Lots of Sam's

One of the things you can do on the background system to CAMRA's WhatPub, if you have the right permissions, is download all the data for your own CAMRA Branch area.  I gave it a go and did some number crunching, though I am fairly hobbled by being pretty unaccomplished at Excel.

Now I expected a lot of JW Lees and there is. They have a total of 86 of their pubs in our area.  What fascinated me though was the number of Sam Smith's pubs we have. No less than 30, most of which, if not all, must have been acquired by Sam's when they bought Rochdale and Manor Brewery in 1948 and closed it in 1968, though it continued to be a Sam's Depot until the seventies. (Funnily enough one of my friends from the Tavern worked at the brewery itself). I reckon we (Rochdale, Oldham and Bury Branch) must have one of  best concentrations of Sam's pubs in any CAMRA Branch area.  In fact our geographical area may well be the top one in the country, depending of course on how you choose to define such things.

Now like Mudgie I have quite a fascination for Sam's though unlike that esteemed commentator, I spend little time in them, apart from when in London and I want a cheaper pint - or just a good old fashioned boozer.  I have though met Humphrey Smith and briefly exchanged pleasantries with him - well I was pleasant and he was sarcastic - but it all counts.

Sadly though we have 30 Sam's pubs, only 4 sell real ale, which is a great pity, but the brewery is very careful about which pubs get cask. Too careful some might say and something we, CAMRA, must talk about. In fact it was querying the removal of cask from the Yew Tree that my odd encounter with Humph occurred, but I digress. It seems though to me that a bit of fun can be had by visiting the remaining Sam's pubs I haven't been to. After all they are mostly handy enough.

I'll let you know how I get on. It might take me a while though. I really don't get out enough.

I must write up my Christmas tour of a few London Sam's pubs at Christmas. I'm a bit behind on that one.

Trip Advisor has interesting reviews of the food at the Yew Tree. You can pick out Humphrey's failed centralising the food experiment easily enough. 

Sam's Again!

For a man that shuns publicity, Humphrey Smith, Managing Director of Sam Smith's Tadcaster Brewery, doesn't half manage to attract it. Some will recall his spat over the use of the Yorkshire Rose with Cropton Brewery and others may remember another ding dong with a licensee who was locked in the accommodation part of his pub following a dispute with the brewery and had to hire scaffolding to exit and enter via his bedroom window. All great knockabout stuff.

I am grateful to one of my CAMRA members for alerting me to yet another exhibition of oddballery. It seems Humphrey himself, to quote the dear old Oldham Chronicle turned up at a local Royton pub on New Year's Eve and closed it down pronto. "Staff and customers were stunned when one of the multi-millionaire owners of Samuel Smith’s Brewery (Humphrey) walked in and shut down Royton’s Junction Inn at 8.30pm on New Year’s Eve." According to the Chron, this was the culmination of a row over full measure pints. That is serving them, not for not doing so.  Sam's, (as I observed last night by reading the brewery signs on the wall in a different Sam's pub,) have a policy of serving 95% liquid and a creamy head and offer requests for a top up only  if spillage over the glass can be avoided. Given that most Sam's pubs offer nitrokeg beer, that might be tricky. In my case I was given a pint of Dark Mild with an inch and a half of head and a half pint glass with a smidgin of beer which I could then use to top up at my leisure. I won't name the pub though, in case Humph takes the hump and knocks on their door too.

It seems though this is the nub of the problem in the Junction, though of course there may be more to it than meets the eye. Things aren't always what they seem. I can't put Sam's side of the story though. The Chron obligingly tells you why: "The Chronicle contacted Mr Smith yesterday who said “we have nothing to say” before hanging up.

The wonderful Oldham Chronicle has the story in full.

 My pint of 3% smooth mild cost me £1.19 last night. Yes. £1.19.  If that is being achieved though by causing ructions with licensees, I'd rather pay a few pence more. Just a thought. 

A Small Comparison

I had the chance to compare three widely spoken about beers last week, though not all at the same time.  First was Marble Dobber which I have already mentioned was voted Champion Beer of Greater Manchester last Friday.  This is a terrific beer for the hophead. It is intensely, resinously, bitter, but by no means one dimensionally so. I guess it has a progressive and complex hopping regime. given that it grows in hoppiness throughout, to a lip smackingly resinous and lasting finish.  It drinks all too easily for its 5.9% strength and deserves the often used, but easily understandable descriptor, "dangerously drinkable". 

