THE PEOPLE YOU MEET AT A BEER FESTIVAL

Yesterday Mrs Ken and I attended the CAMRA Winter Beer Festival in Birmingham. Arriving in New Street Station, which is basically a huge shopping mall with platforms underneath. We caught a bus to the venue which is next to Hockley Circus. Slightly disappointed there was no big top or a trapeze, just a roundabout underneath a dual carriageway.  

The venue, New Bingley hall, was 2 minutes walk, between there and the bus stop were two obstacles. One was a guy outside the gates of the car park in front of the hall who greeted us with a cheery, shook my hand and called Mrs Ken "Daisy" I thought he was CAMRA, turns out he was trying to flog a joke book. Told him politely where to put his book, then headed to the entrance, to be greeted by a CAMRA volunteer in a Hi Vis Jacket. 

"You a member?" 

" Yes I am" 

" Is your good lady/"  

I looked round till I realised he was on about the Mrs. 

" No, not worth it the amount she drinks". He kept banging on about benefits etc, I just wanted to get inside and have a beer.

Giving him the slip, we picked our tokens, glass and programme and met up with others we know who had grabbed a long table. At the end where we sat there were 2 chaps not known to us and not part of our group.

One, sitting opposite, never spoke or smiled. He just drank his beer and tried to read his kindle. At one point he fell asleep. The other chap was what turned out to be a champion beer ticker. He had a huge ring binder on the table full of notes of what he had drunk, presumably for years. In a holdall on the floor, which I kept standing on every time a got up,  was another ring binder. So he dutifully, checked the programme, his notes then toddled off to get his next drink so he could tick it off. He then underlined each beer in his dogeared 2020 Good Beer Guide.

After half an hour another one of my mates wandered in. He lives near Birmingham but is from the North East. The guy in the Hi Vis outside picked up on his accent and mentioned that I was already in, along with "this short bird with the sunglasses"! Mrs Ken! She's got a new nickname now!

Anyhow about the beers. I tried the champion beer - Fixed Wheel Blackheath Stout. It was OK. I also tried the CAMRA Champion Bottled Beer ( in cask form) , Thornbridge St Petersberg Imperial Russian Stout...again it was OK.  My taste buds must be deteriorating

with age.

The best pump clip was this, brewed in Darlington:-

You should know this name is associated  with the film "Deliverance"

After over 5 hours of drinking it was time to head back the station and our trip home. A long day but a chance to meet up with friends and Mrs friends I only see about once a year.

A quick note about the beer tokens, they had this crap system where a card had a value of £10. When you get a drink they cross of the value. You will note my final card had 60p left. Might get away with it in Wetherspoons but not a beer festival. I gave the card away.

One final thing, spotted this in the Gents:- Didn't have a clue why till someone said some of the local muslims use the venue and presumably wash their feet.

    

DRINKING OUT OF A HORN ON HOLIDAY..

Mrs Ken and I have just returned from a weeks holiday in Lanzarote. Before we left I spotted on Facebook mention of "Roscoe's Beer House" on the aforesaid island - in the resort of Playa Blanca. "That looks interesting" I exclaimed ! It was  an hour's walk from our hotel. Mrs Ken was less excited but agreed on Day 3 to accompany me along the promenade to Playa Blanca town centre.

Passing several cafes with San Miguel and other shite beer signs, we found the pub/ cafe in the town's pedestrianised area. The place was festooned with signs and bottles , principally Belgian in origin, which was no bad thing. Mind you, there was also a Brewdog sign, but ignored it.

I love strong dark beers so perused the menu and spotted one of interest. La Corne Black at 8%. Mrs Ken ordered a cider and the owner - Roscoe - scuttled off into his store cupboard and appeared with a few bottles. Soon the beer arrives, along with what can only be described as a glass horn in a wooden holder. WTF?

 

He pours the beer into the glass horn , showed me how to hold its holder to stop me getting beer all over myself and left us to it. The beer is described in the menu as as having chocolate, caramel and coffee notes, followed by plum, blackberry and red fruits aftertaste. Spot on. 

