Pubs & Beer

[gingerjon]

33 minutes ago, Padge said:

Humphrey Smith and the workings of Samuel Smiths world.

Long but interesting Guardian article about the bizarre world of Sam Smiths.

There aren't any around here for it to make a difference but since becoming aware of the way the workers, in particular, are treated, I've not gone into a Sam Smith's pub. Shame because I do like the Old Brewery Bitter.

[Ullman]

On 19/12/2024 at 10:22, Padge said:

Humphrey Smith and the workings of Samuel Smiths world.

Long but interesting Guardian article about the bizarre world of Sam Smiths.

I've often wondered why the Rugby Tavern, a busy Sam Smith's pub in Hull city centre, closed down and has remained closed for so long. Judging by that article it sounds like that sort of thing often happens to Sam Smith's pubs.

[gingerjon]

18 minutes ago, Ullman said:

I've often wondered why the Rugby Tavern, a busy Sam Smith's pub in Hull city centre, closed down and has remained closed for so long. Judging by that article it sounds like that sort of thing often happens to Sam Smith's pubs.

Incidentally, some of you who take in some of the London Sam Smith's pubs. An 'in the know' response to this article on Bluesky said that control of those is essentially in the hands of the son, not the father, and the rules around phones (etc) are looser as a result.

[Futtocks]

28 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Incidentally, some of you who take in some of the London Sam Smith's pubs. An 'in the know' response to this article on Bluesky said that control of those is essentially in the hands of the son, not the father, and the rules around phones (etc) are looser as a result.

I didn't know that. A Sam Smiths pub in London is one of the capital's rare oases without piped music.

[gingerjon]

18 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

I didn't know that. A Sam Smiths pub in London is one of the capital's rare oases without piped music.

Hence why I’ve been in plenty (before my boycott!) with my phone out and no consequences for either myself or landlord.

[Ullman]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

Incidentally, some of you who take in some of the London Sam Smith's pubs. An 'in the know' response to this article on Bluesky said that control of those is essentially in the hands of the son, not the father, and the rules around phones (etc) are looser as a result.

My recent experience of the Old Cheshire Cheese in Fleet Street would tend to back this up, full of people on their phones and nobody gave a monkey's.

[shaun mc]

According to the locals, the Blue Bell now the Heversham Inn is the father Smith's favourite pub in the estate. It had a major expensive refurb before lockdown and has just re-opened a couple of months ago.

Mobile phones, electronic devices and swearing are banned

[Jeff Stein]

Mrs Stein and I did a city break to Bath recently. It is highly recommended, not just for the Roman and Georgian sights (and the new modern spa is great too), but also because it is a good beer town. There are plenty of pubs and quite a few listed in the Good Beer Guide. We stayed literally across the road from one and there was another further up the road. It was pretty busy and that was in Autumn so I imagine it could be pretty tiresome in high season.

Best pint of the trip was Bath Gem (and also the most expensive - not sure if that is a coincidence) in The Salamander. Not sure I have ever drunk in a pub with that name. Apparently it's one of the older ones in Bath and is quite small. Bath is now brewed in Bristol, but Gem is a very refreshing pint and I think is reasonably easy to find ion bottle form (I have good memories of it from the Bristol Novotel where I stayed once for the magic which was held in Cardiff).

Worst pint was in The King of Wessex, a Wetherspoons. The only interesting pint went off halfway through, but the barman still offered me that half. Err no thanks. He showed me he hadn't really been trained pouring a pint of Sharps Sea Fury, which was on. Really we were there for the food and made our excuses and left after the meal. the place was pretty dirty.

Fortunately the Bath Brew House was just down the road. The brewery can be seen on the ground floor just inside the front door before you arrive at the substantial bar. As an establishment it probably wasn't aimed at people of the age of Mrs Stein and myself, giving off the vibes of and containing furniture from a 1990 student common room. However, the staff were very welcoming, as they were throughout pubs in Bath. I had a stout, pale ale and best bitter, all brewed on the premises and very good.

The pub in which we spent most time was The Raven, opposite our hotel. I guess it is also pretty old with a rather ramshackle layout. On the two bars there were a good range of beers, both on pump and tap, from local breweries, such as Frome and Electric Bear. Mrs Stein had St Austell Korev lager (Korev is Cornish for beer apparently) which was much better than the usual industrial bilge. They also had on Brennans Stout, which is being produced in partnership with Theakstons as one of the periodic supposed challenges to Guinness. No chance; it was horribly bland.

Last pub of the trip was the Huntsman, which was close to the station and has good views of the river, gardens and the abbey (and a certain stadium which shouldn't be mentioned). It is a Fullers pub, but is nice looking with very friendly staff. Usual Fullers range, but the Oliver's Island and Hophead Darkstar were fine.

