The White Hart Inn - Exeter

This was something of a pilgrimage back to an old stomping ground for Steve the Beermeister when I joined him to visit Exeter a couple of summers ago.

(The White Hart Inn, South Street, Exeter)

As is often the case when visiting a former home town, there were plenty of pubs to reacquaint ourselves with and this large former coaching house within the city walls was probably the one that sticks in the memory. Perhaps the reason this was more memorable than others was due to the fact it was one of the first we encountered on that afternoon. A couple of pints of Old Wallop probably wreaked havoc with the memory banks.

The occasion was a 1st Round League Cup encounter between Exeter City and Queens Park Rangers. The result of the game was never really in doubt on that warm evening in Devon with Jim Magilton's men running out deserved 5-0 winners. The Grecians had caused a few first half scares but flagged in the second.



A large yet pleasant pub with a selection of beers and ales available. The bar staff on duty were friendly and didn't mind being regaled with stories of Steve's misspent youth in the City or how far we'd travelled and what we were going to do to their home town team.

"This is only the first St James' Park we'll visit this year!"

The food on offer looked good too.

Precisely the kind of Beermeister pub I've grown accustomed to visiting in the years I've known Steve. A man who is quickly a local wherever he goes.

Next time you're in Exeter give it a look.

(The Beermeister himself, seen here enjoying an Old Wallop)

Recommended for the London Drinker on the Move - Euston Tap - Euston Rd, London

Now I'm not the sort too do anything to excess and I would never dream about jeopardising my journey home of an evening by having "one too many."

However, since moving to Watford a couple of years ago, I've found that travelling home from Euston Station offers a few distractions and contradictions to that principal.

Take The Bree Louise and the The Crown & Anchor as examples, there are also a couple of bars at the Station itself such as The Doric Arch and if you're looking for a cheap and cheerful nightcap then the Rocket down Euston Rd is a reasonably priced venue attracting all manner of groups of visitors to London.

The Euston Tap is a welcome addition to the landscape offering bottled and draught craft beers from around the World and in particular the USA.

Housed in one of the remaining lodge houses of the old station, the pub itself uses the cramped space it has well. Don't expect a seat, although some are available up the narrow spiral staircase to the upper level.

Available beers are displayed on black boards around the bar and you'll find the staff on hand are friendly and happy to make a recommendation should you need one.

The Euston Tap is now celebrating it's 1st Birthday having opened it's doors in November 2010. A "Cider Tap" is planned to open across the road in the other lodge house (may already be open?!).

If you like what you see, then there's a "Tap" at Sheffield Station with another one rumoured to be arriving at Cambridge soon.

Cheers!

Tout travail mérite sa bière

So, we deserve a beer after work... but also, when we go to a football match... and usually before and after the match... Certainly, over the years, I have found it hard to cope with watching my team sober, though I'm sure United fans haven't had such a problem for a long time, despite there being many cracking pubs in Manchester to drink in!

I bought this t-shirt at a fair in Brussels, and it's always a cracking place to find beer in, a particular favourite of mine being Westmalle Tripel, or Triple for the Walloons ;-)

But who am I to enjoy beer, or to even talk about it?

Oh yes, Steve the Beermeister! So I should really talk about it as this is a blog directed at beer drinkers, and particularly those visiting towns and cities they are unfamiliar with... So, we have been adding pubs of the day, whatever, but also, I want to develop this into talking about beer, wine, food, architecture, history, politics, music, football... hell! It's all culture, and this is what I'm about, culture, and specifically as far away from the vulgar end of it I can get (not easy for me ;-)

Please read, comment and enjoy our suggestions, and remember, I am not alone, Kieran is also a regular contributor to this blog, and he's a good lad, despite our trip to watch QPR at Exeter together a while ago, but that's another story I am giving him the opportunity to add Exeter before I do.

CHEERS!

The Beer-Meister's Pub of the Day #2 - The Bricklayer's Arms, Putney, SW15

Owing to the fact we were literally "all at sea" yesterday, there will be 2 pubs of the day today. Aren't you lucky things? The Beer-Meister just keeps on giving, it really does.

The Bricklayer's Arms

A warm and welcoming, family run pub, The Bricklayer's Arms is an absolute treat of an away day pub for anyone visiting Fulham or Chelsea (Stamford Bridge is just a short hop on the tube away).

 Putney's Finest?

I visited this pub back in January 2008 before QPR's FA Cup 3rd Round tie at Stamford Bridge. At the time, we had just been taken over by Flavio Briatore and his consortium of billionaires. This was an ideal place to meet with friends and discuss how bright the club's future would be. There was a revolutionary air about the place. As it was, we lost the game that Saturday afternoon but were by no means disgraced by our near neighbours Chelsea and the pub holds happy memories for me.

"London's Permanent Beer Festival"



Fast forward a few years and although Flavio and Bernie are no more associated with my beloved Superhoops, I am looking forward to visiting this pub when we visit local-rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage (just over the river) in the not too distant future. Premiership football and the ticket prices that go with it may mean that I only stay for the one or two!

Predictably busy for Fulham home games but certainly one to visit if you keep your colours covered up and are respectful and friendly to the locals. Why would you be anything else eh?

"London's Permanent Beer Festival" always has a selection of beers and hand pumps available. This is a lovely pub which certainly warmed the cockles on that fresh January afternoon.

I won't try to do the pub's rich history justice and would instead lazilly prompt you to click the link to London Drinker's review. 

There are plenty of options for anyone visiting London for an away game, but give this little gem a look next time you're in Putney.

