Pint-Size in Print at The Playhouse!

I'm in print again for Outline Magazine. This time I went to the Playhouse and drank a very oddly interesting beer and had deep and meaningful, yet incredibly random, conversations with a very old friend I meet regularly.


You can read it online if you've missed your copy or do not have the good fortune to live in Norwich. I have a regular column now!

Beercat

I'm in print again in Outline Magazine. They liked last month and this month was actually better written, so I hope I'll be in print in August too.

I went to The Cottage in my hometown of Norwich. Owned by the same guys that own The Plough (another awesome pub in Norwich) I enjoyed a lovely pint in the sunshine, and an almost lovelier deli platter of salami, cheese, pickles, bread and fruit. They also have a lovely ginger kitten called #Beercat who is the friendliest wee thing. Give this pub a look and it will become one of your favourites, I guarantee.

Having It Random In Manchester

I have friends all over the place, partly because I can't seem to settle anywhere for very long (even though I hate moving) but mainly because I'm an impulsive little thing who ends up doing random stuff and going randomer places. This weekend I was visiting a friend I'd made while working in Manchester in a shoe shop for six months before leaving for Australia. I'd met up with said guy in China as well while he was teaching English. Random.

Friday - After a four and a half hour train journey I arrived at my friends house to be greeted by a huge dog (who I would later find out was a minor local celeb) and a very excitable teeny tiny dog called Paris. We got Tibetan takeaway (I now know I don't like tofu) and headed out into the local area of Chorlton with the dogs in tow.

Where: Nip & Tipple, Chorlton, Manchester
What: For my shame, I can't bloody remember

Ok, this was my first beer, I swear, and I can see the pump clip in my head but I cannot remember the name or the brewery. It was blonde and had a plain picture, like a blonde square. I got three pints for less than a tenner (no, not all for me) and I was really thirsty so the information slipped my mind. The Nip & Tipple (what a name!) had a decked outside area where the dogs could have some space and we could smoke and drink and talk about anything we liked which ended up being what crazy people will do to 'keep their man' (even when he's a bit of a loser) and the nightmare of having to listen to people you know have sex in the next room. Among other things.

Where: Pi, Chorlton (just assume Manchester from here on in)

What: IPA, Se7en Brothers Brewery

I remembered to take a photo of the pump clip in this bar. The bar was also called Pi and it did indeed serves pies. Pieminister pies at that. In fact, so cool was this little place that I remarked (probably more times than my native Mancunians would have cared for) that it could have been in Norwich. Small and kooky trendy looking, with random music-themed pictures on the wall and a stripped back bar (from memory) it was a an awesome place to sit and people watch. I was yet to witness the fame of my giant canine companion, but that was to come.

Where: Oddest, Chorlton
What: Not sure, my friend got the beers in

I know, I know, I'm a rubbish beer blogger, but my mate was taking the piss about the fact that I wrote a beer blog for no reason and I was also overwhelmed by the numbers of people coming to talk to the dog. The staff at Oddest knew him and brought out sausages. Groups of pissed students stopped to stroke him and have their pictures taken. One woman sat down on our table and talked for about twenty minutes about her dogs. Having giant breed dogs from a young age means I am never that in awe when I see one, but clearly my friends Husky Malamute cross was genuinely something of a local icon. It wouldn't have been a problem if people kept it brief, desperate was I for a catch-up with my friends, but it didn't stop. It got to the point where one guy said 'Can I come and sit with the cool people?' and then asked 'Can I just say one thing before you tell me to sod off?'. I didn't really hear him so just told him to sod off. He didn't. Then he asked if he could take my picture. I declined.
Random.

My favourite thing about Oddest, apart from the fact it served decent beers, stayed open late and was within walking distance of my temporary home, was the reclaimed doors inside.
I'm slowly turning into my dad.


Saturday - Slept like the dead (especially after some takeout beers and talking crap in the garden to finish the evening off last night) I was presented with tea and, after my protests last time that breakfast at the weekend should always include bacon, a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. Win.