I had to drink it slowly to prevent any backwash . What other customers must have thought of this idiot near the back of the pub swigging his beer like that. The price was 6 euros, which wasn't bad considering the uniqueness of the dispensing method. 

I carried out some research when we returned home. The brewery is called Ebly located in the Luxembourg part of Belgium. Their beers brand name is La Corne Du Bois Despendus, of which the Black is one, Roscoe also sold three other styles. 

I spotted a description of the glass on tinternet... "The drinking horn is the ancestor of the modern glass. Let this glass transport you back in time. It's the perfect excuse to dress up as a Viking, or Asterix and Obelix". Not sure that would be apt or practical in Lanzarote    

Looking round the bar near us was what I would all a beer

bottle tree. A few people called in (it was lunch time) but just had coffees or cokes - no beers.

Towards the end of the drink from the horn   it was like staring into a tunnel entrance, watching the beer slowly flow round the bend at the end of the horn.

The bar opened at the end of 2018 and I wish   Roscoe success in his venture, an oasis in a street of  tourist bars.

Satisfied we set off back to the hotel, the H10 Rubicon. They had a great selection of bottled beers in the lounge fridge, all by Damm Brewery of Barcelona. There was very pleasant AK Damm,  an Alsatian style beer ( that would be German state and not a dog) ,  a tasty gluten free lager called Daura and top of the list, a 7.4 double malt called Voll-Damm . Voll in the German for full, which it certainly was.

It was a bit depressing that most hotel guests were drinking the standard Spanish yellow piss, which they always drink without realising some little gems were available.

I can imagine a UK bottle shop selling some and a customer saying - Gimme a Damm Beer!

KEN'S REVIEW OF 2019

This is the time of year when TV and newspapers look back over the year.

So here are my beer related awards for 2019.

The Dry January Award My Arse Award

Awarded to whoever came up with this idea. Its as bad as Sober October. A mate of mine fell for that October one so I celebrated "Can't Remember November".

The David Crosby Look Alike Award

Remember David Crosby, as in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young ? Well in May I was fortunate to attend the SIBA North East Judging at Gateshead Rugby Club Beer Festival. With much sampling and judging to do in the club bar, during a break two of us adjourned into the beer festival bar and discovered one of the guys serving was the double of David Crosby. He has grown his hair and his trademark handlebar moustache to look just like him

Spoke in a Geordie accent, which ruined the effect somewhat. 




The Best Pub With Its Own Bus Stop Award

 For a week long holiday in 2019 we stayed in an airbnb in Porthmadog, North Wales. This small town, as well as featuring the Festiniog Railway has a brewer called Purple Moose. The brewery is hidden in a back street but they have a bottle shop and a brewery tap, called The Australia, both in the main street..

The pub sells all of the breweries range of beers, including Dark Side of The Moose - an excellent dark beer. Outside the pub is a bus stop. The timetable reads " Porthmadog - Australia". Apparently some locals ( I'm not making this up), when getting on the bus say " Single to Australia please".  That's a hell of a bus ride !

Best Pub Lunch Award 

Usually when I have a meal in a pub, sometime after Ive forgotten what Ive had. So this accolade is awarded for a meal I will remember for a long time. Mrs Ken and I spent a few nights in Beverley in East Yorkshire. We were looking at some stalls in the Market Place with rain looking imminent ( and I was hungry) so we dived into the Dog & Duck for lunch. The pub is family run so no corporate menu to wade through. No pay up front either, I had a tab. Table number ? No chance ! 

There were a few simple choices so I went for Giant Yorkshire pud filled with sausages, potatoes, carrots and onion gravy. Fantastic. I forget how much but it was very good value. Nothing comes close this year.

Best Contrast in Technology Award

On a pub crawl of Weardale with some mates, we visited the Black Bull in Frosterley. Best pub of the day ( see next award).  The pub had stone flag floors and loads of antique bits and pieces all over the place, including an old telephone. I was struck by the image ( see photo ) of this with the chef on his mobile in the kitchen. Great pub.

