Long Time Coming...

So as you all are very aware, it's been over 2 years since my last post! Disappointing I know and so much has developed in the real ale and craft beer scene in Leeds since. Luckily I have picked up a few very knowledgeable friends over the last two years and I try to learn all I can from them obviously in the process of drinking some amazing beers.

What I thought I would do in the next few posts is recommend some amazing new and old pubs that I have been spending far too much time at in the last two years.

As most of my friends know I can be quite often found at my second home, North Bar and if I didn't start with this one I think a fair few people would mock me. With an amazing beer selection covering all price ranges and a wide variety of characters visiting there is always something for everyone. 

It can be quite helpful that I have made fantastic friends Erin who has been working at North Bar for quite a while, she is one of most passionate women I have ever met about beer. I have learnt so much from her and she has introduced me to so many different beers and taught me about the different beer styles. This is what I love about North, the approachable staff will always jump to suggest a beer and usually always have a fantastic eye for what their customers may be looking for.

As I am there quite often, my friend Sam and I frequent North Bar's own brew. Prototype (3.8% at £2.90 pt), this one of their most in-expensive beer and brewed only for the North Bar chain (I'll talk more about that later). 

The staff went to Kirkstall Brewery and made 5 different prototypes of ale that they wanted to showcase North's style and appeal to their customers. They tested the 5 prototypes and got their customers to vote for their favourite. If I remember rightly I voted for their Prototype 5 but Prototype 3 won (booo).

Even so it's a lovely pale to amber, easy drinking beer and a good start up beer for when you arrive. This gives you time to peruse their wide selection of cask and bottled ale!

As I have changed job recently I don't find myself in the city centre any more so I needed to find another amazing local for me to pop into. The second I would like to mention is Arcadia in Headingley,  this pub, like North is also mentioned in the Good Beer Guide every year.

 I also have made another fantastic friend called Brook who is another very clever lady when it comes to all things beer (I'm collecting girl beer drinkers like Pokemon cards!), she also works at Arcadia with a few more beautiful ladies who you can go visit. Now don't get put off by the potential dreaded 'Otley Runners' (18 pub, student pub crawl, messy messy messy), Arcadia has put strict rules in place to avoid the fancy dressed students or even any groups arriving for that matter, so we can still keep the peace for all the regulars (you can still prebook a group visit if you wanted).  

Graham the manager is another of my new found friends who is fantastically knowledgeable about beer and I love how particular he is about what beers he does have in stock, he is so willing to pass any trinkets of information to any customers that goes his way.

 I find in Arcadia the turn over of beers is brilliant, even within the hour of you arriving two of the pumps have already changed over. With Timothy Taylor Landlord and Black Sheep as a standard on the taps the variation for known breweries to unknown breweries always keeps the drinker on their toes.  

For instance I tried Black Sheep's Russian Imperial Stout for the first time and my goodness it was delicious, dangerous but delicious, Also Magic Rock Brewery's (swiftly turning into on of my favourite brewery) Magic 8 Ball. Neither are for the feint hearted with a very high percentage but delicious beers all the same!

Also you find with Arcadia, there are some interesting characters. For instance I had one of the most compelling conversations with Michael, who is a regular at Arcadia and we were having a drink and a very in depth discussion about beer (he used to work at the head quarters of Bass beer when it was located up north in Leeds!!). He brought over a pint for me and told me

"So this is my beer".

To which I replied "oh thanks, this is the beer you're drinking?"

"Oh no no, this is my beer. I am the head brewery at Elland Brewery and this is my beer I have been developing. It should taste of passion fruit and almonds what do you think?".

I was in shock!

Not only had I been blabbing on about beers but I was completely oblivious to whom I had been talking to. Not only that, he had asked my opinion! So we sat there as I have done on many occasions with lots of people dissecting and critiquing the flavours, clarity and colour of the beer. Not only this time could I sit there and make these comments but he was going to take my suggestions and correct this for the next batch he made! Once in a lifetime experience and I enjoyed every minute of it!

So, not that I am biased or anything but I would highly recommend the Elland Brewery's Beat A created by my new friend Michael and obviously tweaked by yours truly.

 (I'm under no illusions that he actually went and made the changes i suggested but in my head he did and the beer will taste better for it HA!)

Next on my list is a new pub to Leeds and it's called Friends of Ham, located just next to the train station in Leeds city centre. Its deceiving entrance looks like it's going to a bit of a squash but as you venture downstairs the is a lovely, homely seating area. It has been open for about a year and a half and it's quickly pushing its way through onto the food and beer scene in Leeds.

 They specialize in charcuterie so lots of nibbles to go with the beers. They have a wider selection of bottles than tap and some fantastic wine but still a lovely way to spend a cold winters day tucked away to forget the miserable weather. One of my favourite new pubs in the city centre.

There has been such a change in Leeds these are just 3 that are some of my favourites and I shall continue writing about the others that have caught my eye. 

Next to come....

The Reliance

Social

The Adelphi

Alfreds

Whitelocks

Brewdog Leeds

The Grove

East of Arcadia

The Botanist

Tetley

The Bridge

Brew-denell Beer Fesitval

Middlesbrough side

Dr Phil's Real Ale House

and more that I am sure I have forgotten and any others that you may suggest?

Let me know in the comments below!

  

Guest Post - Peter Bland - Hartlepool and the best pub next to the station!

Real ale, real football and real good company

The 12.30pm train from Middlesbrough to Hartlepool pulls in to the station and we board in high spirits, the Westwood Wanderers are marauding again!

The Wanderers are a close knit local community whose neighbourliness on this occasion extended to indulging the passion of an expat from New Zealand for football and fine ales who, starved of experiencing both in their purest form, needed a fix before returning down under.  

