Oxford Meet up with Anna, Kate and Charlie. 7/5/2011

We met in the Kings Arms as it is easy to find and central. It is a large pub and always fairly busy, probably due to it’s location. It is a Youngs pub so you are guaranteed to get a decent ale and it has some quality guest ales. It has wooden features and seating. I enjoyed my pint but it was not the friendliest, or unique pub. Pretty standard I would say, 6/10.

The Head of the River was our next pub as it was a sunny day. This is a Fullers pub so again had some good ales and lagers but it was very expensive. I suppose you are paying for a river view and it is in Oxford! It was very busy though and had a nice summer atmosphere. We had a couple of relaxed pints here and everyone enjoyed it so a surprising 8/10. I am not sure it would score so highly on a return visit!

The Crown Inn was a random, not on the list, freestyle choice.  It is now a Nicholson pub so did have a good range of ales to choose from. I think the pub has quite a lot of history and it looked to be quite an old traditional building. It has been refitted out quite nicely too so I couldn’t complain with this choice. Again it was fairly busy and we sat outside to enjoy some more of the sun. It is not remarkable despite being a traditional pub. 7/10.

Our last stop before getting the train home was the Oxford Retreat. This was very busy and had a nice start of the evening Saturday night fun feel. It did however have no real ale so we had to settle for lager. It was more of a bar really than a proper pub but it did have nice chairs! It was still pretty enjoyable all the same and scores a 6/10, I wouldn’t rush back.

Cambridge Weekend 23-24/4/2011

Cambridge may be the poshest place I have ever been to but it has a lot of pubs and a lot of ales. I even had to move on to halves on occasions to fit more in!

First pint of the weekend was had in The Maypole. It had 6 ales on I think and the main bar area was quite small. I would say it was a traditional pub but for some reason we didn’t overly take to it. It was ok but nothing special. We did sit outside though so maybe that put us off a bit. 6/10.

A little bit off the main drag was our next stop the Portland Arms. It didn’t look much from the outside but we were pleasantly surprised. They had a beer festival on out in the garden, there was a good selection and the bar man was very jolly and helped us in our decision. We enjoyed our pints and the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly.  Another beer was suggested but I rejected as we had too many other pubs to try! A good 8/10.

The St Radegund seemed to be the best pick from the many Kings Street pubs. It is a small, cute and cosy pub selling Milton Ales. It feels traditional with wooden benches and has photos on the walls as well as oars and medals from the rowing club. Again to me it seemed to be a good proper English pub so I really liked it. Another 8/10.

The Elm Tree was the last stop of the day, the last and the best. I really liked this pub. It had a good number of ales on, great atmosphere and a comedy owner. He did very well to be polite to customers who were fools! Again it was another wooden dominated pub and seemed to be bigger than you first thought. Due to ales, relaxed feel and nice barman/owner this gets voted best visited in Cambridge but it still only scores 8/10!

A new day and more Cambridge pubs to explore. The out of town Cambridge Blue was first stop. It is a two roomed pub with lots of ale choice and a large beer garden. The garden wasn’t as well kept as it could have been though and the cliental was very student. However those can’t detract from the fact that it is a quality ale pub with a chilled atmosphere and random pickled eggs behind the bar! 7.5/10.

Not too far away our next pint was in the Devonshire Arms. This was a Milton Brewery pub again, so it had a number from its collection to choose from. The people in the pub when we visited seemed to be regulars and were extremely friendly and welcoming.  It had wooden benches and was very clean and well kept.  We very much enjoyed our beer so this gets another 7.5/10.

Another out of town pub was next on the list, The Empress. This pub was very busy and most people were sitting outside enjoying the sun. There was even a BBQ on. Again it offered a fine selection of ales and had a bustling busy atmosphere. The majority of customers felt like locals. I didn’t find it a cosy traditional pub though but it is still a good quality ale pub. 7/10.

The Castle was our next stop. This was much more of a modern bar-esch pub with gastro type furniture. It was very nice though and we had a bit to eat here in order to keep us going! For a gastro it still had a couple of ales and we enjoyed our pints. On the negative it was expensive and had clueless staff! Despite that it still scores a 7/10.

Our last and final pub of the weekend was the Free Press. It is just down the road from our favourite the Elm Tree. It was another pub with wooden benches and had lots of games around – not sure if that’s for the students benefit. The selection of ales was not as good as other. A lot of Green King I think which I am not keen on. It didn’t have the best atmosphere either considering the time of night. Still a better than average pub – 6.5/10.

Cambridge is a great ale place and I look forward to returning one day for some more!

