Currently Drinking...

[Black 5 Bear]

11 minutes ago, Grizz said:

Invested heavily in Harveys liquid shares today, 8 litres of Ale. Already drawing down on my returns this evening. 

Harveys of Lewes, now that takes me back a few years.

Are they still independent and is the brewery still in the town?

Their Winter Ale was legendary !

[Grizz]

24 minutes ago, Black 5 Bear said:

Harveys of Lewes, now that takes me back a few years.

Are they still independent and is the brewery still in the town?

Their Winter Ale was legendary !

Yes they are and yes it is. 
 

Their Old Ale, Bonfire Boy, Tom Paine are particular favourites of mine.

[roundhouse]

11 hours ago, Grizz said:

Yes they are and yes it is. 
 

Their Old Ale, Bonfire Boy, Tom Paine are particular favourites of mine.

My favourites aswell.

 

Unfortunately our local Harveys pub has been closed for 7 months and only just reopened but only Best and IPA on at present.

[43110andyb]

At last some decent bank holiday weather! Maybe more a winter warmer but couldn’t resist this from York Brewery (now Black Sheep owned) Centurions Ghost 5.4% dark ale!

[Torper]

I haven't been to a pub for years - literally years.  But yesterday I was in Fife with some friends and we stopped at a pub for lunch and I ordered a pint of St Andrews Brewery Crail Ale,  The waiter (it was table service outside) described it to me as something between an ale and a lager, and on a hot day after a long walk that sounded fine.  And so it was - ice cold (not normally a recommendation, but yesterday it was), a bit of grapefruit flavour, Columbus hops, a reminder of malt, fresh and full bodied, very nice I thought.

 

Mind you, so it should have been.  When I saw the bill (which I fortunately was not paying) I saw that my humble pint had cost £5.20. (yes, that's five pounds twenty).  There's clearly been some considerable inflation since I last went to a pub - I can only think that the old concept of "buying a round" must now be beyond most of us!

 

DT

Edited June 10, 2021 by Torper

[Hobby]

Round here a pint is just above or below three quid. I wouldn't take a fiver a pint as representing everywhere! Wasn't a "country pub" that goes in for designer* food by chance? 

 

*Small portions, large prices. 

[Torper]

On 10/06/2021 at 14:44, Hobby said:

Round here a pint is just above or below three quid. I wouldn't take a fiver a pint as representing everywhere! Wasn't a "country pub" that goes in for designer* food by chance?

 

It was The Ship Inn in Elie - lovely pub but I suspect that it would fall into the category you mention, except that the food portions are very decent - it wouldn't survive in Fife otherwise!  Apart from the price of beer it's a pretty good place, and as an added attraction claims to be the only pub in Britain to have a cricket team with a pitch on the beach, which the pub overlooks - https://www.shipinn.scot/cricket/

 

DT

[Hobby]

Seem to remember seeing it on some travel prog on Scotland.

[Grizz]

Watching the football, Wales v Switzerland.... supporting Wales...drinking Harveys Best Bitter....in the sun.....with my son, who bought the beer this week. Waiting for the Denmark v Finland game. Vi støtter Danmark. 

Skål Danmark!!!

 

 

[Grizz]

Vi er med dig .... Skål .. fra Thor og Grizz…..Danmark 

 

[Tony Davis]

Bought these in Wales recently, haven't tried Blodwen's yet, but of the rest the Penlon Cardi Bay is my favourite, so I ordered 12 more bottles on line, came with two days too.

[Nick G]

Tonights brew, Layer Cake, a Marshmallow & Chocolate Stout 7% ABV.

 

'Have your cake and drink it'

Edited June 12, 2021 by Nick G

[APOLLO]

A bottle of Corona - the real stuff imported from Mexico (says so on the box and bottle). Tesco have it in stock at the moment. I bought a couple of boxes yesterday.

 

Beware of Corona brewed under licence in the UK (stated as such on box / bottle which are otherwise identical). Just NOT the same drink with that sharp tang. Why do the brewers do this ? - Many other beers are the same, Sapporo, Beer Moretti etc. Now made in UK & now just any old lager.

 

It's the water that helps to make a beer - hence Burton on Trent has / had many breweries due to the ground water having a high mineral content. Anyone remember the old Bolton brewery Magee Marshall ? - They made a special pale ale brewed using water from a well they owned in Burton on Trent, delivered in tank wagons by rail. One day as the wagons stood somewhere between Burton & Bolton someone opened the wagon outlet valves and emptied them. A rail worker "solved" the problem by filling them up at a loco water column. The result was disaster for the brewery - they lost the "germ" and had to stop production for quite a while.

 

Time for another beer - quite a selection in the fridge.

 

Brit15

 

 

 

 

[Joseph_Pestell]

10 hours ago, APOLLO said:

A bottle of Corona - the real stuff imported from Mexico (says so on the box and bottle). Tesco have it in stock at the moment. I bought a couple of boxes yesterday.

 

Beware of Corona brewed under licence in the UK (stated as such on box / bottle which are otherwise identical). Just NOT the same drink with that sharp tang. Why do the brewers do this ? - Many other beers are the same, Sapporo, Beer Moretti etc. Now made in UK & now just any old lager.

