The geographical incompetence of folk never ceases to amaze me. We told some people in Cambridge we’d be going to Ossett‘s top off-licence, and none of them could place it accurately on the map. Some of them even thought it was east of Wakefield !
From Dewsbury, you can navigate there via the Water Tower and the Red Lion, rather than by Mrs RM’s phone. That’s what I’d do.
It’s been a while since I enjoyed Ossett’s charms, though the brewery’s beers are among my favourites. Their pubs also cover the very traditional, like their Tap here, and the Hop chain that appeals to a rather different crowd.
The town, too, has two distinct areas. The Beer Guide pubs have tended toward the south, leading down to the Calder. I had no recollection of the centre, which I’ll describe as the “Wednesbury of the North” and leave it like that.
An attractive Town Hall and incredibly cheap open market about sum it up. We were amazed by the prices on the sweet stall, succumbing rather too easily to the appeal of the stringy liquorice with coloured centre. Liquorice is local, isn’t it ? We’re protecting designated industries or something.
Sometimes I forget Ossett, with it’s two football teams, is only twice the size of our little village.
The centre of town is distinctly under-pubbed, so Bier Huis (it’s Yorkshire for Haus) must be a real boon for OAPs needing to blind test the Moor real-ale-in-a-can.
I can’t say my heart jumps with joy when I see another offie in the Beer Guide; pubs are for drinking in, not sofas in front of the telly.
But there’s no denying the appeal of looking at dozens of bottles with weird names and crazy strengths, which after all was half the fun of Indy Man.
The Beer Guide place comes from providing two good quality cask beers in a surprisingly pleasant drinking area (more comfortable than the posing tables of many micropubs).
Owner David chatted Indy Man and Ossett pubs with us while we ate gourmet crisps, mildly cursing we’d turned up in the week between two Oktoberfest events, thus missing out on sausages.
This is an enterprising and beautifully arranged little place, and so we had to pick one beer, using the principle of biggest is best that had served us well at Indy Man.
One brewery I regretted missing on Thursday night was Brass Castle, whose beers I particularly enjoyed at Clifford Beer Fest. I’m giving Mrs RM two weeks before she succumbs to the chunky charms of this one;-
retiredmartin 
Saltaire Blonde & Bradfield Farmers Ale? Testing their website accuaracy…
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Point.
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When I am dictator, those who think that Ossett is east of Wakefield will be sterilised.
I applaud the signage recognising that the Isle of Man is separate to the UK. Much more respectful than ASDA representing it on a map with a potato.
Off licenses have every right to be in the Good Beer Guide, even when operating as a true off licence. Indeed, I encourage their inclusion as I look forward to the blog in which you and Si have to get a carry out, which you take to the local park or similar location to drink which you discover is a restricted drinking area when the Police van pulls up.
On the principle of LocAle being from within 50 miles, I’d probably say the liquorice is a local product, assuming it doesn’t turn out to be Dutch.
I didn’t of researching by looking for an offie website for the handpumps. I was thinking one brewery would be bigger than the other, both would be Yorkshire but not Ossett. Beyond that I was actually going to guess, it would probably have been something like Naylor’s and Saltaire.
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Very good spot re:IoM
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I did all but one pub in Ossett on 24th January 2015, 16,the one i missed had had a kitchen fire so was closed,it has now reopened,i caught the bus to get there from Dewsbury which is a very dissapointing town.
I was dubious of going in the Beer Huis,but eventually went in after a walk round some other pubs,when i did it there were only two bar stools on the left side of the bar and one real ale on which was Saltaire South Island Pale,which was a really nice drink.
Regarding Liquorice it comes from Pontefract i believe.
On another note what happened to the Offerton Post Martin.
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Pontefract is certainly a prominent producer of liquorice, both in terms of growing the plant and production into sweets, but I highly doubt the original origin. It is also worth noting that liquorice allsorts, which are similar to the product Martin has photographed, are (I hope – they certainly were originally) produced in Sheffield.
It is also common, though in different forms to ours, in Italy and Holland that I know of.
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https://retiredmartin.com/2016/05/21/back-to-the-future-in-offerton/
Offerton report 21 May
Agree on Dewsbury !
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