Tandleman's Random and Particular Thoughts on Beer.
We were in London most of last week as I was judging beer for the International Beer Challenge. The trip didn't start off too well as the train into Euston was over two hours late. A broken down train in front of ours at a network choke point seemingly you know. It wasn't so bad at first as the aircon was set high and I was in shorts and a t shirt,but oddly after two hours I was getting cold.…
"Now a drop of good beer is good for a man Who's thirsty and tired and hot, And I sometimes has a drop for myself From a very special lot; But a fat and healthy working class Is the thing that I most fear, So I reaches my hand for the water tap, And I waters the workers' beer. " I've used this title before - back in 2009 , don't you know - and the little ditty above. Then it was in a slightly…
We had our CAMRA Rochdale, Oldham and Bury committee meeting at the Baum in Rochdale last night. It used to be our main branch venue until changes made it too small for our needs, but it was good to be back. The beer there is always excellent and as if to prove it, in addition to our meeting, I presented an award for 20 consecutive years in the Good Beer Guide. In my few kind words, I recalled the…
How has the weather been suiting you? Is the so called heat wave a good or bad thing, putting aside, if one can, the fact that when we are all brown bread, it will likely be even hotter? At my age there is nothing I can do about it anyway - if ever I could have in real terms. Well, for me, I love it. I delight in getting up and seeing sunshine. I feel lifted by it even when hot, though hot and…
Boak and Bailey made a point a couple of weeks ago which struck a chord with me. They said "We’ve decided to spend a week blogging like it’s 2008 again: more posts, shorter posts, and more bouncing off other bloggers." Ah the good old days. Back then when I used to post a lot - and I've been having a look at my old stuff and you should too - it's great stuff and a lot of it short. A remark about a…
I was pretty struck by an article in the Sunday Times this week. Written by Charlotte Ivers, it discusses the toxic effects on Gen Z caused by their use of smartphones and by extension, social media. Seemingly Gen Z suffers from Obsessive Compulsory Disorder (OCD) in astonishing numbers. This particularly affects young women for whom the percentage is 6.1% against a national figure of 2.2%. As a…
In late June, we headed up to the North East last week for a couple of nights to celebrate the E's birthday. Now, I used to spend a fair bit of time in Newcastle back in my working days, but the Northumberland coast? Completely unknown territory. What would we find apart from dodgy weather? Our home for two nights was The Olde Ship Inn in Seahouses. Central, it does food, and it offers nine cask…
The news broke late yesterday morning that Humphrey Smith had passed away. The doyen of Samuel Smith Brewery was only 81 - though to some he had been around forever - and seemingly had been in poor health for some time though details are, as you'd expect rather scarce. Some insiders refer to him having been in palliative care for a short while, but whatever the circumstances, he is no more, so…
Way back in the past I wrote about how the modern mannerism "You all right there" at the bar had become a kind of of substitute for previous greetings such as "what can I get you?" or "what would you like?" For the record, it was a short blogpost, as this one will be, and it was over fifteen years ago and, inevitably, in the way of things, it has got worse. Fifteen years ago, I was by my measure…
I was talking to a local pub landlord recently and during the conversation, was disappointed, but not surprised, how in winter particularly, when it is pissing down as it often has been in recent months, just how many times he had to make recourse to his reserves to pay the bills as the pub was so empty. Now you might liken this a bit like when you pay your monthly ransom to the power companies,…
Normal 0 false false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE Like buses, they all come more or less at once. Hard on the heels of Northern Bar was the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) big annual thrash held in the Liverpool Exhibition Centre. SIBA BeerX 26 is a massive trade show with a beer competition, many bars featuring independent brewers from the whole country, exhibitors from…
It scarcely seems like a year since I last attended the Northern Bar Show , which I reported on here . Reflecting on that, one thing for sure is at my age, that while often the hours drag, the years fly by all too quickly. I went with my old pal Graham. Manchester Central exhibition centre, the venue of this gig is where we organised the (very successful) festivals. Happy days and a great talking…
