retiredmartin

An inadvisable pint had turned into two very wise ones at the Groove Pad, and I had my guaranteed pre-emptive tick (no pressure, Bradford CAMRA).

I headed back to Shipley Ibis to make sure Mrs RM was ready to hit Leeds.

What pubby wonders lie behind the town clock ?

You’ll have to wait. In the meantime, DON’T press the button.

Doh ! You pressed the button, didn’t you ?

Across the busy A657 lies the Ibis and its adjacent Hungry Horse.

In 2021, The Noble Comb isn’t actually that daft a name.

The relationship between Greene King’s “value” fun pub chain and the Beer Guide is a troubled one.

I can only recall two HH entries, in Nelson and Spalding, in my lengthy ticking career.

Presumably CAMRA members outside of Burnley and the Fens avoid the HH chain so as not to be tempted by the desserts that normal folk visit for.

I have NO idea why I went in mid-afternoon*, when I could conceivably have walked the hill to the famed Junction at Baildon and back. Perhaps it’s the strains of “Spanish Harlem” as I pass the door.

No Leeds Pale as promised, but since that’s brewed in Leeds that’s no hardship.

I wait patiently as the charming barmaid pours a mountain of frothy Abbot, the first of the day, into my pint glass.

“Ooh, bit lively isn’t it !”
I always wish I had something witty to say at this point, but never do.

I’m offered a top-up. I NEVER accept a top-up, on principle.

It’s oddly lovely. Cool, crisp and (obviously) foamy. It’s a 3.5.

OK, the pub is fully of folk enjoying life (aka, chips) and that will never do, but this is a pint I can confidently say the Southworths would rate highly.

Suddenly, 3.5 feels a bit mean. It’s better than that. And I never lie about beer quality.

If only I could catch up with my blog I could add 267 NBSS scores into What Pub and guarantee the Noble Comb and entry in GBG23. That’s how it works, isn’t it ?

*It was the Cookie Dough, wasn’t it ?