SAMUEL SMITHS

I recently had an absolutely wonderful bottle of Samuel  Smiths Organic Chocolate Stout. Its made from organic chocolate malt and organic cocoa extract. I cant normally smell most beers but the distinctive aroma of cocoa tempts the nostrils. A fantastic stout. I am beginning to regret only buying 1 bottle.

Sam Smiths is based in Tadcaster and is the oldest brewery in Yorkshire.  I think I'm right in saying that the only real ale they produce is Old Brewery (OB)Bitter. It seems it  can only be found in their own pubs, so as a result there is no pubco mark up and hence is usually cheap.

COLPITTS

I used to drink it occasionally in the Colpitts in Durham in the 70's which I am pleased to say still sells it . We started a Durham pub crawl in there in 2011 for a mate who now lives in Australia. He said the best beer of the day was the OB.

Ive not tried their keg beers but there are some wonderful other bottles available.They seem to like making stouts as their Oatmeal Stout and Imperial Stout are as good as this one.  The trouble is they are not supplied in supermarkets, well not up here anyway. 
 

Its interesting that some breweries shy away from dark beers and indeed do some pubs. 

When challenged , "why don't you sell more dark beers ?"  

"Well customers prefer  lighter beers " 

" But you sell Guinness !"

So hats off to Sam Smiths for this cracking stout. Worth seeking out in a bottle shop near you ! 

COCK UP YOUR BEAVER

Ive just returned from Glasgow and another fantastic afternoon at the Glasgow Beer Festival. Its held every year in the Briggait Arts Studios. Its behind the Clutha, the riverside pub that made the news when a helicopter crash landed on its roof.

Anyhow , this is my third visit. I also go myself while the family go round the shops; however, within 5 minutes of sitting down, there is always someone friendly to talk to. This time a couple from Manchester, so we spent at least half an hour reliving the best pubs in the city. 

Another guy on the table was a CAMRA local who, the more he drank, kept coming out with wise and funny statements. The best was :

" Do you notice when young people come to a festival, they make a dash to the bar and order their drink first, then look for a seat. We old ones make a dash to find a seat first, then go to order a drink"

On the subject of drink, we finally get round to the title of this post. The festival had over 150 ales, ciders and foreign beers. On a Facebook post before we headed up to Glasgow I spotted a picture taken from the festival programme of a beer brewed at Bute Brewery called Cock Up Your Beaver. There then followed the usual comments about the name. In fact one CAMRA volunteer posted while I was there that he enjoyed saying to any women looking at beers where he was serving " Would you like to try a Cock up your Beaver ?

 
The name is actually the title of a Robbie Burns Poem. A beaver, in this context, was a hat; hence cocking your hat. The beer is usually only brewed in time for Burns night.

Personally, I thought the marketing was better than the beer. Its a 4.5% red ale; it was Ok.

Other great names were  " 99 Red Babons", "Betty and the Gardens- B side" and another imaginative name from Rat Brewery ; Raturday Night Fever"

The last two times Ive been was on a Saturday. Both times we were "entertained" by the Caledonian Brewery Bagpipe Band ( I don't do bagpipes) . This time I was there on a Friday, so I asked one guy behind the bar if the bagpipes were going to be on. "Saturday"" he said. Forgetting where I was I said "Great!" He glowered and walked away. 

And finally, the best beer for me this time wasn't actually a beer ; Toffee Apple Cider" Gorgeous !

Same time next year.

BEER FLAVOURED CRISPS

The other day I was wandering through a local supermarket and spotted these crisps. An acquaintance mentioned later  they also sell Hobgoblin flavoured crisps.(?)

Now when  I was a lad, all you could get was plain crisps with a blue bag of salt in them. Then new flavours were introduced till what became my favourite, Mint Sauce Flavour. Dont see it now but a few years ago I spotted in Tesco some Old Peculier Flavoured Crisps. I bought a packet. Did they taste of Old Peculier ? Did they bollocks ?

Back to the photograph, the small print says " with a splash of real ale " I have a mental picture of a factory worker holding a packet of these crisps under a real ale handpull, a quick pull and a squirt ( if you will pardon the expression.) , then passing it down the line to seal the packet.

Anyhow, in April 2015 a group of us visited the Jarrow Brewery for a tour, some samples , then back on the bus to McConnells Gin & Ale House for some more beers and a pizza. The night was going great, I did a quiz. Then one of the guys wandered over from the bar and placed discreetly on our table an opened packet of peanuts. " Here you go lads, try these "  Then he sauntered off.

" Oh , Cheers mate " etc etc.

Unsuspecting, we all tucked in, then stopped, with our mouths burning and eyes streaming. They were chilli flavoured peanuts. ! 

Bastard.  