Conversation on the train revolved around the delights likely to be served up on the football pitch, given Hartlepool’s recent poor form, and the stark contrast likely to be served up in the pub before the game.  We had prior knowledge of our chosen destination and the “little gem” known as the Rat Race Alehouse had, due to a previous expedition to Victoria Park, provided our beer taste receptors with sufficient memory to have us salivating in expectation.  For those who have not had the pleasure of visiting the Rat Race in Hartlepool and wish to do so and experience the full surprising effect, then read no further as this text contains spoilers. The experience will have best effect if you visit the place blind but safe in the knowledge that if you do and like real ales, you are in for a treat.

The Pub, if you can really call it such, is a converted waiting room accessed directly off the station platform at Hartlepool.  From a small hut, in the corner of one average sized living room, the barkeep serves real ale of exceptional quality given the cramped nature of his facility. On one wall beermats ingeniously fixed to plastic pipes act as place holders to the multitude of choice in real ales either as past, present or future delights. You can’t help browsing the array and saying to yourself “I’ve sampled  that, hmm that one was nice, that one sounds good.”

On the opposite wall the menu for the day was proudly displayed on a traditional chalkboard with the following on offer :-

1. Great Heck - Life Begins - 4.0%Pale ale with Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand (believe it or not given our company) , brewed specially for the York Beer Festival 15^th 17^th September 2011 Organiser’s 40^th birthday. Went down very swiftly!
2. Gundog - Gundog - 4.5%

Described as a traditional bitter, amber in colour with a crisp bitterness and spicy aroma to finish, Nice!

3. RCH - East Street Cream - 5.0%

Full bodied and fruity chestnut bitter with a good combination of malt and hops. All the way from Somerset to Hartlepool, well-travelled! 

Plus but no description notes

4. Bartram's - Captain's Stout - 4.8%

5. Oliver's - Medium Cider - 6.5%

6. Broadoak - Premium Perry - 7.5%

An evening (or afternoon in this case) visiting a real ale establishment is much more than a visit to the pub and this trip to the Rat Race did not disappoint.  Sampling new ales, finding a new favourite or revisiting an old favourite brew, always makes for a memorable occasion. Sharing first thoughts on your chosen tipple, having a sip from a neighbour’s glass, discussions of colour, texture, flavour and smell ensure worthy homage is paid to craft of the brewer and make certain the ale and conversation flows. 

There’s another trip across the water in the offing but I have asked if we can stay in the “pub” rather than going to the game!

Blandinio

Guest Post - Curtis Radcliffe - St. Bees

St.Bees is a small quite village located on the coast of West Cumbria. It's probably most famous for being the starting point of the Wainwright Coast to Coast walk or maybe for being the place Edmund Blackadder himself Rowan Atkinson was educated, but more importantly it has 4 pubs which all serve real ale and it's this last fact which helped me decide to choose the sleepy little town as the subject of my post. So last Saturday me and my good friend Chris headed down to St.Bees to try a couple of choice ales from a couple of the local pubs.

The first pub we went to was the Queens. The Queens used to be somewhat of a regular haunt for me and my friends during our sixth form days, it was a little run down, but always had friendly atmosphere and good ale to spare. The Queens is now under new management and they seem to have done a reasonably good job of renovating the old pub, while still hanging on to the traditional feel of a real ale pub. We did note however the flower vases on tables, which were clearly not in the dining area and a rather cheap looking coffee print which looked like it was bought in Wilkinson’s were a bit out of place in a real ale pub. The Ordinance Survey maps and walking guides on the wall along with the roaring fire more than made up for those shortfalls though.


Anyway onto the ale, we both decided to start with a pint of Banks's Fine Fettle. It was a light, fresh ale that you wouldn’t normally associate with winter, it certainly seemed an ale more suited to a summer afternoon than a cold winter evening. On first taste we both agreed on a citrusy flavour, not that of lemon or lime, but something a little sweeter more like orange and a strong woody finish, something akin to walnut. At this point I feel I should point out, neither of us have any experience or knowledge of ale tasting so we might be talking complete rubbish, but I can safely say it was one tasty pint.

The next pub we visited sits across the road only 7m away from the first. The Manor House unlike the Queens has not been recently renovated and in all honesty is all the better for it. It has a much more traditional pub feel, you know the exposed beams, copper wall ornaments, beer mats hanging behind the bar and all that. The atmosphere in the Manor was notably more friendly as soon as you stepped through the door, which is why we stayed for two pints rather than the scheduled one.

For our second drink we both went for a pint of Adnams Explorer. It was a less complex ale than Fine Fettle and lacked the depth of multiple flavours, it was also slightly stronger than any of the other ales we had that day. One notable flavour we both detected was honey. Not the runny, syrupy stuff you normally see in bear shaped bottles on American tv, but real old man honey. The hard kind, which you have to dig out with a knife and although its undeniably sweet, there is a slight bitter taste that comes with it.


ooking back on our notes for the last two ales, I think the conversation had begun to flow quite freely and we had become slightly distracted from our task at hand as or analysis had become a little lightweight. I chose to end the trip with Thwaits Wainwright which I thought would be quite fitting considering our location. It was far lighter in colour than the previous two ales I tried and was notably bitterer, almost tart. Chris went for a pint of St. Austall's Tribute Premium Cornish Ale, no doubt chosen for the brilliant name. Looking back at his notes all he managed in way of a description was “creamy” but having checked back with him for clarity he assured me it was a delicious pint.

After our three ales we decided to head back home, both thoroughly satisfied and reasonably amused as we read through our attempts at describing the alcoholic beverage that we both love.

