REALLY Dark Beers: Best Beers III

I'm trying to keep the number of categories I use low, and I'll not include "Black IPAs" here, as they can come into other categories, so, to the darker milds, porters and stouts. I've had many stouts and porters I have enjoyed, but shan't be including in my 'best of', eg at previously reported Albatross beer festivals in Bexhill: the Deeply Vale Breakfast Stout or DV8 (4.8%), which even had a bitter finish, or the powerful and very dark 7.3% Flipside Russian Rouble...

So, to the 2 milds that stand out for me, and both the brewers first enticed my attention with their good session bitters. Whim Ales (website) of Derbyshire have been brewing since 1993, using a 10 barrel plant, and originally caught my eye with their 4% Hartington Bitter. Whim Magic Mushroom Mild (3.8%), though, is a dark mahogany ale made from roasted barley and crystal malt. It is full flavoured for such a strength, with the roasted barley prominent in the aroma, and a hint of coffee and chocolate malt flavours, so complex, and smooth at the finish.

The second mild comes from Dudley in the West Midlands, where they have been brewing for 99 years, Holdens (website), whose crackin' 3.9% Black Country Bitter first caught my attention. Holdens Black Country Mild (3.7%), though, is a deep chestnut-red, and uses amber, black and 'caramalt', and fuggles hops like their bitter. This is a very tasty mild with hints of fruit from the fuggles, and narrowly wins my vote; this is how a mild should taste! 

Sorry for not discussing porters more, but I place the Fullers London Porter (5.4%) head and shoulders above the rest, and I've had quite a few! The West London 'regional' brewer (website) excels at providing a perfect version of a porter; porters originally being brewed in the 18th century for the porters working in the markets of London. Rather than the fizzy stuff that now comes from Ireland, the London Porter is a fitting tribute to this style of ale and its place of birth.

Fullers use brown, crystal and chocolate malts for their London Porter, and fuggles hops; you'll notice a tradition of using this English hop in darker brews, and for good reason! London Porter is dark and rich, with bitter roasted malts coming through, hints of chocolate, coffee and biscuits, and a smooth dry finish, pretty damn good. Not so easy to find on draught, though still good in bottle, but if you get the chance to drink the cask-conditioned version, do so, I always do, and I love pale hoppy bitters! 

Stouts? I have reduced the final comparison to 2 'chocolate' stouts and both, like the London Porter, can also be enjoyed from a bottle, but are superb from the cask. Youngs (website), sadly now a pubco, their beers being brewed by Charles Wells... Anyhow, Youngs used to brew the best of this type, their Double Chocolate Stout (5.2%), made from pale, crystal and chocolate malts, and fuggles and goldings hops, together with chocolate essence and dark chocolate. I first drank this as a cask ale at the Cask & Cutler (now Wellington) in Sheffield. The first time I tasted it in London was at the old Brewery Tap on the corner of the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth, sadly now unused, the pub and brewery...

It was in Wandworth that I found out, from a  Youngs employee, that the first time the Double Chocolate Stout was brewed, the Head Brewer sent a colleague out to a local confectioners to buy heaps of chocolate bars to add to the brew, it was that experimental! Chocolate is still added, but now in Bedford, and I haven't seen this excellent beer in a cask for quite a long time now, sadly. Whatever, there is only one way to describe it, it tastes like chocolate, and it tastes like beer, proving that beer and chocolate can go together, it is awesome!

Many other brewers have also tried to emulate the 'chocolate stout', and Saltaire (website), who have been brewing in Shipley, West Yorkshire, since 2006, brew a very decent version. Saltaire Triple Chocoholic (4.8%) uses chocolate malt, and cocoa and chocolate essence, to produce chocolate goodness in a beer! Strong chocolate aroma and flavour, with a hint of coffee and toffee, and a slight bitterness coming through at the finish, a very nice one...

So, quality beers all, and, if the Ram Brewery was still brewing cask-conditioned Double Chocolate Stout, I am sure it would be a neck-and-neck finish with the London Porter... Sadly, it is unlikely I'll ever be able to enjoy the Youngs again. Happily, though, I can announce the Fullers London Porter as the winner of this blog and its categories, from the Chiswick Brewery (above), cheers to them!

Top 20 Pubs, The Final Part (IV)

So, to my top 5, that is, the top 5 of the pubs that I want to return to again and again, certainly at least once before I kick the proverbial hop-back...

Top of the shop, at number 1, is The Bartons Arms, 144 High Street, Birmingham Newtown B6 4UP (website), which is a fine example of late-Victorian architecture, being built in 1901 and surviving, despite young thugs trying to raze the building during riots in 2011! Putting recent trials behind us, The Bartons Arms is one of just a handful of pubs owned by Oakham Ales (website), the Peterborough-based brewery, much lauded by me, and originally set up in Oakham, Rutland, in 1993. Consequently, this is a pub that sells excellent ales: 4 regular Oakham ales, JHB, Inferno, Citra, and Bishops Farewell, plus a guest/seasonal Oakham ale and 2 guest ales from other breweries, which are, as I write this blog, Oakham Paranoid (5.2%), Landlocked Copper Bottomed (5.2%) and Firebrand Cross Pacific Pale Ale (4%). Quite a choice of gorgeous hoppy ales indeed! You can understand why I like the ales here...  

