Real ale

[graysonscolumn]

Horsforth is proving to be pretty thin pickings where nice ale is concerned. Admittedly anywhere else on Earth was going to be after living within sparrow's fart of Kelham Island for the last year, but still.

The Queens Arms has the cask marque sign outside, but I don't think that amounts to the same thing as an endorsement by CAMRA, does it? If it does, it won't have been awarded for the Landlord - I had the most evil pint of it anywhere ever at said establishment last weekend.

Fortunately, salvation came in the form of the Town Street Tavern elsewhere in the town, and in particular in the form of Midnight Bell, a superb "rich dark ale" (it calls itself) by the Leeds Brewery that packed more punch and depth into its 4.8% than anything of its ilk that I've had for a long time (mind, the Elland Brewery 1872 Porter I had after the fitba at Dronfield on Wednesday wasn't too shabby, either).

The Tavern itself is too light on seating and too heavy on enormous front windows to possess anything approximating charm. The clients are nicer than any other pub I've visited in the town to date, though, and the two doggies (one a very young black labrador that was all legs and ears and chewed everything in a five-metre radius, the other a palpably blind old border collie with a very kindly manner) present on the night made me smile lots. And I'm not even a dog person. Aaaaaahhhh....

gc

[humblebee]

Are any of these near you, J? A mate at work is from the Wild West Yorkshire and they sound amazing from his descriptions:

The Puzzle Hall, Sowerby Bridge

The Fox and Goose, Hebden Bridge

Bare Arts Brewery, Todmorden

Sportsmans Arms, Kebcote (on the top of the moors, betwixt Hebden and Todmorden)

[graysonscolumn]

Coo, ta for these, kind sir! They're all too far away for a night out from 'Ossfth by taxi, alas, but they're just about do-able from mum and dad's by that medium.

Of course, I could make it easier still by crashing afterwards at the Youth Hostel just above Todmorden (the one in the wonderfully named hamlet of Mankinholes, next door to the equally chucklesome Lumbutts). Hmmm, yes, there's the germs of a plan there, I think...

gc

[Tomb]

My local has just taken stock of Mauldon's Blackadder. Oh dear..............

[carney]

My local has just taken stock of Mauldon's Blackadder. Oh dear..............

Good Sudbury beer, that.

[moopind]

Got a LibDem propaganda sheet today (Clegg's my MP) with a picture of the man from Bradfield Brewery grinning with Clegg (about something). Sigh.

But it didn't quite make me sigh like this, from the Robinson's brewery magazine:

Just when I'd decided I'd been wrong to be prejudiced against Robinson's beer for all these years.

[roundbitsofplastic]

Birmingham city centre has a new Real Ale pub. It's called the Post Office Vaults and is sort of on New St/Pinfold Street (beneath Eat). It's tiny but the staff are friendly and there's BILLIARDS.

[Tomb]

I now contribute to Crayola's Beer blog at the Campaign For Really Good Beer on a semi regular basis. You can read about it here.

[leon]

If anyone fancies a good beer in Bradford my mates Marko and Les run The Sparrow on North Parade at the top of town, near Forster Square station (and therefore accessible for all those Leeds trendies). Its relaxed, has lovely ever changing selection of beers with friendly staff and they've got good taste in music.

It opened in May and is something Bradford desperately needed.

Heres a recent review http://curryandbeer.co.uk/wordpress/?p=6521

Its also a good call for a pre-match pint if visiting Valley Parade. Its about 10 minutes from the ground (and is on the way from the Interchange/a minor diversion from Forster Square) and its highly unlikely there would be any ronkas in there.

[humblebee]

If anyone fancies a good beer in Bradford my mates Marko and Les run The Sparrow on North Parade at the top of town, near Forster Square station (and therefore accessible for all those Leeds trendies). Its relaxed, has lovely ever changing selection of beers with friendly staff and they've got good taste in music.

It opened in May and is something Bradford desperately needed.

Heres a recent review http://curryandbeer.co.uk/wordpress/?p=6521

Its also a good call for a pre-match pint if visiting Valley Parade. Its about 10 minutes from the ground (and is on the way from the Interchange/a minor diversion from Forster Square) and its highly unlikely there would be any ronkas in there.

Any...?

Sounds good. I'll be sure to have one there on the way to the Corn Dolly in the unlikely event that Grimsby ever play Bradford again!

[leon]

Any...?

I can't promise Pete! But I doubt the ronkas realise that The Sparrow is a pub.

Sounds good. I'll be sure to have one there on the way to the Corn Dolly in the unlikely event that Grimsby ever play Bradford again!

Geography-wise I reckon you're better doing the Corn Dolly first actually. Well thankfully 9 points from 12 has made it a little less likely to be next season, but would love to see you back in the league. Tell you what, I'll have to put Sweet Nothings on in Bradford instead to give you an excuse to come.

