before the noise got to us and we called it a night. 

On Saturday we picked up a train for Oban and by 3.30pm we were there.  All lovely sunshine and fish restaurants.

The pubs we tried in the town were all pretty much fine but none of them offered much variety in terms of beer.  Mostly we drank Fyne ales (Jarl, Avalanche and Vital Spark) in pretty good condition and very good beers they are too - it was just a shame that there wasn't more choice.  In the Cuan Mor we couldn't have any of their own beer so we had a "craft" IPA which was nice enough but not good enough to go back to.

We did do a few little excursions - to Mull (the Craignure Inn having only bottled beers - although they were good); to Easedale (the utterly delightful Puffer Bar having good bottled beer which came as a surprise) and to Connell (the Oyster Inn having well-kept but fairly dull Deuchars IPA) but all in all, our fears about lack of great Real Ale were largely well-founded.  If this sounds overly-critical, it's not meant to be.  The tide of real/craft (or whatever) beer hasn't reached here yet and maybe it won't.  The town probably knows its audience (a lot of people passing through and the town is in a stunningly beautiful location) and maybe varied and exciting beer perhaps doesn't need to be a part of that offering.  It's a shame though.  We did ask ourselves, several times during the week, how well a micropub would be received...it's a thought that will keep repeating, I reckon.

Actually our highlight in beer was on the journey back, yesterday.  We couldn't buy a straight-through train ticket so we thought we'd build a bit of resilience into our plans by allowing a couple of hours between train changes in Glasgow.  It did allow us to go to somewhere we'd noticed on the way through the week before:  The Shilling Brewery.  From the moment we got inside we got the feeling we'd like the place.  Despite only having one beer on cask, the place was an utter treat - we could have chosen from a wide variety of kegged guest beers but we stuck with trying five of their own beers which were very good.  So good, in fact, that we actually considered buying an upgraded train ticket to stay longer.  Next time you're in Glasgow - give them a try.  We certainly shall.

Keeping it Local.

I'm not all that sociable - never have been - I find the rigours of sociability to be really hard work and so I have a tendancy to avoid.  A lot.  The household engineer is quite similar in this respect.

Sometimes, though, the right person suggests the right sort of social activity and we agree to it.  We both frequently regret it in the moments leading up to the start of the event but almost always enjoy it.

Anyhow, this is all leading up to a beer story, naturally.

A couple of weeks ago our friend and colleague said a brewery visit to the very local (ie about 5 miles from my desk as I sit and type this) Longman Brewery was in the offing - arranged by some "extended" colleagues at the local co-working space and would we like to join in?

At this point I should declare that Longman beers, whilst perfectly nice, are not my favourite local beers.  You know, you're happy enough that they're on the bar but they might not be my very first choice.

So we got in a minibus with a dozen other folk and popped to the farm-based brewery.  On arrival we were greeted by the head brewer and the sales and marketing chap.  They were cheery and welcoming and had a pin of beer on an outside table ready to serve.  What's not to like?

Then came the first revelation of the evening - their new "Wild Man" beer is definitely the best beer of theirs I've ever tasted.  Now, it was pretty strong (over 5%) and packed a good hoppy punch but it was really well balanced and drinkable and it would be something I could drink all evening (at that ABV it might be a short evening for me, but who's counting, eh?).  The engineer and I agreed that if we'd got that in our Bristol local we'd have been very happy indeed.

We were given an introductory chat by Tom about the history of the brewery and then we left the chill of the evening air and were led inside the brewery where it was toasty warm.  What followed was a  fascinating chat from the brewer, Jamie, not just about the brewing process but how the brewery uses local ingredients (ie, from the farm the brewery is based on) and water, local staff and how the waste products - spent hops and barley and the water that isn't turned into beer - is reused on the farm.

They seem to combine senstivity and pragmatism perfectly as an organization.  So, unashamedly using their distribution contacts (one of the directors is also associated with a local wholesaler) but trying to have as little negative impact on the village as possible whilst offering 15 jobs in a place that probably has few other direct employers.

Both guys seemed to relish chatting with us and happily answering questions and debating things like fining.  Remember, these chaps had been at work all day - and were doing this for the love.  You can't help but like and respect that.

Far from the usual "the malt goes in here and the beer comes out there" brewery tour this was a two-way discussion of the product, the industry and what being a local employer means.

