Part I - A long weekend, starting at The Bricklayers Arms...

Started on Friday at The Bricklayers Arms in Putney, sorry, but when I'm in SW15, I just have to go there, simples... 

Sara (may end with an 'h', in fact, probably does, apologies if I've spelt it incorrectly) behind the bar, which is quite usual, and very pleasant, and regular faces including John this side of the bar. A few ales were available from the Surrey brewer, Pilgrim, from whom I cannot remember having one of their ales before: Moild, a 3.8% dark mild, apparently they speak that way; Progress, a 4% copper coloured 'Best Bitter'; Surrey Pale Ale, a 3.7% pale ale, obviously, but lacking a wee bit of flavour and body; and Weald Ale, a 3.6% pale golden ale, slightly malty with a dry finish, not bad.    

Other ales at The Bricklayers included, from Wiltshire, Keystone Bedrock Bitter (3.6%), another pale bitter that ran off before I could sample it; also from Wiltshire, Plain Ales Inndulgence, which I'm sure I've had before, a 'ruby porter', 5.2% and a lovely deep red colour, with a roasted barley aroma and taste, very nice; and more local, Twickenham Grandstand, to be discussed in Part II of this blog...  

Over the weekend I mostly watched rugby, but also, on the Saturday, I had a fair old West London walk to Barnes, Surrey bank of the Thames, and Chiswick and Hammersmith on the Middlesex side. Of course, when in W6! The Dove, by the Thames in Hammersmith is an excellent Fullers pub, great history and very close by Kelmscott House, the late 19th century residence of one of my heroes, William Morris; it would have been nice to share a few drinks with him and to discuss arts and crafts and politics. It's a Fullers pub I've been to many times, but Matt, the ex-manager now, has recently taken off to Africa with his wife, so awaiting a new manager. 

Of course, Fullers/Gales ales are sold here from their 4 handpumps. The ales are always in good condition here, and, should you find Fullers beers not to your taste, this is one of the Fullers houses you really should go to and try a pint of Fullers at before turning your head away from them. There was Gales HSB (4.8%); the excellent full-flavoured Fullers ESB (5.5%), one of my favourite darker ales; London Pride (4.1%), pretty much the Fullers beer that everyone has heard of, which, when sampled at somewhere that sells it quickly and knows how to look after their ale, like here, this is very good too; Chiswick Bitter, only 3.5%, and difficult to find, quite rare, in fact. Dry hopped and a lovely session bitter, incidentally, Chiswick was the favourite tipple of the local beer writer, Michael Jackson R.I.P. (not the singer and Fulham fan).  

Still in W6, I also visited the excellent The Duchess of Cambridge, on Goldhawk Road, near to Stamford Brook, and had a good chat with Simon, the landlord. The Duchess allows 50p reductions per pint on its real ales, most of which are usually served by gravity direct from casks behind the bar, to CAMRA members, thank you very much, also to teachers and NHS workers, and ticket holders for the nearby QPR Football Club on match days too, I do believe! I finished with a pint of the Windsor & Eton Conqueror Black IPA (5%), which I do believe I've discussed very recently, anyway, this is dark, yet hoppy, with a slight smokey flavour, and just £3.10 a pint with my discount, cheers Simon! 

Other ales included, from Wales, Brains Farmer Walloon (4.5%), a 'Saison' type version of a Belgian style, I got the Belgian, just, not bad... There were also 3 ales from the Nottinghamshire brewer, Milestone, 2 rugby directed, ie English Rose (4.5%), pale amber coloured and very nice, and Welsh Dragons (4%), paler with a slightly more malty flavour, not bad, and the darker Olde English Ale (4.9%). Sorry, but I forgot to make any other notes!

Cheers for now, look out for Part II! 

Clapham Junction to Putney (Tuesday 14th May 2013)

Not written for a while, because of no access to a pc or laptop, so a few will be published over next few days, starting with my arriving in London to visit the Routemeister...

