Plenty Kisses and No Frogs

A few short weeks ago, my local CAMRA Branch had one of our days out by coach. This time - and we have been there before - Skipton in North Yorkshire - was the venue. No great distance from us, probably 45 or so miles depending on where you measure it from, and a busy market town with lots of pubs beckoned. What would it be like? Now, the way we operate, we aim to get to whatever venue it is by around 12 noon. On this chilly but bright Saturday, we were dropped off at the coach park bang in the centre, more or less on the dot of twelve.

On these events, our social secretary usually prepares a list of pubs to visit. These are recommendations, not a route to be followed, as naturally we are all free to wander where we choose, as long as we are back at the announced departure time. The bus does not wait around.  This time our list was around ten pubs and micropubs, and as soon as we were let loose, off we went, dragging our thirsts behind us. Of course, we don't visit pubs mob handed, people deciding with their cronies where and when they'll go first, if at all, but inevitably groups bump into each other and exchange information. That's always handy, and it is great to meet our lot along the way.

Skipton is a great mix of pub types and micropubs, café bars and micropubs, quite a few of which didn't exist on our last visit around four years ago, but my little group started at a couple of old canalside favourites.  These weren't lacking at all on the cask ale front. Another thing is that the town is compact and while there are pubs further out, such was the quality, ambience and friendliness, particularly of the micropubs, that we found ourselves enjoying the places so much, that sometimes a couple of beers were decided upon, so good was the place and company. In fact, we got nowhere near our list of ten before the witching hour of bus departure, but did in fact, on recommendation from fellow topers, venture off-piste with great success. It was a happy bunch of CAMRA members that departed back to Lancashire, although we left with great reluctance.

So, what does this all tell you? Firstly, when cask beer standards are so high - and I didn't hear of anyone getting a duff pint - as a pub or bar, you simply have to raise your standards, or you will be left behind.  Where standards are high, you can shift a lot more beer, which in turn means you can offer greater choice without diminishing quality. This is the virtuous circle that cask beer needs to thrive.

How does this apply elsewhere?  While nothing is certain, it all starts with having exemplary standards in serving cask beer. Do that, and you should get the custom needed to maintain it. Then, hopefully, others will follow. Cask beer dead? Not a bit of it. Just do it well and see how that helps it thrive and survive.

 This is happening in practice in my CAMRA branch area. Rochdale has an increasingly great cask offer - and it has been pretty good for years. There the pubs get together to offer weekly discounts, annual ale trails and more. Bury is up and coming and the Oldham real ale revival is well under way. 

Another point to make was the great welcomes we all had. Locals keen to chat, friendly bar staff and great beer. Dour Yorkshire folks? Not a bit of it. As always, get the offer right, and you are much more likely to succeed.  Get it wrong and you certainly won't.

I haven't mentioned craft beer. When cask is this good, why would you?

Snalbans

Where's a good, easy day out from London? St Albans that's where. A mere 25 minutes from central London and in feel, a world away.  All of a sudden you are in a distinctly different part of the country with an easy going feel to it and a small town atmosphere.  It has a cathedral, a large market, an old town, lots of pubs and even a small Christmas market. What's not to like? Well a persistent drizzly rain that's what. Despite leaving London with a cloudless sky, we arrived to light rain, which more or less, despite the weather forecast saying a 2% chance of precipitation, gave us 100% drizzle.  As Peter Kay might say "you know, the kind of rain that wets you."

I suppose too if I was a bit picky, I'd complain about the station being nowhere near the centre - and it isn't - but if it hadn't been raining that wouldn't have mattered, but as it was we were getting distinctly wet, so after a little bit of orientation we hopped into the Blacksmith's Arms for no reason other than we were passing it.  It is quite a nice, friendly pub, which despite having a Cask Marque sign had by some way the poorest beer we had that day, not helped by a random looking choice of Christmas ales, plus Doom Bar. My Bath Ales Festivity was pretty underwhelming, but the pub was bustling and cheerful and the service was brisk and polite, so it was getting some things right.  The food looked decent too.