We're Not The Good Beer Guide . . .

First rule of Beer-Meister is not that nobody talks about Beer-Meister.

Our first rule, or perhaps thing you'll need to be aware of, is that although we are keen on "Real Ale," we are not CAMRA, and this is not the Good Beer Guide.

Great British Beer Festival, Earl's Court, 2011

We admire and respect everything they do, but this blog and Beer-Meister's main site is more to do with pubs and pub experience, particularly matchday pub experience. The Good Beer Guide is a source of constant inspiration to us; as is word of mouth recommendation,

We drink "fizzy tasteless stuff" as well as ale, and really do enjoy a pint of the black stuff. In fact, "mass produced" cider served over ice is ok too if a thirst needs quenching.

We're about the drinker as much as the drink, and supporting the pubs we drink in.

Cheers!

The Beer-Meister's Pub of the Day #1 - The Cayo Arms, Cathedral Rd, Cardiff

Welcome to the first of what we hope will be a regular, if not daily feature on this blog, The Beer-Meister's Pub of the Day.

THE CAYO ARMS

Picture the scene.

It's Good Friday in Cardiff. Tomorrow is St George's Day. More importantly, tomorrow afternoon will see table-topping Queens Park Rangers travel to the Welsh capital to take on fellow Championship promotion chasers Cardiff City. I'm in need of a recommendation. A safe and friendly pub please Mr Beer-Meister?

Now my previous visit to Cardiff to watch my beloved Superhoops had ended in heart-breaking cicumstances. Defeat to the Bluebirds at the Millennium Stadium in the Play-Off Final. A whole season coming down to "Big" Danny Shittu's failure to flatten Andy Campbell in extra-time. Oh yeah, that and Tommy Williams' refusal to "SQUARE IT" to Paul Furlong.

The journey away from Cardiff wasn't pleasant. A hint of good old fashioned celebratory violence hung in the air, people shook imaginary coffee beans in my direction.

So it was with some trepidation that I stepped off the train half expecting similar heart-ache again and near violent ridicule. I need not have worried. Neither about the football, or about the welcome in the Valleys.

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

In the spirit of this blog, Steve Colwell aka The Beermeister, recommended that if I along with my accompanying brother and good friend Tom, should visit only one pub in Cardiff, it should be the Cayo Arms. It was never likely to be the case that the three of us would only visit one pub, but visiting this wonderful establishment became a kind of pilgrimage.

Steve's recommendations are the stuff of legend. (I hope in time you will come to appreciate this by visiting this blog again.) Often there will be a 2 mile treck away from the train station and football ground, over and under viaducts, to find a pub with knitting patterns on the wall (Stockport County away).

Named in honour of William Julian Cayo-Evans, a famous Welshman who ran the 'Free Wales Army,' this seemed to be the kind of place where football talk should be kept to a minimum with accents remaining hushed and un-assuming at the bar. As it was, we met two more QPR fans outside in the large front beer garden.

"You three from London?"

"Shhh."

"What you here for? The football?"

"Yeah."

"Excellent, mind if we join you?"

Whilst trying to be as covert and respectable as possible I ordered a pint of Tomos Watkins'. I couldn't pronounce anymore than that. Fish and chips too as it was Good Friday. No complaints with either the beer or the beer-battered cod.

After a couple more pints of Tomos Watkins' the now extended group headed into the city centre where I have to confess to falling asleep whilst stood in the queue for a nightclub. Time to go back to the Travelodge then?

Still, the clue in how the evening ended should suggest that the welcome afforded to us at the Cayo Arms meant that we felt more than comfortable in our surroundings and happy to enjoy time in Wales.

I have to say that that "welcome" was similarly felt right across the City. I'm told that Cardiff is a much friendlier place to visit as an away fan now that Ninian Park has been replaced by the imaginatively titled Cardiff City Stadium.

As my father would say, you'll still need to keep your "eyes and ears" about you, but Cardiff and the Cayo are certainly wonderful places to visit if you come in peace, and leave with a 2-2 draw!





Enjoy Playing Away From Home . . .

Enjoy playing away from home... 

 

That's our slogan, 'enjoy playing away from home', not that we're trying to entice people into neglecting their marriage vows! Indeed, Beermeister was created as the site for people who like to follow their team playing away from home, who wish to enjoy themselves, and to drink and eat away from home in relative tranquility, mixing well with the locals. 

However, don't let me put you off immediately if you are not interested in football, as this and our sister site www.beer-meister.co.uk continue to develop for all people with good taste who travel to towns and cities they are not familiar with.

So, welcome to the online home of The Beermeister.

This is a national information service that wishes to share with you our long experience of finding the best ale and food (and more) throughout the land. Places are chosen with primary reference to quality, and so that you may enjoy yourself free from worries. Please note, the views expressed are those of the editor, unless otherwise referenced. Wherever possible, links are made to our recommendations' own websites.

If you are searching for noisy pubs with cheap lager and a rowdy clientele, this is not a site for you, but, of course, there are many other websites that will provide generously for you, also, fanzines and programmes tend to suggest great places for away fans to eat and drink at, and I'm not necessarily a bad source if you contact me directly either!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the website, why not get in touch if you have any suggestions for the site, useful information, or would like to find out more about towns and cities with sports venues (or music or just visiting), or if you just wish to make a comment? Your involvement is very much valued, thank you.

Also, follow us on facebook and Steve the Beermeister on facebook.

Remember to enjoy the whole experience when your team are playing away from home...