ON THE SUBJECT OF SPILLING A PINT.

A couple of nights ago we attended our regular Tuesday night quiz in the Bridge Hotel Durham. Before proceedings began  3 of us ordered 3 pints of Holt's 2 Hoots ( 6 Hoots?). Sitting down with about 10 minutes to the start of the quiz one of the guys tapped his nearly full pint with his fingernail ( or so he claimed). 

I didnt see the actual event as was looking the other way , but suddenly the glass just exploded into multiple fragments. The entire contents flooded across the table like a mini tsunami. None of us got our clothes wet but the floor was a mini lake. The 2 barmaids swiftly and professionally swung into action and soon order was restored. It seemed just like a sniper had taken a potshot from one of the houses opposite. or indeed a reenactment of a scene from Poltergeist or Ghostbusters. Bizarre.

Now everyone usually manages to knock a drink over. I remember last year, again at the quiz night in the same pub , knocking a nearly full glass over and soaking my mate sitting next to me. Unfortunately he was wearing light coloured pants and it looked just like he had pissed himself.

A few years ago at the Great British Beer Festival I was meeting up, as usual, with a group of ex work mates and as I was first there, at around noon, I thought I would treat myself to a bottle of American bottled stout. Called Rogue Shakespeare Stout I would ordinarily have said it was absolutely gorgeous. Sadly not to be. 

I accidentally knocked my glass over and the contents went all over the bar, soaking beer mats, leaflets and a bit of me. The CAMRA volunteer behind just looked at me with some sympathy but never said a word. He must have thought I was pissed but it was to have been the first drink of the day ( honest). The bottle was too expensive to buy another one.

Even Mrs Ken has got in on the act. Returning to USA beers, my favourite is Samuel Adams Boston Lager ** . I had bought 2 bottles in one supermarket and , coming through the checkouts of another supermarket, she took them out of the trolley as we weren't paying for them. The bag slipped through her hand and crashed to the floor. There was no mess, it was all contained in the shopping bag. She has since been banned from carrying my beer.

And finally, for those with a nervous disposition, look away now. Many years ago, when I was a medium  T Shirt size, we were drinking with friends in the Biddick in Washington and I spilled a pint over my mates missus.  A week later we had a small get together at our house , and to stop her moaning on about it , let her pour a pint of my home brew over my head as an act of revenge.

 

   ** To be featured in future posting

A DAY IN ALNWICK

About 4 times a year a group of us, under duress, travel to a local town and partake of a pub crawl. We had been discussing Alnwick, Northumberland for some time. It was always about the getting there. The nearest station is Alnmouth, which is not in Alnmouth and 15 minutes from Alnwick. The trouble was the connection times between train and bus were never coordinated. An executive decision was made to get the bus, a 1 hour 20 minute ride. 

So after a customary breakfast in a Newcastle Wetherspoons ( Five Swans), we all piled onto the bus and sat upstairs at the back like a group of schoolkids.

Now, most of the pubs in Alnwick open at noon. One exception is The Fleece which opens half an hour before the rest. There was a bus stop nearby so it seemed logical to start there. Encouraged by the Cask Marque sign on the wall outside, the pub didn’t disappoint. I had a great pint of Credance Pale  Ale  from  one of the many microbreweries that keep springing up in Northumberland. 

So after a pint and a chat it was round the corner and up a slight hill to the Tanners Arms. This would turn out to be my favourite pub of the day, if only for its sheer quirkiness.

From a distance the pub looked like a large corner house and inside you are met with a small bar counter on the left looking out into a single room. Each table had gold plated legs and in the centre of the room was this strange plant sculpture . 

The toilets are worth a mention. They are entered through two green sliding doors,  for gents and ladies. The gent’s door has a weight attached which returns the door automatically once you are in. Unfortunately there is another door that opens the wrong way into the tiny space behind ; anyone of XL or above struggled.  Once inside there are 3 urinals, with a tight space behind when you are standing doing the business. I would strongly advise if visiting to carry out a risk assessment before entering.

While we were there  one of the beers ran out. Now you have to imagine, behind the bar to the left was a dark opening covered in a black plastic curtain flap. To the right was a long curtain presumably covering a doorway? The barmaid disappeared through the left hand opening into the blackness behind . It looked all the world like she had just entered a ghost train. We were waiting for her to appear, covered in cobwebs,  through the other curtain.

You had to be there.

After some more cracking beers, some from the Scottish Borders ( eg Tempest) it was off to our next on the list,  the John Bull. This award winning pub is a typical back street local with fine beers and a large blackboard listing many international ales . The listed closing time of the pub was 3pm but mine host was not going to throw us thirsty 8 punters out, especially as a couple started on the G&T’s .

I think we left at 4 (?)
 