After a walk round the long street market, we crossed into the Old Town and made for the cathedral, noting the odd pub as we went. This being the festive season, it was carols that were the main attraction and the lovely cathedral was full of locals, anticipating their singalong, though one or two others, like us, wanted to see the building itself . That was fine too and very enjoyable. The whole church had a homely and community feel which given its size was extraordinary.  It was the kind of place, if I lived locally, I'd be drawn to - and I'm not particularly religious.  I'd go back in a heartbeat just to see it again.

So, after that uplifting experience it was back into the rain and a quick dart into the low ceilinged Boot, which was atmospheric and rammed. We stood for our first pint and then managed a little table for two with a good view of things. It was clear the place was full of locals as folks greeted each other by name or shouted and waved across the crowded room.  We were happy to be part of it and left with a lot of reluctance after a couple of decent pints, for a look round another market. Then a stroll to the local JDW which came as highly recommended, being in a renovated medieval barn. The Waterend Barn was also, despite its size absolutely "chokka" as they say in Liverpool, so we stood at the bar with our drinks while watching the manager dish out roles to the staff, while omitting to get one or two to actually serve the growing throng of customers waiting to be served. Ah well, nearly right. It should go without saying that serving customers comes first. Well in a way, that's what happened.  It went without saying. Good beer though and interesting customers in a more upmarket Christmas jumper sort of way.

We left the best of the day to the last two pubs we visited. The White Hart Tap was more or less on the way back to the station and an absolute delight, though tricky to get in as the door is in front of the bar which is only about five feet away and was blocked by a number of quite pissed lads, who good naturedly stepped aside to let us in. This is a neat little pub with Northern quality beer. I had some splendid beer from Summer Wine Brewery (Zenith) and even a bit of a chat with a couple of gents necking down vino reddo.

Our last call was near the station. The Robin Hood was better looking on the outside than in, though it was busy and friendly. It seemed to have been given a bad taste makeover recently, with inappropriate pale laminate flooring jarring considerably, as did the light blue paint on the bar. Putting these aside, the Harvey's Best was excellent and compensated in no small way for the decor. I do wonder though about the yukky pub interior, which was further diminished by harsh white overhead lighting.

This was a good day out with beer well above average, some good pubs and all noticeably friendly. Best of all in some ways was that less than an hour later, we were back in our London flat. We'll be back when it isn't raining.


The city - for that is what is is - had a homely small town feel to it. Coming as I do from a small town, I liked that about it.

I have been to St Albans before but it was a long time ago and I was driving, so no pubs that time.   Thanks to all who gave me recommendations for this visit. 

Plastic Glasses

I had a lovely day out last Saturday with E. In London for the Beer Writers thrash and with some spare time on our hands and the rail strikes on Southern settled, we went to Lewes for the day - a long time ambition of mine - though E had done some work for the local council there, had been several times, so would be my guide.

The first surprise after a surprisingly long journey from Victoria is how steep the hill is between the station which lies below the town and the town itself. I found that out in a most unwelcome way, as my bad knee literally gave way on the one in ten gradient, or whatever this North Face of the Eiger alike, was. (It is bothering me still on stairs if nothing else.) After planting my nation's flag on the summit, we explored a bit. A long, quaint High St, dotted with individual businesses  both to left and right, so on E's recommendation we went left until the town more or less ran out, noting a couple of decent pubs on the way.  E explained the more modern part of the town - and that is very relative as it all was entirely delightful - was at the bottom of another steep hill, as was Harvey's Brewery.

