Good news for those of you bored of street art, cheap hotels and mushroom benedict, as the next few posts stick to pubs.
Into Outwood, a mysterious land west of Wakefield. Note the village named after Mark E Smith‘s band, and some places you’ve passed a thousand times just off the M1 but never noticed.
Perhaps my Navigator should mark the rhubarb fields for which the area is allegedly famous, but of course all the rhubarb is now in brewing vessels in Bermondsey.
Alverthorpe is famed, by the 6.5 folk who visit Beer Guide pubs anyway, as home of the excellent Working Mens Club that keeps us on our toes by alternating between the village name and Wakefield in the GBG listings.
Locally, it’s known as the place that n-n-n-nervous 19 year old practise their manoeuvring. I’ve never seen so many L-plates.
And now, Alverthorpe has more entries than Straford-upon-Avon in the Guide.
The New Albion is spick and span, hanging baskets, lacking the usual pub clutter; where has it been all this time ?
Serving good beer and showing football on TV in a Proper Pub, if I read Facebook right.
If you come from Leicestershire, you wouldn’t believe it was an Everards pub.
On different levels, with an Adults Only area up several flights of stairs, and bench seating at the bar.
No food, but open all day, every day for those 354 days that Connoisseur Tasting Rooms are shut.
So of course I’m the only one in. All the gentlefolk are down the road in the Greene King diner; such is life. It’ll be packed when Si gets there.
TWO (count ’em) paper clips on the bar, and an exciting announcement in the middle.
I ask for a half of the Lees. “That’s gone, we’ve got the Manchester“. Yes, that’s what happens when you rebrand the beers you’re famous for. I consider mansplaining the connection between John Willie and Lees but stop short.
It’s a top half. Cool, rich and velvety (NBSS 3.5+). If honest, better than the Bitter in the Lees own pub. But Wakefield is a reliable drinking town city.
Pop pickers will be delighted to learn of a soundtrack ranging from Wings to Sophie B Hawkins, quite modern for Wakefield.
Pub purists will delight at the Bavarian drinking vessels and ancient toy dispenser, as did I.
The barperson was a gem, and made up for the lack of Old Boy banter by letting me in on the pub drama (goodness knows what she’ll reveal to BRAPA).
“Carly’s* been nicking my coffee again !”
Yorkshire police have nothing better to do than investigate rhubarb bothering so I expect they’ll have installed surveillance outside the pub by now.
*Names have been left unchanged so the guilty party feels the intense humiliation they warrant.
retiredmartin 
You can’t beat a good Citra Oakham? Even with a paper pump-clip.
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Wow! You are a brave fellah. Many a southern interloper has entered the Rhubarb Triangle never to be seen again. (Spoiler Alert) Presumably you also popped over to Morley to see Mr Saint’s new GBG entry?
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Not being a Proper Pub, that one has 5pm opening to annoy us folk up with the lark.
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JFB? So that’ll be a different member of the family then. Does anything abut the pub say Everards?
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JFB is subliminal advertising, Join Face Book.
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Loved the “ancient toy dispenser”! Also the sign on the exterior “QUALITY HAND PULLED ALES”– Do you see that phrasing often? Puts emphasis on the method of dispense, in a way that I suspect the average beer drinker doesn’t fully understand!
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“Hand Pulled Ales” isn’t unknown, but often you then get a sign saying cask conditioned and real ales or something which must really confuse the average beer drinker (though he’s drinking lager !).
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“which must really confuse the average beer drinker (though he’s drinking lager !).”
I wouldn’t call Cookie ‘average’. 😉
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“You wouldn’t believe it was an Everards pub” but it’s probably been one of their Project William pubs from an idea that emerged from a discussion between Everards’ managing director Stephen Gould and Keith Bott who runs Stoke’s Titanic Brewery, community pubs saved from closure, smaller brewers having the opportunity to run pubs and Everards supplying the lager.
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“as the next few posts stick to pubs.”
How could I stay away then?*
* – didn’t really go away – just ‘biz-ay’ as the cool kids say.
“More unknown England”
I like Jaw Hill. Is that the UK version of Sermon on the Mount (or even the non-London version of Hyde Park’s Speakers’ Corner).
“Alverthorpe is famed”
And, taking a second look at the map, it would appear someone famous named Thorpe came from these parts.
“Wooden glory”
For a second there I thought you were talking about how I ‘rise’ in the morning. 🙂
“It’ll be packed when Si gets there.”
I’m starting to think there’s a group of folk who follow Si’s Twitter thingy and make sure the pub he’s off to has interesting people in it. 😉
“I won a keyring”
Apparently you can win flashing balls. For a second there I thought there were talking about how I ‘rise’ in the morning. 🙂
“so I expect they’ll have installed surveillance outside the pub by now.”
I thought every place in the UK had surveillance by now? 😉
Cheers
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Enough about your mornings already, Russ !
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