05/01/24 - Good Beer Guide Pubs of Leicester

 Leicester by Night

First blog of 2024 and its a pub crawl.

Only "Tryanuary" here.

I've walked in Leicester once before. In daytime. This is my first experience of the place in the dark, so lets get the moaning out the way. Have I ever been to a more unfriendly place for pedestrians? 

Footpaths are shared with cyclists and there are a about a million of them. All on fat-tyred, electric monsters, where the rider has an extra cube on the back. If this is for extra juice, then why don't they tun their fecking lights on? More likely, they are gig-econmonists feeding city centre dwellers with chicken. Business is obviously booming.

And the cars are worse. Your Mercs are AMGs, your Audis are R or S and they all just bomb around the tight streets at ridiculous speeds, with dodgy music blaring.

Not conducive to a man hunting for the 12 Good Beer Guide Ticks available by the power of Smartphone.

Don't worry - I'll only visit 5

The nearest to my room at Lenny's Purple Palace is The Ale Wagon. A 1930's drinking pub, with a couple of rooms and some nice original features. 

Return of dodgy night time photos

Philfest was 2022

Unsurprisingly as a Leicester newbie, I've not encountered Hoskins beers before. I would like to tell you more about HOB Bitter but what they do for brewing, is at a cost to web site maintenance. Untappd is cryptic but better than a 404 error.

Hoskins Brothers Ales do not brew. All beers are brewed by Tower Brewery. The brothers own the Ale Wagon pub in Leicester and this is the base for a brewery that is brewing both Hoskins ales and ales from the former Oldfield Brewery

Onwards to the first of two Black Country Ales Pubs that are encroaching to the East.  The Salmon is designed to such a corporate standard that I am instantly connected to the WiFi despite never having set foot in the premises before.

BCA - As uniform and corporate as JDW

If you've not been to a BCA pub, expect tradition, a bewildering collection of too many cask ales, cobs, real fires and plenty of customers. The formula works, even if it doesn't set the pub tickers pulse racing.

Magic Brewing Dolphin IPA and the magic of the cup

An unusual card game in flight - that maybe my readers can help out with. Gents playing multiple hands simultaneously (runs, flushes, pairs etc) and keeping score with a pegging board that is similar to a regular crib board but square - maybe nine holes by nine holes?

I am a member of my local BCA's crib team and know my way around pub games but this one was new to me.

The Globe is the oldest pub in Leicester, proudly celebrated on external signage. 

Since 1720

Certainly my sort of pub - a multi-roomer, around a central bar and I progress all around for a nose before settling on the exact room that I entered.

Can always look through the bar to see other room action

An Everards house - its chance to ponder if there is a more tricky pint to rate than Tiger.  It always looks the business, a deep amber, with great lacing. Yet to me, it tastes of next to nothing.

Handsome, yet slightly bland.  Could be talking about me.

My final two pubs are adjacent and could both be described as "Micro with grandeur".

The Two Tailed Lion is a converted Victorian Townhouse, running over two floors. If you have time for only one pub, this would be my recommendation. Head and shoulders above all others visited in terms of beer choice and welcome.

My pub of the night

Mainly purveyors of modern breweries and on today's visit where I saw Marble, Cloudwater and Pomona - modern breweries from Manchester.

But something else caught my eye - I'd read about Braybrooke lagers in Johnny Garrett's A Year in Beer book. This is the first venue I've caught it on sale. 

It didn't disappoint.

"Pint of the Night" in "Pub of the Night"

The Blue Boar is the second micro, playing on the city's history. I know from tomorrow's history walk that Richard III spent the night before the battle of Bosworth in an Inn of this name in a nearby location. It was demolished in 1836, showing that urban planning has been shite for centuries.

A quiet night, where the only other punter was a very drunk OAP lady on cider, was perhaps not best experience but I did get a feel for the range of offerings available. I may still be within the 12 days of Xmas but new year's commitments mean that I am not having pints of St Bernadus or Delirium Xmas Ale for the bargain price of £12.50.

Micro single roomer doing a good impression of a trad pub

Plenty of time to study the boards - This was Bakers Dozen Electric Landlady

5 out of 12 completed. Tomorrow, I concentrate on discovering more of the City's history. In the daylight, when I can see the traffic coming at me.