After a look at the castle - which dated back to Norman times - of course I didn't pay to go in - £17 my arse - we set off for the bottom of the town down another fearsome hill to admire the brewery and take the customary photo. Very picturesque, but a drink was required, Harvey's of course. A handy sign pointed us to the equally picturesque (both in looks and setting) of the John Harvey, Harvey's Brewery Tap. That'll do very nicely. As we approached on a cold but sunny day, I noticed that the hardy outside drinkers had plastic glasses. I assumed that was because of outdoor drinking and its fleeting mark on my conscious mind was dismissed.  Inside the pub is a delight. Low ceilinged, lots of wood, a bar with both hand pumped and gravity fed beer and a good buzz of conversation. I looked at the pumps. "A pint of Mild please" quoth I.  Mine host, a cheerful young fellow replied "Is a plastic glass OK?" I'd rather not said I. He looked a bit embarrassed and replied that it was all plastic glasses. Hmm. Now I dislike plastic glasses intensely. I dislike even more those that are so flimsy you need to carry them with two hands. I politely declined and we left. For me it was a point of principle.

Settled comfortably in the Dorset round the corner with a pint of Sussex Pale in a proper glass, we wondered what the reason could be. Now Brighton, just down the road were playing Liverpool at home and we had see the odd Brighton fan waiting for a bus or walking about, but none were in the John Harvey, which frankly was rather a posh gaff with rather a posh clientele. Surely that couldn't be it? Bloodshed, or the potential for it there, seemed highly unlikely and we hadn't seen and didn't see a single policeman in the whole time we were there. A mystery.

After a bit of light shopping and a few more pubs - all of which were served in glass - we made our way to station and a last pint or two. Our destination, just across from the station was the Lansdown Arms, a proper bustling pub of character.  It was heaving with returning Brighton fans, still groggy after a good hammering.  We found a seat and got into conversation with two philsohical supporters of a similar age to ourselves. We asked about the John Harvey as we supped our beer, again from a proper glass. They didn't know why there was plastic either.

I recommend Lewes highly. We enjoyed the Dorset, even more the eclectically decorated Snowdrop, our "tea" in the Brewer's Arms - a splendid throwback to the seventies in every way including the menu - a quick visit to the old fashioned Rights of Man and our final pints in the Lansdown Arms, but the John Harvey left a note of disappointment which still lingers.

Plastic glasses in a brewery's showcase pub? I don't think so.

The pubs in Lewes are old fashioned in a really good way, though I have to say that the Harveys seemed better in the Royal Oak in Borough.

We bought some fancy cheese and E, a devotee of Seasalt, Cornwall, a pair of trousers.  Everybody happy then.

The Skipton Trip

Copper Dragon Brewery is clean, modern, efficient and the beer is well made, though lacking a little in excitement. You won't find any beers stronger than 5% as the brewery - or rather its owner - firmly believes that beer is a volume based drink and as such his beers should be easily drinkable. The exception is Conqueror, which is chock full of American hops and drinks well above its weight, though the exception here is in taste, not alcohol. Conqueror is only 3.6% and joins a growing number of beers that combine great flavour and drinkabilty with lowish alcohol. It was probably the beer of the day. The people there are charming and fun - yes not a dour Yorkshireman in sight - though the brewery while claiming uniqueness in design, seemed to me to be pretty standard for any brewery that uses dual purpose vessels. They are in the process of expanding capacity up to the limit of Progressive Beer Duty and things seem pretty healthy now, their previous troubles apparently behind them.

The Bistro is pretty good too and provided much needed sustenance for a three hour pub crawl of Skipton, which I won't bore you with in any great detail. The best pub was the Narrow Boat which is something of a classic and a "must visit" if you are in the area. The Narrow Boat also provided the second low strength/high taste beer of the day in Ilkley's Mary Jane, which has a lovely hoppy taste from Amarilo hops and is only 3.5%.

So there you have it, a good day out to a nice town and a very pleasant brewery. On a personal note, the most striking thing of the day perhaps was to bump into a lass that used to work for me over 20 years ago in Liverpool. She lives on the Fylde now.

What a small world.

A quick couple of pints of Ossett Citra back in Middleton also impressed. Ossett are going great guns at present.

