You always get one bit of classic Black & White Herefordshire in the new Beer Guide. Normally a village you can’t pronounce with lots of vowels, cherry blossoms on the approach, dull Wye Valley ales and that tempting sign for Robinsons cider the ticking rules won’t let you succumb to. Pembridge, the half-daytrip for Brummies… Continue reading A PEAK INTO PEMBRIDGE
Month: April 2019
HEREFORD : NO BULL
The oddest thing. I seem to have lost a few photos from a couple of weeks ago in Hereford. Perhaps they’ll turn up in 2021 and I’ll wonder what they are. Not to worry. I still have the photo of Duncan on his bike admiring the Cathedral while completing the Guide in 1977; As you’ll… Continue reading HEREFORD : NO BULL
A GOLDEN FINISH IN FISHPONDS
And so to my final GBG pub in Gloucestershire. 103 Guide entries, 11 newbies this year, so actually not a lot of churn when you consider that tally includes Bristol, where you expect at least 11 new craft/tap/micros annually. I’d timed my trip to Snuffy Jacks to coincide with a rare Sharon Van Etten… Continue reading A GOLDEN FINISH IN FISHPONDS
NIBBLED IN NORTH NIBLEY
Yes, dogs again. The ones whose owners take them to the pub on long leads that wrap themselves around bar stools. Owners oblivious to folk like me tripping over and getting licked on the way to the bar. You never get that with cats, do you ? Anyway. North Nibley for the first time ever,… Continue reading NIBBLED IN NORTH NIBLEY
SHORT SHARP STROUD
The big news is that I’m back from Dundee, having survived an epic morning session in “Heritage Pub” Edinburgh with Stafford Paul, who was on top form. Lees Moonraker makes an ideal breakfast beer. I’ll be taking a break from pubs ’till Friday, splitting time between ensuring two teenagers don’t wither away unfed and… Continue reading SHORT SHARP STROUD
CHELTENHAM – HORSES FOR COURSES
Last day in Scotland, for now. But I’ll be back, I’ll be back, tipping warm beer down the urinal and queueing for fudge doughnuts like the CAMRA hipsters. For now, here’s some posts from the Cotswolds, rarely a great bet for beer quality if I’m honest, but then the pashminas and corduroys don’t come here… Continue reading CHELTENHAM – HORSES FOR COURSES
A CENTURY FOR THE CHEF, OYSTER STOUT FOR ME
One of the cheap treats available in Cambridge is the arrival of a county cricket team at Fenners to bash the local students in the warm-up for the new season. These days, all those students seemed to come from what was Cambridge Poly when I studies for my Accountancy exams there. A couple of years… Continue reading A CENTURY FOR THE CHEF, OYSTER STOUT FOR ME
THE 5pm PINT OF XB MAN
On to my last Lincolnshire Beer Guide pub, always a bittersweet moment. Something to do with the diacetyl, I guess. Not a great county, for pubs or beer, but that’s not really the point of all this, is it ? In Lincolnshire, it’s often about windmills. This is Burgh-le-Marsh, a pretty village 5 miles and… Continue reading THE 5pm PINT OF XB MAN
DOOMED
Greetings from Broughty Ferry, temporary home of the CAMRA AGM attendees, and also the Punx, on the way to the BrewDog AGM up in Ellon. Two cultures clash. These are my freebies so far from the Punx, the Spoons, and the CAMRA. You left me in Scunthorpe, where for old times sake I popped… Continue reading DOOMED
SCUNTHORPE STEELS ITSELF FOR CRAFT
There must be a better blog title than that, but I’ve just had a haggis supper on the Royal Mile and I can’t be bothered. Be prepared to be a bit surprised, though I’ll wager I can count the number of you who’ve previously enjoyed Scunny’s charms on one hand (a trip to Glanford Park… Continue reading SCUNTHORPE STEELS ITSELF FOR CRAFT