Where: Mono Bar, Chorlton
What: Rose Wheat Beer, Ticketybrew

It started to rain (welcome to Manchester!) so we dashed into a pub. To make up for being a crap beer blogger the night before, I chose a pint while my friends stuck to caffeine. I love everything about Tickety Brew. From the satisfying sounding name to the pump clips and finally the beer itself. I'm not normally a fan of wheat beers, and chose this one by accident, but it was unusual but not in a try-hard way, with a slight kick in the aftertaste. Friendly bar staff, a (I want to say) Primal Scream themed mural and cheesy cassette tapes on display in the loos, Mono bar was another awesome spot for a beverage. Had the rain carried on and my friends not been so hungry, I probably would have stayed all afternoon.

After a quick pit-stop at Barbakan Deli for Polish sausage and potatoes we wandered around the shops, then stopped from another pint. Or two.

Where: Horse & Jockey, Chorlton
What: Two Hoots, Joseph Holt

I prefer independent pubs and generally try to stay away from big chains but the Horse and Jockey had dry seats outside and a beautiful view of the green. It also had Two Hoots on tap, which I didn't know was a Joseph Holt beer, but I knew I liked it. There was a steady stream of children running around, which never bodes well for me, and then my friends started to try to set me up with one of their friends. Time to head home for food and prepare for the evening.

Where: Fringe, Central Manchester
What: Platinum Blonde, Maypole Brewery

I like Fringe, I'd spent an afternoon in there before and had an actual grownup discussion with the barman about sparklers. As we walked through the bar to grab a seat outside, a pump clip caught my eye. It was called Platinum Blonde and had the cheesiest pump clip, like an Eighties music video, I knew I had to have a pint. It wasn't the best to be honest, not a bad beer just lacking flavour, a bit watery.

We changed tack for our second pint, something slightly darker, and as my friend put them down on the table I asked what he had chosen this time. "No idea, but it already tastes better than the last." It did, but that doesn't help my blog because I still don't know what it was. Off for our final bar stop.

Where: Band On The Wall, just over the road
What: Wainwright, Thwaites

Just as we left the bar, it started to rain. So we queued in the rain, tried to roll soggy cigarettes and hide under one tiny umbrella. As we walked into Band on the Wall venue, tickets in hand, a security guard grabbed my wrist and began to slowly turn my arm around. I looked at him with mild shock and he said 'just admiring'. Ah, I'd almost forgotten how people think it's ok to grab people half their size and look at their tattoos.

After locating the second bar, with half the queue, I ordered two vodkas&, and a pint of Wainwright's. The beer was ok, nothing super special but totally drinkable - to be honest I was just glad to have an ale option. Some music venues, despite the large numbers of ale drinkers who like live music, still only offer StellaBecksCarling headache inducing lager. We watched Mr Scruff who was slightly disappointing. All he seemed to play was the same style of tracks or, as my friend perfectly summed-up, 'Seventies porno music'. We stood in the corner of the smoking area and talked crap. I was reminded the following day that I said I had no desire to see my friend naked. I don't think he was offering, seeing as he's very happy with his girlfriend and she was with us at the time, but it just gives you an idea of how random our conversations were.

On the way home, having not really danced at all and feeling very let down by that fact, we grabbed a cab. As we started to chat about the evening, the cab driver cranked up the radio. So loud in fact that there was no possibility of conversation. I'm fairly sure we weren't still talking about nakedness but whatever we were talking about, the cabbie decided we weren't going to talk about it anymore. The doors were shaking it was so loud.

Home. Happy dogs. Cup of tea. Sleep for hours.

Sunday - I went home Sunday, after breakfast at Oddest Bar, but as I didn't drink a drop on Sunday, this is where my Manchester beer blog ends. I am only a dinky thing and, while I can keep up (or outdrink) the best of them, occasionally I need a break. Green tea and an evening of sofa slouching awaited me, as well as my own happy cats.

PSB in Print!

The lovely folks at Outline Magazine have put me in print! I'm in June's issue of the free Norwich listings magazine, with a blog on the Black Sheep Brewery takeover of the Fat Cat Tap


You can pick up a copy in all good places in Norwich or read online at their website for free.
If all goes to plan I should be in there next month as well! Woohoo!

Mine's A Pint Of Unicorn Tears

I was invited on my first ever brewery tour recently. I know, it's shocking that someone who likes beer so much has never been on a brewery tour. I think I would have booked myself on one much sooner had I known how much free beer was involved. Yay!