Guest Post - Martin 'Me Da' Deacy - Car free day

So after giving up alcohol for the month of January I wanted to keep the post coming in. So I've asked a few family members, friends and family friends in fact to doing me massive favour of going out...having a pint or 5 .... then writing a little bit about it! As you can imagine friends have already voiced their jealousy about my perfectly good excuse to go have a swift pint for research purposes (not that you need a reason!). So I thought I would lend the excuse about for a month, so first up my Dad's submission!  

Organising to get to Whitby on the train and taking in the wonderful Birch Hall Inn at Beck Hole sounds complicated, but in the end it was a “walk in the park “ or should I say a walk on the Moors . Leaving Middlesbrough at 10.38 and arriving at Grosmont at 11.44, then walking the 2 easy miles along the old cinder railway track gave us plenty of time to build up a thirst. A herd of 15 deer crossed our path and made a great start to the New Year. At the Birch Hall Inn we got the usual friendly welcome from the bar staff and the locals. A pint of “Beck Watter” from North Yorkshire Brewery kicked the day off. It reminded me of Cameron’s No 3 (If you can remember that far back) but with a lighter, less “darker” taste as the other half described it. Young’s Winter Warmer (5%) soon followed, a more complex and fruiter offering with a bitter aftertaste but just as distinctive and well kept. The dogs and the locals came and went and soon it was time for us to retrace our steps back to Grosmont and finish our outward journey to Whitby.

Decisions, decisions, decisions, where to drink in Whitby.? Local or tourist, new or old, off the beaten track or hidden gems? After the ubiquitous fish and chips we opted for the Award winning Black Horse on Church St and refreshed ourselves with a Whitby Abbey, a light and tasty beer from Black Dog Brewery. The easy drinking nature suited everyone till the Winter Tyne, a darkish bitter ale from the Mordue Brewery called out to be sampled. This full bodied nature didn’t suit the better half who returned to the Abbey (if only).

Over the market square to the spacious Shambles with the best view of the Esk in all of Whitby. Loads of seats as it’s out of season, so we sat with a 5 Wold Rings, from the Wold Top Brewery, an easy, citrusy drink with bags of taste.

Oops look at the time, the trains due in 25 minutes, and just enough time to visit one more pub.? Our local Sam Smith's pub doesn’t sell real ale, so when we saw Old Brewery Bitter hand pulled in the Jolly Sailors on the harbour side we had to have a go , and it was well worth it After that rarity we raced for the train making it with ease in the end. After a strange game of cards with floating rules we arrive back home, a stress free day with no driving and lots of great memories. Looks like it’s going to be a yearly fixture now.   

Another Deacy Family York Day Out.

We have always done this in the Deacy family, go to York for a day in the run up to Christmas. It's always freezing but as we have gotten older and wiser we have discovered that less Christmas shopping works best! Only because it involved Dad standing outside shops for a few hours on his own (I brought along the "Whats Brewing" CAMRA newspaper to keep him occupied for the few shops we went into this year.)

Now we do less Christmas shopping and more real ale drinking as there are thousands of real ale pubs in York.So where to start??

First stop the  Blue Bell on FossGate. 9 pumps on. I had Rooster Highroad Treason Treacle Ale. Dad got a Whispa IPA from the WharfeBank Brewery which was a really deep amber with a very fruity taste. Mum got an old favourite, Timothy Taylor's Landlord and Ella our resident cider drinker got a Westerns Cider which was as clear as water but at 7% she was very happy with!

The bar itself was amazing, tiny but amazing. It has such an impressive bar it just seems to take over the whole front room. The cozier, warmer back room was clad with a dark wood and it felt really homely. The corridor between the two rooms even has it's own drinkers lay-by with a fold away seat! Worth a visit if your in the city centre.

After a bit more shopping the warmth from the beer was wearing off so we had another stop to grab some food. We passed the home of York Brewery, as mentioned before the only brewery inside the castle walls and the pub was called The Last Drop Inn. The name actually comes from the hanging of infamous highway man Dick Turpin, who it was supposed was hanged in the building. There is lots about the history on the walls of the pub. Goodness, I wouldn't like to be in there on my own on a dark night..... actually what am I thinking with all that beer? I'd love it ghost or no ghost (they did actually have York Brewery Ghost Ale on...was it a sign?).

I got a pint of YB festive ale  Humbug which had the taste of dark burnt toffee and Dad had a pint of the  guest ale Ptamigan from the Moles Brewery . There was a bit of a mix up with the food but the sausage advertised that if you bought two portions you got a pint of ale free sounded amazing, but alas they had none left so we were forced to get a couple of their delicious roasts! Also they do 10% off with your CAMRA card, it was the first chance I had had to use it. so it took our bill down quite a bit I was very excited to use it!

Again we went to get some shopping done Mark & Sparks style, and that was just a nightmare with people everywhere, we were starting to get tired and what usually happens with tiredness in York is we end up at The Maltings. I have made my mind up on that pub. I don't want to feel scrutinised when I go for my 'I'm tired' sit down drink so Dad thought of somewhere over the river in MickleGate famous for it's stags and hens infestation but well worth the wander over on a Sunday afternoon to the oasis that is Brigantines. Not far from the station and preferable to the other previously mentioned pub.

There were 8 casks ales on  and the beer we drank was very well kept. It was really roomy with lots of seating, their Sunday lunch was coming to the end so there were tit-bit's left over on the bar. I managed to bag myself a nifty little fishcake. Really Tasty! So we had some Leeds Best from the Great Heck Brewery, and dad got a Black Sheep's Wooly Jumper which both were really nice, even went down easily when we realised we were late for the train!

Anway that is my story about the 'shopping' in York and I still need to buy mum some slippers. Oh well another day, finally getting into the Christmas spirit after we have got our tree up in Leeds. I can only assume there will be a few beers over this festive period.... any suggestions just let me know!

North Bar Pop Up Bar.

