Breaking the Habit of - not quite - a Lifetime

 When we come up to Bristol we aim to meet up with a couple of friends and/or family if we can.

This time, our departure from Eastbourne was somewhat abrupt because of juggling a shedload of other things.  It meant that I had no chance to forewarn family.

I posted something about the beer I was drinking on social media and my sister-in-law spotted it - saying that they were very tied up with family birthdays and other events - all fair enough, we've never asked people to unravel their lives just because we've landed in Bristol.

However, my brother messaged me later to ask when we were going back...the upshot being we all agreed to meet at the Barleymow for lunch yesterday.

They've become almost fans of using public transport so that they can both drink and not drive.

We wandered around just before 1pm and wondered whether it would be busy with Thursday lunchers.  It was reasonably quiet and we got a nice table, picked up some beer and settled in.  With that, Brother and Sister-i-L arrived. Conversation flowed, as did beer and we had a really nice simple lunch (burger, toasties, chips, soup...that kinda thing).

We chatted about how all of us a really quite set in our ways:  they like eating out but mainly at lunchtime, we like eating out in the evening but prefer it to be just us, we go to the pub around 4.30pm but usually go home and eat after...so getting the four of us into a pub to eat and drink at lunchtime (and travel by public transport) definitely represented a compromise on all sides - nevertheless, a happy one.

They departed around 3pm leaving us to decide what to do...

We finished the beer we'd started but decided to stay on for a bit.  We couple a couple of 2/3rd of something strongish and played cards in the relative quiet.  We were mid-game when we came to the end of the drink but I was comfy and happy, the fire was crackling away and I was enjoying the game (Regicide, obvs).  So we shared another one to finish the game.  All the while after-workers were drifting in and making the place lively again.

We finally left just after 5pm, the place was bustling and our recently-vacated seats were hungrily leapt upon.  All in all a very satisfactory break from our normal routine.

Back to normal today, I reckon!

Too Much of a Good thing?

 Tuesday we had an errand to run after a favourite, aged casserole dish finally became unusable.  This necessitated the yomp across to the shopping centre, and the lugging of a very heavy bag (cast iron, y'see).

At the top of Union Street is something of a beer crossroads.  Which way to go?

IT was sunning and almost nearly warmish so I was quite keen to make the most of the light.

After a bit of umming, we decided we should stroll through the Old City and see what going on around there.  It was quite quiet because it was after the market traders mostly shut but it was nice to remember how great this small, traditional market is.

We passed a distillery taproom - not our thing, but good to see but I reckon it lacks a good independent beer place.

We strolled through the bottom half of the market and the presence of a dull old branch of "Revolution" in the old Fish Market (the actual Fish Market, not the Fullers Pub which continues) made me a bit sad but there we go.

As we cross the road towards King Street, I suddenly remembered that BBB had never been to the Old Duke.  I'd also learned recently that it generally stocks Oakham Citra on cask.

There was a time where I could take him to a new pub/bar every time he came to Bristol but this is significantly harder to do now.  So, last time was Bruhaha and this time was the Old Duke.

It's a pub that does what it does - old skool, but 5 or 6 decent (if not exciting) beers on cask (Citra, HPA, Butcombe Rare Breeds, Doom Bar, Boltmaker) 4 or 5 ciders and the usual Madri and other premium lagers.  It also has jazz every night and twice at the weekend. Bar staff very nice, beer well kept, proper pubby. And now he's been there so that gap in his pub education has been filled.

Noticeably busy by just after 5pm - and I thought that was reserved for the sort of places we normally fo - it was nice to see they seem to be thriving.