[humblebee]

Geography-wise I reckon you're better doing the Corn Dolly first actually. Well thankfully 9 points from 12 has made it a little less likely to be next season, but would love to see you back in the league. Tell you what, I'll have to put Sweet Nothings on in Bradford instead to give you an excuse to come.

Now there's a plan. You'd have to take me to the Beehive and the Fighting Cock as well though, you realise.

Go on then, what's a ronka?

[leon]

Now there's a plan. You'd have to take me to the Beehive and the Fighting Cock as well though, you realise.

But of course!

Go on then, what's a ronka?

Oh I see. I was using ronka as a term for silly boys in Stone Island jackets with goggles in the hood, but it just means a wrong un, a wreck-head, that type of thing.

[humblebee]

Meanwhile, I have just blogged on the subject of why Hertfordshire has quite a lot of good pubs but not much really outstanding beer. Have a look if you like, Anorak.

http://gettothepub.com/2012/01/04/hertfordshire

[moopind]

Every waiter's Wurst nightmare

[a layer of chips]

I had way too much of this last night. I feel like dog shit today. Anyone else had it?

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/whim-flower-power/79726/

[Tomb]

Never had that. Will look out for it. Mind you my head hurt this morning due to way too much Oakham Inferno and Buntingford Galena. Ouch!

[humblebee]

I just blogged about my favourite beer ever becoming just another beer.

http://gettothepub.com/2012/04/09/has-t ... i-changed/

[moopind]

I should perhaps have put this in the Sheffield thread, but I am very disappointed about Sheffield's The Bath Hotel becoming a Thornbridge house.

Thornbridge. It was exciting when those chaps sprang up from nowhere with their Jaipur and their Jaipur XB and their lack of Goblin's-Nostril/Gorgeous-Blonde-Slag type branding, innovative, outward-looking but local and with quite nice, understated design. Hooray! What are these crazy flavours in my beer?

I did go on.

Then, much later, and to my delight, they picked up one of the shittest pubs only 10 minutes' walk from ours. 10 minutes up a very steep hill and enough to frighten the life out of you if alone after dark, admittedly. They made it, er, OK. It's kind of nice, if a bit expensive and echo-ey, but, you know, on the right lines. Oh, only Thornbridge beers? Ah well. They do it so well, the American take on our own British beers, and those new, exciting hop varieties. I was even quite pleasantly surprised at the Hallamshire House when they took that over, though I quite liked it in there anyway. Better than the eggy Doom Bar I'd put up with on a visit near the end of its last incarnation. OK, I didn't like the back room much, and it was expensive, but they'd saved the snug. Good. The snooker table stayed and they'd made an interesting, er, smoking area. If you like smoking. Still only their own beers. Woof! They are quite, er, astringent, aren't they? Still, I do like that. Some of the time.

A few more acquisitions later, they (or chums Brew Kitchen) were targeting some loathesome venues (think The Stag, Trippets) and it was no bad thing. A local success story. They'd moved from the little brewery to a big one. They'd ramped up the stylish branding. They were riding the wave of Brew Dog-type extremo-anstringent ker-aziness. (They were also doing 'craft' keg beer, cheeky buggers, like in America where it's a bit hot for beer cellars!) They made that amazing St Petersburg stuff. They had had a hand in transforming then enlarging the incredible Sheffield Tap.

Then they announced they were taking over the Bath Hotel. For the first time: "If it ain't broke don't fix it". What? A city centre boozer full of character(s) with a proper landlord and a modest but good range of mainly locally-brewed beers. They tended to prefer the brown beers in a city at times in thrall to that ghastly Abbeydale Moonshine and ubiquitous (but more palatable) Easy Rider, so that was nice.

What next? Photos of Jarvis on the wall and that astronaut woman. Maybe a photo of Reverend And The Makers on a giant canvas if we're really unlucky. I've heard (on Twitter) that they plan to have guest beers (phew) 'from the best British breweries' or somesuch. If it's lots of citra/cascade/amarillo 7.4% stuff from Dark Star and Brew Dog, I'm going to personally ensure Jim Harrison forms an orderly queue behind his Mrs to be prosecuted for crimes against pubs. I like that stuff, but when we start letting it kick out nice real ale and when we let one company own loads of pubs and brand them all the same with the same paint and the same beer range, WE HAVE GONE BACKWARDS. Particularly a gem like The Bath.

AAAAAAAAGH.

Pint, anyone?

[humblebee]

Brilliant post, Dansome.

I've blogged on the same topic, if anyone would like a read:
http://gettothepub.com/2012/04/25/bath- ... e-too-far/