Small glimmers

 The beer scene in Eastbourne remains a long way behind other places we spend time.

We get that it's tough in the industry but there's probably something else at play in Eastbourne - a lack of interest in beer (other than Harveys Best) seems to be the most likely.  

Anyhow, we've been doing our usual haunts since we've been back from Bristol - Crown, Beerarama, Belgian Bar and Ninkaci. We haven't even been to the Lamb or the Hurst.  Mostly because the warmer weather doesn't lend itself to Harveys beers (in our opinion) and partly because clientele in the latter place have "views" that we don't want to be in amongst - especially at the moment.

There was a fun trip to The Seadog in Hastings because I was there for work and I may have won BBB over to the idea of bao with beer.

But yesterday, I'd promised to do a day at the Wish Tower.  By the end of the open day, we needed to convene to talk to one of the other members about the renovation of the front door (that's another story) and it required a bit of thought and geeking - both best done over a pint.

We were going to head to Beerarama but we decided to have a quick look at the newly-opened "was the Buccaneer" which is the closest place to the Tower.  It's now called "Bohemian" and it's had a bit of a makeover.  In the past the venue has been a bit of a place of necessity so we don't generally have high expectations of the offering. Added to that, it was tennis finals day so we anticipated it might be stupidly busy.

Anyhow, all appeared to be well, so we ventured in.

The cask offering was pretty respectable - 4 cask beers (2 Longman, 1 Burning Sky, 1 Three Legs) and there were a few keg beers - including 2 local offerings (Beak & Longman).

I think we'd say the cask was a little too cool but the beer was in excellent nick.

It was pleasant in there, they had Euros Football on and you could kind of see the tennis out the back.  It was probably busier than usual but it was a good place for us to be.  The beer was quite pricey but not so much it would actually put us off.

All in all?  A welcome addition to place we might go from time to time but I still think it's unlikely we'll venture out to it specifically.  Still, small mercies.

Fallback Plan

 Yesterday, we had an idea to go for a walk in Arnos Vale to finish off a couple of films in our old cameras so that we could process the film before going back down south.

This would have, naturally, meant we ended up in Totterdown for a couple of beers.

However, the day was overcast and the light completely flat and featureless - a day when B&W photography would likely have been very unrewarding.

So we did some chores, listened to the radio and decided it was probably better to put it off until Sunday morning instead.

That did leave a "where shall we go for a pint" dilemma since we absolutely knew that Sunday afternoons are now firmly in the diary as Martha's and boardgames.

Ciderbox?

It was a tentative suggestion because it's a bit of an odd place and not always as relaxing as it could be.  But we decided to give it a go, noticing on the way that Martha's has space to take us if we decided against cider.

We were greeted very enthusiastically, did our usual of selecting 3 halves to share and sat on their slightly rickety folding benches and tables.

We were alone in sitting inside but there were a fair few people sitting on pub-garden-type tables outside.

Shortly after we sat down people started arriving to set up some sort of DJing event.  Clearly in their very early 20's, not terribly organised, the lads were quite entertaining.  One arrived with a bag of 12" vinyl which, obviously piqued a certain beer(cider) buddy's interest.  So we started chatting to them.  

At one point the owner of the vinyl said with a smirk "if you stay you can hear some of our ...'house'...music" - with the italicising of "house" very obvious.  Rather like when you're trying to explain how to pronounce a word to someone who is likely never to have heard of the concept.

I remember, very distinctly raising an eyebrow, fixing him with a stare over the top of my glasses (which I'm told by the lads who work for me is terrifying) and just saying..."house?"..."before you were born, lads...".  This was met by a bit of a shame-faced chuckle and a warm smile.

The BBB got chatting about vinyl and how he'd never got rid of his.  

Just before we left we noticed that one of them had a film camera - so we had a bit of a chat about that.

We ended up staying a little longer than we anticipated simply because it was fun watching what was going on (and taking the piss out of the youngsters, obvs).  I took the glasses back to the bar as we left and the owner said "thanks so much for supporting us" which I thought was a sweet thing to say.

We said goodbye to all the youngsters as we left and we all shared a nice moment (dear god, they'd call that intergenerational engagement, these days...sigh), leaving with a big smile.

It's never going to be one of those venues we long to go to but we were reminded, again, that sometimes you just need to embrace the moment and go with the flow.