From there, we decided to go back via the Cornubia, expecting it to be really quiet and we thought we'd be able to get a decent strongish pint to finish on.  We were wrong on both counts, to be honest.  It was busy enough for us to have to perch on stools before a table became available and the strongest beer they had was 4.7%  Still, no matter, one stout and one porter by Beowulf brewery was perfectly satisfactory.  After this we lugged the shopping home and set about using the new casserole (which is also perfectly satisfactory)

Yesterday we went to Wiper and True.  The prices here have shot up - and interesting cask and keg at the same prices.  It was also a bit chilly and we didn't feel moved to stay for more than a pint of cask and glass of hipster beer (mine was OK, his was delicious).  Probably more of a place for a brighter day with a little bit more warmth in it.  We're noticing a real difference not between Sussex and Eastbourne but between types of place.  Taprooms/Brewpubs looking much more expensive - pubs more or less in line (2 pints of BBF beer in Barleymow is the same price of two pints in the Crown...this is something new).

I'm pretty sure we will get used to the prices and swallow them in the interests this industry we want t support - we just have to get over ourselves a bit first.

Real Ale Rocks

 Both of us cut our beer-teeth, majoring on "Cask Beer" (or Real Ale...).

The founding of CAMRA in the 1970's as a reaction to keg-dispensed, pasturised pretend ale and high volume dull lagers came at a good time for us.  We're the generation of beer drinkers probably best-served by it because it had really begun gain ground when, in our respective lives, were really gaining a proper interest in it (me probably 10 years later than him).

Don't get me wrong, there was a LOT of cask ale around that was badly kept or dispensed or just plain bland but when you found a good beer, it was fantastic.  Styles were relatively limited:  Bitter/Best Bitter, Pale Ale, Mild (sometimes) and very occasionally something a bit different like a golden beer (lighter than Pale Ale) or a stout, porter or old ale. Nevertheless - I remember being excited at a pub selling Pedigree or London Pride - and positively ecstatic on seeing Landlord.

I'd drunk 6X, Greene King IPA, Butcombe, Totty Pot, Badger, Bishops Finger and Spitfire with equal enthusiasm. If it was well-kept on a consistent basis then it was a solid success.

Then I came across Bath Ales with a new style to me:  the pale, hoppy, slightly astringent 3.8% beer.  After many years of drinking SPA they brewed "Wild Hare" which was just as pale but considerably stronger (5% or so).  I have strong memories of sitting in the garden of the "Wellie" on the day of their launch event and just drinking it all afternoon.

After that, I guess my strongest memory of superb cask ale was Arbor Yakima Valley during an afternoon in the pub with pals.  Truth be told I don't really remember getting home after that - I vaguely remember picking up something for dinner like someone who'd been smoking skunk all afternoon.  Still, no harm, no foul, eh?

I remember my first pint of Harvey's Best but for reasons that were about the company and the occasion.  I remember enjoying it but not much more than that.

Very clear memories of the first time I was taken to The Brewery Tap in Peterborough (was it called that?  can't remember...but it is now) - this was the pre-matchday venue and there is none finer (though Charters runs a close second) - even taking into account The Basket Makers.  Seeing so much Oakham Beer with its range of styles riffing on a theme of bright, hoppy flavours and fantastic thai dishes.  From visiting the BBB in Hitchin, I was acquainted with Oakham beers but this was the most memorable place to drink them (long live JHB, Citra and Dreamcatcher).

Then a trip to the Cask and Kitchen in Pimlico prior to a visit to Tate Britain to see a Henry Moore exhibition.  This was before I scrupulously checked the ABV of the beer I was ordering BEFORE I ordered it.  I injudiciously ordered a pint of Jaipur on an empty stomach - but, good lord, it was amazing.

Since then?  I have more vague memories of cask beers that have made me sit up and take notice:  Dark Star APA (then, but not now), Tapstone Beers (any of them), Star of Eastbourne but in all the perfectly lovely cask beer I drink now (and there is a lot of it) my description of them in the moment is usually "That's nice" rather than "Wow".

However, three times since we arrived a week or so ago we've both almost done a double-take after the first mouthful of a pint:  the first was in the Kings Arms and it was Track Sonoma.  The beer was under 4% bright and hoppy and its taste belied the ABV. Both of us were pulled up short by it.

The second was in the Beer Emporium which we were going to only really because we hadn't been there for a while and it seemed only fair to give it another try after subtly unsatisfactory vists of the past.  It was Wiper and True 'Wild Places'.  Pale gold, 4.3% or so, fantastic condition,  bright and well balanced.  Both of us said "Wow!" and had a second pint.

