March 2026. Cologne. Germany. Our first of 3 nights in Cologne; I knew I had to visit Gaststätte Lommerzheim (“Lommi’s“) at some point, why not now ? “It’s like the Hare and Hounds” I tell Matt. Frankly, you queue for opening, either for lunch (11) or teatime (4.30), or you miss out. James and Matthew… Continue reading “What’s Mainzer in Päffgen Kölsch eingelegt Dad ?” TEA AT LOMMI’S
CROSSING THE RHINE
March 2026. Cologne. Germany. Our first day in Cologne, six Kolsch down and no plan. Let’s just admire the Old Town, and let Mrs RM take photos she’ll wonder why she took a week later. Wandering down through Salzgasse, towards Martinswinkel, perhaps the architectural highlight after the Dom. At that moment the Noddy train turned… Continue reading CROSSING THE RHINE
Brauhaus Sion, Cologne
March 2026. Cologne. Germany. I thought long and hard about blog titles for Cologne. “Day 1, Hour 3” ? “A Sion of the Times” ? “No, STOP bringing the Kolsch !” ? It’s so much easier when the only possible answer is “Gone for a Burton“. I ought to score these Cologne pubs; I score… Continue reading Brauhaus Sion, Cologne
Brauhaus Gaffel am Dom
March 2026. Cologne. Germany. A short family holiday in Cologne, the first since New York in 2019, a year before Donald J Trump was unceremoniously booted out of office. And a year before the pandemic briefly made pubs insignificant. In 2022 we met up with a former Pub Man of the Year and her husband… Continue reading Brauhaus Gaffel am Dom
THE RETURN OF THE 7am STANSTED PINT
March 2026. Stansted Airport. Essex. Dave (not that one) from Chicago was mildly astonished at the beer and breakfast trade at my local Spoons the other week. Goodness know what he’d make of the drinking at Stansted Airport at 7am this Monday. I’ve resisted the lure of a pre-flight pint since 2018, but what else… Continue reading THE RETURN OF THE 7am STANSTED PINT
UNDER THE ARCHES. PREEMPTIVE BURTON
Some folk told me it was too far to walk out to the Elms from central Burton; lads, it took 16 minutes to get back to Coopers, admiring the ducks, and the bridge over the Trent. Just time to catch up with the hipster vinyl chart at the record shop, and be unwisely diverted under… Continue reading UNDER THE ARCHES. PREEMPTIVE BURTON
BEST BASS IN BURTON ?
March 2026. Burton-on-Trent. A third Bass in rapid succession, perhaps too rapid, but breaking up pints with espressos leads to madness. The “We ❤️ Bass” Facebook page had suggested the Roebuck and the Devvie for the best 🔺 in Burton, but I was heading east of town, over the actual Burton Bridge, past Stapenhill cemetery, to… Continue reading BEST BASS IN BURTON ?
BURTON BRIDGE
March 2026. Burton-on-Trent. A Friday afternoon in search of Burton Bass, and a couple of votes on the Bass fan page for the Burton Bridge, another GBG regular that has had it’s share of turmoil of late. But nothing like the turmoil of the Hangar, aka Crossing; Caliente; Brewers Bar; Cosmo; InnStitute; Cosmopolitan; and the… Continue reading BURTON BRIDGE
THE COOPERS TAVERN, A JOULE IN THE BASS CROWN
March 2026. Burton-on-Trent. Never blog after six twelve glasses of Kolsch. Never mind, it’s nearly all pictures from the home of Bass, I’ll leave the prosaic descriptions and history to others. I guess Bass in the Coopers is as iconic as Paffgen in Lommies, but I hadn’t been for nearly a decade till Friday. Less… Continue reading THE COOPERS TAVERN, A JOULE IN THE BASS CROWN
GOING FOR A BURTON
March 2026. Burton on Trent. Last week seemed like mental torture, another weekend without making it to that Guisborough brewery tap that only opens 3:30 to 4 on Saturdays. But in fact I did manage East Grinstead (whoopy doo) and Burton on Trent (whoop), the latter scratching a major itch. Despite living a mere 42… Continue reading GOING FOR A BURTON
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