18/11/23 - Good Beer Guide Ticking in Halifax, West Yorkshire

 Never have so many beers been available

5 Good Beer Guide Ticks on offer in the centre of Halifax. 4, that you could class as "Micro", with beer boards anything but. With just the one traditional pub making the book, it made for a very modern pub crawl.

Kobenhavn, West Gate

The 11am opener, so an obvious starting place. Wealdstone are in town and I become an honoury fan, following ever increasing groups of men who must have the same idea for their pre-match entertainment.

Scandi Style

I make the mistake of looking at the pumps for inspiration. I should have spent longer with the beer board. Vocation's Yorkshire Bitter on cask an eponymous start to the day.

I honestly could have spent most of the day here, but tore myself away after a 1/3 of Sierra Nevada Celebration. I was going to have a 1/3rd Deya Steady Rolling Strata but it hand been replaced with Steady Rolling Man. The barman told me you can't tell the difference. Deya summarised in a sentence. 

Deya and Kernal would have been 3rd and 4th Choices

Meandering Bear, Union Street

Having been introduced to my first Scandinavian bar, I have another first. My first bar named after an escaped zoo animal. A poem on the wall tells the story of the 90 minutes of ursine freedom around the town.

Meandering Bear

Timed this one just right, ordering a Wharfdale Best just as the numbers swell with another contingent of Wealdstone fans. Of course, I looked for the Raider.

Dukes, Market Arcade

A shop conversion in a shopping centre but all very tastefully done. A fine place to people watch with a Rivington Bounced Right Back.

Come on in, shoppers

A nice range of Belgian Beers. In preparation for the eventual train delays on my way home, I purchased a St Bernardus Xmas Ale.  Alas, the trains were that packed I couldn't get to my rucksack to enjoy it.

Victorian Craft Beer Cafe, Powell Street

A Beer Cafe

9 Cask and 18 Keg.  Time is needed to fully complete the beer board and I make two mistakes.  As usual, I end up ordering the first on the list. There was nothing wrong with my Budvar Dark but it was a panic decision, having been bewildered by choice.

Options, options, options

Taking advantage of power points, I make the mistake of sitting under the said menu. Paranoia creeps in, as every person entering spends 10 minutes trying to work out what to order, staring straight at me. Cricked neck from ducking down.

The Three Pigeons, Sun Fold

Proper looking pub

After all these micros with macro lists, it was nice to have a classic for my final tick.  AI provides the history.

The site of the Three Pigeons was previously occupied by an older pub, which was demolished in the late 1920s to make way for a new building. The current pub was designed by local architects Jackson & Fox and opened in 1932.

The Three Pigeons is a fine example of Art Deco architecture. The interior features a number of distinctive Art Deco elements, including:

• An octagonal drinking lobby
• Geometric patterns and motifs
• Streamlined furniture and fittings
• Stained glass windows
• Chrome and glass fixtures

Not sure all of these facts are true, but who am I to argue with Google.

It was packed with football fans, and must be in the direction of the ground as it emptied out at 2:45.

Interior photo opportunities were rare but I have tried to bring you the famous octagonal lobby.

Lobby action

An Ossett Brewery house, I explored the multiple rooms carrying my Silver King American Pale.

A decent afternoon's work and Happyflax is certainly the place to go if you want access to the world of currently hyped beers.

You are bound to find what you are looking for in one of them.