 

Back Again

 A shorter than usual gap between Sussex and Bristol, this time.

Mainly because we had been invited to friends' wedding.

I'm always conflicted at such events.  The absolute joy of being invited, the chance to share the celebrations of people you're very fond of but, the incipient social anxiety.  This, alone, had been preying on my mind.  Yes, I completely understand that it was going to be a relaxed affair, and that I was lucky enough to have best beer buddy with me and we took a couple of film cameras just in case it all got a bit much.

In the event, of course, it was a fun and wonderful day but I was pretty glad to have taken the decision to politely decline the evening do in a pub and, instead, head back home. (and  I've never been so grateful that a venue had bottled Tribute).

We did take a slight detour via New Bristol Brewery Taproom where we looked like a couple of people on the way home from a wedding.  All in all, though, a day well spent.

Work has been so full-on and I was so preoccupied by going to the wedding that Sunday was very much a take the brain out and just chill.  Perfect.

All we did is go as far as Marthas to play board games and drink beer.  Today has also been pretty chilled and we were going to head out for a bit of a walk, but have, instead, opted to stay closer to home.  It'll be the BM for us in a little bit.

Weirdly for me, the next 5 days have no meetings or appointments of any sort so I'm hoping to make a decent dent in my extensive to do list. oh, and drink some beer, natch.

Striking Out

 The sheer amount of weather, recently, has reduced our excursions both in Bristol and Sussex.  Frankly, I simply don't enjoy getting soaked.  Nor does BBB.

Things are brightening up (where brightening up = gone from wet and cold to stupidly hot) so yesterday we decided we'd stroll along the greenway, cross the railway bridge and make an attempt at a Totterdown venue.  I'd heard good things about the Shakespeare so we started there.  For us, there wasn't really any choice but they had a cracking pint of W&T Kaleidoscope.  It was fresh, with plenty of condition and it's soooooo much better as a cask beer than a can or keg one.

In fact, it was so good we had a second pint and decided to swerve the Oxford this time around.  Apparently not all the other punters were so keen.  The Butcombe was off and one of the other customers didn't like the W&T at all.  Never mind, eh?

Not a pub we'd hack up to every week but if we lived in the neighbourhood we would probably be regulars.

We walked back via the Greenway again.  All in all, a pleasant trip.

This evening I'll be insisting on Martha's.  It's our last evening here for a couple of weeks (back for a wedding towards the end of the month) and I wish to be in familiar and pleasant surroundings.  Martha's is most definitely that.

Best of all Possible Worlds

 Yesterday it was the first day of the May version of East Bristol Brewery Trail.

I'd planned this trip here to coincide - mostly because I really wanted to go to the Arbor Brewery Tap again (they're rarely open) - and with a chance to go to the Good Chemistry brewery, too.

James from Moor had told us on Friday that this weekend is their biggest with gigs and Sunday opening and everything else.  For the most part, though, we'll be avoiding the taps we usually go to because we supect it'll be pretty busy.

Yesterday promised sun and warmth - today, not so much - so we decided to make the trip to Arbor then. The walk from the flat to the brewery is a pleansant 30 minute or so amble along the cycle path so even that part is a nice part of the experience.  Spring is making itself known, with plenty of greenery and tweeting.

The whole way along we saw groups of people clearly travelling from one venue to another - LHG sounded very busy with people and I imagine W&T were too.

We expected Arbor to be less busy because it's a little more out of the way.  But we were wrong.  Very wrong.

The brewery yard had been decked out with makeshift pallet seating/tables some benches and there were people EVERYWHERE!  

Undeterred, we went to the bar and were served really efficiently by their lovely crew - narrowly missing a chance to get a seat at a table we wandered around a bit and then squeezed onto some pallet seating.  I've probably said before that we don't like crowds but the odd pleasant exchange with nearby punters was right up our street.

The bar was really efficient, the music good but not intrusive, it was warm and jolly - brilliant, in fact.  It has to be said we did prefer being there in December, quietly in their tapPortacabin but having their beers on draught (including a couple of casks) fresh as a daisy was grand.

As an aside, I re-read a couple of my earliest posts about keg beer.  Oh, boy, have I changed!  I mean, I still dislike shit beer and I tend to avoid larger breweries but my taste is considerably more catholic than it has ever been.  2013 me would definitely not have recognised 2024 me's drinking preferences.  Maybe you can teach an old dog new beers...?