So i read about this pop up bar North Bar were doing in Kirkgate Market especially for the christmas shoppers.

So I went down with my friend Francesca from work who was up for trying something new so we arrived and to be honest nearly missed it! It was set up in one of the stalls and if you know Kirkgate Market when you go in the left hand side front entrance.

They had two drinks on, either Fullers German Pilsner or a mulled cider. The Fullers actually tasted quite good despite the fact it was from a transportable pump. Fran decided there was hints of citrus and honey and for a none ale drinker it went down very quickly!

I had the mulled cider which was a godsend in the cold market, he even stuck a cinamon stick in it for me! It tasted alot like a baked apple. Which was nice but a bit too sweet for me.

Also they had some pork pies from the yorkshire pie company which is on butchers row accompanied by so local chutney from a company called Pudsey Pickles they had an array there but my favourite was the one with jalepenos in it! YUM. Along with the black pudding and pork, pork pie it was a pretty tasty hour or so.

I really want to go this week, they promised singers and entertainment this week and with a few more bodies I think it is a really good idea!

Dry Bar

So I've just read an article in the Guardian about a new bar that has just opened in Liverpool for recovering alchoholics but it has also become quite popular with the Muslim community which I think is really great. Anyway have a look at the article and see what you think.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2011/nov/07/liverpool-alcohol-free-bar?INTCMP=SRCH

Number Twenty 2 and the House of Commons Ale

I decided to head back to Middlesbrough for a few days. Mum and Dad suggested I go to Darlington and they meet me there and do some charity shopping (I got a new vintage blue dress for £2.99 WIN!) and naturally a beer sampling lunch. We went to a an amazing 'pub' (more on that later) called Number Twenty 2, located on Conniscliffe Road.

 It was a bit of a surprise if I'm going to be honest to find such an amazing place I wasn't really ready for! It wasn't just because we were in Darlington. I knew we would be going to a real ale pub for lunch, it's a given with my family, only it wasn't a typical tiny old pub with low hanging beams and beer mats pinned to the wall. Not that I dislike those pubs, but that whats I was expecting.

This 'pub' is at the opposite end of the scale, with high ceilings and lovely massive windows to give the bar an airy feeling to contrast against the deep purpley pink decor. With traditional features mixed in with modern detailing it could keep you curious for hours!

When I say modern I don't mean in that horrible way that some people take an old pub and stick mirrors and shiny surfaces everywhere, but they used very subtle tweaks which just give it an amazing charm. I loved it!  

Dad and I had a bit of a dispute about the way we would describe  Number Twenty 2. I started to take notes describing it as a 'Really traditional pub" but with contemporary details around and about. Dad instantly disagreed and said it wasn't really a pub, but more of a drinking establishment since it served food and was more like a bar??? I said it had the traditional elements still left from the original pub but they had made it more up-to-date with the decor yadda yadda yadda hence describing it as a pub Argh! This went on for a while after Mum telling  us we were both right and we settled down. I'll let you know what he had to say on the matter after reading this post.


There were 12 pumps on when we were in there, Dad picked out Adnams Lighthouse by Soul Bray Brewery for me which was nice but I wasn't really feeling it. Not my sort of thing a bit too hoppy and with a strong malt flavours to it, So as Dads should always do, he swapped with me. He had Icon by Salopian Brewery which was a flowery ale, for very easy drinking, bit too flowery for me, I'm fussy I know. So as Mums should always do she swapped with me, HA!

She had Moonlight Ale which was an interesting one. We had all tried it it, Dad got the taste of "hundreds and thousands" while Mum got the flavour of pineapple chunks underneath the hoppy undertones. It was lovely but it was such a complex nostalgic ale which took both Mum and Dad back to flavours of their childhoods which was really interesting. I love ales that transport you somewhere totally different and make you think.

So there is was, we all had the appropriate ale at the end. Dad with a malty, hoppy ale. Mum with a flowery light ale and me with a 'thinker' ale, He knew what he ordered was right he just gave them to the wrong people! If I had to describe all our different tastes I think those 3 beers pinpoint us perfectly.

We then had some food from there small but perfectly formed menu of simple classics with a twist. So Mum had something called the 3 little piggies, which was a hot sandwich with sausage, bacon and black pudding with a onion relish, It was really tasty! Not too big so it wasn't too much with a salad on the side ( who were they trying to kid with salad???). Dad and I shared a ploughmans and I had ham on the side,with 2 local cheeses and one delicious goats cheese with a rosemary crust from Spain, grapes, apple, a bit of bread and chutney it just hit the spot.

We then got another round in, So after reading in the Darlington Drinker 181 about Number Twenty 2's own ale White Boar and how it has been chosen  to be sold in the House of Common's Strangers Bar I had to sample this beer! If you don't already know, because I didn't, there is a bar in the House of Commons, so when somebody is shown around the HoC they get taken for a drink in there.


Anway, I decided that I had to try this politically appreciated ale and it didn't disapoint. A citrusy stand out beer with it's own individual flavours which is really refreshing. When you first 'nose' the beer you get a butterscotch bouquet with overtones of meady honey. I really enjoyed this beer and if you can get your hands on a pint I could recommend you try it!

This is has been one of my favourite beer sessions with all the casks obviously in good condition and the warm and welcoming staff, relaxed atmosphere in the perfect surroundings I would take anybody there in an instant. I'm going to put it out there and go so far as to say this is my favourite ale pub so far!

Ben's Brewery Recomendations.

