Categories
Generalisations about beer culture

Small mercies

The only social situation where you’re less likely to find decent beer than a wedding is a work Christmas do.

In the kinds of hotels, chain restaurants and pubs where these things tend to take place, you thank God for small mercies. For example, when faced with three kegged lagers and smooth flow Marston’s Pedigree, kegged Marston’s Oyster Stout is at least something new. And it wasn’t bad with a big roast dinner, either.

At a Mexican restaurant in Covent Garden, where the waiter was desperate to push a ‘bucket of Corona’, there was Negra Modelo: yes, it’s boring, but there’s a ghost of a malt flavour in there, and it’s not skunked. It’s better than water, and certainly better than cheap tequila.

Categories
london pubs

Peculiar Pubs in Mayfair

A couple of weekends back, feeling the need to explore, and craving quaintness, we set out for Mayfair and had a small crawl around Shepherd Market.

First up, Ye Grapes. Yes, it sounds like an exclamation of pain from Nobby’s Piles, but this is a place that aims to lure in guests from nearby hotels, offering the Olde English Pub experience in a neat package. There are even moth-eaten stuffed animals on the walls. There are several solid brown bitters on offer  (London Pride, Doom Bar) plus a couple of seasonal specials.  They have their own house bitter, too, which wasn’t bad, reminding is of Harvey’s Sussex Bitter. If anyone knows any more about this beer, and wishes to embarrass us by revealing it to be rebadged Tesco Value Bitter or something, now’s your chance.

The King’s Head next door was wonderfully cosy — very dark, and with the heating on full blast. It is also one of the ‘new’ Taylor Walker branded punch pubs. Most of the beer was fine (Doombar, Tribute) but only Young’s London Gold really hit the spot.

Finally, the Market Tavern, which is a really peculiar pub. The upstairs bar looked and smelled like an authentic 1960s Soho clip joint. The ale was like flat cola, but it can’t have been helped by the fact it was topped up with some dregs from a glass sitting behind the bar, bold as brass. Classy. No number of “yummy puddings” and fancy cushions can make up for that.

All in all, this crawl was more interesting for eavesdropping on the conversations of rich young people than for the quality of beer.

Categories
pubs

Snow and stout in York

Last time we went to York, in the early days of this blog, Maieb (now Tweeting instead of blogging) told us in no uncertain terms that we really ought to make it to the Maltings. So, a couple of weeks back, finding ourselves nearby, in a heavy snowstorm, frostbite beginning to affect our extremities, we decided finally to take his advice.

It’s a very cosy pub — a place where the bark of passive-aggressive signs is definitely worse than the bite. There is a tongue-in-cheek tone to some of it (“Our staff are not highly trained — please treat them accordingly”) and the service was very friendly. It was standing room only, no doubt in part because of the roaring fire and huge portions of basic, tasty, piping hot old-school pub grub.

On the beer front, the highlight for us was Sawbridgeworth Stout — so thick and chocolatey we wanted churros to dip in it. As well as several cask ales, there was also a really well thought out selection of bottles and, in honour of the season, hot Gluhkriek, perfect for supping while the snow falls outside.

Yes, we are southern softies. It wasn’t really that cold. And this is yet another pub which we are the very last people in Britain to visit…

Categories
beer reviews

A Few More Quick Reviews

Carlow Brewing Company Stout (for Marks and Spencer)

This is a very satisfying stout, with a thick, creamy body, treacly malt taste and soft coffee notes at the end. There are even some slightly grassy, green-tasting hops evident. It’s 4.5% but packs a lot of depth for the strength. Definitely one to sit by the fire (radiator) with as the snow (drizzle) falls outside.

Meantime London Porter (for Marks and Spencer)

Something of a contrast to the Carlow stout — buttery, plasticky — altogether nasty, we’re afraid to report. We tried two bottles and they were both the same. The Fuller’s London Porter with which we washed away the taste was infinitely better.

Viven Imperial Ale

From a Belgian brewing in the American style. Tasty. As you might expect, in-your-face amounts of hops, with a good, balancing syrupy sweetness. What at first seemed to be a hint of Belgian spiciness was actually just from the hops and dissipated a little too quickly. A pinch of spice would have made this really special.

Dogfish Head Festina Peche

A Berliner Weiss fermented with peach juice. Tastes like you might expect — tart, a little thin, hints of peach, but not like drinking cordial, thank God. A lack of aftertaste lets it down, but we suspect it would be pleasant ice cold.

Categories
pubs

Great landlord skills

Yes, cellar-keeping and all that is vitally important, but a good landlord should also be able to handle difficulty punters with aplomb.

We were recently in a country pub on a Saturday night and saw a masterful display of the latter when a party of very young people came into the pub and tried to get served.

The landlord engaged with them, made cheery conversation, but made clear that he thought they were underage and wasn’t comfortable serving them without ID. They had some excellent banter.

PUNTER

I always get this — I’ve got a very young face, but I’m actually at University.

LANDLORD

So, you’ve got a baby face, and it’s a constant problem, but you’ve come out without any ID? You need to get your shit together!

PUNTER

We weren’t planning to come to the pub — we just popped in on impulse.

LANDLORD

Ah, I see — you were just wandering through this tiny village in Somerset on foot, on your way somewhere else, and thought you’d pop into the only pub in the whole place? What year were you born?

PUNTER

[immediately] 1992! We all went to _________ School, and now we’re all at Exeter University, so we’re having a reunion.

LANDLORD

Wow. You’ve really rehearsed that. Er… if you’re all at Exeter University, why do you need to have a reunion? And isn’t it the middle of term?

Pragmatically, he let them stay, serving alcoholic drinks to the two members of the group who could provide ID, and keeping a fairly close eye on them for the rest of the evening.

The whole thing was entirely good natured, when it could easily have been confrontational. Good job, landlord!