Taking a shortcut pointed out by a friendly local, we homed in on the Market Tavern.  Despite being family run they play safe with the beers; namely two from Black Sheep and Old Golden Hen. Nothing wrong with the beer quality mind.

One of the discussions we had before the day was getting back. As I have stated , the journey back by bus would be 1 hour 20 minutes. Some concern was expressed about holding it in for that length of time after 6 plus pints. I played safe and took an empty jar, but didn’t need it. Just as well as too many CCTV cameras on the upper deck. So, conscious of the time and the fact there were only 2 more direct buses back to Newcastle that evening , and we were hungry , we adjourned across the market place and ordered  8 ( eight) fish and chips in a sit down café.

Suitably stuffed we, weaved our way over the cobbles to the bus station and our ride back to Newcastle. 

Now  In Newcastle there is a pub called The Junction next to the bus station. Never drank in it , but have used their gents many times. A couple of us stayed back and had another pint. Only after I had paid I noticed the 10% discount sign for CAMRA members. Bastard, it happens to me every time.

GLASGOW PUB SCENE AND A LARGE ICE CREAM

Last weekend was Mrs Ken's birthday so we had a two nights in Glasgow to celebrate. We met up with our daughter and the 3 of us  had a great time eating and drinking in a great city.

Now I have read a lot about pub closures and the fact that more breweries are springing up with less pubs to sell their beer to. Well tell that to the Glaswegians !!  The place was heaving.

I have had recommended by a CAMRA mate that Drygate Brewery is worth a look. This restaurant, bar and microbrewery is a joint venture between Williams Brothers Brewery and  Tennants Brewery just east of the city centre., and is co-located with Tennants. Walking along Duke Street to find it ( it was just before  sunset) you smell it before you see it.   

 The place was heaving but luckily we had a table booked for a meal . It was noticeable that most of the beer was keg or cans, there being only 2 handpulls. I was a bit disappointed with the beer quaility, being a bit lukewarm. You would think with it being brewed on the premises it would be better.

One side of the restaurant is a glass wall looking into the brewery. There was this hirsute bloke rushing around between fermentation vessels , presumably looking busy for the benefit of the few watching punters.

Job Description :-

• Grow a beard

• Look Busy.

Anyhow, they had a shop and I was struck by the number of cans on sale. Approaching the quantity of bottles.The next big thing? Most were Scottish brews but there was one bottle of Wylam Haxan,  who's new brewery could be modeled on Drygate.,

After the meal ( fish and chips) it was back into town and a pub in the Good Beer Guide, Babbity Bowster.

What ? Ed 

 Babbity Bowster is a old Scottish country dance.  This place was fairly busy as well so after a pint of Fyne Ales Jarl it was round the corner to the best pub of the night ; Blackfriars. This was also busy. There was a large blackboard which features a map showing location of all breweries that supply the pub. I had a superb pint of  Crouch Vale Brewers Gold which capped a great night. I also found this interesting quote on the menu which made me smile :-

 

Food interlude.

We have never visited the Ayrshire coast and our Glasgow based daughter suggested an Ice Cream Parlour in Largs which sold fantastic ice cream sundaes. So a drive across country to Troon, then  north to Largs. This is what we ate ; a Hot Fudge Volcano ( with 3 spoons). Truly excellent. ( PS cost nearly £15)

After a pleasant drive up the coast it was back into Glasgow for another night on the beer.

Back on the beer.

The pub we visit most on our now regular visits is Bon Accord, with an excellent range of beers and food. However one of the barmen failed one of my "mystery shopper" tests. There were 2 sets of handpulls with a chalkboard behind the bar in between, One of the beers I liked the look of, as it was the strongest, was called Red Rocker at 5%. I asked who brewed it as the handpull was at the other end of the bar. He had to and have a look at the pump clip. Should have known it was Cromarty.

This pub was also ticking over with most punters watching Scotland playing Lithuania ( 1-1).  We left the disgruntled fans when Lithuania took the lead and headed for our last pub, a Wetherspoons called Henglers Circus on Sauchihall Street . This place was heaving ( I believe the term is now rammed) with only one spare table. Loads of handpulls and I was pleased to find one of my favourite Scottish beers ; Broughton Old Jock. At  6.7% this is a sweetish fruity old ale and is fantastic in cask or bottled form.

So some great pubs and beers ; some better than others but what a great weekend, especially if you like chocolate ice cream. 

 

SUNDERLAND OCTOBERFEST 2016.

The Sunderland Octoberfest is currently underway so here are some notes on what has happened so far. 

The first day of set up was Monday ; I was on my way back from a holiday in Madiera so missed all the hard graft -  loading all the bar racking and other assorted heavy stuff from  our lockup into the venue, the Bonded Warehouse near the Sunderland Fish Quay. The beers, ciders and festival glasses had all been delivered last week to Maxim Brewery for safe keeping. ( thanks guys !). So....

