BRIEF ENCOUNTER

You may recall a 1945 film starring Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson called "Brief Encounter". One famous scene is set in a railway station waiting room and on a platform with a steam train.

Yesterday we had a coach trip away from our local Wetherspoons  to the Whitby Regatta. On arrival we spotted a steam train ( North York Moors Railway - NYMR)  arriving in the nearby railway station. Dashing into the station building to get to the platforms I immediately screeched to halt for there, new since our visit last year, was a micropub called the Waiting Room. It was too early to be open so I got some train pictures ( another hobby)  then we headed into town for some touristy stuff, including a climb up the lighthouse , and a look round a classic car show on West Cliff.

Thirsty work all this , so headed back into town, not managing to pass The Granby Hotel and a wonderful pint of Old Peculier. Then it was downhill back to the station. Mrs Ken went off to look round the shops while I dived into the now open Waiting Room.

A folk group type sign song was in progress, including a rendition of " I Saw Her Standing There " There was about 6 Norwegians having  a great time, playing, singing and drinking excellent real ale from a choice of five  handpulls. The guy sitting next to me on one of the comfy sofas remarked this would be cheap beer for them. 

Mrs Ken arrived then the Norwegians left ( a coincidence I'm sure) , presumably to catch a longboat in Whitby Harbour back to the fjords. Soon the sound of alpine cow bells could be heard approaching the pub entrance. It was a small group of  Morris Dancers who had been performing on the quay side earlier . One of them , on arrival,  suddenly burst into song unaccompanied. It was very funny but I wish I could remember it. Too much beer.

Every one was having a great time. The landlord rang a bell when a train was due to depart and an NYMR guy stuck his head round the door to round up his missing passengers. I thought to myself, would this happen anywhere else in the world ? Steam trains, real ale, impromptu singing, good conversation. Whats not to like ?

Soon the empty bellies took over so we headed over the river to the Endeavour for some fish and chips . Readers of this blog last year may recall you can take your own fish and chips into the pub**. Sadly this time around the place was rammed and they even had a bouncer on the door at 3 o clock in the afternoon !

- I'm thinking maybe so many people read the blog it has proved too popular ( dream on pal- ed)- 

So after our fish and chips, but not in the Endeavour , a couple more beers from the Whitby Brewery in a very busy Wetherspoons, then back to the Waiting Room to wait for the bus back. There was a bouncer coming on shift when we left - a bouncer for a micropub ?        

There is a continuing rise in the number of micropubs opening around the country and this one does not disappoint. Pick a Saturday, more likely to be singing on.
 

**This is last years Whitby blog

OLD PECULIER - BEER OF THE MONTH

Last weekend I was at the Glasgow Beer Festival *  Many beers were tried of course, but one which I was saving for last ran out just as I was walking to the bar. All the beers were in metal casks as you would expect, except one - Old Peculier,  in a wooden barrel.

I wasn't too disappointed as at the beginning of June on a pub crawl in Bedale ( North Yorkshire) ** the first pint ( sorry 2 pints) I had was Old Peculier at 11 in the morning. It was absolutely magnificent. I was getting strange looks as I savoured the taste, with appropriate noises, of this well known beer. It is sometimes said that OP doesn't travel and tastes  better the nearer the brewery it is. Well Bedale is only about 15 minutes from the brewery in Masham so I can understand that.

In 2012 I did a tour of the Theakstons brewery, some photos are shown. We were staying the night in the White

Old Peculier bubbling away

Bear Hotel, their brewery tap,  so the OP was naturally top of the menu. It was actually the White Bear Beer Festival and during the evening a howling gale developed. Their marquee with the festival bar in actually moved sideways throughout the evening. Mrs Ken can confirm this, it wasn't the beer this time.

I believe I am correct in saying that Old Peculier was the first real ale I drank, back  in the early seventies. We were staying in a youth hostel in Hawes, doing the Pennine Way, and after a long days hike, the natural thing to do was head for the local boozer. 

I think it was called The Fountain and I will always remember our reaction when drinking the OP for the first time. We were all used to drinking S&N, Vaux or Camerons keg beers so this was a revelation. The colour and the underlying taste of liquorice hit me straight away . Needless to say I cant remember the stagger back to the youth hostel. Happy days

Some years ago when I was old enough to know better we had a pub crawl in York. The last pint I remember drinking was Old Peculier in the Old Starre Inn ( I think). My next memory is waking up in bed the next morning. Apparently we had left the pub to find another, had burger and chips, got the train back to Durham, had another pint in Wetherspoons then got a taxi home.  I cant remember any of it. Apparently on the train I got up to go to the loo. The swaying motion of the train cancelled out my swaying so I ended up walking in a straight line. Well at least this is what Ive been told.