 

It's the water that helps to make a beer - hence Burton on Trent has / had many breweries due to the ground water having a high mineral content. Anyone remember the old Bolton brewery Magee Marshall ? - They made a special pale ale brewed using water from a well they owned in Burton on Trent, delivered in tank wagons by rail. One day as the wagons stood somewhere between Burton & Bolton someone opened the wagon outlet valves and emptied them. A rail worker "solved" the problem by filling them up at a loco water column. The result was disaster for the brewery - they lost the "germ" and had to stop production for quite a while.

 

Time for another beer - quite a selection in the fridge.

 

Brit15

 

 

 

 

Staropramen another to be vandalised within the last couple of years. More drinkable than some of the fakes, but nothing like the original.

 

Breweries around the UK "burtonise" their water by adding a chemical.

 

Allsopp's in Wrexham were early into lager production because their water was not suitable for bitter.

[PhilJ W]

3 hours ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

Breweries around the UK "burtonise" their water by adding a chemical.

 

Allsopp's in Wrexham were early into lager production because their water was not suitable for bitter.

Ind Coop's Romford brewery lost one of their wells c. 1970 when a bulldozer nearly fell into it and it became contaminated by diesel oil.

Edited June 13, 2021 by PhilJ W

[airnimal]

Just opened a bottle of Titanic's plum porter grand reserve. Now Titanic's plum porter on draught is one of my favourite beers which is always on form when it's on in my local. 

I don't know if this is bottle has slightly gone off but it has a slight taste of vinegar and not as good as the standard plum porter. I had another bottle of the same not long ago and that wasn't up to form as well. I don't like to be hard or to critical of a beer with one I have very much enjoyed in bottles and on draught but this grand reserve is not a patch on the standard plum porter IMHO.

[airnimal]

In post 68 I posted pictures of one of my favourite pubs where I had a couple of pints of cherry porter. 

Alas the end has come to this good old fashion boozer. To be fair it has been going down the pan for the past 10 years when the last landlord took over. I don't like speaking ill of the dead ( the landlord died on new years eve ) but he managed to upset most of his regulars who move on to other watering holes. The pub went from 16 hand pumps down to 6 over this period.  Out went the cheese night on Mondays, the folk night on Tuesday and the quiz night on Thursday.  All the music at weekends also came to an end. In the end covid was the last nail in the coffin. 

I am told after the landlord died the pub was broken in and the place was trashed.

I don't think in the present climate this pub will ever be a pub again and I wouldn't be surprised it the building was demolished. 

Edited June 19, 2021 by airnimal

[Black 5 Bear]

Would that be the Crown Inn in Stockport by any chance?

Always sad to see any pub close....

[Hobby]

2 hours ago, Black 5 Bear said:

Always sad to see any pub close....

 

Talking of which how have people done locally in their area regarding pub closures due to Covid? Round here every one I know of has re-opened in the surrounding area, the only one I know that closed was due to retirement and there's a rumour someone else may take over... It would seem that pubs have fared much better than night clubs, though in the main night clubs have always "come and gone", lasting a few years then shutting and reopening as a new style!

[Black 5 Bear]

On 13/06/2021 at 07:52, Joseph_Pestell said:

Staropramen another to be vandalised within the last couple of years. More drinkable than some of the fakes, but nothing like the original.

 

Breweries around the UK "burtonise" their water by adding a chemical.

 

Allsopp's in Wrexham were early into lager production because their water was not suitable for bitter.

The same unfortunately applies to Heineken 5% Export Malt Lager. If you buy the genuine Netherlands brewed it is far superior to the UK brewed variant.

Drinkers have cottoned on to this, whereby Heineken have now written "Brewed in Holland and the UK" on some of their cases.

Larger bottles (650cl) appear to be imports from Europe and are consistently better tasting.

Edited June 20, 2021 by Black 5 Bear

[PhilJ W]

5 hours ago, Hobby said:

 

Talking of which how have people done locally in their area regarding pub closures due to Covid? Round here every one I know of has re-opened in the surrounding area, the only one I know that closed was due to retirement and there's a rumour someone else may take over... It would seem that pubs have fared much better than night clubs, though in the main night clubs have always "come and gone", lasting a few years then shutting and reopening as a new style!

My local has just re-opened. It always seemed to be very popular before the lockdown and the customers all seem to be coming back now. Its just the local pub, no frills just good beer and food.

[Black 5 Bear]

11 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

My local has just re-opened. It always seemed to be very popular before the lockdown and the customers all seem to be coming back now. Its just the local pub, no frills just good beer and food.

Brilliant news Phil, maybe we are luckier in the East than other regions. Echo your sentiments with regard to pubs with no frills, good beer and food !

[PhilJ W]

Thanks, more details here.

 https://whatpub.com/pubs/ESE/058/owl-pussycat-basildon

[NIK]

Hi,

 

Went on a long walk to a Harvey's pub in Turner's Hill in Sussex a week last Saturday. I asked my sister who was paying to get me the strongest bitter of Harveys they had. Lovely pint and my first at a pub for long while.

 

The other pub in Turners Hill has just reopened so that's encouraging.

 

Regards

 

Nick

[airnimal]

Black 5 Bear,  yes indeed it is or was the Crown in Stockport. A brilliant beer house around 20 years ago that had not to many alterations other than one wall removed. It was extended about 20 years before that into the house next door where the landlady use to live.