We first visited this new Young's bar, really, can't be called a pub, which is a shame when taking into account the brewer's history.  The Waterfront, what can I say? It's very 'modern', when I thought 'modern' was out of date now, much glass, as you can see from the photograph. A selection of the usual Youngs ales on, Special, Ordinary and Waggle Dance, of which we had a pint of Special each.  Quite frankly, the barmaid had no idea how to pull a pint, and had to be asked twice to top up the shortfall, the beer wasn't 'off', but it was a bit sad, lacked the usual flavour, was tired... Not that I'm suggesting it was near the end of a cask that must have been on for ages, or that the bar may have a cellar a fair way away from the pump, so a long line, nor that they hadn't sold any yet on that day, just that... I shan't be returning in a hurry. 

 

Anyway, that evening we visited the Bricklayers Arms in Putney, a different kettle of fish entirely!

Alway a great selection of ales here, on the day, dominated by dark beers; a couple of Old Dairy ales, Red Top (3.8%) and Gold Top (4.3%), a few others, plus 4 from Plain Ales Brewery in the West Country. We tried 2 of the Plain Ales, missing out the Mild Not Meek (5.4%) and Inndulgence, a 5.2% "Ruby Porter", Dan just drank the 4.2% "Ruby Best Bitter" that was Inntrigue, which I felt was a bit thin, after which I drank the 4.8% Inncognito, which was very nice, indeed, much more body, a bit chocolatey, with a hint of liquorice. Good stuff...

More to come shortly, cheers!    

The Bell Inn, Bath

Following the Chancellor's decision to get rid of (we hope for ever) the Beer Duty Escalator, today's news is about the offering of shares in a cooperative to own the CAMRA Good Beer Guide entry, The Bell Inn, Bath (site).  OK, we're not likely to see any decrease in the price of ales in pubs due to this tax reduction, but it should help publicans to keep increases in prices to a minimum, taking into account the brewers' own price rises, which many pubs have already passed on, but some have not awaiting the Chancellor's announcement.

The Bell Inn is a music venue, as well as offering 9 real ales, and has the support of many celebrities, including Peter Gabriel, Clare Teal, Robert Plant, Midge Ure and Will Gregory of Goldfrapp, who should all be able to contribute a few coins between them.  This looks to be an interesting project, and great if it keeps a good real ale house, and music venue, alive and kicking.

 

The Bell has 7 regular ales, that include quite a few I have recently commented on: RCH Pitchfork (4.3%); Stonehenge Danish Dynamite, a 5% light golden ale much enjoyed recently at the Dolphin in Hastings, and both soon to be available there again; Abbey Ales Bellringer, a 4.2% amber ale; Otter Brewery Otter Ale, a 4.5% bitter; Bath Ales Gem, a 4.1% ale that includes wheat and barley malt; and 2 of my favourite all-time ales, the excellent 4% Butcombe Bitter and the 5% pale and hoppy trendsetter from Hopback, Summer Lightning, always sampled by me if available. 

 

In addition, 2 weekly changing guest ales are available, usually chosen from a host of reasonably local small brewers, including Arbor Ales, Cotswold Spring, Milk Street, Plain Ales, Spinning Dog, and many more.  If you're ever in Bath, I'd suggest you pay this pub a visit, if you do, I'd be happy to publish your findings, cheers!

The Dolphin, Hastings, and an excellent ale, or six…

I thought an update concerning my ‘local’, the Dolphin, was due, particularly as I drank here, yesterday, what must be my favourite ale for years, it stood out that much.  Also, a testament to Mark, the landlord, and all the family and staff there, that they have kept to 6 ales since the New Year, as their sales of real ales have kept up, so no need to have a month or two with just five ales as in previous years, as Mark always likes to ensure to his ales are served in best condition, quality!

On Thursday, the real ales included the 3 regulars, Dark Star Hophead (3.8%), Youngs Special (4.5%), and Harveys Sussex Best (4%), and three guests: Franklins Mama Knows Best (4.1); Milk Street The Usual, a 4.4% bitter, with a hint of roasted malt, and aroma of toast and marmalade, very interesting and very good; and a very drinkable pale ale, Orkney Scapa Special (4.2%).

By the 25^th, the guest ales were all different, and I’ll start by describing the excellent ale mentioned in the first paragraph, sitting next to my regular favourite, Hophead, it was the 5.6% Ilkley Lotus IPA, a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”, to quote Ilkley’s pumpclip… As soon as you smell it, a citrus aroma fills your nose, very big on grapefruit in the drinking too, good body, dry, pale and bitter, what more could I ask for? All the way from Yorkshire and, although I had drunk this last year, as previously reported, it hadn’t stood out as much then, but yesterday, I loved it!  

