05/06/21 - A Good Beer Guide Pub Crawl in Bristol

Good Beer Guide Ticks - #553 - 556

It was a chance conversation with the waitress at Stourport's new tap room that said if we liked this place, we should really go to Left Handed Giant in Bristol.

It was the heady days of the first Friday after what ever stage of easing it was in April, when we could sit outside. Without leaving our table of six, someone had booked Premier Inn's and a date was set.

I didn't mind. There is much work to do in Bristol, which had the honour of being the last new city crawled before all this madness started, back in January 2020.

Lets see if my friends were so keen, after a day of randomly ticking off places in the bible.

Left Handed Giant, Compressor Building, West Coast Pale

A nice walk, through the Saturday Shoppers and Castle Park and the only complexity is how to cross the water.  For this brewpub is moated.

Not a Micro

Unbelievably, we failed to observe the winding bridge seen in the photo.  There were strange smells wafting around Castle Park and that can be the only reason for two man/two woman confusion.

Following a group of six lads, there was quite a wait to get through the scanning checkin in. We were then escorted to a high table, under exposed ducting (you know the drill) and had the rules explained.  How to order. Where the loos were. 40 minute wait time on pizzas.

App related faff that required a side venture in setting up apple pay. Then we had to get our heads around the fact that only two size of beers available were - 1/2 pint or 2/3 pints.

This we can cope with. The snacks we could not. £2 for a bag of lightly salted cardboard squares.

Bring back scratchings!

The Cornubia, Temple Street, Elland Brewery Nettle Thrasher

My sort of Pub

This is where it gets tricky, pub crawling in the current conditions. Do you risk losing your table, where you have sorted out how to order to head off to the next place and run the risk of not getting in?

I have experience and I was also keen to explore the Cornubia, as it was closed on my last Sunday Evening visit.

The cunning plan involved me heading off solo - seeing if I could get in - and then texting back to the party to say it was safe to leave.

And this worked perfectly. With a large beer garden, there was plenty of space. I sat down, waited to be served by a human and then won the prize for thirstiest man in Bristol by ordering four drinks.

They've seen this, and worse, before.

A perfect traditional pub that unexpectedly had a lot of beers from West Yorkshire, rather than the West Country.  

The Shakespeare Tavern, Prince Street, Bristol Beer Factory Lauch Approval

A Narrow Terrace to sit out out the front

A mooch around the waterfront to dodge electric scooters and see if we can find a statue that needs toppling before I direct to posse to a back street that is a relative oasis of calm.

Another fine traditional pub - which the Bible claims to have the longest continuous ale licence in the city.  Inside, its all wooden paneling.  Outside, a little terrace of garden furniture.

Waiter service here and asking whats on provides our host with the chance to impress.  Eight real ales on and he can reel them all off, with type, brewery and ABV.

We had all glazed over by pint two - which of course, was what was ordered and was indeed, gorgeous.  

Oh for the days when you could go for a look.

The Old Fish Market, Baldwin Street, Fullers ESB

More Pubby Lovliness

We'd walked past this handsome pub earlier in the day and I was rather pleased to determine from my hastily assembled google map that it was in the bible.

For it is a Fullers pub - they will have ESB and fortunately, its only just gone pay day.

Outside - we had some seating where we could sit and observe the deliveroo bike riders crash into each other. It makes quite a sound and from the moment we started walking around Bristol, we could see it was going to be an inevitable experience in our day.

Inside - the pub is a delight - huge bar, chesterfields, nooks and crannies.

Everything you need and more.

With most of the centre ticked now, I will be back for the exotic sounding suburbs of Bedminster, Henleaze, Horfield and Hotwells.

31/05/21 - Fox and Hounds, Lulsley

Distance - 3.5 Miles

Geocaches - 17

Good Beer Guide Tick - #552

A case of "what to do" on a Bank Holiday Monday.  It could have been a walk to Bewdley to get the two new ticks - a Tap Room and a non-woke pub that will no doubt be under pressure to change its name.

The thought of battling the tourists hoardes for a space proved too much.

Geocaching in the Worcestershire Wilds its is.

Buttercup Geocaching

But that's not nearly enough booze related fun, even when you are walking through the Bulmers Orchards at Woodhouse Farm.

Where Cider comes from

Learning from previous mistakes - I have checked the Good Beer Guide Bible and found that the Fox and Hounds in Lulsley is previously unrecorded.  Their website is also checked and although it's normally closed on Mons and Tues - there is dispensation on Bank Holidays.

Pubs in the Sunshine

We are there at the scrape of the bolt and although I was quite prepared, I wasn't prepared enough to have actually booked a table.  We can be squeezed in to the extensive garden - provided we vacate in two hours.

City rules - even when a reasonable percentage of punters will be turning up on horseback.

Choice of two beers and my hearing is getting as bad as my eyesight.  I have to delete my Untappd checkin on Ludlow Gold for this is a first ever Ledbury Gold.

Gold from Ledbury, not Ludlow

It was OK but if I was rushing to get to Ledbury, it would be for the Prince of Wales.

Good food, efficient service and great to see the place filling up - justifying their decision to open under special circumstances.

29/05/21 - Hospitality goes wrong at the John O'Gaunt - Hungerford

Good Beer Guide Tick - #551

Beers - Vale Brewery Gravitas, Elusive Brewing Mechanism

After an afternoon in Newbury, the Good Beer Guide Ticks keep on coming.  A stones throw from our Greene King Hotel is West Berkshire's CAMRA Pub of the Year.

