retiredmartin

ALL monthly highlights packages should come with a picture of Stafford Paul, the Pub Man’s Pub Man, with a pint of mild in a Davenport’s pub.

I’ve somehow fallen behind on the blog, so Paul’s campaign at the AGM to ditch real ale in favour of craft keg DIPAs is still to come, and you might notice a few other places still to blog about on the map.

These monthly reviews ARE thrown together, you know; they’re just me flicking through the posts and the spreadsheet and going “Oh, was that April ?“

April is the month tickers really do the numbers, so my totals of 60 different pubs and 30 new Guide entries seems a bit light, but it was a great month in so many ways.

A CAMRA AGM, a tour of the great and the good of Brum guided by Life After Football, where the Rock & Roll Brewhouse was an unexpected Pub of the Month for being quirky, fluorescent and serving brilliant beer.

Still no idea what Kentish Paul was looking for.

Taking pubs at a more leisurely pace without the pressure of completion means a) more pub crawls featuring non-GBG entries, b) pints in places you had halves before, and c) an opportunity to revisit pubs you thought a but “meh” before, but suddenly make perfect sense.

Thanks to gorgeous Hyde’s beer and a steak pie for two (2) shared with the lads, Abel Heywood was the winner in that latter category.

Beer quality last month was possibly as high as in my 30 years of pubbing, which no-one will believe but I cannot tell a lie. The Bass in Cov’s Town Wall Tavern was as sublime as any Bass I’ve drunk, Bath Star apart.

So is Bass my Beer of the Month then ?

Well, yes, I guess so, though that Jamaican tonic wine ran it close.

As Mrs RM will happily tell you forever, I’m still pinking the Guide. Well, what better hobby is there ?

At least I’ve nearly finished the dreaded Home Counties now, elusive Elusive Brewery apart, though the deluges in month nearly contrived to make me miss out Oxon by obliterating the footbridge to the White Hart.

Actually, April started in warmer climes, with a bar crawl in Kosovo which felt more edgy than anything Hackney has to offer.

This was the most sanitised photo I could bring you from Pristina’s loos.

MAY PREVIEW

Two exciting new countries coming up, a lot of hoovering up in the South-east, a trip to Scotland to tackle the 45 ticks needed in Carluke, and a (lengthy) visit from the in-laws.

You remember the in-laws, don’t you ?