Best Stag Do Award 

On the same pub crawl our last pub in Weardale was in Wolsingham - The Black Lion. Follow the link to see what happened

https://kensbeerblog.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-quiet-afternoon-in-country-pub-no.html      

Best beer at the Great British Beer Festival ( GBBF) I hadnt tried before award

I have been going to GBBF for a number of years and there is usually a stand out beer I have not had before. So Er...struggling with this one. Was looking forward to Maxim Raspberry Porter but it had sold out ! 

Still, the CAMRA Winter Beer Festival in Feb 2020 has  moved to Birmingham, so have got my train tickets already. 

Ive been to a couple before ( both Manchester) so I know to expect plenty of strong dark beers. Should be good .

Micropubs visited

Not an award as such, just the recognition of a continuing trend in new micropubs, while some larger pubs struggle.

Station House -  Durham
Firkin Alley - Barnard Castle
Sun Inn - Beamish Museum ( well it is small, no TV, no music)
ORB- Darlington
The Office- Morpeth
Dog & Rabbit - Whitley Bay
Chequers - Beverley
Fram Ferment - Framwellgate Moor
Split Chimp - Newcastle   
Lighthouse - Sunderland
 

PUB REVIEW - THE LIGHTHOUSE IN FULWELL SUNDERLAND

Yesterday I had a strange sense of deja vu. I was being looked at through a pub window and I thought to myself, that's happened to me before this month. It was in a micropub then and I'm in another one now.! More later.

So the micropub I was in yesterday is Sunderland's first. Called The Lighthouse, its located in a former coffee shop called Bojangles. Maxim Brewery employee Sean has finally fulfilled a dream and opened this pub in Sea Road Fulwell. Its located near a busy crossroads junction next to a DIY store and amongst small shops, fast food outlets and a national North East bakery chain that sells amongst other things, vegan sausage rolls..

This opening is the culmination of nearly a year of planning, bureaucracy and red tape endured by both Sean and Maxim Brewery, for whom he will continue to work as a delivery driver for now ( Busy lad !)

I met with a few fellow CAMRA members yesterday for a first experience. It was a typical dull overcast shortest day of the year. It took me two buses and ninety minutes to get there. Several buses stop nearby from Sunderland and South Shields. When they not on strike, there is Metro station about ten minutes walk away. One of the guys I was with said , on finding out about my journey, that he lived two minutes walk away ; I really could have done without that snippet of information!

So, whats the pub like? Well it has retained some of the features of the cafe, including some furniture , the slate tiled floor and the white tiled right hand wall as you walk in. What is new is the bar itself. 

There are three handpulls and three keg fonts.On day one there was three Maxim real ales  Double Maxim, Hapi Christmas and Winter Tipple. The former will feature all of the time, alongside a Maxim monthly special and a local guest. As the brewery release a special, they are snapped up and sell out pretty quickly. So I reckon this is place to go to find one. I'm thinking ahead to the spring of 2020 when Sour Cherry & Chocolate Stout makes it's debut. This will be one place to find it.

The keg beer was Lighthouse craft, Samson Smooth and Scorpion Lager.There is a bottle/can fridge and a range of spirits and soft drinks. 

The pub has a small outdoor drinking area at the back which looks like it will be a suntrap in the summer.

As you can see from the photo of the front of the pub above , it mostly comprises of a large glass window. I was standing facing this and noticed mostly shoppers walking past. Every so often someone would stop and peer inside through the steamed up window. Some almost walked past then screeched to a halt, then did a double take. I could almost read their minds    " that's been closed for ages, it's open !"

Observing this reminded me of another such new venture I was in one at the beginning of December in Framwellgate Moor, Durham City :- The Fram Ferment Bottle Shop and Taproom. This was a former NHS clinic and again, people were stopping, having a look through the window and having a nosey, then either staying or moving on. Deja vu you see.