Spoonfest on the Road

The Regal Moon was buzzing with anticipation of a good day out when I got there a little late due to First Bus's continual inability to run a proper service. There was a photo call for Wetherspoon News first of all (Timbo has exacting requirements for this) and then a chance to sample a beer or two before the off. Bateman's Waynflete Hedgerow was delicate and appealing though it kind of dies off a bit towards the end. Morrell's Oxford Blue had the right mix of hops, but too toned down, resulting in a beer less than the sum of its parts. This was followed by the excellent Titanic Tomahawk which was bursting with hop flavour in a very good firm body. One to seek out again I'd say.

Then on to the bus to the Cotton Bail in Hyde where a throng at the bar was dealt with pleasantly and efficiently. Fremlins Bitter was quite thin as you'd expect from a 3.5% beer, but was a good example of a Boy's Bitter. Oakham Rollercoaster was much better than its programme description and a lot more hoppy too. A good beer. Sharp's Gentle Jane was a little too thin, but the Belgian yeast was noticeable and it made a good aperitif for the altogether more complex and authentic Val-Dieu Abbaye Blonde which ticked all the right boxes and made the transition to cask effortlessly. I had a taste of Theakston's Grousebeater and was glad I didn't part with hard cash for it. The only dud so far.

A far more boisterous and cheery mob reboarded the coach for the short ride to Stalybridge and the Society Rooms. An immediate queue formed here. BrewDog Trashy Blonde was on and it certainly didn't disappoint in any way whatsoever. Superbly balanced, but tilted just enough in favour of resiny hop to make this a stunner. When BrewDog make beers as good as this, you can forgive them anything. Still man does not live by BrewDog alone and it was onwards and upwards with the fantastically good Herold Black Chalice. A tight, creamy head and dense black body was full of dark chocolate flavour, with a raisiny edge and a very pronounced Saaz finish. A sheer delight and another effortless transition to cask.

Next up was the Ash Tree in Ashton with Zululand Blonde the beer of choice for most. A bit more bitter than the tasting notes suggest, but a little too sweet for my tastes really. Things were slowing down a tad now as the volume kicked in, but there was no let up.

Back in my home area, the Upsteps in Oldham was busy and we made it a lot busier. Goose Island Honkers here and it was pretty damn good. It seemed to me to capture the flavours exactly, but I'll check that out in Chicago in a couple of weeks. A quick half of Budelse Capucijn was rewarded by a very decent and complex beer of considerable poise.

A short walk then took us to The Squire Knott for a bit of snap and more beer of course, with an added bonus of a Meet the Brewer session, with Allgates, Greenfield and Howard Town providing free samples and a chance to chat. I was fading then, so a couple of Val-Dieu and I was off, hoping to make my quiz, but didn't of course, due to First Bus and a bad decision bus wise from me. I'd been drinking.

So, a great day out, some damn good beer and company, a fine show from all the JDW's and from Chris Riley, manager of the Regal Moon who arranged it all. Well done.

Brussels

We had a good time there. We emerged from the tunnel into bright sunlight and that's the way it stayed until it got dark. I almost entirely stuck to gueuze and enjoyed particularly two of the pubs recommended by John Clarke. Poechenellekelder was a late visit and was bustling and cheerful, with great staff and a well chosen list. Pricey and smoky though. We both loved Fleur en Papier Dore where we had our first drink. A protected interior of astonishing variety, once the haunt of the impressionist school and the originator of Tintin, we were lucky enough to have the owner come over to explain its history. Absolutely delightful and no smoking too. A find and to me, Girardin Gueuze was my beer of the day, though I did enjoy all the ones I tried, with De Cam, Cantillon and Oud Beersel just being pipped by the Girardin.

We also called into the new Oude Moeder Lambic which is very impressive,friendly and modern, though I think that they could do something better in presenting their beer list, as it isn't really clear what beers are on handpump - six of them - and what ones by, I assume, CO2.  You'd also have to have waist size under 36" to sit comfortably at the tables. Even skinny Belgians were looking rather squashed. Thanks for that one Laurent, but you and I would have to sit at the bar! 