In addition, excellent Thai food is served in the fine dining room, and elsewhere in the pub, of course. Indeed, the exterior and interior are examples of how the Victorians cared about design and adornment. The interior is decorated with mahogany wood panels, beautiful engraved and stained glass windows, Minton Hollins Tiles, a fine bar, and an impressive centrally positioned wrought-iron staircase, these being just some of the features; you really need to look at the website to appreciate the full beauty of the building, better still, go and visit The Bartons Arms!  

Mostly, I've been to The Bartons Arms before going to Villa Park for footballing reasons, and the atmosphere here for home and away fans is superb. Indeed, it is a very relaxed and friendly pub that I have also visited just because I wanted to come to the pub, and I have enjoyed the excellent ales and food, and wonderful building and company, whenever I have been here! I SO need to return again asap, no wonder this is my number one of very many excellent hostelries... I need to plan a visit!

At number 2 is a pub I regularly visit, because of work or football reasons, because I have family living close by, or just because I want to walk along the Thames Path to Hammersmith and drink at The Dove, 19 Upper Mall W6 (website). This historic pub is a grade II listed 18th century building, originally called the Dove Coffeehouse, though certainly selling ale and wine at that time, when Hammersmith was still a rural area. There are real fires, half-timbered ceilings, wooden settles, and immediately to your right as you enter, through a heavy wooden door, is a 33 square foot room accredited by the Guinness Book of Records as being the smallest bar room in the country. At the back, overlooking the River Thames, is an outside seating area where you can look downriver to Hammersmith Bridge, or upriver to countryside and to the Fullers brewery over to your right on the Middlesex bank. However, in fine weather, be warned, this can get very busy with stuck-up sticky-beaks (think Monty Python)!

Numerous famous people have enjoyed drinking and eating in The Dove, including Dylan Thomas, Alex Guinness and Ernest Hemingway, and this was also the local of one of my heroes of the past, William Morris, who used to live just a few doors away at number 26. Fullers Brewery (website) have owned The Dove since 1845, gaining a full alcohol licence for the establishment in 1911. Ale-wise, you will always find London Pride, of course, and usually Fullers ESB, sometimes Chiswick Bitter or a Fullers seasonal ale, and always a Gales beer, served from the 4 handpumps. I do love this pub, and will always remember a friend who used to manage the pub a few years ago, who sadly died in an accident in 2005 at too young an age, R.I.P. Alison.   

At number 3 is the Great Western in Sun Street, Wolverhampton WV10 0DJ, situated round the back of the new railway station, opposite the gates to the old Great Western station. This is a great pub, full of railway memorabilia, as you would expect, and with 4 distinct drinking areas, developed over the years as the building was redesigned and had extensions added. I have also been here on football match days and on non-match days, when Wolverhampton Wanderers fans have filled the pub, or just when thriving with the regular clientele and occasional visitor. On match days, ostensibly, this is a 'home fans' pub only, but I have never had a problem drinking here as an away fan, and a friend's son was positively welcomed before a match, despite being dressed in the full kit of the away team!

This is a Holdens Brewery (website) pub, but has always served beers from its major rival, Bathams; that's confidence in your own product! Of course, it serves up a good range of Holdens ales, including their Black Country Mild and excellent Black Country Bitter, and guest ales from other breweries too. This is a gem of a pub that provides very decent pub food too, notably their 'cobs' (bread rolls), and it wasn't that long ago that I bought 2 pints of bitter here and a hot pork cob, and still had change from a fiver! So, this is a good value pub, is very friendly, serves up great ales and decent food, has a crackin' atmosphere, and which I have to return to again and again...  

My favourite pub of Manchester comes in at number 4, the Marble Arch, 73 Rochdale Road M4 4HY (website), another listed building. The Marble Arch was built in 1888 and has many interesting features, not least the sloping mosaic floor; keep an eye on your drinks and personal effects, it really does slope! Not so long ago, due to bad/good luck, the plaster ceiling collapsed because of dampness, I seem to remember, but revealed a marvellous tiled ceiling, that has subsequently been preserved. The food here is very good indeed, and their own brewery (website) used to be situated at the rear of the pub, though was moved to larger premises round the corner and back a bit in 2011. Their ales are organic, no finings are used so ok for vegans, and usually 5 of their own ales are available plus guest ales served from 11 handpumps.

This is another pub I have visited quite a few times, of course, both related to football, when I have been in Manchester for work or academic study, or just visiting for fun; Manchester ain't that bad! I was there with my brother, the Routemeister and mate, Dave the Teameister, before an evening match at Old Trafford not so long ago. We spent most of the afternoon here, drinking, chatting, eating, and listening to the excellent juke box, it was very difficult to leave for the match! I have also enjoyed chewing the fat with the brewers there, usually about what hops are used in various ales, though not so easy since the brewery was moved... Great pub! 