CAMRA ANGLE SUMMER EDITION

The Summer edition of CAMRA Angle , the quarterly magazine of the Sunderland and South Tyneside branch of CAMRA, has  just been published. Copies are being  distributed to real ale pubs throughout the area , and beyond. As usual , this is another full issue and well worth a read.  

A regular section is a news update on pubs and breweries in the branch as well as Locale pubs and those that offer discounts. A new feature is a Crossword. Although cryptic, even I managed to get a few !

There are articles from our roving reporters in Newcastle, Huddersfield, Hartlepool, Margate and Krakow ( yes the one in Poland !), as well as an update about Beer from the Wood.   The pub walk features West and East Boldon.

This issue looks at the current CAMRA pub of the year, The George & Dragon in Hudswell, North Yorkshire.  

Issue 48 is rounded off by a  pub quiz and a picture quiz. 

If you cant find a copy, follow this link to download your own,  and for more branch news. .http://sst.camra.org.uk/

 

And remember, accept no imitations.  

I AM A CIDER DRINKER

The other week one of my regular haunts, The Station House in Durham, won CAMRA Regional Cider Pub of the Year. They always have 4 real ciders on but I normally have a dark beer. Last week, to celebrate their win I thought, bugger it Im going to have a cider. I conveyed this startling information to my mate who normally accompanies me every Tuesday night. He was shocked. 

"Cider Ken ?"

I patiently explained this was real cider, not the fizzy crap like Strongbow or Magners. Even the pub owner was shocked, expecting me to order my usual dark beer. Being no expert, I asked for a sweet one and was given Bread & Sabre Yardarm. Nice and sweet !

I was compiling a half page in our branch magazine about our local pub cider winners. The Ship Isis was the Sunderland winner, so some research was needed ; namely a visit to see what they had. 

I opted for Friels, at a hefty 7.4%. Now the problem I have , with sweet drinks like this, they go down so easily. I pondered this weakness of mine on the bus back home.

In 1989 when I worked for the Post Office I was sent on a week secondment to our IT HQ in Farnborough Hampshire. I opted to stay with an acquaintance who lived a train ride away in Weybridge Surrey. The week was not that demanding and so the inevitable drinking sessions took place every night. 

One night a bunch of us set off on a train into rural Surrey to a cider pub. Ive no idea what it was called or even where it was. My brain has retained random images of that night which allows me to piece together roughly what happened. 

We were all drinking cider only so I am thinking it was no ordinary pub. We were drinking outside so it must have been summer. We had that many that I ended up drinking someone elses pint as well. It was late when we set off back to the station. There were about 6 of us, with me walking with 3 others ahead of the other 2, one of which was the guy I was staying with. We spotted the last  train coming  and dashed up to the station and got on the train, thinking the other 2 were with us. They weren't !. They missed the train !

Now when I have had a few I tend to shut out the bad stuff so I just sat there on the train without a care in the world ! The fact I had nowhere to kip that night just didnt occur to me. Anyhow, we pulled into the next but one station and spotted the missing 2 belting over the station footbridge  . They had caught a taxi and caught the train up . Lucky me.

Since that night, I have had a reluctance to try cider, well till now !

 

  

THE GROVE AND OTHER HUDDERSFIELD PUBS

In 2011 the family and myself did the Transpennine Real Ale Trail, from Dewsbury to Huddersfield to Stalybridge and back,  Now Huddersfield Station is blessed with 2 pubs, The Kings Head and Head of Steam, both of which we visited.

So when I heard on the radio that the Transpennine Club 55 offer ( £19 anyway on their network) was about to end mid May  , a group of us decided on a trip to the town. We had done, York, Leeds and Manchester on the same route in previous years so it seemed the time was right. 

Clutching our  cheap tickets , we boarded an early train at Chester Le Street and Durham, and in less than two hours we were walking passed the statue of former PM Harold Wilson to the Cherry Tree. This was the only nearby pub open this early ( 10am) so a Wetherspoons breakfast was enjoyed, washing down by one of my favourite dark beers, Elland 1872 Porter. 

Also in the pub, on the lower floor, was a group of smartly dressed rugby players. When I passed them on the way to the gents, the one who looked like he was in charge said " right who wants anything but bitter ?" This reminded of the time when choice was limited ( mild or bitter?)

Now given that the pub had 10 handpulls on of varying styles, I thought it was strange thing to say. What was also strange was one of these big butch individuals, who you wouldn't argue with, said " no more Abbot for me, too strong !" - (Its 5%).

We found out later they were off on a mystery coach  trip and had no idea where they were going till they all boarded the coach. 

Briefly staying with the Rugby theme, after we left the Cherry Tree we passed a derelict hotel called the George, outside of which was a blue plaque, heralding the fact this was the birthplace of Rugby League. Didn't know that but we do now.