Great pubs, a great place and lovely weather. The obligatory leisurely moules and frites lunch plus E buying the obligatory chocolates, completed a good day. We walked back to the badly signposted station, but were thwarted in our intention to have a last beer in Le Laboureur, a beery outpost in this very North African area of the city, but it looks not only closed, but permanently so. We found a nondescript bar and a Duvel completed the day. I'd almost forgotten what I lovely beer this is, but it really is top class.

Brussels is a great day out with smashing pubs, it is easily and enjoyably walkable, has great food and lots of shops to gaze into. It isn't cheap with a gueuze usually about €5.50 - €6, but then again, these are sipping not swigging beers.

Photo to follow.

Brussels

Hooray. Despite the crashing pound, me and E are going on a day trip to Brussels in mid November, courtesy of the Sunday Times "Two for £90" offer. We get there at ten and leave at eight thirty in the evening, so it's a fair old day out. That's the beauty of having a London place, we can get these little pleasures more easily and in fact, we'll make a saving, more or less, or at least beak even on the deal, as we won't have to pay that grinning, bearded git Branson anything for Eileen's immensely expensive journey to Manchester and back.

It's a little while since I've been to Belgium and even longer since Brussels, so of course the question to ask, is what I shouldn't miss pub wise. I really want to visit Oud Moeder Lambic which I know is a tram journey away, but otherwise I'm open to suggestions, though they must be easily reachable from the centre on foot.

Ideas very welcome.

It's Outstanding

The Bury Beer Festival "thank you" trip took place at Outstanding Brewery in Bury on Saturday. After a long and tedious bus journey thanks to the hopeless First Bus, we made our way through the back streets, bickering all the way about directions, to the former mill that houses the brewery. "Why didn't I know the way?" My explanation that though I had been there once before, but was driven there and it was dark, fell on deaf ears. Being well versed in how to deal with such routine enquiries from the female of the species, I gritted my teeth and ploughed on.

On arrival there seemed to be few there, but as I got a much needed glass of beer, the reason became obvious - most of the crew were nosebagging their way through the buffet. There was plenty of beer though and some of it was very good indeed. Dave Porter, the brewer held court and I started on his experimental beer, a very hoppy 3.8% number, which I not only enjoyed, but found difficult to move away from. The beer was well conditioned, very pale brown in colour with a good malt nose and incredible hoppiness due to copious amounts of Nelson Sauvin hops. Sadly Dave reckons it is too hoppy for the trade, though the comments he received from us lot led him to say he'd reconsider. It really is a belter. He has around 15 nines of it left, so if you want some, get in quick. When it's gone, it's gone!

There is something fantastic about being in a brewery where experimentation takes place and where the brewer is happy just to talk about it all with you. While others just got stuck in, I viewed the hop store with its precious contents reading like a who's who of the best hops in the world. Yankee Chinooks, Cascades and Centennials jostled with New Zealand's Nelson Sauvin, Motueka and Riwaka. German Tettnang and Slovenian Goldings sat side by side with Fuggles and Challenger. I do love seeing so many hop varieties and I have no doubt missed a few off the list. I also sniffed and chewed my way through malts including the smoked malt which was very pale and actually very tasty.

Later I was treated to two different versions of the same lager straight from the conditioning tank. One was frankly a failure, with too many fruity esters, but the other was a clean, hoppy revelation which would surely have any self respecting lager aficionado wagging his tail. There was also a cask conditioned Belgian White made with a proper Belgian yeast which was simply stunning. I agreed this would be fantastic kegged and chilled for the summer. It was a beer made for sunny evenings and a raging thirst. Others enjoyed the two smoked beers on offer, though they are not for me. I did try a sip and as these things go, it was fine, but it isn't a style I like. Lastly, on the draught offerings, a beer that I am beginning to rate very highly, Outstanding Stout, a dry, chewy, roasty classic of its kind.