I was advised in advance the the Waterhouse had Jaipur IPA - also 5.9%, coming on, as one of my co-workers at MFDF had supplied a pumpclip for it. I took Eileen with me on Saturday and after fighting our way through good natured cider and lager drinking Rugby League fans from Leeds and St Helens, in town for the big match, a pint and a half was procured.  As always this beer wasn't clear. I have come to the conclusion that this must be deliberate. I have never had a clear pint of it, not even at Thornbridge Hall.  "You don't drink with your eyes" I hear some cry. Well, effectively you do.  Appearance is most certainly part of a beer's appeal - ask anyone who has judged beer - and to me this just doesn't look the part.  I have to say it didn't live up to its hype and again, with the exception of a few good pints, to me it rarely does.  Sure it had bitterness, but this fought against the sheer underlying sweetness of the beer. There was some citrus from the C hops, but overall it underwhelmed.  The finish was sweet too and faded almost immediately.

A new discovery for me is the M&B run Wellington, which along with its companion pub, Sam Smith's Sinclair's Oyster Bar, has peripatetically shuffled round Manchester City Centre. I say new, as I haven't been in it since its second move from Shambles Square.  A tip from a fellow CAMRA member took me in there in Thursday. I was impressed by the beer quality, so took the discerning E for a visit.  On the bar was the 4.9% Brew Dog 77 Lager.  It had to be ordered, as I see cask Brew Dog all too rarely.  Firstly it was a much darker beer than I expected. It was well conditioned, full bodied and rather malty with developing bitterness, through to a decent bitter finish. It didn't seem to me to have many lager characteristics at all and I wonder if there are slightly - or even completely - different versions brewed for cask and bottle?

So conclusions? Well none of this is scientific, but my feeling is that in their quiet understated way, Marble are producing spectacularly good beers and while keeping a low profile, are going from strength to strength.  That's fine as it's local to me. The others? Well, on this showing, Jaipur didn't come out too well, but so many people rate it so highly, I keep trying it whenever I see it, in the hope of being converted.  I'd like to try another somewhere else, as I would with Brew Dog, though I have to say the 77 was very drinkable. Let's see more of their cask in the North West please. In cask I have rarely been disappointed with their beers.

Disgracefully Sinclair's has had cask removed and I bet they sold more than an eighteen a day. Is Sam's becoming more or less a totally keg brewery?  If so, a pity, as they have some really fine pubs.

Putting a Face to a Name

We had our six weekly CAMRA Committee meeting last night in Sam Smith's Yew Tree near Rochdale. It has the advantage of being reasonably central and has a guaranteed private room. It also has cask Old Brewery Bitter or, rather, did.

When I got there, three of my colleagues were already there. I sensed something was up. "It's gone keg" says one. Damn. A well dressed and very posh gentleman was on his mobile at the bar. He had a large list in front of him and was asking each recipient of his calls in turn, in the plummiest of tones, "Do you have a spare microwave?" He preceded this by announcing "Humphrey Smith, Area Manager here". I whispered to my friends, "This is the top man - this is Mr Humphrey, the controlling owner of Sam's". We determined to beard him in his den. When he got off the phone, introductions were made. "Why had the cask been removed?" "Head Brewer says you need to sell an 18 a day otherwise the beer sours in wood." quoth he gruffly. "Why not do metal nines then?". "This is a traditional brewery" says the oracle. "Our cask beer comes in wood." One of our number continued the conversation as he went out to his car, a very modest X reg Rover 75. Apart from a sideswipe about Lees, he got no further. Mr Humphrey had left the building.

We had a quiet word with the landlady after his departure. Was he really the Area Manager?  Yes. He had taken over when the last one left, to save money it seems. Now Sam's are known for their eccentricity.  It comes from the top as Mr H rules the roost. What he says, goes, odd or not. You also now know the criteria for getting cask in your local Sam's pub. Flog an eighteen a day!