One more thing about the decor, he has really gone to town on the Xmas decorations. To the left is it !

So , a great new addition to the drinking scene in Sunderland. Despite there being no cellar the beer is well kept and at the right temperature, And at £2.80 a pint for cask ale, good value. I would recommend a visit.

See Whatpub for pub details and a map. Whatpub Lighthouse.

CAMRA ANGLE 58

The Winter edition of CAMRA Angle , the quarterly magazine of the Sunderland and South Tyneside branch of CAMRA, has  just been published. Copies will be distributed to real ale pubs throughout the area , and beyond from the end of the coming week. As usual , this is another full issue and well worth a read. 

The front cover highlights the success of our recent Sunderland Beer & Cider Festival. A full report can be found in the centre pages.


There is  news of the Pub of the Year presentation at the Grey Horse in Consett  and the start of voting for the 2020 Pub of the Year. 

There are articles about Hebburn, Weardale and Soho, London and news from Ryhope , along with a couple of book reviews and an interesting night  at Darwin Brewery. Plus some tantalising snippets of news in the pub news section which should be of interest. And much much more.

An ideal Xmas gift so click on this link to download the magazine.

CAMRA ANGLE ISSUE 58

RAMNA -Never heard of them !

This is a conversation that took place the other week in a small pub in South Shields. 

Participants :-

Branch Membership Secretary (BMS)
Lady Behind Bar (LBB)
Customer at bar (CAB)

BMS - On entering pub - " Hello love, Ive just popped in to deliver some CAMRA membership forms as I see you sell real ale" 

LBB - "RAMNA - never heard of it, and anyway I do my own thing"

BMS - " No its, CAMRA - the Campaign For Real Ale- we've been around since 1971"

LBB - " Well Ive been here for 20 years and Ive never heard of PAMNA"

CAB -" Its bloody CAMRA - you know when you put the Plum Porter on and we all get p***ed"

LBB - " Oh I dont know, whats in it for me?"

BMS -" We are just trying to drum up a bit more business and you are on our Whatpub website"

LBB - "What pub, this pub ? Oh give them here.

CAB - "Mate, I'd have a pint if I were you"   

The odd thing is, this pub gets CAMRA branch magazines dropped off every 3 months..Bizarre.

AN OLD STORY FROM THE DUN COW

As it was a miserable rainy day yesterday I decided to have a drive and and survey some of the pubs in our branch. The final port of call was to belatedly drop some CAMRA magazines off at the Dun Cow Seaton, near Seaham. Sipping a very pleasant half of Black Sheep  bitter I got chatting to the manager. So we discussed pubs and beer and CAMRA, then I happened to mention this :-

" Last time I was here I was with some mates, it was a nice sunny day and we sat in the beer garden and one of the picnic tables went over, soaking one of the guys"

He said " Yes, I remember that, I was watching at the upstairs window and I was absolutely pissing myself, especially when your mate started taking his wet clothes off!"

 Anyhow, I posted a blog at the time, so here it is again.:-


The Dun Cow in Seaton Village is tucked away in a quiet cul de sac. Four handpulls and a large sunny garden with picnic tables greeted us. Ordering some Oakham JHB and a Guinness, the 6 of us headed for the ( as it turned out) most unstable table in the garden. 

Two were sitting opposite me ( so combined weight was greater than mine.) Someone said, "move along so we can all get on", so I dutifully stood up to move sideways. The opposite side of the bench was now heavier than my side, and being on slightly unstable ground, this resulted in a slight tilt towards the heavy side. 4 pints of nearly full glasses went flying , tipping most of the contents over one of the other two opposite. 

We were too busy laughing to offer any sympathy as the drowned rat proceeded to strip off his jeans to dry on a wall. 

I took the empty glasses back into the bar and relayed our incident to the barmaid. She said " Oh yes, I know which table you mean, that's happened before !"  We got free replacement drinks. So no profit for the Dun Cow from us then !