In the interest of balance, I would like to state that I would happily return to the John O'Gaunt.  This blog is going to sound like a moan but as a punter, I have learned a bit of patience is required.  

Even when we reach Fawlty Towers levels of service.

What a Pub of the Year looks like

Despite its imposing interior, its a little anti-tardis inside.  With low ceilings and entrance via a small corridor, its actually appears smaller inside than out.

We were met by the landlord and offered a seat inside or out, but once we had the tour, there was only one choice.  Experiencing their garden is akin to how the kids felt when they went exploring in the wardrobe that lead to Narnia.

Its a delight of high quality tee-pees, with individually controlled heaters.  Each table has a collection of blankets, the seats are fur topped.

The first mistake we made was by choosing a table next to a lemon jump-suited, "only way is Essex" reject who must have been on the porn star martini's since lunch.  My mastermind specialist subject is her life, as she spent our entire visit screeching it to the table of strangers on the next table.

Once seated, we eventually got hold of a drinks menu and 15 minutes later, an average Vale Brewery was delivered.  Probably no fault of the beer or how it was kept, through lockdown I seem to have lost my taste for traditional Pales and Golds.

So far - So Ok.

All smiles at this point

So what went well, what went wrong? To summarise, Mrs Ms romanic night consisted of 2 hours and 45 minutes of staring at a table adorned with a knife and fork, with only the occasional gin to alleviate the misery.

Here's the details for those I haven't lost in a blog of misery.

When re-negotiating the bill, we had a a good chat with the landlord's daughter.

She told us exactly what the media have been saying.  They cannot get hospitality staff and recruiting non-experienced people who are furloughed from other careers.  The girl who had taken our order and gone home is an Air Hostess.

There's nowhere to escape when she makes a cock up in her day job.  Although the consequences are potentially more serious than a fat Brummie not getting his meatballs.

Role on the (Original Plan) for June 21st. 

29/05/21 - (Some of) The Good Beer Guide Pubs of Newbury

Good Beer Guide Ticks - 548-550

Approaching Newbury on the Avon and Kennet Canal, we were greeted by the grizzled old seadog, operating the electric swing bridge.   

"Are you coming across?" - he shouted, before pressing go and cutting off the opposite bank until we had at least walked another 50m.

"Is the Good Pub on that side?" - I replied - which was met with "Yes, its the best pub in Newbury.  And also the most expensive".

He was correct.   It was a Fullers House - who need to make money since they stopped the brewing.

Lock, Stock and Barrel, Northbrook Street, ESB

Technically, still on the Walk from Hungerford

Nothing - and I mean nothing would be stopping me from my first cask ESB of 2021.

Not the velvet rope.

Not the man asking if we had booked.

Not the thought of taking out a second mortgage.

Negotiation with "The Man" - who left us at the rope to watch him de-fumigate -  and we were offered a little table under the right hand umbrella you can see in the above photo. 

I left Mrs M to work out the App booking and went in search of facilities.

My return was both greeted with a prime example of what I had been missing and a cry of "£11.50".

TBF, her Stowford Press was more expensive

The Catherine Wheel, Cheap Street, Otter Ale

A pork pie on a bench (don't ask, I forgot to include a lunch stop on the walk) and an amble through the pretty town that is Newbury.  Less thirsty punters would have stopped to peruse the street market but I was on a mission to get the three good ticks before the 15:03 train.

To explain - the micro - the Cow and Cask - although easily on route would not have presented the most socially distanced of experiences and there probably would have been low odds of gaining entrance in any case.  Regular blogfans will now that Mrs M will not cross the threshold of a JDW.

So this left the Cathernine Wheel - a fine traditional pub, that we briefly saw as we were shown to a rather charming courtyard.  Observations?  No one wants the news on the 65" screen when they go for a pint.  Its all 3rd Wave this, Prince Harry that.

The footpath was narrow.  The road was busy.

A menu was presented and if the sun was over the yard arm, I may have experimented with bottles of 10% Belgian Dancing Juice.

Otter in a Good Old Boy Glass

Instead, I settled on a unexpectedly thin Otter Ale.  I suspect gravity fed barrels but have little proof.

Mrs M found a dog - and its owner to talk to.  She explained that we were ticking off the good beer guide pubs - which he found more fascinating that the reaction normally elicited.  He may be the next ticker, as despite living in Newbury for 16 years, he was unaware of the Cow and Cask.

He agreed with us about JDW - where he had previously been chucked out for sitting at a pavement table outside with his dog.  He recommended the next pub, the KC and gave us the lingo that meant we would be accepted by the regulars.

The King Charles, Cheap Street, Exmoor Ale

This is all going swimmingly well, this is both a short distance away and we are making our way to the station.

But wait - Mrs M spots a problem.   "Aren't Greene King Pubs a bit shite?" she asks.

Sometimes I don't know whether she is joining in with the pub ticking a little too hard.

Eezer Goode...  Mrs M spotting danger signs

Anyone who had tasted Greene King IPA would surely agree with Mrs M, but I am reasonably sure that this was not on offer.

Instead, on our side of the bar, we had a choice of many of the West Country's finest.  Dartmoor Jail Ale, Wickwar Bob and Exmoor Ale.  It felt like we were on our holidays.

Pub Ticking - 2021 Style

Train tickets ordered from the above table - with realisation that a 12 minute journey for two could have bought a round at the Lock Stock and we are whisked away for a freshen up before tea at West Berkshire Pub of the Year.

Lovely afternoon - but will the evening continue in the same vein?  Future blog to report.