Derby Ale Trail with friends Lisa and Andy. 16/4/2011

We met up in the Old Silk Mill which is Derby’s current CAMRA pub of the year. It had an impressive amount of ales on, including a separate area in the back bar which had 12 barrels of ales! The selection was immense. I had an Ay Up from local brewery Dancing Duck. The pub was very pleasant but quiet so it didn’t have the best atmosphere. I think it is worth a return visit, possibly at a busier time of day. 6/10

We didn’t have to venture far for our next pub, The Olde Dolphin Inn. This pub dates back from 1530 with low ceilings and wood beams. It is the oldest pub in Derby apparently. Again it had a good selection of handpumps but most were pretty dull such as Bass, Pedigree. It did though have some local ones which we enjoyed and one gave a donation to charity which is a nice touch. It was pretty busy and I liked the place. A good 7/10. 

The Flower Pot was our next pint. This was a large pub with many rooms and a little outside bit. It had a good selection of beers but not all were on at the time we went. Still there was enough choice to keep us all happy. It seemed to be very cheap for food and had bands on in the evenings. It was a nice friendly pub and we all really took to it. I think I especially liked the painted walls! An 8/10.

Andy decided to take us on a lengthy walk through a park and housing area (think he got lost) to The Abbey. By the time we got there we all deserved a drink not to mention loo stop! This was a Sam Smith pub so unfortunately I had to avoid the ales. It was a great pub though, built from stone and as the name suggests like an Abbey! Very busy as I think everyone was after their cheap beer! A good call Andy and it scores 8/10.

The final stop was the Royal Standard/ Brewery Tap. It has a large horseshoe bar with a high ceiling and an upstairs if I remember correctly. It had wooden floors and due to the openness didn’t seem very pubby but it had a nice feel to it and was very popular. It has quite a few ales, most from the Derby Brewery. I was recommended the Business as Usual which was a pleasant pint. Again another good ale pub and another 8/10.

I was very impressed with Derby and the high standard of good ale pubs. A return visit will definitely be required!

Birthday Trip to Liverpool 2/4/2011

My requested birthday activity was a pub crawl around Liverpool visiting pubs which I had never been to before. My first choice was the ‘Big House’ or the Vines. I wanted to go here because it is an historic pub with an ornate interior. It certainly is an impressive building but that is as far it goes. It could be so much more but at the moment it is pretty scruffy and has no ales on tap. In fact I had an orange juice which is a rarity! I liked the building but that is it so 6/10.

Next stop the Everyman Bistro. I have read and heard great things about this place so I was keen to check it out myself. It had a good selection of ales, Belgium beers, speciality lagers, enough to keep everyone happy. The food looked very tasty and appealing and the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly. Some local celebs even came in from the theatre and were kept entertained by my fantastic little niece! The rest of the group really enjoyed the Everyman and probably would have scored it higher but to me it is more of a food place and I felt like I was having a pint in a canteen! Harsh some might say! The usual 6/10 mark.

The Grapes (Roscoe Street) was the next pint. It wasn’t originally on the plan but it wasn’t too far away and my niece was allowed in (we start them early in our family!). It had a brilliant selection of local ales (including Liverpool IPA) and again some continental lagers. It was friendly but not very busy so I think they made it get a lower mark due to the lack of atmosphere. 5.5/10 but has potential on a busier day to score higher.

My niece left us to get fed while the hard core drinkers moved on to the Lion Tavern. I loved this pub and thought it was everything a pub should be. Lots of ales, beautiful building, good number of customers and friendly atmosphere. I liked the long wooden sweeping bar and the ornate tiling and fireplaces. A lovely pub and I recommend anyone visiting Liverpool to pop in for a pleasant ale. A solid 8/10.

Last stop before getting the train home was Rigby’s. I had been to Rigby’s once before around Christmas and it had such a good feel to it that I wanted to try it out again. It was very busy and had a bustling atmosphere. Rigby’s always has a good selection of ales, beers and lagers but half the group wasn’t drinking by now!  I enjoyed the pint and the pub but it is not as special as the Lion. 7/10.

Thanks for a great birthday crawl family!

Brighton 23/03/2011

My first trip to Brighton. After a good look around the lanes and the town we started our pub crawl. First stop was the Wetherspoons pub, The Pole of Telegraph – I believe it had been renovated recently. It was a large pub with one main room and plenty of tables. It had the usual decor and drunks! It didn’t seem to resemble much of a telegraph exchange anymore but was a reasonable pint and as always a cheap round! 6/10.

On the other side of the coin we decided to try out the Pub du Vin. It was empty so we sat in the room with the bar. The best thing about it was the metal tankards they served the beer in, although we are convinced that they were not a full pint! Maybe this is more of an evening venue as the atmosphere was pretty stale in the afternoon but the bar was done out nicely and so scores a 6/10 too.

The Bath Arms was out next stop. After a slight photography incident we made our way in. It had a good number of ales on tap and the bar staff were very friendly. There was a number of people in but it lacked something about it. I am not sure why we didn’t overly warm to it but it scored the same as the others at 6/10.

Before heading home we decided to sneak in another beer and go to the Cricketers nearby. Again a couple of ales and friendly enough staff. The place was very busy with people eating which put us off a bit but other than that it was nice enough with an oldie feel. Again it scores the number of the day 6/10!  I will hopefully be back to Brighton shortly it give it some more varied scores.