2 other new guest ales too, both very drinkable: from a Sussex brewer, so much more local, Isfield IPA, a light beer, with a slight flavour of roasted malt; and a ruby ale from Plain Ales of Wiltshire, Intrigue, a full-flavoured 4.2% bitter.

 

If you want to taste the Lotus IPA, I’d suggest you get to the Dolphin very quickly, as I doubt it will still be available for much longer, despite 2 firkins, as it really is that good, and really is being drunken in quantity, otherwise, visit Yorkshire, cheers!

Monday 11th February, up the Junction and on to West London

So, back to London, via Clapham Junction, a bit dark and dismal, with a little snow too, however… My original plan was to be accompanied, but, sadly, alone again, consequently, rather than go straight through to Victoria, I decided to walk to Hammersmith from the Junction, via Battersea High Street, The Thames Path, and Parsons Green, first stopping at the Candlemakers in Battersea High Street.  My having gone to school in Battersea High Street, and now living on the coast of East Sussex, a pub in that road, that is linked to a Brighton brewpub, well, it had to be a stop for me, yet again, and, yet again, Freddie was working there, good to see a friendly face. 

5 handpumps on the bar, usually serving 4 real ales and a real cider, which on Monday yielded their regular ale, from their own brewery, The Laine Brewery Laine’s Best, a 4% bitter described before here. Also, 3 guest ales, Sambrook’s Pumphouse Pale Ale, a 4.2%, slightly sweet ale with a bitter aftertaste, and 2 from Dark Star, the excellent Hophead (3.8%), so often mentioned here, and, as only very recently mentioned on this blog, their excellent 3.5% The Art of Darkness, which, despite being near the end of the firkin, was still fresh, easy drinking, though maybe a touch more bitter than my last pint of it, very nice, thank you.

Next, I wandered along the Thames, over Wandsworth Bridge, past an old flame’s home to the White Horse at Parsons Green, and served by the enthusiastic and very friendly Australian barmaid, Brook.  They had 8 ales on, as usual, including their regular, Harveys Sussex Best (4%), and… Milk Street Mermaid, a 3.8% “malty nut brown beer” and Zig Zag, a 4.5% “dark chocolaty stout”; Adnams Broadside (4.7%); Moorhouses Black Cat (3.4%), a very well known dark mild; Windsor & Eton Conqueror, a 5% “black IPA”; the always excellent Oakham JHB, 3.8%, pale and hoppy, another favourite bitter of mine; and Hopfuzz Veteran, a 4.2% very pale and refreshing ale. Oh yes, and they also have about 30 Belgian beers, and a good number of ‘craft’ beers on keg too…

Then? Well along to the Dove, another favourite pub of mine (NB the close proximity to William Morris’s 19^th century home) which nestles by the Thames, just to the west of Hammersmith Bridge on the north side of the river. Served by Lisa, who has been here for well over a year, though I seem to have missed her on my more recent visits, and I had a good chat to Matt, the manager here, the lucky lad having the opportunity to live above the pub!

So, a Fullers pub of great history and reputation, serving, ahem, Gales Seafarers, Fullers London Pride, Honeydew, and a new Fullers ale for me, the 4.2% Black Cab Stout.  I was very disappointed I had missed their London Porter, only recently available here, and probably my favourite regular porter, but the Black Cab was a very nice drinkable new beer for me, dark and quite light to drink, so not too disappointed! Oh yes, a Guinness Book of Records noted “smallest bar”, by the way, see above.

 

From here, it was a walk up to Stamford Brook station, and the Raven, which had 6 ales on, that regularly change, but usually from a short list of brewers. Monday, there was Sambrook’s Wandle and Junction, Marstons EPA and Pedigree, and Ringwood Best Bitter and Fortyniner, all in good form.  I also found out the Pope was resigning at the end of the month, whilst drinking here (it was on the tv), I thought it was a first, but my brother has since assured me it isn’t (pope to resign).

 

Before leaving West London for Putney, I had to drop into the Bree Louise’s sister pub, at the Stamford Brook end of Goldhawk Road, the Duchess of Cornwall, where they gladly offer a 50p a pint discount to us CAMRA members, nice one, thank you muchly! I also met up with Simon, the landlord, again, and had a great first chat to the landlady too, Ruth, who has plans, though not yet fixed, to start brewing on the premises herself, which has to be looked forward to.   