To my fifth pub on the list, and a return to my love affair with Devon, and to the Double Locks Hotel (website) on the Exeter Ship Canal, just down from Exeter and the Countess Weir. This building was originally the lock keeper's cottage built in 1701; the canal being built 140 years earlier linking Exeter to the sea when the River Exe became less navigable. The history of the lock itself, the "Double Locks", is related to the name, not because there were 2 locks, but because it is the longest lock in the country and could take 2 ships at the same time.

I originally came here many years ago, and started frequenting the Double Locks in the 1980s when I moved to Exeter. It was then a freehouse, with very basic outside toilets, and an extension built in the 1980s meant that the loos came indoors, and also made more seating available. Ales used to be served straight from casks in those days, which were situated behind the bar, and were from local breweries and from afar. Excellent food always, barbecues in Summer, and a breakfast that couldn't be bettered was available up to 12 noon, with a pint of ale included in the reasonable price. I have been here with my ex-wife, my brother, the Routemeister, friends, and brought clients here too, when I worked in Exeter. This is now a Youngs pub, so big changes, but I still so need to return here!

Well, I've taken a while to add my top 5 to the list, and there could be so many more, meaning I'll most likely add many other pubs that I wish to return to in future blogs.

Anyway, many thanks for allowing me to share my memories, a wee bit of sentimentality on my part, but I recommend you visit any of these pubs should you be in any of their vicinities. I'd also welcome any reviews, cheers!
   

Walking in a Mackie Wonderland

OK, that title may not make much sense to some who look at this blog, but it makes a point for me, pre-football match, so... Only 3 pubs yesterday, here goes...

The Old Coffee House in Beak Street, just off Regent Street, London. An outlet for Brodies Brewery. Came in from a lovely sunny afternoon to be faced with 6 Brodies ales, Old Street Ale (5%), Brainwave (possibly 3.6%, couldn't make out), Bethnal Green Bitter (4%), Dalstone Black IPA (a massive 7%) and Shoreditch Sunshine, 3.9% of a pale, very dry and bitter ale with huge grapefruit aroma and taste; you can take it I drank the 'Sunshine', but, as I was meeting someone at the next pub, sadly, only the time for one pint, but very glad I made the spontaneous visit.

My next visit was to the Coach & Horses, Bruton St, just off New Bond Street, a very interesting oasis run by Nicholsons, though a tad more expensive than the first watering hole, with more 'national' type ales; Youngs London Gold, Bombardier, London Pride and Marston's 'Single Hop' East Kent Golding at 4%. Having drunk many pints of all the others in other pubs, I stuck to a couple of pints of the 'Single Hop', which was a decent middle of the range and colour bitter... It did what it said on the label, basically.

A very interesting pub I've never been in before, bit expensive, great building, well worth the visit, in my humble opinion...

We finally met up with the rest of today's gang at the Leinster Arms, Leinster Terrace, just off Bayswater Road. A free house, that now offers a special 'sausage' menu, they still sell pies though (this used to be a pie and ale house). I'm a bit of a regular here, even if my visits are only about every 2 months or so now, but sells 5 ales, including, last night, 45 RPM from my old employer, Kelham Island Brewery (4.5% strangely); Pride and Doom Bar; Holdens Purple Haze (4%), a fruity pale ale with not too much going for it, not up to their usual bitters and mild; and North Yorkshire Fools Gold (4.6%), a much more refreshing pale ale with a dry aftertaste and a peachy aroma, loved it!

Brigitte was the only one of us who ate here, that is, until I was entranced by her meal, so I ended up buying a meal too. They have a choice of sausages, choice of mash, and even a choice of gravy; the only difference between our 2 meals was the gravy, Brigitte had the onion gravy and I had the red wine gravy. The sausages were full of flavour, rich and meaty, a 'Wild Hog' with all the flavourings, and the mash was an interesting mix of potato, cheese and tomatos... Delicious!

So, a good few hours and a great start to the evening, more of which elsewhere, cheers!

Wolverhampton, The Great Western

This is a review from Stephen H, many thanks to him, written after the Wolves v QPR match played on 17th September, Rangers won 3-0:

The Beermeister comes up trumps again. Our small group was on the road again last Saturday following our beloved Queens Park Rangers for the away fixture v Wolves. Just like our recent trip to Liverpool, I had planned the trip to coincide with a visit to a good pub and again contacted my fellow R'sss supporter Steve, otherwise known as the Beermeister. 

Steve, almost without hesitation, suggested that we visit the Great Western located in Sun Street and I can say that we were not disappointed. When entering the Great Western the first thing to hit you is the way that it has been set out, in fact it almost feels like walking into an old railway waiting room full of railway memorabilia. 

Next and by far the most important feature is the selection of beers with my attention being immediately drawn to the HOLDENS Black Country Bitter and Mild pumps, I sampled both and can confirm that the Beermeister’s recommendation was as always 100% correct. 

Beermeister note: The Great Western sells sells good value food too, excellent roast meat sandwiches in rolls/baps, or 'cobs' as they're called up here. In addition to their own beers, such as Holden's Bitter, Special Bitter and Mild, they regularly sell gtheir great rival's Batham's Best Bitter and other guest ales.