I first mentioned the Hand and Marigold in Bermondsey last July. It is a handsome free house, and we've been a few times and like it. If you want to know a bit more about it, I suggest you read this piece from the Southwark News which lays out the story of the pub's resurrection in excellent detail. The pub itself is handsome, well laid out inside and the staff in my experience are helpful.…
Leaving the delightful Wilton's Music Hall , we set off along Cable Street towards Commercial Road and our planned stop at the Clement Attlee in Limehouse . The first part of the walk passes through a mix of housing, some old and some much newer. On the way we passed several long-closed pubs. First we passed the Crown and Dolphin , which had been a pub since 1850. It finally closed in 1992 after a…
Wilton's Music Hall in Graces Alley, E1, is less than a five-minute walk from our London flat. It’s the oldest surviving music hall in the world and has stood in its current form since 1859. There’s also a bar selling cask beer that’s open to the public during performances. We’ve owned our flat for 29 years and, despite always meaning to visit, we never quite got round to it. We hadn’t even walked…
I'm a bit of a fan of the Tweedy Pubs channel on YouTube. If you haven't come across it, Tweedy is something of a pub historian, wandering around London (and occasionally further afield) exploring pub history, architecture and stories. His videos have introduced me to corners of London I'd barely thought about before, and I've quietly built up a mental list of places I'd like to visit. Last Friday…
We returned to London for the first time this year last Thursday afternoon. We should have been there earlier the week before, but we had overlooked the revamping of signals and track at Manchester Piccadilly, resulting in its effective closure and trains starting at Stockport. Bugger that, so we came a bit later, but as always after checking the flat, sorting out mail and whatnot, off we set for…
Years ago, we used to visit a pub at the far end of the Minories, fairly near our flat. And I mean years ago - probably fifteen or so since we last went in. Then the Three Lords was a Young's pub and I recall it being fairly traditional and selling cask beer. Over time though it was pulled apart inside and instead of a mixed clientele it became a place with a few posing tables and a mostly young…
Last week, on a visit to London, we decided to walk over Tower Bridge to the Hand and Marigold in Bermonsdsey, and hence along Tooley Street to the Sun Wharf , a new Wetherspoons, in the former London Dungeon. In October the tourist hordes have died down somewhat and our walk along Royal Mint St to the rear of the controversial sometime to be Chinese embassy, was an enjoyable one as we checked out…
There has been much coverage in the press - almost all of it sensational - in the past few days about the Government's proposals to review and modernise the laws which govern licensing. The laws and rules have not been looked at in any great depth since the Licensing Act of 2003 which at the time was thought rather revolutionary and far-reaching, but is now seen as restrictive and over officious.…
Alright folks, we’ve sorted out what to drink and the limitations of Helles, Munich’s undisputed favourite. So, what’s next? Well, the obvious question: where do you actually drink it? Now, in some German cities it can be a bit of a hunt. In places like Augsburg or Frankfurt, decent spots are few and far between, and in others – Lubeck, Wiesbaden and plenty more – the good drinking spots feel…
While many members of the Campaign for Real Ale were sceptical about moving the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF) from its London home to the NEC in Birmingham, it is doubtful if many of us were prepared for how badly it would turn out. A whopping £320,000 loss was surely not in anyone's mind, and must have exceeded by far the worst case scenario presented in the business case for it. As someone…
Since my last post on the subject, I have been reading on social media that the new JW Lees version of Boddies is meeting with much approval from the cask drinking public and, importantly, from publicans. It is of course still largely in its Manchester homeland, and probably not straying too far even in the North West, but it will I’m sure in time. I note that such fine establishments such as the…
You’ve already had the lowdown on some of the beers we enjoyed in Munich, but man – and indeed woman – does not live by Helles alone (though in Munich you certainly could have a decent attempt). As I mentioned before, E took quite a shine to Augustiner Pils. Alas her attempts to sample a few different pils along the way were thwarted. Sadly, you can’t find Pils on draught anywhere, and for reasons…
A veritable glitterati of CAMRA North West worthies, plus the Morning Advertiser were gathered by invitation in JW Lees Brewery Cottage yesterday to learn about JW Lees newly brewed version of Boddingtons Cask Bitter and, importantly, to taste the product. William Lees-Jones, the Managing Director, led proceedings with a canter through the history of the brand and how AB InBev, trading as…