How can one beer have so many stories ?  One more then I'm done . Ive been going to the Great British Beer Festival every year for some time now. In the early days Theakstons had their own bar, and for about three years two of us made a point of starting with Old Peculier . When I turned up the last time they had a bar, I made the point of  wearing my Black Sheep T shirt to wind them up. It worked  and but after the expected abuse, they still served me. Most beers that day didnt taste as good after drinking OP first.

You don't often see Old Peculier near where I live.(the bottled is not as good in my opinion). Its rarity makes it all the more enjoyable.  

So , no hesitation, my beer of the month.

  

*Glasgow Beer Festival

** Bedale Pub Crawl

A DAY TRIP TO BEDALE- OLD PECULIER, FISH AND CHIPS AND A KARAOKE

A group of us go to a quiz every week and pool any winnings we get and save up for a boozy trip away somewhere. We can usually manage 4 trips a year and just recently we decided on Bedale. 

This is a small market town in North Yorkshire. I have been through the place several times, on the way to Masham and the Black Sheep and Theakstons Breweries , but never stopped.

On a gloomy and cloudy day ( first weekend in June) we caught the train south to Northallerton then hopped on a bus for the 30 minute ride through the countryside to our destination. The plan was to make a day of it so arrived early for leisurely breakfast in  The Whistle Stop Cafe in Bedale Station, on the Wensleydale Railway. I confess  I am a train buff so there was some bias in choosing this place. The breakfast was excellent and set us up for most of the day.

 
Before we left I had already sussed out which pubs to try from Whatpub.com. As The Old Black Swan opened at 11am , this was our first choice and I was ecstatic as that they had on my favourite UK beer, Theakstons Old Peculier -  at 11 o clock in the morning. Some pubs fall into the trap of serving the first pint of the day without pulling a least a pint through first to clear any warm beer from the lines, but this was the perfect temperature. Best beer of the day ( but not the best pub !). 

To continue the quiz theme, one of the guys had compiled one which we started in the Black Swan, and continued throughout the day. It kept us out of mischief , till we got to the last pub that is !

Next was a Jennings pub ( ie Marstons) , the Three Coopers. The place was devoid of punters when we entered, only several fish tanks full of oversized tropical fish.. Just as well because they looked friendlier than the landlord, who needs a serious crash course in customer service. Barely said a word and didnt smile once. Still, had a nice pint of Hobgoblin.

Underwhelmed by Mr Charisma we left after one, leaving him to his fish and no more customers.

The spilt half of Razorback

Crossing the Market Place we tried The Green Dragon. This pub is in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. Another Marstons pub, this time I tried to have a pint of Ringwood Razorback, a bit on the weak side. When I say, "tried to have"  I didnt manage to drink all of it as our quiz-master knocked my half full glass over ; with some justification most of it went over him !

   

Two doors down was The Waggon and Horses, which did a nice pint of Timothy Taylors Landlord. By now the overcast skies were clearing so into the beer garden at the back we headed. Then someone mentioned the words "Fish and Chips". 

So I pointed out we still had one more pub to try, in my opinion the most interesting -  Tullulahs Cocktail Bar. Ordinarily we wouldn't have bothered but they sold real ale and it looked different to any typical market town pub. 

Tullulahs

Hidden up any alley way behind some shops, it wasn't open when we arrived but the manager inside had the sense to see that 7 guys were going to buy a few drinks so he let us in. 

 
There was only one handpull, serving  Pennine Brewery Hair of the Dog. Brewed in the village of Well only 4 miles away, this was the only micro brewery drink of the day, and it did not disappoint. 

In the main bar we spotted a small stage with a karaoke machine. Up some stairs to a comfortable lounge was a white piano. Someone remarked it was just like the John Lennon video for Imagine, and he then proceeded to sit at the piano and murder the aforesaid song.

Soon, back downstairs Elvis Presley was booming out on the stage and eventually a full blown karaoke session with all 7 of us " performing"was on the go. It was just as well we had the place to ourselves and the least said about the quality of the singing the better. Mine host remarked " I see Showaddywaddy have let themselves go a bit"  Cheeky sod.

Exhausted and hungry from the pressures of performing,  two of us took off to find the chippy, so we could sit outside Tallulahs for the last pint of the day before our last bus back to Northallerton

It was a long day but a great trip out. Apart from the last one, all pubs stuck to "national brands" eg Theakstons, Marstons, Timothy Taylors.  Although the beer from the Theakstons pub was brewed just down the road there was no sign of any Black Sheep.

   

Bedale is worth a visit, if just to have the Old Peculier and experience Tullulahs ( except we wont be there !)