All in all, Bath is definitely worth a visit for the history, but is definitely improved by an excellent beer offering.

[Padge]

20 hours ago, Jeff Stein said:

Mrs Stein and I did a city break to Bath recently. It is highly recommended, not just for the Roman and Georgian sights (and the new modern spa is great too), but also because it is a good beer town. There are plenty of pubs and quite a few listed in the Good Beer Guide. We stayed literally across the road from one and there was another further up the road. It was pretty busy and that was in Autumn so I imagine it could be pretty tiresome in high season.

Best pint of the trip was Bath Gem (and also the most expensive - not sure if that is a coincidence) in The Salamander. Not sure I have ever drunk in a pub with that name. Apparently it's one of the older ones in Bath and is quite small. Bath is now brewed in Bristol, but Gem is a very refreshing pint and I think is reasonably easy to find ion bottle form (I have good memories of it from the Bristol Novotel where I stayed once for the magic which was held in Cardiff).

Worst pint was in The King of Wessex, a Wetherspoons. The only interesting pint went off halfway through, but the barman still offered me that half. Err no thanks. He showed me he hadn't really been trained pouring a pint of Sharps Sea Fury, which was on. Really we were there for the food and made our excuses and left after the meal. the place was pretty dirty.

Fortunately the Bath Brew House was just down the road. The brewery can be seen on the ground floor just inside the front door before you arrive at the substantial bar. As an establishment it probably wasn't aimed at people of the age of Mrs Stein and myself, giving off the vibes of and containing furniture from a 1990 student common room. However, the staff were very welcoming, as they were throughout pubs in Bath. I had a stout, pale ale and best bitter, all brewed on the premises and very good.

The pub in which we spent most time was The Raven, opposite our hotel. I guess it is also pretty old with a rather ramshackle layout. On the two bars there were a good range of beers, both on pump and tap, from local breweries, such as Frome and Electric Bear. Mrs Stein had St Austell Korev lager (Korev is Cornish for beer apparently) which was much better than the usual industrial bilge. They also had on Brennans Stout, which is being produced in partnership with Theakstons as one of the periodic supposed challenges to Guinness. No chance; it was horribly bland.

Last pub of the trip was the Huntsman, which was close to the station and has good views of the river, gardens and the abbey (and a certain stadium which shouldn't be mentioned). It is a Fullers pub, but is nice looking with very friendly staff. Usual Fullers range, but the Oliver's Island and Hophead Darkstar were fine.

All in all, Bath is definitely worth a visit for the history, but is definitely improved by an excellent beer offering.

Thanks for that detailed guide, we are planning to visit bath next year at some point.

Edited December 29, 2024 by Padge

[Shadow]

On 27/09/2024 at 21:41, Shadow said:

@Wiltshire Warrior Dragon ‘s local made it into the good beer guide.

https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/24611186.good-beer-guide-goat-downton-camra-guide/
 

The Goat is a nice pub, food is good but not too expensive, Karolina the landlady is great and it’s a dog friendly pub

Gone off the Goat

their prices have shot through the roof, the service has collapsed and the ambiance has changed.

If you are in Downton my current pub du jour is the Bull Inn.

A new landlord has revitalised the place, food is great and well priced and on Mondays it’s £2.80 a pint

[Mumby Magic]

9 hours ago, Padge said:

Thanks for that detailed, we are planning to visit bath next year at some point.

Yep appreciate it. 

[The Masked Poster]

The Sam Smith's pub, the Angel Inn, just off Briggate in Leeds centre, definitely enforce the no phones (or swearing) rules. 

But it's a good pub regardless so not such a big deal really. 

[Jeff Stein]

Drinking a new style on me: a White Stout. This one is brewed by Nethergate, a Brewery from Sudbury on the Essex Suffolk border. It is a real ale, but, when poured, looks like a Lager (Helles). Quite velvety with strong vanilla notes. It's certainly different.

[Wiltshire Warrior Dragon]

18 hours ago, Shadow said:

Gone off the Goat

their prices have shot through the roof, the service has collapsed and the ambiance has changed.

If you are in Downton my current pub du jour is the Bull Inn.

A new landlord has revitalised the place, food is great and well priced and on Mondays it’s £2.80 a pint

Thanks for the tip-off, Shadow.  The re-opening of the Woodfalls Inn awhle ago increased local choice.  The new-ish landlord at the Cuckoo at Hamptworth has clearly made a success of that pub.

Downton Brewery's tap bar (open on Friday evenings and possibly other times too) always has a good range of their beers at sensible prices.