So I mentioned my house mate's sister came up the other weekend with her boyfriend both Natalie and Ben are big beer lovers (take note of the article of hers I posted in an October post). Ben works at a pub called the The Duke of Wellington in London. I forget what part (rubbish memory hence the little red notebook) but he sat down and was kind enough to tell me lots about ale from the pouring to drinking and everything in-between. So we got to talking about breweries and all the different one so he wrote me a (hugeee) list of a few breweries to keep an eye out for. Admittedly they are mainly daaawwn south but there are a few from around and about but I thought I was being a bit selfish so I would share the list with you. Let me know what you think or if you have any more that should be added to the list.  

Disclaimer. I going to try to transcribe his list as he has written with stars (I think they mean favorites) and underlines (I think these mean super favourites). Also I apologise for mistakes I could go onto blame his handwriting but it's probably me being a bit of an idiot!

Ben's Brewery Recommendations.


1. Darkstar - Sussex
     Beers- Hophead(Ben's favourite), Hylder Blonde, Saison, Winter/summer solstra etc

2. Harveys - Sussex

3. Hopdaemon - Kent

4. Ascot - Surrey
     Beers - Alligator, Single Hop's (varying hops), Anastasia's Exile Stout.

5. Brodies - Leyton, London

6, Crouchvale - Essex
     Beers - Amanillo, Brewers Gold

7. Marble - Manchester

8. *Harviestoun* - Bitter & Twisted

9. *Fyne Ales* - Scotland
      Beers - Avalanche etc.

10. Itchen Valley - Hampshire
      Beers - Pure Gold, Godfathers.

11. Langham - Sussex

12. Hepworth - Sussex

13. Bristol Beer Factory - Bristol

14 Arbar Ales - Whiltshire (I think)

15. Moor Brewery - Bristol

16. Woodfordes - Norfolk
      Beers- Whenry (v. good bitter)

17. Red Squirrel - Hertfordshire
      Beers - Redwood American IPA

18. Kelham Island - Yorkshire
      Beers - Pale Rider

19. Williams Brothers, Seven Giraffes - Scotland

20. St Austell - Tribute.

21. Purple Moose Brewery -  Porthmadog, Wales

22. *Kernel* - Bermondsey London (bottled)


23. Acom - Barnsley

24. Othey - Wales

25. Redemption - London
     Beers - Trinity, Fellowship Porter

So there is the huge list!

Off off the top of his head may I add. I managed to catch him the morning after because I suspect if I had asked him in the pub the list would have been shorter and harder to transcribe. Anyway keep an eye out but if you think there are anymore to add or amendments let me know!

Trippy Beers

So I stumbled across this website called bevShots who have discovered an amazing way of photographing beverages with a microscope and a camera to create these amazing images. It's an american website so things are a bit weird and american and they are now printing them and selling them on different types on merchandise like neck ties for instance. I really liked the concept and how the images are produced.

'BevShot images are made by first crystallizing the drink of choice on a lab slide. Using a standard light microscope with a camera attached, the light source is polarized and passed through the crystal. This creates the magnificent colors we see in our favorite drinks featured on this site. "


here is just a selection of my favourites.

American Amber Ale

 Black Russian

English Oatmeal Stout

 Gin

 Irish Stout

Have a look at the others at www.bevshot.com.

Victoria Hotel

So I visited The Victoria with friends and some of their parents. I would even go so far to say this is my favourite real ale pub in Leeds. I love it, like going back in time but on this visit it was only fleeting so I'll tell you more information about The Victoria Hotel another day. So I had a swift pint of Nutty Black which I had before but in a bottle. I really liked it again but I can't decide if I like it better bottle or cask?

Then I moved onto a pint of Oakfield Brewery's India Pale Ale which was nice and refreshing after the darker smoother Nutty Black. I would recommend this as a drink if you didn't want to be too weighed down with a dark ale. Finally my friend had the other IPA they had on Japur IPA which she said

"Delicious and at the strength it should be. Desert-like and luxurious like a turkish delight"

They usually have about 8 pumps on at the Victoria but this occasion they only had 3 left on which was but a disappointing but hey what can you do?

Jumbo Records 40 year anniversary ale.

So we managed to get our hands on the elusive Jumbo Records 40th Anniversary Ale. It was by pure fluke that my housemate's sister and her boyfriend came up for the weekend and she mentioned one of her favourite bars is in Leeds, The Reliance, and that's where we found it.  

I had never actually heard of The Reliance, head off past Sandinistas part of town it was in a really random place to be fair but well worth the wander! A lovely airy and light bar with an arty feel. Relaxed atmosphere with floor to ceiling windows with wooden floor boards, and also 3 pumps on! 

They also do food, one of our company got a Sunday dinner which he said was really nice, but the portion wasn't massive for a tenner. They also do picky bits like olives, hummus and brownies.

So the Jumbo Records Ale is brewed by Revolutions Brewing Company which are a perfect match apparently all their ales are names relating to music (ie the Kraftwerk Braun Ale) but also their  abvs are generally at either 3.3% o 4.5% (reflecting the two speeds turntables play at). 


Pier my housemate had this to say


"Nice well rounder. Malty with a disappointing head"


which was sad to say but true, nice flavour to it though! I will be making that stroll up to that bar again though!

North Bar with Sam

So after work on Friday my friend Sam finished at the same time as me so we decided to go in search of something to drink. Not many pubs stay open past 11 so at midnight finding somewhere to drink was a bit of a treck. So we decided on North Bar which is one of my more frequented places last year. With 8 pumps and hundreds of bottled beers there is something for everybody!

Quite an artsy atmosphere in this long thin bar it also serves food. I've tried their brownies before, which are to die for! A lovely place to meet friends for a chat a beer since it is central in Leeds and easy to describe the location (to the left of Primark!).

So Sam had one of their permanent beers Outlaw Wild Mule which he said tasted nice and because it was quite pale it was very drinkable. I had their guest ale Thee Swords which I really liked, it was amber in colour and really fruity with a hoppy and chewy aftertaste.