Part 1 - Tuesday set up day.

Tuesday 4th October , bright and early. Correction, not bright but early. I'm waiting to be picked up in a hired van to collect the beers etc from Maxim Brewery - time for me to do some work !

While waiting to be picked up, time to reflect on the holiday week, having returned the previous evening. 7 days of heat lazing in the sun. And , no sign of any "Craft Beers or Black IPAs anywhere".

Anyhow,  we had to do 2 trips from the brewery and while this to- ing and fro- ing was going on the bar racking and bar front were being installed in the venue. 

Also available were some large brewery banners from Maxim and Camerons, two of our sponsors. The Camerons banner was huge and at various stages throughout the day some of the guys made many aborted attempts to find somewhere to hang it. The warehouse has a small paved area at the back with a high fence so,  at last a home for the banner !. ( see photo) . I have heard that since it went up it could be seen from the International Space Station !

There are many things that need doing to get a festival ready, some of which has already been mentioned. There is also the technical stuff ; installing the beer lines, connecting the chillers, and fixing the handpulls to the bar. While all this was happening, two of us were tidying up the  waterproof sheeting that covered the bar top and front. Yours truly, wearing a fetching pair of knee pads, demonstrated his skills trimming the plastic so it was less of a tripping hazard and to make it aesthetically pleasing. Although looking back, I guess the punters would be more interested at looking at the pump clips than what the bar looked like. 

Tuesday ended with all beer set up , connected to handpulls, nicely polished with their pump clips ready for Thursday and the Grand Opening.

Part 2 - Thursday and the Grand Opening.   

This would be my last day at the festival as a family weekend was planned in Glasgow. Difficult decision, beer festival or some great real ale pubs in Glasgow.

What I like about working at a beer festival, as well as being part of a team that helped set it up, is meeting the punters that come to enjoy some great beers.

27 beers and 6 ciders and perry's were on offer. Soon after opening one guy came straight across to pump number one ( Arbier Renaissance ) and boldly stated he was going to work his way along all the beers. In a way he was the perfect customer because I could work out from behind the bar which beer he was going to have next.

Unfortunately, after number 9 , ( half pints ) he lost his place and couldn't remember where he was up to- neither could I but we had an educated guess . Soon after that I never saw him again -  he may have dozed off somewhere  ; although he did say he was coming back on Saturday - let's hope they didn't run out for him.
 

Sometimes at festivals I have the odd cider, and believe me there was definitely something odd about the one I tried ;Beetroot and Orange. ( pictured). It smelt like a Beetroot sandwich and tasted , well of Beetroot juice. I couldn't detect any orange or any cider either! It was bloody awful.
There' s that term "craft" again ! - ed 





So, in between pulling beers, and drinking them, I had a great time and the 5 hour session just flew by. My favourite beer I hadn't had before was Maxim - Maximum Speed and favourite beer I had had before was Elland 1872 Porter.

Already looking forward to next year.

Next issue - food and drink in Glasgow 

A PUB CLOSES THEN REOPENS - THE SANDPIPER

I read recently that the number of weekly pub closures had slowed to 21 a week over the last 6 months. Welcome news but I have noticed a spate of recent local closures , one of which used to be my old watering hole.

In the 1980's my local was the Sandpiper in Washington, mainly because I was 5 minutes walk away. I don't recall if real ale was available at that time but I used to drink there at least twice a week. 

Later, when real ale made an appearance,  a Tuesday night quiz was always popular , although we were crap and hardly ever won anything. Half time featured a plate of roast potatoes ( between six of us!) . Worked at about 2 each.

I recall we had New Years fancy dress party at our house ( 1981 or 82) , so we started in the Sandpiper. One of my mates, covered in green paint and his clothes in shreds, came as the Incredible Hulk**  Having had to much to drink, he leaps on one of the tables as midnight approaches  , shouting and gesticulating. The Landlord was not pleased " Get down off that table or get out" Miserable sod.

After the party, we offered to let him stay the night. Big mistake - the sheets in the bed were all green and there were green hand marks on the staircase wallpaper when he left the next morning . We vowed  - no more Incredible Hulk guests. 

Back to the beer. At one time up to 4 handpulls were in use and the pub was one of the few to sell it at that time ( end of 80s ). Most of it was from the Greene King stable. 
 
In the last 2 or 3 years , the real ale had been hit and miss with less and less handpulls in use  .   The local CAMRA branch published a Washington  pub crawl leaflet in 2014 and included the Sandpiper. One reader commented to the branch magazine editor " The pubs only redeeming feature was the bus stop used on the way out ".