Though we could probably have stayed all evening and talked (and probably drunk) beer - we needed to let them get off home so we walked the 200 metres or so down the road to their nearest pub - The Plough and Harrow -  which is usually a "Walk over the Downs" destination for us.  Here we drank a great pint of Longman APA which, until last night, was my favoured Longman beer and were enthusiastically greeted by the pub landlord, Glenn, who keeps a really good pint.

We all had a couple of pints and a snack and our bus driver was suddenly in the pub to pick us up.  It had all gone too quickly.

Best evening out I've had for a good while - it had all the elements you need:  good people, stuff to make you think and good stuff to make you drunk.

I think I'll be drinking (even) more Longman in future.

Thanks everyone!

Well, that's it

Over the last two days I've been presented with pints of perfectly good, traditional bitter-style beers:

1)  Theakston's newish paleish ale (it isn't pale - it's darker than TT Landlord).
2)  Old Dairy Blue Top  - IPA (it isn't an IPA, not really)
3)  Beachy Head Legless Rambler
4)  Harveys Victoria Ale
5)  Harveys Best

Either I've got a virus which has screwed up my tastebuds (which is possible but not all that likely) or I'm really not that fond of this style of beer any more.

They all taste too sweet to me.

All but one of the above taste like "proper" Sussex beers - that is to say there's a whiff of sulphur and/or damp-dog about them which places them in the landscape.

The other (Theakstons, obvs) tasted like old-fashioned Yorkshire and reminded me of our sojourn to Robin Hood's bay a couple of years back.

I want to stress, vehemently, they were in decent condition and there was nothing wrong with any of the beers.  I just didn't relish them that much...well, at all, really.

15 years ago I would have been in a state of ecstasy to have any one of those beers...

About 10 days ago I really enjoyed a pint of TT Landlord from a pub on the visiting margins (sometimes the beer's pretty good, other times not) so it's not like I don't like any old-stylee beers but I find myself sad that my range of enjoyment is dwindling a bit.

Best drinking buddy suggests that our standards are now almost impossibly high.  That doesn't really bode well for our trips and holidays which have a large element of walking a few miles to what promises to be a good pub...
...however, it does say an enormous amount for the British Brewing industry which presents us with a lovely dilemma of having far too many incredible beers available to drink that any slight deviation from our favour style leaves us a little disappointed.

Probably won't stop us heading out to the pub after work tomorrow, though...

Fridge Staple

So - following a works "pizza and beer" meeting where the local Tesco Express was found to stock cans and bottles of Brewdog Punk IPA - and following, also, the fact that said beer has recently been made available by our online grocer of choice - Punk IPA is now a regular feature in our fridge.

No - not my favourite beer - but here and available and good enough.

Nuff said.

In Praise of the Strong Pint - and a bus to the end of your road

Back to the Evening Star, yesterday.  BHAFC were playing Fulham, I hadn't been for a full day in Brighton for ages and I also like lunch at the Basketmakers.

Of late, we've stopped getting a train to Brighton for football, favouring instead the No12 service which runs from the end of our road.

Leaving aside a diatribe about how annoying it is trying to shop in the Lanes on a Saturday in November I found myself with a couple of bags of shopping in the Evening Star around 4pm.

It took a few minutes to bag myself a decent seat but before long I had a pint, a seat and a tablet upon which I was reading a PDF book about Arduinos (Arduini?).  This is related to my sortofdayjob as someone who runs a TechEd centre and it's my duty, and pleasure to play about with geeky kit. 

Mostly the afternoon until the arrival of the fans passed without incident - one slightly weird comment aside from a bloke much younger than me saying "what you got there, girl?" pointing at the PDF I was reading which had an illustrative picture of an Arduino connected to some LEDS using a breadboard (there are so many things wrong with what he said and how he said it I just said "it's an electronic book" in a slightly irritated fashion, and then he left me alone).

Still, by the time the guys arrived, I'd manage to get the beers in and we settled ourselves in.  They were buoyant having seen Brighton win (again) and learning that Newcastle had lost, closing the gap at the top of the table.  The next couple of hours passed happily.

After M left, S and I planned our journey home...and then decided that a pint of one of the guest beers would be in order.  Oakham Green Devil IPA.  Oh heck!

It was a great pint and after having finished it, there was just time to pop into M&S for a little picnic for the bus and to float around to the No12 to get home.  It dropped us off at the end of the road, we staggered slightly towards home and went to sleep almost immediately.

Such is the loveliness of the beer, it didn't even leave a hangover behind.

As a result we have enough oomph to pop to the office and play with some tech kit (hopefully without someone making a weird comment!)