The final revelation was brought to me by Dave. A bottled barley wine, Pushing Out is 7.4%. It is heavily hopped in the early boil with New Zealand Pacific Gem, late hopped with Slovenian Styrian Goldings and dry hopped with American Willamettes. It is a gorgeous, luscious, hop monster with incredible poise and balance that has a fine malt backbone and hides its strength incredibly well. It is a marvellous beer. Dave, rightly has high hopes for it.

We left, well oiled, for Bury's Trackside Free House, where after a couple, we wisely went home in a state of delicate inebriation, me clutching a precious cargo of four bottles of Pushing Out, gifted by Dave. One was shared to great acclaim in the pub today, but I have three left. Grim up North? Not bloody likely!

The bottom photo shows Dave Porter in full flow.

Chester Bound

I'm off to Chester tomorrow with my pub mates. It should be fun, particularly as I'm in charge of finding good beer, while they sort out the cultural diversions. They are all culture buffs, but beer tends to elbow culture aside in these little excursions and I'm guessing tomorrow will be no exception. There is a Lees tied house there and my mates expressed an interest in visiting. It gets a hold of you does John Willies.

Last night Graham and I had a few beers. As I have taken flak for saying bad things about brewers and their beer, I'll simply report that it was all very nice.


Durham Bees Knees was drunk in the Smithfield only after being assured it had no honey in it!

And the Sun Shone Too!

Saturday was the annual barbecue at Phoenix Brewery, Heywood. In addition to the staff and some customers, a few of us CAMRA soaks are invited by Tony Allen, the owner and brewer, to partake of various delights from the grill and curry pot and of course Phoenix beers.

As you can see if you click on the photo, the brewery commenced brewing in 1898 and continued to do so until going into liquidation in 1937. Cornbrook Brewery then stepped in buying up all the existing assets (and the pubs) unfortunately with no intention of keeping the business going. You can still see the Phoenix emblem on a few local pubs.

Tony has been there since 1991, having moved the business from Ellesmere Port. He now brews well in excess of a million pints a year. Having a strong interest in all things historical, he has taken to restoring Phoenix to its original form. The building is a more or less complete example of a late Victorian Tower Brewery and despite years of neglect, the buildings are slowly being renovated, initially concentrating on the building fabric. The cobbled yard is splendid and in warm sunshine, despite the rainy forecast, made a great backdrop to Phoenix Hopsack and White Tornado. The brewery itself is in the original malt store and maltings. The Hopsack was hoppy, pale, resinous and distinctive and the White Tornado, quenching, fruity and wonderfully moreish, though I didn't get any more, as it ran out!

Many pints later, we tottered off back to the bus stop, looking back down Green Lane where the brewery tower dominates as it has done for the last 110 years.

For those who are interested, Tyson the Beer Hound was also there and in good heart.

Showers, Some Sunshine and Beer

We set off from home to walk the mile or so to our rendezvous point for our CAMRA trip to Derbyshire under leaden Manchester skies, which soon turned to a determined drizzle. The subsequent journey down to Thornbridge Hall was undertaken in pissing rain. It set the scene for what was to be a (mostly wet) experience. We knew what kind of day we were in for when we parked next to a coach disgorging Wigan Branch members. This event had attracted a lot of CAMRA types.

Making our way to the small brewery, we deferred to our pie eating colleagues, to allow them first look at the brewery and to present a certificate of some sort, before we presented ours. In a steady downpour, we lined up at the temporary bar erected just outside the brewery entrance. Three handpumps dispensed Wild Swan, Lord Marples and, of course, Jaipur IPA, in this case, the dry hopped version. Most of us started on the 3.5% White Swan which was aromatic and spicy, but its rather good taste was let down a little by its thin, tending to watery, body.

As we sheltered from the rain in a nearby greenhouse, we got the call to arms and assembled in the brewhouse amid the clutter of casks, bags of malt and various other paraphernalia. Posters for their own beers and Moravka lager adorned the walls. Awards were presented, speeches were given and reciprocated. A couple of interesting points emerged. First it was explained that Thornbridge beers will not always be clear, as they don't filter in any way. That was greeted with a little scepticism from some of those who heard it, me amongst them. There is no reason why the beer shouldn't be clear if it is treated right and fined. The second point was that they are commissioning two conical fermenters and will be doing extensive trials to ensure they can flavour match beers brewed in open vessels. Now I am no brewer, but I think matching in this way will be damned difficult, but good luck with it.