 

As mentioned before, there are 6 handpumps and the potential for 9 ales straight from the cask, though, being a Monday and early in the week, just the 5 gravity fed beers available, plus those delivered from handpumps. There were a number of rugby union inspired beers, including Milestone Luck of the Irish (4.8%) and Scotland the Brave (4.1%), but I settled for a pint of Plain Ales, a brewery I’d first experienced beer from at the Bricklayers in Putney, Arty Farty Firkin, a good 3.9% pale hoppy bitter.  As usual, I look forward to returning to these pubs in West London very soon…

 

However, I then finished drinking at the Bricklayers in Putney, and this day’s and last Thursday’s visits there, will have a blog all of their own, very shortly… cheers!

22nd and 24th October - The Bricklayers Arms, Putney

OK, I stayed near the Thames in Putney this week, hence, I had to revisit The Bricklayers Arms at least twice, first on Monday, with the lovely Annet behind the bar again, and the regular lad this side of the bar, John (we're becoming near-drinking buddies now), and quite a few other gentlemen this side of the bar too, of course.

I tried 3 of the ales today, Oakleaf's 3.9% pale blonde bitter Some Are Drinking, a decent summer ale, though it's now the Autumn, a refreshing ale; Cairngorm's Trade Winds, a 4.3% dry, pale bitter, described as being a "Citrus, Wheat and Elderflower", though I didn't get these flavours myself too much, but enjoyed it; and Triple fff Brewery's Jabberwocky, a 5% 'black IPA', a very dark bitter with hints of licquorice, very enjoyable, see, I don't just drink pale bitters! Also, many other ales, of course, give it a visit, though I shall mention a few from my next visit... 

OK, I returned on the Wednesday, sadly, no Annet, but hey! John was in his usual position this side of the bar, and Alan AKA 'Jock the Postie', this side of the bar.  There were some of the ales on from Monday still, eg Rudgate Battleaxe (4.2%) and Broughton Exciseman's 80/- (4.6%), and two new ales I drank. These were Plain Ales Innocence, a refreshing golden bitter, and my favourite of the week, Milk Street Brewery Beer 5%; now, I was a little confused over the name from the pump clip, but I checked up on the brewery's website, and that's what the name appears to be, says what it is on the pump clip, 5%, described as a 'bitter sweet' ale, personally, I describe it as an excellent bitter, that starts with a brief hint of sweetness at first, then a dry and bitter aftertaste, pretty damn good!

As I had other responsibilities that day, I could not take advantage of the Cider and Perry Festival, with 9 ciders and 3 perries, and I do like a proper perry as they aren't that common, but should you be in the area this weekend, get there, I would, have a perry for me please. See the website for more information.

Cheers!

Friday 7th September 2012 Bricklayers Arms, Putney

We concentrated more on helping my bro, the 'Routemeister', to move to Putney today, but we did make lunchtime and evening visits to his new 'local', though he reckons it's more MY new Putney local, The Bricklayers Arms, a regular London CAMRA Pub of the Year...

 

Lunchtime was very quiet, as you can see from this photograph from where we were sitting in the 'garden'. No food here, but they were happy to accept us bringing our own sandwiches from Waitrose in Putney High Street. There are 12 ales served from handpumps here and a real cider.

 

We only tried 3 of the ales available today, the Sunny Republic Beach Blonde at 3.7%, a sweetish fruity ale (website at Sunny Republic); Plain Ales Inn the Sun, a 4.6% 'blonde bitter' (website at Plain Ales), the Routemeister's favourite lunchtime drink today, an easy to drink 'fruity' pale ale; and my preference, though I had a try at the three of them, the Art Brew Bouncy, 5.2% of in your face hops, 5 hops actually, pale, dry, bitter, loved it! Website at Art Brew...

When we returned in the evening, I continued drinking the Bouncy, why not, it's pretty good?!? The Routemeister, ie my bro, Dan, started with the Inn the Sun, but couldn't resist drinking the Bouncy before we left. Great day drinking Bouncy, oh yes, and a a bit knackered with all the lifting, so slept well...

Zzzzz....