The Redwell Brewery is local to me, being a Norwich lass n'all, but even so I got a lift down there (save my strength for the beer tasting). I almost didn't find it as the brewery is located directly under the railway bridge, under an archway with a small sign saying 'Beer Shop Tours'. After stepping through a small door, I was in a large open plan room with barrels and fairy lights on one side, shiny brewing equipment on the far side and a small makeshift bar next to the door. It reminded me of a pop-up bar I went to in Hackney, except that this one had real pumps instead of bottles in ice buckets. It also had the Norwich game playing, something the temporary Hackney pop-up had neglected to include.

On the bar were some awesome beer mats that I did consider stealing (they had unicorns using their tears to make beer on them!!) but thought better of it as I was handed a beer. While we waited for a few stragglers to arrive (who actually did get lost) I studied the beer mat to see exactly how unicorn tears made Redwell, and felt slightly awkward having turned up on my tod. That didn't last long though as beer makes fast friends of strangers. Especially when all those strangers really like beer.




We followed Nate, our Redwell tour guide and all-round beer aficionado, as he went through the brewing process. The parts I found most interesting were more to do with the history of brewing, like

where the term 'lager' comes from, and what beer might have been like when was first created with the ingredients and knowledge available at the time. It was also interesting (and this is going to sound weird) to learn about wild yeast and how dangerous it can be to commercial brewing and modern flavours. I knew something of the basic process (my parents had a Guinness cartoon showing the 'adding of the yeast'. I did say my knowledge was basic) but I had no idea it was filtered quite so much. Or the different kinds of hops and when they're added to the process to change the flavour. Ok, so I liked the majority of the facts too, as well as the beer samples. I was already a fan of the Redwell lagers but it was really good to see behind the scenes. They really do brew in small batches. And they really do love their beer.

I got to keep my pint glass as a souvenir and I could hear it clinking in my bag as I wobbled home for a nap.



I'd still prefer it if their beer was made by actual unicorns though.

Yorkshire Brews

I spent a long weekend in gorgeous North Yorkshire and, unsurprisingly, sampled a lot of fine beers.
We stayed in Masham, home of both the Black Sheep and Theakston's breweries. The relatively small town had a few pubs to choose from. We patronised every one of them over the course of the weekend except the Bay Horse which was a Greene King pub. Coming from East Anglia we drink Greene King's brews on a regular basis so stuck to the local brews.

Friday 24th April

Where: World's End, Bond End, Knaresborough.

What: Blonde, Daleside Brewery.

Our first pint oop north. After a four hour drive it was most welcome, as was the lovely view of the river from the beer garden. The beer was poured through a sparkler, something I don't understand the point of, being a Southerner and preferring my bevvie without added froth. The World's End was clearly a family orientated one and only had two ales on tap, the rest was lager and cider etc. While the Daleside Blonde was nothing to write home about, an average mid-ale, it can't have been that bad as by the time I remembered to take a picture, our beers had been drained!
We wandered up to the castle, round some shops and headed off to our B&B.


Where: The Bruce Arms, Masham.

What: Best Bitter, Black Sheep and Theakston's

After checking into our frankly gorgeous B&B we went straight to the pub. The Bruce Arms had a huge beer garden, especially compared to the size of the traditional bar. This seemed to be the pub favoured by the locals as far as I could tell and we enjoyed a pint of bitter from each of the town's breweries. I'm fairly sure they didn't come through a sparkler either.

Where: Black Sheep Brewery,

What: Golden Sheep, Holy Grail, Riggwelter, all Black Sheep Brewery

We couldn't wait any longer and headed to the Black Sheep brewery, yay! The bar (sorry, B....aaar) and bistro were housed in a lovely high ceiling brick building, with sheep everywhere. Most of the space was taken with the restaurant, it would have been nice to have a more pub-style area, especially seeing as they were open late. The Golden Sheep was a lovely golden ale, the Holy Grail had a lovely depth of flavour. The Riggwelter is too dark a beer for me, but I did have the Riggy Burger made with the beer. It was lovely and the size of the portion was very generous. The fella sat on a giant wooden black sheep. Couldn't ask for more. Or could we?

On the way home we stopped for another at the Bruce Arms, then back to our plush bed.