As the rain went off we had a second pint, this time for me of Lord Marples, a malty, dark brown beer of no great distinction and then taking the opportunity for a look round, we bumped into some more CAMRA types, this time some of my colleagues from BSF and we chatted amiably as it grew darker and more threatening. We had just finished a turn round the gardens, when the heavens opened again and we were driven headlong into the main beer tent as rain beat fiercely down on it from above. Now here was a disappointment. Only two beers on sale, the aforementioned Lord Marples and Jaipur IPA. We had hoped for more of the range and to add insult to injury, there was no Moravka Lager either, the lager being 33cl bottles of, of all things, Stella! So Jaipur IPA it was. The beer was fine however, served cool and went down well. As the sun came out again, we were able to see the surrounding countryside in all its glory. The Hall is magnificent and the setting, amid rolling and lush Derbyshire hills, just sublime. It really is a superb spot. We idled over even more Jaipur for a bit longer, then an hour or so earlier than planned, hopped on the coach and thence to Ashover and the Old Poet's Corner, though some of us (my fellow blogger Tyson included) tried the other two pubs, the Crispin Inn and the Black Swan as well. All had their merits and it would be a mean spirited drinker that would not find solace in this attractive village.*

In the Old Poet's Corner, a lively debate was had by a couple of us about non sparkler use, though an old fashioned slotted type was eventually produced for Taylor's Landlord. By then the effects of a long days boozing mainly on 5.9% beer were surely kicking in and it was good to get back on the coach for the relatively short trip home, which in the time honoured way of these things was spent, by most people, fast asleep.

*I'd relate the beers we drank in Ashover in full if I could remember what they were, though I do recall (without any great clarity) Spire's Land of Hop and Glory!

The 590 and Hebden Bridge

Despite the local council's attempts to isolate Rochdale from the rest of the UK (not a bad idea some of you may think) by digging up every major roundabout at once, we (me and Eileen) set out for Hebden Bridge to attend the Fox and Goose Inn's beer festival. We nearly missed the hourly 590 service due to aforementioned road works, but arrived breathless and just in time from our delayed bus from Middleton. We were due to meet our friends from our local there, but we were alone as we set off, to arrive just a few minutes late at the Fox and Grapes pub. We were soon joined by the others, some of who came on the train and the rest by the next bus having fallen foul of the traffic delays.

The Fox and Grapes is a very small pub indeed and smells strongly of damp. It was fairly busy when we got there and became more so, with a good mix of types. There was a reasonably good selection on a mixture of gravity and handpump. We made a bit of a mistake in starting with Oakham Bishop's Farewell, as it set a standard that no other beer reached. Eileen (wisely) stuck with that but I did try Triple FFF Moondance which was OK, Orkney Dark Island which was fine, before moving on to Thornbridge IPA which didn't disappoint. Beers were all a fair £2.40 a pint whatever the strength. I don't have any contemporary pictures of this event though, as my mobile phone is at T Mobile being mended and my camera had a flat battery. Ho Hum.

Later we decamped to Hebden Bridge where, in the White Lion, I enjoyed a very good pint of dry and bitter Phoenix May Fly and later joining the rest of them in the White Swan for my first pint of Hoegaarden in a couple of years. It was aromatic and refreshing. I neatly handed the pub bore who had affixed himself to my ear on to Stan, by the trick of including him in the "conversation" (and then stepping out of it) for which Stan thanked me later. Then back on the 590 to Todmorden and the Mason's Arms. This is a Skipton Brewery House and Golden Pippin was the quarry. Alas it was not on form, but pints of 1860 and Best Bitter were just fine and saw us through to the 590 home.

This is a good day out and we'll do it again, but not at a weekend. The traffic situation is just too frustrating!