TEACHING AMERICANS ABOUT BEER IN THE ALBION

From the Bank we wandered aimlessly for all of 7 seconds, ending up on the doorstep of Conwy’s “premier ale house“.

Before I could say,

“But Mrs RM, we have a mountain to climb tomorrow morning”

she was in like a shot, staring round looking for craft, while I took photos of the floor.

Is this photo the wrong way up ?

It’s certainly a stunner of a pub, the front room with a window opening out on to the street, and a gorgeous smoking room, whatever smoking is.

But it was a lot quieter than my last visit, also midweek. Until 5pm, anyway.

The Purple Moose, apparently the fastest seller, was good enough, but I’ve had fresher beer.

Mrs RM had some local keg filth. It probably was unpronounceable.

Just as we were going, a couple of Americans came to the bar and sought advice on which beer to try.

“Go for the last one pulled” I shouted.

They took the advice, and I invited them to join us so I could compare notes.

Lovely folk, Terry and Patti I think, on a post-retirement trip round the UK centred largely on pubs. What an astonishing concept !

They were from Maryland, though sadly they knew none of the main characters in the Wire personally.

They were taken with the pub, and subsequent pints of Conwy and Stockport were much better. I saw a new barrel of Moose come on, sometimes it happens you get the end of a barrel and misjudge a pub.

We talked pubs and travel and vinyl for a couple of hours. There’s a fixation with Toto, the Pure Prairie League (who ?) and Rush I couldn’t quite forgive. We resisted the snackling.

Anyway, if you see Terry and Patti in Leeds or Inverness or Edinburgh over the next week, buy them a pint. Preferably Bass.

Lovely people, most Americans.

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

31 thoughts on “TEACHING AMERICANS ABOUT BEER IN THE ALBION”

  2. That looks like far too many lines for a provincial bar.

    The only way they will find Bass in Scotland is taking a cask with them. Or picking up a supermarket bottle.

    Never trust an American who doesn’t drink.

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  3. “Is this photo the wrong way up ?”

    It looks like fancy urinal edging to me.

    “The Purple Moose”

    I was half inclined to yell ‘cultural appropriation’. 🙂

    “There’s a fixation with Toto and Rush I couldn’t quite forgive. ”

    Tsk, tsk. Toto has that classic Roseanna which reminds me of my beloved when we were miles apart for months at a time (her name is Rose Anna, go figure).

    As for Rush, good heavens good sir! Their song 2112 is a classic. 🙂

    “Terry and Patti I think,”

    Of course I read that too quickly and thought it said Terry Prachett. 😉

    Cheers

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  4. I just hope these Americans appreciated the fact that on their pub-oriented vacation they just happened to meet a man who knows roughly 10,000 percent more about pubs that the average Briton. 😉

    I must say I wouldn’t have been able to resist that “serious pig snackling”. The delivery method alone would’ve had me saying, “Come on, I’ve got to try this.”

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    1. I’m with you on the pork crackling Mark, and I’m posting this five days into a holiday in Germany where a pork knuckle or shoulder has yet to pass my lips!

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  6. The extensive beer range might be because “the pub is managed by four local brewers” each of which wants a beer on and of course there must be a couple of guest beers on to stand a chance of getting in the GBG.
    Trade must be boosted a bit by the likes of myself who seek out the best heritage pubs, and the Albion must be North Wales’s best inter-war interior, although sadly I didn’t find time for it when in North Wales last Friday.

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  7. A fixation with Toto and Rush? They sound like my kind of people 😛

    I would be concerned about maintaining crispness with that scratchings dispenser.

    Agreed that the Albion has too many beers on, although the comment from Anonymous (surely The Other Mudgie) above helps explain it.

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    3. You would be concerned about maintaining crispness with that scratchings dispenser but the four brewers recognise that scratchings are an old man’s snack in an old man’s pub and the dentures of most of their customers struggle with proper crisp scratchings and this dispenser is a better than selling those bags of puffy bags of ‘pork crunch’.
      The dispenser can be topped up regularly but I fear that the last serving before its annual clean is likely to be about 35% salt.

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  9. What ! Hang on a minute ! Bloody hell !
    Let me get this straight.A machine that delivers pork crackling in a pub ?
    What a brilliant concept.
    I want one now.
    It would make the perfect addition to my man cave.

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  10. I do think that the pork scratchings machine could have merited a complete blog-post in itself. So many questions arise. Home cooked ? Self-service ? Portion size ? Price ? What do you put the scratchings into ?
    Do you have a spreadsheet of all pubs with a pork scratchings machine that you could share with your readership please ?

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  11. Yes,more on this pork scratching machine please.
    You’ve obviously taken a few people by surprise young Martin.
    Mmmm,pork scratchings.
    I’ve come over all Homer Simpson.

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    1. More on it, such as who manufactures them and do they do a domestic version for the home ?
      RM has probably got Mrs RM negotiating a commission agreement with the manufacturer in view of the likely sharp rise in sales. I reckon that I know a few publicans who would be likely to try one of those, particularly if they can be leased on a short-term trial basis.

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