The last leg of Northampton 2018 now, with two pubs and a chicken dhansak to finish.
On to the Malt Shovel, or “the pub by Morrisons” as I know it. I’d guess this is the Magnet or Cambridge Blue of Northampton, the “CAMRA” pub if you like.
It was certainly full of people who looked like us, and (like the Blue) scary amounts of brewerania, some of it quite desirable.
We were greeted by that most glorious/terrifying of sights.
You’ll know my crustacean-era views on beer choice. One beer is plenty, thank you, and often more than enough.
Yes, beer festival season had started early and way farm-themed. I worked on a farm and I don’t remember 100 different beers. I stuck with the most bland beer on handpump (sorry Moorhouses).
To be fair, the beer looked superb. I’ve had cooler pints of Black Cat (NBSS3), but of course any pub that accepts Spoons vouchers is beyond criticism.
Hard to fault a pub this busy, and with an increasingly younger crowd occupying the hay bales we were thankful to Richard for grabbing a table.
Too busy for me, despite its merits, and our final pub threatened to be an even tighter affair as a wedding party took over the place. Once again Paul made it first and bagged a table, though I suspect the bride would have been happy to shift over and let us perch on the edge of her table and finish our halves of an excellent home-brewed stout (NBSS 3.5+)
The Pomfret Arms was an appropriate place to end, providing yet more evidence that this is a friendly town with welcoming folk, and a good mix of pubs.
Some might moan about the lack of Bass, or Brass Castle, or a Sam Smiths, but this is a Top 20 pub town if not Top 10. On a hot day the beer was Beer Guide standard throughout, and no-one gave me the spectacle of a returned pint.
If Dick and Dave do Northampton, the curry at Lazeez was top-notch old-school stuff. And being BYO, you can take your own bottles of Carlsberg in.
retiredmartin 
Congratulations on 1) remembering everything about the crawl 2) completing a marathon blog serial 3) promoting the attractions of Northampton to such an extent that I am nominating you for freedom of the borough.
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Thanks Duncan. I expect the St.Giles will bring you back to No’ton, if you haven’t done it pre-emptively.
Did you know that No’ton was named after their two seasons racking 99 points in Div 4 in 1976 and 2016 ? Fact.
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Like it. Haven’t been to St Giles am afraid. Still can’t beat Reading’s 106 Championship points in 1995/6. 2 defeats all season, first on opening day to last minute own goal v Plymouth then v Luton. Missed a few penalties that season too then followed up with an 8th place finish in first ever Prem season (inc double v Man City!). Never again.
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I’ve finally worked out why I enjoy following your pub adventures,quite apart from your erudite observations obviously.
If you read the newspapers and follow the news you’d think Blighty is convulsed by a terminal bout of introspection and in-fighting where battle lines are drawn and the Twittersphere is intent of ripping each other’s throat out.
Whereas in reality life goes on as it always has,mates go to the pub,people get married,others die and no-one gets uppity about Canadians correcting their prose.
Your blog,if I may say so,is a more accurate reflection of the country I know than that portrayed every night on the evening news by cosmopolitan journalists talking to other cosmopolitan journalists most of whom rarely venture outside the M25 unless it’s to their second home in the country.
Of course I’m an expat so I might be looking at home through Bass-tinted spectacles but somehow I don’t think so.
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I don’t think that’s yellow triangle tinted glasses, Prof. Pub life really is much like that. Perhaps there’s a few more folk on their phones than 10 years ago, but there’s still plenty of scintillating/dreadful conversation.
And no trouble. Except when Mudgie asked for Free Bird on the jukebox in the Black Prince.
Oh, and thanks.
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Yes, it’s easy to forget if you just look at the headlines that, out there in the real world, life goes on and (by and large) people get on with each other, so long as they steer clear of the topic of Br, sorry autovacs 😉
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Couldn’t have put it better myself!
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Hear hear! Looking forward to the tv series personally….a kind of, Come Drink With Me, with voiceover and obligatory 1970s jukebox soundtrack….
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Time Martin was given the job he was born for, presenting the remake –
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“and no-one gets uppity about Canadians”
Well of course no-one gets uppity about Canadians. We’re Canadians for goodness sake. We’re about as bland as bland can be. (LOL)
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Until you manage to get that Government form allowing you to do something spontaneous filled out in quadruplicate and countersigned by you doctor. Only valid once, for a maximum period of 2 hours.
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Looks like a town well worth visiting. I also wish my step son would hold his wedding reception there. Looks like a great way to celebrate a marriage!
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What am I writing in that book? There is genuinely sod all in it about the last two pubs????? About 10 lines on the Malt Shovel and 3 words on The Pomfret – good job I’ve got a camera!
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When’s the next one of these trips then?
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You have to be initiated in the blood red triangle of Bass before we tell you. (Or google beer and pubs forum on tapatalk). Not fixed yet. It won’t be Birkenhead.
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There’s a sort of impromptu one in Bradford on Bank Holiday Monday. Others are in the planning stage – but it can be very difficult to settle on a date where you can get ten people from all points of the compass in a pub together.
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Thanks, have signed up – two West Yorkshire venues good options for me!
You might scrape a semi-interesting afternoon from Birkenhead, starting in the Stork, then the remaining spoons, maybe the Lion, Swinging Arm and Gallagher’s, with a diversion to the bizarrely named Glen Affric brewery for the keg fans.
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Brilliant. Suggest you keep a lookout on Beer & Pubs on Twitter as those days look a bit fluid. I’ll be in central Leeds with Dick & Dave & Richard on Sunday p.m. if you fancy joining us.
No disrespect to Birk; though a crawl round New Brighton & Wallasey taking in the Telegraph would work for me !
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Would work for me too!
Coincidentally I’m heading to the Adelphi for 5pm Sunday, so I can head into Leeds a bit earlier in the afternoon and join you if nobody minds.
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I think 4.30 in Tapped is kick off (very fluid !😉
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Martin,
I should be in Leeds from about midday on Sunday ( too late for the Stonegates and Tim’s venues ) so could you please give the afternoon itinerary – that’s if Richard, you and the two Ds don’t object too strongly to my company ?
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Paul. Always great to see you. I’m not joining the Ds till 4.30 at Tapped, I’m in Harrogate ticking some pubs. Very welcome to join me there. Think the Ds doing Halifax first. Bit fluid as this hasn’t been accorded official B&P status yet ! Once I get to Leeds and the Ds have landed in Leeds I could update on the Forum.
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Martin,
Thanks but Halifax as well might be too much of the day travelling so I shall give it a miss.
I shall be in Tapped for 4.30pm but it would be useful to have some idea of the Leeds pubs intended after there so that I can do some different ones from noon till about 4.15pm. Thanks.
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Victoria, Templar, Whitelocks, Duncan, Duck & Drake. Which probably takes them to curry time.
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Mention of the Telegraph reminds me that up to 2010 one could do a short themed crawl in Stafford of three pubs close together, the Telegraph, the Sun and the Star, except that it is the Star and Garter really.
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Thanks for that, and your curry time will probably be about my train to Bradford time.
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I’m sure everything is negotiable !
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First photo: I’m pretty sure they stole that sheep from a Pink Floyd concert. 😉
“Let me out”
What the bloody hell is THAT?
“Wedding life”
At least it wasn’t closed off to the public. 🙂
Cheers
“the curry at was top-notch old-school stuff.”
Don’t keep us guessing. 🙂
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Ha. I should have got sponsorship for that curry house, “your name here” style.
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Was this trip part of your regional signing sessions for your copy of “Beer”?
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