I then asked to try St Petersburg which at £4.30 a pint I couldn't really afford but it did taste really nice! A dark beer with a really smooth toffee taste it was quite chewy but that only added to it's charm, if it was cheaper I would have had a pint. Sam and I ended up just having a pint of what the other had luckily because we were thrown out for end of day having to leave half a pint each!

I really like North Bar but it's a bit expensive and with the modern interior might be good for some people but I much prefer older bars which are cozier and more comfortable.

First pint of many!

So last night I finally got the chance to pull my first real ale pint!! We have finally got a pump in work and we have hobgoblin on at the moment! Our cheapest pint at £3.50 but I really enjoyed it.

The same day I join camra was the same day I pulled my first pint!

I'm going to more research into pulling the best pint. Tips? More info to come!

Mr Foley's cask ale house. Leeds

So Mr Foley's was first found by my Dad when he came to visit me in Leeds for my graduation I think, with Mum, Ella and the Good Beer Guide in tow. Flicking through and we decided to go for a hunt and found this amazing pub. Anybody visiting Leeds needs to pay this bar a visit a quick walk up from the station.

 The bar staff are always friendly and knowledgeable and eager to share their opinions. The evening I went down the bar staff were all women!! It was amazing!

Mr Foley's is a warm cozy pub with seating on lots of levels, even without lots of people in (like when we were there) it's still homely and keeps the cold out. There is so much character in this pub and what I liked the most was the wide variety of customers; old and young, male and female.It makes Mr Foley's so welcoming and much less intimidating.

 Also the bar is situated in a perfect location, straight opposite the Leeds City Art Gallery, Leeds City Library and next to The Light which is a cinema/shopping complex (save yourself some pennies, instead of paying stupid amounts for a scoop from Ben and Jerry get a pint from Mr Foley before the film!). If your doing an ale trail you are in the prime location to plan out your next move! With the Town Hall Tavern a couple of doors down The Victoria Hotel over the road-ish The Angel round a few corners! Perfect!


So last Wednesday I decided to swing by before going to see a film at the cinema, perfect location as noted above! I went in with my housemate Megan, who is getting into real ale but likes the lighter pale ales. They had 14 pumps with about 4 IPAs so with a wide selection. Meg decided to go for the Saltaire Blonde at £2.90 which she said tasted like

"a summer day's drink. Which is really light for easy drinking when socialising. I can imagine drinking this with friends in the park."

I decided after reading so much about it I decided I had to try Ghost Ale £2.63 from the close by York. I'm sure I read somewhere it's the only ale brewed within the castle walls in York! Considering it's a ghost it was one of the darkest beers I have drank! Beautiful deep full oaky flavours! Meg made the final decision about this ale

"a drink for last thing at night in front of a big open fire"

So there we have it, from someone who said they don't like dark ales to her deciding after tasting Ghost ale that she could manage a half as long as it was in front of a fire was a winner for me!

Then we moved onto another York beer Scrumdown which is amber in colour that was fruity with a coffee aftertaste and a Yorkshire Terrier which I've had before in The Victoria which is lovely and soft and then ends quite hoppy, one of my favourites!

Just how I would like to have my trips to the cinema begin every time! I think I might make it my new tradition Foley's then movies!

Bottled Beers?

So I haven't really drank much ales from bottles but after reading a really interesting article on The Guardian website by my house mate's sister on the subject, I will post a link when I re-find the article! Nice to have some young female support, excited for her coming to stay so I can pick her brains!

link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2011/sep/09/the-case-for-bottled-beer


Anyway....





So I was meant to go out into Leeds to do a little ale trail on Wednesday night to bring you back latest news on some of my favourite local pubs in Leeds but my company pulled out so after getting myself into ale mode (for women especially I believe a good hearty meal for stomach lining is imperative, idea for new blog post!). So I went out and got myself a 'Very Nutty Black' which as the name implies is a very dark ale with a beautifully fruity hoppy taste afterwards and a dry nutty flavour throughout.

It tasted really light when I was expecting it to be really bloating and despite it's dark appearance it drank well. After drinking Guinness, which is like eating a full loaf of bread, darker ales are actually less filling than I thought. I think the huge flavours that come with darker ales can be missed a lot by women because they go for the blonde 'lighter' beers thinking it will be easier to drink? I believe people should drink darker ales because they are missing some amazing ales!



So I have a preconception about bottled ales, they never seem as appealing to me as cask beers. Maybe it's just the packaging? After being exposed to advertising 24/7, the bright colours, lairy prints and thats just the alcohol market. What I have come to realise is that ale doesn't need a colourful eye catching bottle with sparkles on (we just got the limited edition Christmas J2o into work 'Glitterberry' Flavour with actual edible glitter in it!!! Tastes as sickly as it looks.). People who want beer will instantly go to the ale shelf in a supermarket for instance. The dark coloured glass is integral to the quality of the ale with sunlight causing oxidation which causes the beer to taste crap. Ales don't need to have a slogan on the front, the taste of the ale will sell it's self. People work though them to work out what they like similarly with the cask ales.

So I also bought 'St Peter's Best Bitter' but I didn't get round to sampling that one but it's in the fridge for another night in missing the casks but still getting that real ale. Single girls can't find somebody to go with them every night!

A vague guide to York

After deciding to go for a meander through York on one of my days off, I knew that I needed to pop into some of my favourite haunts just to have  a little tipple, with a bite to eat of course! So I navigated towards one that always needs to be included in a trip to York, The Three Tuns, a small pub which is tucked away right by Coppergate walk and the Jorvic Center is deceptively tiny and being so long goes quite far back into the building.

