LUTTERWORTH LESSONS

A year ago I wouldn’t have bothered blogging on the Real Ale Classroom in Lutterworth, but I expect there’s a Beer & Pubs craft faction that might find it useful.

Really, there’s only one reason to visit Lutterworth. Bass in the Unicorn.

Not actually taken in the Unicorn which is still in black & white of course

A town to live in, rather than visit, I always think. A bit of a grey day to visit, too, so the cafes were packed.

Grey, deserted streets

You’ll remember the original Real Ale Classroom from the suburbs of Leicester, of course.

That was packed.

Micro pub with sign. A rarity.

So was this newbie.

Not helped by the distraction of “Kashmir” rumbling in the background, I could make neither head nor tail of the beer board.

Ah ! The beer board
A bit easier to read, that one

Thank goodness for Wellington-style electronic beer lists, eh ?

Something pale from nearby Langton was chilled to the border of being sharp, but certainly tasty (NBSS 3).

VERY oversized glass

The pub is a Melton Mowbray curate’s egg of a place. Several neat rooms, all with giant tables encouraging the groups who flock to these places to taste each others beer. Disgusting.

Those classroom desks

So I took a table that would have seated six and waited for the inevitable group of Pashmina Paulines to come and stare daggers at me.

It never happened. I was more worried by the giant dog that seemed destined to lick me.

A group of lads entered their details on Untappd and discussed Liz Hurley’s “boob job”. I was out of my depth.

Still, it’s a popular pub, and one of the few in Leicestershire not to have a wall of hunting prints/soft porn/Keith Weller in tights (or a combination of all 3 in Coalville).

But they do have Hogarth.

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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.

22 thoughts on “LUTTERWORTH LESSONS”

  1. I thought the pub with pictures of Keith Weller in tights had been closed on public decency grounds. Know what you mean about this place though beer was good in my visit. Well done on finishing London by the way- not an easy task.

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    1. Rather easier for me than you, to be fair, even with the resistance force (only open when I’m not there). Am I imagining it or was there less new, particularly in South-east London, this year ?

      Beer was fine at the RAC (it was spectacularly good at the Leicester original). I doubt Langton was the wise choice but the others were quite strong.

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      1. Still tough given opening times etc. Usually about 30 new in London each year but think you are right about South East this time. The frightening number of new brewery taps and micros in London mean more limited openings next time.

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      1. I have a full set of photos of the bar, but there’s a limit to how much I’m prepared to have piss taken out of me by the locals 😂

        General Elliott, Willoughby Waterley. What do I win?

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      2. You lose. Meet me in the layby at Rothwell with a half pint of Doom Bar in a John Smiths glass.

        NB You’re very close. The General was in the Guide a few years ago.

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  3. “Ah ! The beer board”

    I can make out an APA, a Single Hopped Sensation, a Deep Chestnut Bitter with Caramel Malts and a Sweet Banana Porter(?).

    “A bit easier to read, that one”

    Now you tell me. Oh, and I thought they were talking about Citra (the person) at the bottom but I think it was Citra (the beer). 😉

    “VERY oversized glass”

    At least it has the ‘pour to’ line.

    “A group of lads entered their details on Untappd and discussed Liz Hurley’s “boob job”.”

    Were they implying her boob job has remained untapped? 🙂

    “But they do have Hogarth.”

    Life was certainly more hectic back in those days.

    Cheers

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      1. (slow golf clap) 😎

        Si as the opposite of Hogarth. He does paint quite the picture with his blog posts.* 😋

        * – and you’re a close second 😉

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  6. Real Ale Classroom stood out for me when we went to Leicester, looks like this is in exactly the same vein; a much needed injection of the 21st century into a mostly, very traditional, very large area of middle England.

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  8. The etching is fabulous. To go with boob-jobs and a guy in tights, you have given us porn (or pawn if spelling matters).
    At the right, we also have RM at a closed micro, but having taken pity on him, they have passed him a half through the catflap so that he can get his tick.

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  9. I notice that sometimes you critique a beer for having been served too cold, and rightly so, no doubt. But unsophisticated sorts (i.e. me) might think, “Well, surely that’s better than if it were served too warm; if you wait a few minutes it’ll come to the temperature you prefer.”

    But has it by then lost something that it had when it was freshly poured?

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    1. I think you use the right words in fresh. Sometimes beer can seem quite “sharp” (hope that makes sense) when overchilled, where cold is masking a lack of condition. Thinking about it, the beer served at our local brewery (Milton) on a “serve yourself” basis was very cool, perhaps 9 degrees, but was memorable.

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