At the turn of the year they stopped selling real ale and the doors closed in July. It was then reported a new tenant had been found and sure enough , the pub reopened about 2 weeks ago and real ale is back on - Greene King Old Golden Hen. The Landlady assured me when I visited there would always be a real ale on.  Lets hope so  

**For those remotely interested I went as the Kenny Everett character Marcel Wave  

HERITAGE OPEN DAYS

For a few years now Heritage Open Days have taken place in England which allow locals to look around a variety of places for free. This year I visited a few places ( some with Mrs Ken !) I hadn't been to before.

The first of note beer-wise was the Darwin Brewery Open Day; where I HAD been before. It stated in the  Heritage booklet issued about the events " A tutored tasting event " Good enough for me, and I suspect the two dozen others that showed up. It was interesting that during talk, focusing on the historical aspect of the regions beers , after every question  " would you like to try some of this beer  ?" came a chorus of "yes". The same reply after the 2nd such question, and again after the third. People are so predictable, including yours truly.

As well as the welcome sampling, there was a fascinating presentation charting the history of their Flag Porter beer. I had seen it before the previous year , but it was still good to see it again. It must be one of the few beers in the UK that has such an interesting  history. ( see picture ) Their bar was open where I enjoyed a pint of Evolution then bought 3 bottles of the Porter for £5. A bargain, and in a gift pack!

So that was the Saturday ; on the Sunday just gone Mrs Ken and I had a trip to Durham Castle. This is used mainly as student accommodation for the University so wasn't expecting anything to do with beer. Wandering around the halls and galleries , I noticed a laminate about the visit to Durham of King James I                                                                                        

( See bottom of picture left). This tells the wonderful story  that the king bollocked the bishop for serving weak beer. It so stressed him out he pegged it 3 days later. 

I'm just wondering if this was the forerunner of Greene King IPA ?

Another surprise, that same day after we headed south from Durham, was the Head of Steam Railway Museum in Darlington. 

Walking into the reception ,my radar picked up a shelf full of beer bottles. Brewed by a newish brewery from Newton Aycliffe just up the road, Steam Machine had 8 styles of beer on offer, all for £2.50. Naturally I went for the strong dark ones, namely :-

New Age Brown - 6.5%

Smoked Porter 7.2%

Treacle Toffee Stout 10%

Ive not tried them yet and would probably be incapable of speech or typing if I did. I cant help thinking, however  if these beers had been around at the time of James I visit to Durham, the poor bishop may have lived a little bit longer.

BEER FESTIVAL HEALTH AND SAFETY AND AN INTERESTING PLACE FOR A BREWERY

You know those combined tables and benches you find in picnic areas, pub gardens and some beer festivals. As you know in most cases the benches are joined to the tables.

 Well over the weekend just gone Mrs Ken and myself visited the Berwick Food and Beer Festival for the first time.  Held in a large marquee outside the old barracks, the place was heaving when we arrived but luckily found some empty seats, sorry benches. Real Ale was supplied by mostly Northumberland and Scottish Borders Breweries such as Bear Claw, Born in the Borders and Hetton Law. They each had their own bar with 3 - 4 handpulls each. Beer was served in plastic glasses. 

There were dozens of the aforesaid tables, but unfortunately  the benches weren't  fixed. This had the amusing result of ; if one person was on one end, and another at the other; and if one stood up, the poor individual at the other end invariably nearly slid off the end. One poor sod sat down and his bench collapsed, spilling his pint dangerously close to yours truly. You know when spilt beer is coming towards you and you try to get out the way.

Still, along with the local beers, the music and the hogroast, it made for an entertaining afternoon.    

On Sunday we had a day in Edinburgh then on our way home on the Monday we decided, as the tide was out, to cross the causeway to Holy Island. The  main reason for the detour was to visit Lindisfarne Castle. Unfortunately it was closed for a wedding. All I have to say about this is I hope the speeches overran and they were stranded on the island when the tide came in.

Anyhow, I had heard that a new brewery called Beacon Brauhaus had been set up in a coffee bar called Pilgrims. Curious to learn more we battled through all the bloody tourists into the cafe & I managed to have a quick chat with one of the busy servers, who was very patient with me.

Apparently the beer, which  is only in bottled form for now, is brewed in the cafes kitchen ! It is to be hoped to move into a shed later, with real ale following next year. The unfiltered beer is only sold in the cafe and in a farm shop in Belford on the mainland. 

 The Beers on sale were Loss of Signal ( blonde), Lady Eleanor ( Elderflower Pale Ale) and Night Crawler , a porter which I bought.. At £3.80 a bottle - a bit pricey but obviously aimed at the tourists.

As we left the island before the tide rushed in I thought, bugger Ive forgotten to ask what the brewery name means, then I figured it out. Brauhaus is German for Brewery and the name Beacon comes from the 2 old obelisk shaped lighthouses you can see from most of the island. ( probably great from the top of the castle ha ha). Still not sure why use a German name but I'm sure all will becomes clear at some point.