It’s raining micropubs in Essex, though in Billericay this is as much the Tap and bottle shop as micro. Billericay Brewing is in a prime spot behind the Waitrose, allowing a division of labour between buying Tzatziki and 7% IPAs if there’s two of you. The Tap Room is functional but pleasant, and you’ll struggle to… Continue reading BILLERICAY- REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL
CHELMSFORD – REAL MICROPUBS, FAKE PUB CATS
Autumn is a good season for me to reacquaint myself with all my favourite East Anglian towns, most of which seem to have a lone new entry in the Beer Guide this year. Surely micros will take over Essex as completely as they have done Bexley and Bromley; if they ever get to Harlow you’ll know they’ve arrived.… Continue reading CHELMSFORD – REAL MICROPUBS, FAKE PUB CATS
TERROR & MENU RETRIEVAL IN EPPING FOREST
Epping Forest is an underrated gem, particularly on a stomp through the crisp autumn leaves, only 20 minutes walk from the end of the Central Line. It’s particularly well signposted, and has some impressively pointless boardwalks. That signage didn’t stop me getting seriously off-piste as I approached the M11. No-one else about on a glorious… Continue reading TERROR & MENU RETRIEVAL IN EPPING FOREST
HALSTEAD’S BEER HEROES
I was reading the Morning Advertiser and noticed the finalists in the Great British Pub Best Beer Awards; Bunch of Grapes, Pontypridd, South Wales Purecraft Bar & Kitchen, Birmingham The Craft Beer Co, Leather Lane, Clerkenwell, Central London The Griffin, Halstead, Essex The Grove, Huddersfield The Sheffield Tap, Sheffield Hard to argue with the five… Continue reading HALSTEAD’S BEER HEROES
THE HAVERHILL MYSTERY
You’ve no doubt been kept awake at night wondering about the Hundon pub that caused me such angst recently by being closed. Erroneous opening times continues to be a theme for my travels, and also those of Paul Bailey. We did go back to the Rose & Crown at the weekend, which was a poor use of a… Continue reading THE HAVERHILL MYSTERY
THE STAG’S HEAD – A BASIC GEM IN W1
Searching for proof that you can find decent beer in That London if you really look for it, I visited two new Guide stragglers near Regent’s Park. For all its problems keeping beer in good condition, W1 remains a great place to get lost, particularly if you then stumble across places like the Ship, next… Continue reading THE STAG’S HEAD – A BASIC GEM IN W1
“FIND THE PUB” IN FINCHINGFIELD
An outrageous claim for my 500th post; the hardest pub to find in Braintree district. I love a challenge. Pub Curmudgeon is fortunate to live close enough to the famous Nursery Inn to know how to get to it. In the days before Google Maps (and possibly before Stockport was mapped), I had real problems finding… Continue reading “FIND THE PUB” IN FINCHINGFIELD
THE GRAND UNION CANAL – THE AYLESBURY ARM
I used to dread trips into the Chilterns to see my Grandparents as a child. If only I’d been able to visit the pubs along the Grand Union as an 11-year old for pre-emptive ticks, I’m sure I’d have had more fun than the trips to Ashridge Monument or Dunstable Co-op for Golden Nuggets. Peter Allen’s… Continue reading THE GRAND UNION CANAL – THE AYLESBURY ARM
BRENTWOOD – THE ONLY WAY IS BASS
I’d been looking forward to Brentwood for a while, my visit probably not as big a boost to their embryonic tourism industry as TOWIE. I did once watch TOWIE while on holiday under the misapprehension that it was real. To be honest the big appeal of the ‘Wood was the chance to tick off a tricky pub… Continue reading BRENTWOOD – THE ONLY WAY IS BASS
TOP 10 HOYLAND PUBS – THE FURNACE
“There’s nowt such thing as bad beer, it’s just they that keep it that spoil it” – Brad, The Furnace Let that sink in. Some parts of the UK are unexpectedly good for pubs; Mansfield, Nuneaton, Peckham, Newtown. To that list I belatedly add Hoyland. The clutch of villages below Barnsley is a geographical minefield… Continue reading TOP 10 HOYLAND PUBS – THE FURNACE
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