Saturday 25th April

After a hearty, full Yorkshire breakfast we popped into the Theakston's Brewery to have a look around. If the bar in the brewery had been open later than 4.30pm we would have had a drink there after our tourist treks, but as it was we never managed to have a pint at the brewery. The smell around the place was of pure old pub aroma. On the bright sunny day it made me very happy.




Where: The Fountain, Hawes

What: Butter Tubs, Yorkshire Dales Brewery, Propa' Pale Ale, Wensleydale Brewery.

We drove out to Hawes and as we parked it started to rain. My shoes had holes in and my coat was definitely not waterproof. We went round the Wensleydale Creamery, ate our body weight in cheese and then bought wedges for everyone we knew. Then we had a pint in The Fountain, a pub that reminded me of the place I used to work in when I lived in Manchester. A proper pub with staff who are friendly because that's the way they are, not because they've been trained to be that way. The Butter Tubs beer was lush, traditional, the pump clip designs were eye-catching and modern. It immediately became my favourite. My fella had a pint of Wensleydale Pale Ale which was also easy drinking and at £3.10 a pint, a bargain (I know, I live too close to London so am pleased when a pint comes in at under four quid). Two old guys at the bar were talking about lambing and the bar lady was complaining that her pump was blowing when it should be sucking. I could have stayed there all day.


Where: Tan Hill Inn, Swaledale.

What: My Generation, My Generation Beer Co.

After that we decided to head up to the Tan Hill Inn, the highest pub in the Britain (as in the most meters above sea level). As we drove up the winding roads, with not a house in sight, the rain got worse. Then it turned to snow. Snow! The pub was an odd one, having a unique reason to be visited but no one local to provide the kind of atmosphere only regulars can. The bar man was grumpy, then I saw him dry a coffee cup on his jeans before serving coffee in it to a customer. The beer was good however, and I enjoyed a pint of My Generation (a new craft beer brewed by Black Sheep but on behalf of someone else). I wish I'd got a snap of the pump clip as the logo is awesome.

There were cyclists filling the bar. They had actually cycled, in the snow, to the top of this mount. Nutters.




Where: George & Dragon, Leyburn.

What: Leyburn Shawl, George & Dragon, both Yorkshire Dales Brewery.

On the way back to Masham we stopped at the George & Dragon. The bar was tiny, with a log fire and sketches of old chaps on the wall. I assumed they were regulars. The restaurant took most of the space and would have been like dining in an antiques shop. There were collections of miniature liqueurs, vintage furs and pairs of Victorian shoes. It looked well thought out rather than cluttered or gimmicky though. There wasn't much room so we stood at the bar and enjoyed our drinks.

I got to try a different Yorkshire Dales brew, slightly darker with a fuller flavour than the Butter Tubs, and the chap had a half of a bitter named after the pub, with the same cartoon on the clip as on the sign outside. I'm not a fan of the cartoon pub sign, especially when the pub itself is so traditional and has clearly been standing for a number of years, but I couldn't fault the pub itself. Nice beers and full of character, just the way I like it.





Where: King's Head Hotel, Masham.

What: Golden Sheep, Black Sheep Brewery.

Back in Masham, we discovered a bottle of Black Sheep and a birthday card outside our door for the chap from the B&B owners. Told you it was a nice place. We headed out for a pint and to look around for somewhere to eat and stopped for one in the King's Head Hotel. It was a trendy kind of place, as you might expect, and I'm not sure if the barman was having a bad day or not but our pints of Golden Sheep were just pushed towards us. The place looked nice enough and we would have probably eaten there if we had fancied somewhere 'nice' to eat. If you know what I mean. We're a bit low key so we ticked it off our list and headed elsewhere.