My Love for Brewery Taps

 I was really sad to read this article about Brewdog sexism this morning.

Of course, there have been countles less-than-complimentary articles about them over the years.  That in itself makes me sad because, in the old days, I really liked some of their beers and I also kind of liked their availability (I'm remembering particularly getting some cans of Punk in Poole to take back to our Brownsea Island cottage).

I think I've only visited a Brewdog tap once (in Bristol) and it was quiet but not somewhere I felt the need to go back to.  I don't drink their beer any more.

I think it makes me doubly sad because I really love going to brewery taps and they are frequently staffed (and visited by) young men.  I trust my local breweries handle this kind of thing better.

I've always been served with respect at the places we drink at regularly.  Only two bar staff have ever mansplained beer (in 40 years of drinking beer) and its serving to me - and I'm old enough give them pretty short-shrift but were I younger at the time, I would have found the experience dispiriting and it might well have deterred me from going to other places.  

I see some of the behaviour described in the article as similar to I had as a woman in financial services which was (might be still) a very boys-club industry.  Even worse when the work I moved to was very technology heavy and I had to slap down a few blokes who didn't believe that people from the business, much less a woman from the business could possible understand the tech we were using.  By this time I had a degree in computing and it was doubly annoying. I did have the odd moment of triumph when the odd guy learned his lesson - but they were significantly outweighed by variously being overlooked, patronised and sidelined.

It's not acceptable, it's never been acceptable but it was always quite difficult to speak out.

Frankly, any brewery stupid enough to undermine their female staff and customers deserve to be punished by fewer of us choosing to use them.  Dear god, men, it's difficult enough to be a hospitality business, why on earth would you choose (because you do choose your behaviour) to alienate a chunk of your potential customers and potentially brilliant staff who you so desperately need to keep your organisation running well.

In the last couple of days I've been to two taps - small but perfectly-formed Little Martha brewery tap and the larger, older and further-away New Bristol Brewery tap.  Both had a mix of different people enjoying the space and the beer - groups of women, groups of men and mixed groups and couples.  The atmosphere in both was lively and friendly and I'd never think twice about going in on my own and feeling safe.  If you can't make my beer-drinking experience feel like this, I won't be going in - and that also means I won't be buying your product online or from the supermarket, either.  

Also I guess my message to organisation like this is "just f*cking grow up!"

Magrathea

 Pubs are odd places.

Whether we find them a brilliant or just an OK place seems to always be on a knife edge (well, it is with us, anyway).

Obviously the beer has to be in good condition and an acceptable choice - that's a given.  But beyond that?  To be honest it seems a capricious thing.

On Monday we had a little excursion to Brighton - just to get out of the house without having to trudge through mud.

We got off just outside the main city drag and walked up into Kemp Town.  The Hand in Hand pub (with its tower brewery in the tiniest space you can imagine) was due another visit.

We walked in and the place was already buzzing - and seating at quite the premium...mostly due to non-adoption of Basketmakers Rules.

Nevertheless, we tried to take up as little space as possible on stools next to the bar and settled down with a couple of good beers.  We didn't feel 100% comfortable but it was OK.  After a short while a couple of people came in and plonked themselves on the other stools next to the bar - and in the process pushing up against me, apparently have no idea that they done that.  It felt like they had no awareness of their actions' impact.  We finished our beers and decided we weren't particularly at home and so we'd move on.

It was half a mile or so over to the Brighton Bierhaus. It's a pleasant stroll and it was sunny and warmish.

We didn't quite manage the most efficient route but we got there eventually.  As we started up the street towards it there was a suggestion of rain.  By the time we got through the doors, it was more than a suggestion.

By the time we had our beers and had settled into a high table the weather had turned torrential.  People were rushing in, soaked to the skin.

We stayed for a couple and were content...but still not 100% at ease.  There was no particular reason for the feeling and maybe if we went there a couple more times, maybe we'd feel a bit more settled.

Anyhow, it was time to eat and the nearest place was a vegan pizza restaurant (calling itself "sustainable" rather than explicitly vegan).  The folk were pleasant, the space was quite nice and both bread dough and pesto were great.  Still, we won't be going back but I guess I like that it exists.

So we jumped on the bus home and mused that it was nice to go somewhere different but it's still difficult to find that elusive planet whose sea is the perfect shade of pink.