Only 3 things in life are certain; Mrs RM will drink those bottles of Brew Dog I hid from her. Russ will find a typo in my post. There will be a new Spoons in the North London sections of the Beer Guide. And so it was that I emerged from Ally Pally* station singing… Continue reading MILKING MUSWELL HILL FOR GBG TICKS
Tag: Otter
SALTFORD’S RED HAT MAN WITH COMPLEX BAGUETTE INSTRUCTIONS
Not a post that will detain you long, but I thought Saltford’s Bird in Hand deserved a mention on my blog to illustrate the joyous contrasts you get in English pubs two miles apart. The main A4 through Saltford is the sort of dull parade of shops and Greene King Pizza Pub you travel to… Continue reading SALTFORD’S RED HAT MAN WITH COMPLEX BAGUETTE INSTRUCTIONS
KEYNSHAM – SWEET LIKE CHOCOLATE
What an extraordinary place Keynsham turns out to be, hidden between the scary craft of Bristol and the Spoons queues of Bath , and surrounded by garden centres. Home to Keynsham Humpy Tumps (I’m not making this up), Jacob Rees-Mogg and an old Cadbury factory now converted into posh housing. As they say, a heady mixture.… Continue reading KEYNSHAM – SWEET LIKE CHOCOLATE
BOROUGH – BEAUTIFUL BROWN BEER & BEARDS
Part 2 of our Borough Bender (lightweight edition, clearly) as I weighed up the competing attractions of the Wheatsheaf, Sheaf and the Globe. But you’ll know my thoughts on shorts. Time to put some more strain on Mrs RM’s heel. For nostalgia, I sought out Kaplan Financial Training, day trip of many an NHS Accounting Trainee over… Continue reading BOROUGH – BEAUTIFUL BROWN BEER & BEARDS
AN INCONSISTENT OTTER
Mention of a marvellous Palmers 200 recently reminded me how much some of our family brewers beers get written off these days, when it’s really all about cellarmanship. Arkells and Wadworths fall into the same bracket; I’ve had very good 3B and 6X this year, and you know my views on Bass. It took me a while… Continue reading AN INCONSISTENT OTTER
PETROL GIRLS & ST. RADEGUND
You’ll have noticed I’ve spent the last few days in Cambridgeshire. This isn’t because of any Damascene conversion to the beauty of the Fens, but because I’m sitting by the door waiting for the new Beer Guide. In torment. This is my emergency supply for stressful situations; To take my mind of the fact that… Continue reading PETROL GIRLS & ST. RADEGUND
SOHAM – A TASTE OF HONEY
First things first. Best wishes to Norwich United’s Andy Eastnaugh for a quick recovery from the sickening injury that brought a premature end to my Non-League experience yesterday. Not a good way for anyone to spend their 30th birthday. The collision happened straight from the kick-off, bringing an understandable abandonment after 16 seconds. I’ll be back… Continue reading SOHAM – A TASTE OF HONEY
TOP 100 PUBS – PRINCE OF WALES, LEDBURY
The last photos before my phone battery died were from Ledbury. I reckoned the street above would be easily recognised, but Mrs RM’s rapid identification of the pub did surprised me. I then recalled an infamous afternoon in April 2013 when I was driven round rural Herefordshire to tick 16 pubs in an afternoon, including the whole… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – PRINCE OF WALES, LEDBURY
THE WELCOME STRANGER, KIMPTON
I’ve really been noticing the welcome, or lack of it, in pubs recently. Pub Curmudgeon and Tandleman have both posted on this, and it’s pretty much the main thread through BRAPA. Welcomes, of course, come from both staff and other customers. I’ve had good and bad this week. The bad experience, in a smart Wiltshire town,… Continue reading THE WELCOME STRANGER, KIMPTON
OTTER ON HOME SOIL
I’m starting to acquire an affection for Otter beers. Until last year every half I’d had, typically in Sussex and Hampshire country pubs, had been drab. A bit like Butcombe. Since I started getting into Dorset and Somerset, there’s been some superb beer, which must reflect on the improved cellarmanship in the western counties. I had… Continue reading OTTER ON HOME SOIL
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