Where: White Bear, Masham

What: Lightfoot and Four & Twenty, both Theakston's Brewery

What looked to be a promising pub from the outside (lovely Yorkshire stone, traditional looking signs) turned out to be a bit uncomfortable inside. This, I must stress, was due to the other patrons not the staff or the White Bear itself. In the 'lounge bar' there was a decent looking gastro pub restaurant (too posh for what we wanted though), but in the 'public bar' there were a couple of loud, obnoxious blokes, one of whom smacked the barmaids bum. I had a customer do this to me once, in my first bar job. I told him quietly, but in no uncertain terms, that kind of thing did not happen in that pub, or to me if he wanted to keep drinking. He didn't come back in for a month. We opted to stand in the lounge bar. The beer barrel light fittings were interesting, but the stained glass behind the bar depicting a brewery scene left a little to be desired. Some bits looked as though they'd been drawn on with marker pen. There was also a stuffed head of a Polar Bear roaring in a glass case. I drank a pint of Lightfoot, which was nice but Black Sheep is more my thing I decided. After finishing our drinks stood uncomfortably at the restaurant bar, we went back to the Black Sheep brewery.

Where: Black Sheep Brewery, Masham.

What: Holy Grail and Old Ale, both Black Sheep.

The bar man remembered us and we ate there again. Fella had beer battered fish and chips, I had ribs with an ale infused sticky sauce. The beer was awesome and we were so full by the end of the evening we practically rolled home to sleep the sleep of people filled with ale.

Awesome.

Bank Holiday Beer Blog

Double bank holiday, yay! But I work for myself so don't get paid on bank holidays, boo! Still lots of time sample some lovely bevvies. Here's a quick (ish) round up.

Thursday - 

Where: The Leopard
Bull Close Road, Norwich
What: Grand Slam, Greene King

 After finishing work, and the weather having been lovely all day while I was stuck inside, we had a quick change of clothes and dashed over the road (almost literally) to The Leopard. As always we received a friendly welcome and, most importantly, CAMRA member discount! Two beers caught our eye and the first, Grand Slam, was lovely. The second, Bitter Lemon, was a bit too....lemony. After dashing home for our grocery delivery, we popped back to The Leopard for seconds and thirds. And a pork pie. I'm so pleased the Leopard seems to be in good hands, it's nice to have a decent pub just a stones throw away from me again!

Friday - 

Where: The Woolpack Yard
What: Nothing. Yardbird was off again and we didn't fancy a pint of Nobel first thing in the evening.

Where: The Golden Star
Colegate, Norwich
What: YPA, Roosters

Went to The Golden Star to meet my brother and friends. It's a lovely pub that we don't really use enough. It's like a country pub just outside the city centre that does decent Sunday lunches. They've also started doing breakfasts but I haven't managed to have one yet, being the lazy sod I am. Always got a range of different real ales on, pub quiz and music nights etc

I had a pint of YPA (Yorkshire Pale Ale) and it was lush. A pale ale with a bit of something about it rather than washy nothing-ness. Chris had a pint of Tawny, Cotleigh Brewery, which he described as tasting like a corked bottle of red, so he had YPA after that. On the otherhand my brother quite liked it. We talked about terrible jobs and nightmare bosses. Someone said that their boss emails them telling them to bring them a cup of tea. And gets their name wrong in the process. Went home feeling slightly more grateful that I work for myself. Sort of.

Saturday - 

Where: Friends House Party
What: Dark Pale Ale, Innes & Gunn

Ok, I am kind of cheating a bit here. I had one bottle of Innes & Gunn and then the rest of the night was spent drinking overly strong cocktails and my friends' Budweiser. I like Innes & Gunn but as I'm not a huge fan of rum (and their beers are brewed with a rum finish) I generally only have one. At someone elses house. When that's all they've got.
We listened to a lot of Britney Spears and played Cards Against Humanity. I got home at 4am. Christ on a bike.

Sunday - 

Day off! Went to my mums for lunch and drank nothing but tea. Considered the pub but then couldn't be bothered to move. Resigned myself to 'be sensible' and go tomorrow instead to take full advantage of the bank holiday Monday.

Monday - 

Where: The Playhouse!
St George's Street, Norwich
What: Lady Evelyn, Tipples Brewery

The Playhouse is my go-to pub. I should get Frequent Drinker Miles or something. Today a particularly catchy pump clip caught my eye. Lady Evelyn must have been one freaky lady, as the pump clip depicted death driving a flaming carriage over a bridge. I was sold. It tasted good too. Chris had a Spelt Blonde, St Peter's Brewery, and to me it tasted almost of toffee. I hate toffee. After three or four pints I tried to remember what I'd done this weekend and attempted to write it down. I will get better at it. Probably.