Despite that there is a nice welcoming and friendly atmosphere, with a cheerful reception from the lady behind the bar after ordering real ale. I'm going to be honest I didn't take down the beer I had but it was lovely and alongside their tasty soup of the day (Stilton and Brocoli) suited me down to the ground! The rest of the food looked really nice as I watched it come out. Recommend for a bite to eat with a pint from one of the 3 pumps on.

After avoiding the April showers in September in shops I decided to try a place I have never been with an infamous reputation, not a a pub but a cocktail bar called The Evil Eye Lounge. With a extensive range of local and worldly beers and largers,  I headed past them further back to the bar which served an eclectic range of food and an amazing range of cocktails. After much deliberation I ended up with a Hedgerow Bubbly cocktail which has my second favourite beverages Gin. More precisely Hendricks Gin with a mix of blackberries lemon and topped with Prosecco. I was beautiful, it had it's beatiful up's and down (which I'm told by my works mixologist is something to look for!) Also the staff were so friendly!!

Finally I made the imminent pit stop before the long 20 minute journey back to Leeds at The Maltings where I was given the scathing looks and immediately IDed before even ordering. In the fluster of it all I made a rookie mistake of ordering a 'Chilli and Chocolate Ale'!! I won't even eat chilli never mind drinking it! So I picked up the York CAMRA and starting flicking through. Feeling my mouth getting hotter and hotter, about half way through my half I realised I was simply drinking this bitter concoction to cool my mouth and in fact it was making it worse. It nearly blew my head off! Safe to say I went and deposited the rest of my half on the bar, with more scathing looks and headed straight out the door into the fresh air to pretty much walk back to the station with my tongue hanging out!

Usually we always visit The Maltings and to be honest even with parents in tow they usually ID me without delay. I work in a bar and know how important it is but they have no manners about it which is such a shame for what could be a gem of a pub!

I headed back to Leeds after a very happy day! Shall be hopefully heading back for more drinks in November.

Apples and Pears?

So I recently read an article which is about an subject has got my goat for a long while, OK so not exactly real ale but close to it.

After being a student for 3 or so years I will admit I have drank my fair share of barrel scrapings but Personally my pet hate is pear cider. Not only does it taste so sweet and sickly it gives me a headache but the name is so contradictory!

Pear Cider?

Oxford Dictionary clearly states that cider is "an alcoholic drink made from the juice of fermented apples" APPLES! As any sane person who drinks properly knows that it is PERRY which is an alcoholic drink that is made from fermented PEARS!  (apparently the words both come from Middle English 12th to 15th century yadda yadda)

I cannot count the numbers of times I have had this argument with numerous people while going purple in the face because really, they don't care. They like the sweet fruity drink that gets the drunk! So in the end I just sit mumbling to myself and moving onto darker and darker ales to get me as far away as possible from the perry dressed up as the more marketable 'cider' Infuriating.


Rant over.



*Edit*
3 days after this post I went into work and guess what they had got in! 'Pear Cider' my my head nearly exploded! The Rekorderlig Cider which, to be fair is a nice cider, but the 'pear cider' is one step too far. I then went onto tell my bar supervisor my qualms about this product, he looked bemused and told me he like how I had displayed it in the fridges. Water off a ducks back that one.

A girl's guide to real ale & beers

So I have been doing some research around and about the internet about girls and real ales and found this eye opening website bookshelfboyfriend.com. 'Bookshelf Boyfriend is the how-to and advice site for women' apparently! So this what they had to say on the matter







Beer is as varied and as complex as wine in colour, texture, aroma, flavour and alcoholic content. This variety is steadily becoming better appreciated by the public at large as hundreds of micro-breweries in Britain alone are lovingly producing an ever expanding range of high quality 'real ales'. The following information all relates to real ales which are beers virtually always produced WITHOUT artificial preservatives or additives in contrast tothe bulk of mass-produced beers and lagers that are the main fare of public houses and restaurants.
A major source of information has been a publication 'The Best Long Drink in the World' from a non-profit organisation the 'Beer Academy'. (See later for further sources of information.)

What makes beer?

Barley

Barley is the main constituent of beer - as grapes are to wine, so barley is to beer. Barley grains are low in fat and protein but rich in starch. In growing barley it is the starch which is the plant food, but in harvested barley the starch is used to make beer.

Hops

Hops are a close botanical relative of cannabis and contain over 200 natural flavour compounds in resins and essential oils that give beer its distinctive hop flavour and degrees of bitterness. To enjoy some DIY aromatherapy, buy some hops and try to detect the 'spicy', 'floral', 'resinous', 'citrus' and other unexpected scents.

Water

Four to six pints of water are needed to produce every pint of beer. Naturally dissolved salts characterise different beers. The famous beers of Burton on Trent use water with dissolved gypsum which invest them with excellent 'keeping' qualities (hence many were exported to India).

Yeast

Yeast is a microscopic fungus that grows on sugar, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide in a process called fermentation. Different yeasts create a wide variety of flavour compounds that again characterise different beers.

How is beer made?

Malting

Barley is steeped in water and germinates. This 'malt' is heated to different degrees to stop further germination and to produce different colours and flavours.

Milling

The malt is milled to a mixture of fine flour and husks, called grist.

Mashing

The grist is mixed with hot water and left to stand, allowing enzymes to break down the starch to release soluble sugars. The clear sugary solution, the wort, is run off and the spent grains sold off for animal feed.

Boiling

The wort is boiled with hops and then cooled and aerated to dissolve oxygen which will be needed at the start of fermentation.

Fermentation

Yeast is added to the cooled bitter wort and feeds off the sugars and nutrients in the malt, producing carbon dioxide and alcohol.

Conditioning

If going into casks, some yeast fungus and extra sugar, are added. A carbon dioxide 'tingle' is produced and the fungus attract the yeast cells to form sediment at the base of the cask.