Our next pub, in the Good Beer Guide, was now open , so it was a short walk northwards, under the railway bridge to the Sportsman. Just outside the town centre, it was fairly quiet inside. As well as the main bar there were two side rooms, one of which had a curtain. So , hiding behind the curtain we enjoyed a pint and started doing a quiz one of us had brought out. I noticed this snug had the old style bell pushes ( inoperable).

WE ARE BEHIND THE CURTAIN !

By now we were observant enough to notice that The Sportsmans was not really sporty at all. No Telly's, Pool or Darts.  So as one of us wanted to watch his team (Man City) on the TV at 1230, we walked back towards the station to check out the Kings Head and Head of Steam, both now open. Sadly for the City supporter, but not for the rest of us, there were no TVs in either pub. 

Someone in the Kings Head recommended The County Hotel, near the bus station, so off he dashed with us in leisurely pursuit. Hanging outside the County was the strange sight of Christmas decorations - in May ?  

After the game and couple of drinks, I was keen to take the lads to a pub I have had recommended many times but never been ; The Grove. Situated on the other side of the town centre inner ring road and  about 10 minutes walk from the Crown, I was conscious of shouts of abuse from behind asking where the hell are we going !   

They immediately stopped the vitriol ( if that is the right word ) on entering. The pub has 19 ( nineteen) handpulls plus keg beers and a huge range of bottled beers. There were 2 rooms, a bar snug to the right and a larger lounge to the left . Part of the lounge led to a large outdoor area. What attracted us was the comfortable Chesterfield chairs and sofas. Great to sit down in but difficult to get out of. I can see why fellow CAMRA members treat this pub as a pilgrimage destination.

A huge blackboard listed all the beers, there was also a light hearted list of house rules and a period chart of beer styles. 

As I like dark beers, it was a no brainer to have  a Chocolate Stout from local brewer Mallinsons, and a very impressive Brass Castle Black  Russian at 7%., served in the pubs own personalised pint glasses. 

Direct trains back to Chester Le St. are only every 2 hours so we reluctantly extricated ourselves out of the comfy chairs and headed back towards the town centre for something to eat ( would you believe Macdonalds?)  then a last drink in either of the 2 station pubs. Both were heaving but we managed to secure a table at the better of the two, the Kings Head with its impressive range of 10 real ales. 

Not only were the pubs busy but the station platforms and the trains were heaving as well. From a quiet start to the day, where the hell had everyone come from ? It seemed Huddersfield comes alive at night. 

So the Grove is on my list of pubs to revisit sometime. With that much choice, don't need to go anywhere else in town.
 

ENJOYING SOME BEERS ON HOLIDAY IN THE ALGARVE

We have just come back from a week in the Algarve, Portugal ; staying in between Albufiera and Villamoura. Its the first time back since 1991, and typically, cant remember much about the last time ; although the beer was probably crap. One noticeable thing this time  was the number of Irish bars , but  more on that later.

ABADIA

STOUT

For the last 8 or so years we have holidayed in the Portuguese island of Madiera, so was expecting for the same beer. In Madiera I always enjoy the 5% Superbock Stout, and more recently Superbock Abadia, a magnificent 6.4%  Abbey Beer. 

The Stout is quite rare for a Southern European country. Easy to drink and at only 85 cents a bottle, a no brainer really. The Abadia hasnt been around as long as the stout and is a red coloured beer based on Belgian style . Abadia is Portuguese for Abbey.  Again, 85 cents !

 On finding out the hotel beer was some yellow fizz called Imperial, it was straight down to the supermarket to top up with the Abadia and the Stout. It was great to relax on the room balcony, supping a beer and watching the world go by.

 

THE SO CALLED BREWERY

A trip on the bus to Villamoura, where we stayed in 1991, was revealing. It looked nothing like I thought it would. First there was a huge Marina, and looking for somewhere for a drink, we passed one Irish Bar, then another then another. Finally, I spotted a large pub called The Brewery. This looks better. Was it bollocks !  It was just another Irish Bar and not a brewery , selling Guinness , Heineken, some local stuff and Kilkenny ( no relation). As a form of protest, we had a cup of tea!.

Still, near where we were staying was a great Italian restaurant, Travertinos,  with adjoining bar. As we were having a meal, next door in the bar was some raucous shouting, as a Portuguese league game was on the telly. It was just like being at home. What was unlike being at home was the fact when I walked in to go to the loo, there was no shifty locals staring at a stranger who had just walked in. They just carried on enjoying themselves. Not intimidating like some local boozers at home.

One more thing. Although we went to Travertinos three times we also tried another Italian. It looked busy and had 4 TV screens , all showing footy. As we sat down to order we noticed they all were showing the Newcastle Preston game . I don't know why as no bugger was watching it . Anyhow, the bloody mags won 16-4. ( Will leave you to work that one out ).

So, Madiera in September then.