He presumably wanted the microwave for re-heating" the pre-prepared meals, from the company they recently bought. They introduced standard menus and chucked out all home cooked food, though I believe in some cases, this has been moderated.

A Good Thing About Sam's

After a pleasant visit to Phoenix Brewery on Saturday, along with a couple of others, Tony Allen, the brewer, suggested we nip into Heywood to check out the refurbished Engineer's Arms.

My experience is that Sam's when they do a place up, do so sympathetically, to a high standard and restore as many original features as possible. The Engineer's was no exception. They have done a great job in this traditional local. Old Brewery Bitter will never be my favourite beer, but it was on good form too. I won't mention the price though - that'd be cheap. Which it was.

Heywood is known locally as Monkey Town. Not sure why.

Old Brewery Bitter

Way back in December last year, I mentioned I had CAMRA business at Sam Smith's Yew Tree, just outside Rochdale. A committee meeting took me there again last night.

Old Brewery Bitter is still served from wooden casks. At 4% abv, it is a decent strength without being overwhelming. Just edging the top of the "ordinary" bitter band or, if you like, just missing the "best" sobriquet, it is a very malty brew, full bodied, with slight forest fruits, just a hint of woodiness and a nice clean, malty bitter finish. I don't think it has the sheer drinkability that an ordinary bitter needs to have, but it is a good old fashioned brew when on form, which it was last night. I quite enjoyed it.

It was just £1.38 a pint.

Full of Shites

Go to page 145 of the 2008 Good Beer Guide for a superbly accurate description of the characterful and historic Victoria Inn. I simply can't describe it better. It is old fashioned in the finest sense. The pub is a delight. The letting rooms are small, but immaculate and the welcome genuinely friendly. The breakfast with free North East banter chucked in, is well presented and tasty. Go there!

We assembled after a brief kip, in the public bar which is pictured. The gimlet eyed and astonishingly thin matron running the show gave a commentary for us on our proposed pub itinerary. It went along the lines of "Aye, canny that one", "Fine", "Just doon the road and a good one" until we came to the Colpitts. "You divent want to gan there" quoth she. "It's full of shites." Malc took the situation in hand and inquired as to what constituted a "shite" in this case. "Why" she said, "the folk there'll pick a fight wi' ye and cut yore face"!

I won't bore you with the sorry tale of boozing that went next, except to say that the Elm Tree had poor beer (Adnams was particularly dire) and high prices, the Half Moon was superb, nearly a classic in fact, with lovely toasties at a mere £1.30 a pop and excellent beer from the Durham Brewery. Our last call was the Dun Cow, a great pub too, with a traditional corridor, a warm welcome and well kept beer.

What about the Colpitts I hear you cry? Did you brave it and emerge unscathed? Indeed we did. It was warm, welcoming, characterful and friendly. The only shites there were us and we didn't cut anyone's face. The beer was traditional Sam's and our usual round of three and a half pints cost under a fiver instead of the usual £8.50+

Accidental Inebriation

I didn't have a single mouthful of cask ale yesterday, but still managed to get sozzled. Not by intent - I'm too old for that malarkey - but through circumstance. I don't normally meet any of my better half's colleagues, not through some kind of curmudgeonly avoidance, but by happenstance. London is a big place and I'm rarely there during the week. I therefore hadn't met her workmate Bob before when we arranged to join him for a snifter in the Captain Kidd, a riverside Sam's house on Wapping High Street.

Now the Captain Kidd is very pleasant despite selling keg beer only and on a glorious day, we bagged the prime seats beside two large open windows, looking out on a sparkling River Thames. My choice of beer was easy. Sam's brew a fine version of a German weiss bier, now divested of its Ayingerbrau connection, though it seems to me to be just the same. Bob joined us and it has to be said he likes an hour out. He drank the smooth bitter with practised ease, while E slid halves of Pure Brewed Lager down red lane. It was a great afternoon. After five pints of wheat beer for me and equivelant amounts for my companions, we were invited back to Bob's sumptuous flat in a converted warehouse overlooking the Thames. A couple of hours later and with two bottles of top class red inside us, we tottered off home.

The evening passed in a blur, though I did cook a perfectly acceptable spag bol.