We’ve just returned from a week in Cornwall, in the far south west of England, so expect a few posts in the coming days on our beery adventures around St Ives.
We got the week off to a good start on the train from London last Saturday with a few bottles of Marks and Spencer’s relatively new Cornish IPA.
We were pleased to see that the supermarket chain are now crediting the brewers of their own-brand bottle-conditioned beers on the labels (we beer geeks like to know where our booze is coming from) and that this is a product of St Austell.
We guessed it would be a rebadge of their brilliant bottle conditioned Proper Job, but it’s not. It’s weaker (5% as opposed to 5.6%) and also has a lighter body and drier finish. It’s much closer, in fact, to cask conditioned Proper Job. We thought it was delicious. One of the best bottled beers we’ve had in a long while.
Thanks, St Austell and M&S, for a great start to our break.
9 replies on “Cornwall and beer on the train”
I love Cornwall and have spent a lot of time on the moors there and hiking to sites like the Merry Maidens, etc.– but I haven’t had a lot of beer! I can’t wait to hear about your adventures. (And take some notes for an inevitable future trip!)
We’ve not been much in the past. I’m currently trying to analyse what it was about Cornwall that made me feel so entirely relaxed. Almost total silence, the vast Atlantic Ocean and monumental cliffsides seem to be the answer. How am I going to find that in London when I’m feeling stressed?
In total agreement about that Cornish IPA from M&S – it’s lovely stuff. I’m also a fan of their Buckinghamshire Ale – which is rebadged Grumpling from Vale Brewery, one of my local favourites.
I eagerly await this weeks posts. The wife and I are off to St Ives for an extended break this Friday. It’s nice that someone has done the legwork and research for us!
“I’m currently trying to analyse what it was about Cornwall that made me feel so entirely relaxed.”
Your answer here: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2009/01/04/how_the_city_hurts_your_brain/
In essence, in a city your brain becomes overwhelmed with trivial stimuli causing an inability to focus and relax.
By the way, this is a different Tim from above. We should distinguish each other somehow.
A trip to M&S might be in order! And I’m really in the mood for being by the sea now.
Hmm. Multiple Tims. And my brother is called Tim, too, just to add to the confusion.
I should say to Beerdiary Tim that St Ives is not a great beer destination, so don’t expect a lot. It is, however, a great cream tea and crab sandwich destination! So lots to look forward to.
Mark — let us know what you think. Maybe our very good mood influenced our judgement…?
St Ives isn’t brilliant for beer choice but a good word for the Castle in the main street. Always has at least one Skinners on – we caught the rarely available Green Hop last autumn – and the Cornish Knocker was spot on. Avoid the Union next door – the Betty Stoggs was rank.
The Lifeboat down on the quay is reliable for St Austell (although sadly no Proper Job) but a bit too open-plan and food-driven for our liking. Best pub is probably the Sloop – the right hand bar – but you’re usually limited to Doom Bar which is Ok as far as it goes but we think is rather overrated.
Hello, Armadillo. We did pop into the Castle and though it was the best of the pubs we tried. We are also coming to the view that Doom Bar is only very occasionally any good at all.