Elsewhere, hereabouts, I went in the King's Head at Whiteparish (along with other church choir members and the vicar) after last Sunday's carol service.  There is a new landlord/lady team, who seem to be keeping their beer quite well, if my Downton Brewery pint of Honey Blonde was anything to go by.

[Padge]

A new bar opened just before christmas in the railway arches on Queen St. Wigan, just up from Wigan Central in arch 6.

The Beer Hangar only offers craft in the way of beers but has been getting good reports so far. Will give it a try in the new year and report back.

Edited December 29, 2024 by Padge

[EggFace]

On 20/12/2024 at 15:15, Ullman said:

I've often wondered why the Rugby Tavern, a busy Sam Smith's pub in Hull city centre, closed down and has remained closed for so long. Judging by that article it sounds like that sort of thing often happens to Sam Smith's pubs.

Lots of Sam Smiths amd hotels pubs closed down after lockdown lifted when he put an extra £1 on all his beers and off sales bottles.

Used to love going down my local Sam Smiths pub for the OBB £2 and Stout £2.40 and toastie £1.50....now it's Weatherspoons all the way.

[Padge]

15 minutes ago, EggFace said:

Lots of Sam Smiths amd hotels pubs closed down after lockdown lifted when he put an extra £1 on all his beers and off sales bottles.

Used to love going down my local Sam Smiths pub for the OBB £2 and Stout £2.40 and toastie £1.50....now it's Weatherspoons all the way.

Not buying on quality then. 

[EggFace]

42 minutes ago, Padge said:

Not buying on quality then. 

How dare you some of my best pints have been in various Spoons

Vale Gravita Pale Ale 4.8%

Maxim Mosaoc 4.5%

Cameron Strongarm 4%

Goffs White Knight 4.7%

Shipyard, Guinness and even the likes of Ruddles and Worthington which are lower at 3.4% my palate can get used to if I want a session drink and then you have a great range of low and none alcohal drinks like Guinness 0.0 at £2.48 comapared to other pubs around charging £3-£4.

At Breakfeasts, Pizza, Curry Club and Buttermilk Chicken Sandwhich and Coffee /hot drink refills gets my vote.

[Padge]

3 minutes ago, EggFace said:

How dare you some of my best pints have been in various Spoons

Vale Gravita Pale Ale 4.8%

Maxim Mosaoc 4.5%

Cameron Strongarm 4%

Goffs White Knight 4.7%

Shipyard, Guinness and even the likes of Ruddles and Worthington which are lower at 3.4% my palate can get used to if I want a session drink and then you have a great range of low and none alcohal drinks like Guinness 0.0 at £2.48 comapared to other pubs around charging £3-£4.

At Breakfeasts, Pizza, Curry Club and Buttermilk Chicken Sandwhich and Coffee /hot drink refills gets my vote.

You're easily pleased, that's all I can say. 

Edited January 1 by Padge

[EggFace]

Just now, Padge said:

You're easily pleased, that's all I can say. 

 

Just now, Padge said:

You're easily pleased, that's all I can say. 

You cheeky scamp and I forgot they have one of my favourite wines Grant Burge Barossa Ink Shiraz at an amazing price of £2.95 a glass and £14.79p a bottle.

I'm not an alcoholic....hic.

[Padge]

6 minutes ago, EggFace said:

I'm not an alcoholic....hic.

But you are Tim Martin and I claim my £5

[Jeff Stein]

Enjoyed this week at our local micropub a couple of beers on pump from breweries I have visited previously. Brew York Clementine Chameleon is a citrus infused version of a pale ale they brew and was very easy to drink. I usually find red ales very underwhelming but enjoyed Kernel Half Brick. It is made with rye and I am not sure whether that gave it the additional oomph that I was able to enjoy it.

[Padge]

Dry January doesn't seem to have taken off in Wigan, pubs really busy, all supping beer etc. In fact unusually busy for first week following new year.

[gingerjon]

50 minutes ago, Padge said:

Dry January doesn't seem to have taken off in Wigan, pubs really busy, all supping beer etc. In fact unusually busy for first week following new year.

Across real life, social media, media and anecdote, I haven't come across anyone doing Dry January. All the Dry January talk has been people loudly and clearly explaining that they are not doing it.

It appears to be no longer A Thing.

[Futtocks]

4 hours ago, Jeff Stein said:

Enjoyed this week at our local micropub a couple of beers on pump from breweries I have visited previously. Brew York Clementine Chameleon is a citrus infused version of a pale ale they brew and was very easy to drink. I usually find red ales very underwhelming but enjoyed Kernel Half Brick. It is made with rye and I am not sure whether that gave it the additional oomph that I was able to enjoy it.

I've had a few Kernel beers and they seem to know what they are doing. One of the newbies who doesn't just do a lazy "me too" IPA, but who creates a range of different styles.