Third one was yesterday in Martha's - Squawk Brewery Mallard.  Again 4% or so, pale and sparky.  Just gorgeous - again we went back for a second.

I know there's been a bit of a recent cask resurgence with several modern, previously only keg, brewers having a go at cask beers but initially it was mostly 4% brown bitters which we mostly don't tend to drink now but this recent experience is seriously cheering. 

It's not that we don't like kegged beers - we absolutely do - but cask is such a special thing and the reduced carbonation and slightly warmer temperature really resonate with us.

So maybe the CAMRA effect continues and maybe (eventually) it'll shake off the "beardy bloke with a cagoule and a copy of GBG to tick off in" reputation and be seen as something love by a new generation of beer drinkers.

...and I don't fancy the journey 'ome, neither!

 You'll either get the reference, or not.  Whatever.

It's very Februaryish at the moment.  Chilly, lazy wind and regular squally downpours - or just cold and bleargh.

We thought we'd venture out as far as King Street - perhaps considering getting food aswell (fridge is in, but shopping wasn't coming until today).  We left the building and immediately got hit by BLEARGH.

So instead, we cut the excursion short and went to the Kings Head instead.

Already with a good few people there by the time we arrived, we grabbed beer and a seat and settled in.  This is the pub where 10 people in the snug (Tramcar) makes the place feel quite full.  Nevertheless there was an epic level of "Basketmakers Rules" on clear display for near perfect space packing.  One group were a little slow on the uptake, but they got there eventually.

Track Sonoma on Cask was lovely - and far more punchy than the 3.8% ABV might suggest.  Then he had Burning Sky stout (4% ish) and I had Kokomo Weekday (again 4%ish).

We've definitely got to enjoy Good Chemistry beers more of late.  Maybe it's us, maybe it's them?  We'd not expected to be regulars at the Kings Head but find ourselves there on a regular basis now.  

One thing we asked ourselves yesterday as the pub reached 'peak rubber-roll-down-rucksack' is whether Bristol is typical of cities which have a generally good beer/pub scene, a good range of well-paid (media, academic, digital) jobs and somewhere university students stay after their education - together with an increasing amount of city-centre dwellers.

Obviously, we don't know the answers - we only know Bristol.  Still, perhaps slightly warmer weather might encourage us to go to Brighton, Bath and maybe some other university cities to find out...

It Comes in Pints!

 If you're acquainted with the first Lord of the Rings film (the Peter Jackson one) you might remember that Merry (or was it Pippin?) the Hobbit gets very excited when, in  an inn, he returns to their table with a pint of beer and declares "It comes in pints!", having previously only had been in smaller measures (probably halves).

This gets referenced quite a lot in our household - partly because the BBB is tall and slender - almost elven you might say and I'm...well, shorter, squat and...Hobbit-like (but for the hairy feet).

Anyhow.

Yesterday I had to pick up a parcel so we headed on to LHG because it was likely to be relatively quiet and we hadn't been for a while.

Arriving at the bar, I was delighted to see that they had two (count 'em) different cask beers on.  BBB agreed he'd also like the moasic pale so, without thinking I just asked for two.  BBB stepped in to say "two-thirds".  Wait, what?

The main thing about LHG establishments has always been their adherence to selling no larger measures than 2/3rds.  Whilst initially surprised (maybe annoyed) when we first went to Small Bar - it fairly rapidly turned into our favourite measure.  So much so that, from time to time,  when given the choice between only pints and halves we regularly get one of each measure, and share.

So this sudden availability of pints (and therefore the need to specify measure when buying) came as a shock.  We engaged the bar server on this and shared a chuckle.  Interestingly, the thing that struck me most is him saying "I don't miss having to explain to people why they can't have a pint".  Fair enough.

Beer in the 'hood

 As I've rambled about ad nauseam, this neighbourhood we live in whilst in Bristol is pretty much perfect for this section of our lives.

Not yet quite retired, but not doing the whole 9 - 5 career path.  It gives us the flexibility to deal with stupid things breaking, and to leave it all alone and pop to the pub at a time that suits us.