Filtration and Pasteurisation

If going into a bottle, can or keg, the beer is first conditioned and then filtered. These 'bright' beers are pasteurised for longer life.

Describing beers

• ABV - Alcohol by Volume – the percentage of alcohol in beer.
• Abbey beer - A strong beer brewed in the fashion of monastic beers but by commercial companies. Only Trappist monasteries have the legal right to call their beers 'Trappist'. Beers produced in a similar style under licence from a clerical order have adopted the term 'Abbey'.
• Ale - A beer brewed with the yeast sitting on top of the wort during fermentation (compare to a lager).
• Barley Wine - A very strong, often sweet beer.
• Bitter - A well-hopped ale.
Bottle-conditioned - Beer which undergoes secondary fermentation in the bottle (most real ales) and hence has a bottom sediment in the bottle.
• Bright - Filtered and usually pasteurised beer, in contrast to bottle-conditioned beer in that it has no bottom sediment in the bottle.
• CAMRA - The Campaign for Real Ale – British consumer organisation founded in 1971.
• IPA - Indian Pale Ale
• Lager - A beer brewed where the yeast sinks to the bottom of the wort during fermentation and which is matured for several weeks or months at low temperatures. The word 'lager' is derived from the German word for 'store'.
• Mild - A lightly hopped, low strength ale (normally under 4% but can be up to 6% ABV). Pale milds have a fruity aroma and gentle hoppiness. Dark milds have a roast malt or caramel flavour.
• Pasteurised - Beer which has been heat treated to kill remaining yeast cells and prevent further fermentation.
• Porter - A light predecessor of stout, usually with a sweet taste.
• Real Ale - An unpasteurised, unfiltered beer which continues to ferment in the vessel from which it is served ('cask-conditioned' or 'bottle-conditioned').
• Stout - A heavy, strong beer, usually dark in colour, tasting dry and bitter, often with roasted barley flavour.
Wheat Beer - A beer brewed with a high percentage of wheat and often served cloudy with yeast in suspension. Sometimes called 'white' beers.

Health Benefits

There are many facts and claims which have been published regarding the benefits to health from drinking real ale in moderation. Even if you are not convinced about some, the following list of positive attributes of beer is impressive.

• Zero fat and zero cholesterol in beer.
• Full of vitamins and minerals.
• A litre of beer can supply 10% of your daily proteinneeds (whereas wine has none).
• Alcohol in general can benefit the heart and circulatory systems
• Polyphenols in beer act as scavenger of cancer-inducing free radicals like those in red wine.
• Soluble fibres in beer have the same type of benefits as those in cereals.
Moderate alcohol consumption leads to stronger bones, as you grow older.
• The malt in dark real ales can prevent tooth decay.
• A beer a day is linked to a 40% lower risk of kidney stones forming.

Calorie counting!

If you are an avid calorie counter, note where beer sits in the following calorie league table.

• Beer 4.5% ABV - Half pint - 110 cals
• Gin and Tonic - 25ml gin & 180ml tonic - 121 cals
• Sparkling wine 125ml - 131 cals
• Cola/soft drinks - Half pint - 136 cals
• Table wine - 175ml - 175 cals
• Sweet wine or Vermouth - 125ml - 200 cals
• Bacardi Breezer - 330ml - 220 cals
• Milk Shake - Half pint - 284 cals

Buying, storing, pouring beer

While its impressive to know the definitions of the different beer containers, such as:
Butt - 108 gallons*
Hogshead - 54 gallons
Barrel - 36 gallons
Half Hogshead - 27 gallons
Kilderkin - 18 gallons
Firkin - 9 gallons
Pin - 4.5 gallons
(*8 pints in a gallon)
You are more likely to purchase your real ale in demi-pins (18 pints) or bottles of 500 ml (about 0.9 pint) or 750 ml (about 1.25 pints).
When purchasing your real ale remember to ask whether it is 'bright' (has no sediment) or is 'bottle conditioned'. The latter type is more common and has some yeast sediment and therefore needs to be decanted carefully into a glass or pitcher, retaining the sediment for disposal in the bottle.
Ideally, pour the real ale with a head and let it breath to enjoy the aromas to best advantage. The same sorts of rules apply as do to drinking good wines.
If you are not consuming your real ale soon after purchase, ideally store it in a cool environment. It should also be away from light; it is for this reason that most beer bottles are dark brown to minimise light induced chemical reactions. Beer in clear or green glass bottles will not have the equivalent 'keeping' properties.
Bottled beers should be stored vertically unless the bottle has a cork, in which case lay it down like a wine to keep the cork moist and then stand it up a day or two before drinking to let the sediment settle.

Remember, the production of real ales is a complex process, with many variables at play and, occasionally, if one is a little off, treat it like your best friend and be understanding! The pleasures will far outweigh any disappointments.








Favorite bit??? Zero fat

Manchester september 2011

So I've been sat on this post for about 2 weeks now after visiting my sister Ella in Manchester. She moved there beginning-ish of september and I said I would go visit and even though she's not really into ale much (she has tried on several occasions to get involved on this family tradition) she had scoped out one or two pubs but with time frame and pizza express offers calling we only had chance to nip into one tucked away pub.

Called The Salibury which had 5 pumps on that day, we decided to try The Blonde Witch which was out of character for me because it was so blight but the peachy undertones and I got for Ella an Autumn Red which was a bit more amber in colour with a slightly smokey aftertaste.

There was quite a strange atmosphere with a heavy metal music soundtrack to knock your socks off on a Wednesday afternoon, with token red pattered carpet and wood everywhere we left quite quickly after that because I prefer somewhere to enjoy my ale a bit more peacefully on an afternoon!

I saw a few more pubs on my travels that I will frequenting with what I like to refer to as soul in Manchester....we still have 3 years to go Ella!