Saturday, there was rugby to be watched but didn't really want to hack over to the main sporty bars to watch it - they'd be busy, and probably quite annoying. 

The broken fridge meant the only beer was warm beer (yuk) so we watched the first half in the flat.  Just before half-time we mused what we might like to do for the second half.  I suggested that Martha's has decent wifi and we've got decent mobile phones so perhaps huddling around a phone screen - but with beer - might be a good compromise.

When we put our mind to things, we can certainly get our collective shit together - so coats and shoes on, nip along the road, choose and buy beer and we were settled down before the starting whistle sounded.

Admittedly, we weren't in our favourite spot initially (one of the two enclosed booths) but within 10 minutes we were able to trade up.  As used as we are to watching sport on larger screens - it was still a nice way to watch (maybe a 10" tablet would have been even better).  Just goes to show that good experiences are often not where/when/how you expect.

Yesterday it was cold, windy and rainy - all day.  Come 4pm neither of us were very much in the mood to walk far - so we went back to Marthas to sit with a couple of pints (well, 2/3rds) and played cards.  It's rare of us to visit the same pub two days in a row, these days, but sometimes you just know where's the best place to do what.

We still had a bit of budding anxiety about whether or not the new fridge would be delivered safely today. An early text message said arrival from 12.30pm (perfectly acceptable) but at about 8.15 a phone call from the courier company asked if we minded an earlier delivery since they were in the area.

So here it is - a shiny new fridge, which truth be told we'd been planning/musing on changing for about 3 years.  A bit of installation shenanigans, a a chance for it to settle and now it's humming away and I assume it's getting cooler (give it an hour and we'll know).

Weirdly, now that all this is done, I'm struggling to concentrate on much else.  However, the need to pick up some teabags (there are reasons) from the Amazon locker means I've already suggested LHG for beer (and potentially pizza).  It's the furthest we've walked since Friday!

Too Easy

 I should have known it was going altogether too well.

We were planning to head up to Bristol on Friday (always a bit of risk) but I needed my hair cut.  We calculated that if my haircut went quickly we could get on the 12.05 train which would be well in time to leave Paddington before the 15:00 "last cheap train until mid-evening" watershed.

If I wasn't as prompt, then at least we could get the 12.30 train and then be able to travel on the 15:00 train.  I booked seats on that train just in case so at least that would ensure we wouldn't have to stand.

As it was, the flying fingers of my hairdresser give me time to get to the station well before 12.00.

The train left on time; the travel across London was stress-free, we got up to the Paddington concourse around 14:10 and the train was called at a sensible time.  We found a great seat. Even the hen party (small) was jolly but not overly noisy.

We arrived at the flat at 16:15, relaxed and ready to turn the power on in the flat and go to the pub.

We got a lovely seat, the beer was fab, as it got busier we encouraged someone to share the table and they were jolly and smiley.

We picked up pies, peas and some wine and set about making our customary simple dinner.  Then we realised we'd forgotten milk.  Himself went to check the freezer and his face fell - the fridge and freezer were clearly broken, but for the interior light.

It was 8pm on a Friday and we had shopping arriving in about 15 hours.

He set about finding a replacement, I set about asking for the grocery order to be cancelled.

Stupidly, if I'd have checked the freezer for milk when we'd arrived, some of this would have been made easier - but then, we probably wouldn't have got a seat so maybe it wasn't so bad how things turned out.

This morning I was awake early so I got straight up and showered, then popped out to get milk for our coffee.

We're rather sad that the, relatively modest, contents of the freezer had to be ditched and we'll now have to be a bit careful about how we plan meals until the new fridge arrives but all in all, it was very much a first world embuggerance and, we're also lucky to have the cash available to replace the appliance (when we know what a huge percentage of adults would not be so fortunate).

 We're both feeling pretty sanguine about it now.

Hey ho.  We've got rugby, readily available beer supplies, not to mention accessible places to keep us going.  Some of this would, actually, have felt a bit more trying in Eastboune.