Liverpool Local Areas 26/12/2012

Liverpool Local Areas 26/12/2012
Mum, Dad and Jackie.

1) Dovedale Towers. Ordinarily this would be an amazing pub for me lots of ales, good bottled beer selection and in an attractive old building. Being Boxing Day though they were down to one ale! Had a nice Belgium bottle instead. Quiet but I like this place. 8/10.

2) Empress. Apparently it is the pub on Ringo’s old street. From the outside it looked a bit dodgy but inside it was fine. Friendly people and unexpectedly busy. No ales at all and a bit scruffy but we all felt comfortable. 6/10.

3) The Edinburgh. Lovely little pub with a nice fire and pretty bar area. It had about  5 ales to chose from too. My pint was excellent and I would definitely return. 7/10.

4) Childwall Abbey. Large chainy type pub. Standard ale selection and more of a food place really. Lovely building from the outside but not so pretty on the inside.  5.5/10.

Liverpool 22/12/2012 Tradition has it!

Liverpool 22/12/2012

Mum and Dad – The Traditional Christmas crawl.

1) The Philharmonic.  Very famous pub now owned by Nicholson. Still a great building with lots of different rooms and famous toilets! Had a nice barman who let my try out a few ales before settling on one. Nicely busy and enjoyed our drink. It will always be a winner for me. 8.5/10.

2) Ma Egertons. Theatre pub which has only recently reopened so had no ale on at the moment. Very busy but had a pleasant atmosphere and we still managed to get a seat. Very enjoyable and will be interesting to see if they get any ales on in the future. 7/10.

3) Lion Tavern. Fantastic ale selection but I wasn’t overly impressed with the Lion this visit. The staff were quite miserable and it lacked a good atmosphere. Still a good ale pub in an old building with interesting features. 6/10.

4) Ship and Mitre. Another good ale pub, lots of choice and the staff were very helpful in helping me make the best choice. The chips went down well but they were not the fat ones like last time! Very busy but a friendly festive bustling  atmosphere.  7/10.

London 14/12/2012

London 14/12/2012
Charlie, Anna and Tim.

1) Ye Old Mitre. A famous  old pub which I requested we went to as it is only open on week days. It was very busy though so difficult to get a true view of the place. I managed to fight my way around to have a look though. It had a good number of ales and the staff were efficient.  Scored lower than I would probably give it on a quieter day. 6.5/10

2) The Cittie of York. Large Samuel Smith pub which is split in two. Upstairs is wooden with booths and olde worldy decor. Downstairs where we were was a cellar bar. Still we got a seat and it was nicely busy. Very expensive for a Sam Smith. 6/10.

3) Old Nick. Badger pub so I knew I would get a good drink! More space than the last couple but still busy with Xmas parties. Nothing special about the place but we enjoyed it due to being able to move! 7/10.

4) Ship Tavern. Nice pub with lots of ale and lots of Christmas decorations so had a good feel to it. We all enjoyed our drinks and would return again. 8/10.

Birmingham 30/11/2012 Vicki.

Birmingham 30/11/2012.
Pre Christmas outing with Vicki.

1). The Wellington. Best ale selection in Birmingham but not the best building. A bit of a canteen type but the ales are amazing so is always nicely busy and a good enjoyable place.  Will return again and again. Had a good Christmas work dos in so good banter too. 7/10.

2). Briar Rose. Wetherspoons so busy, dirty and no excitements. Had a few Christmas beers and they were £1.50! Not the best Wethers I have been to. 4/10.

3). The Windsor. A pub that again we had never been. Did have a few ales and pleasant staff but nothing special. Again very cheap though! 5/10.

4). The Post Office. A new pub for us and had a great selection of ales, ciders (boo) and bottled mostly Belgium beers. Bar staff were very amiable although did automatically give us halves ! It meant we could try more though. A great atmosphere with Christmas parties but don’t expect a seat. Good bar. 8/10.

5). Shakespeare. A Nicholson pub and had some good Xmas ales, very busy.  Didn’t have a good look round but believe it is a pretty standard pub. Good chat though.  6.5/10.

Oxford 27/10/12

Oxford 27/10/12

Anna, Jase, Pete, Matt

1). Lamb and Flag. Quite a famous pub but has a good and unusual selection of ales. Not overly keen on the pub though.  Large and not that interesting! 6/10.

2). Rickety Press. In the student area but a lovely pub. Only one brand of ale but has something for everyone and is a very nice pub. Seems to have quite a posh restaurant too. Very enjoyable pintage. 7.5/10.

3). The Old Bookbinders. I was looking forward to going to this pub heard much about its ales and the pub itself. It certainly was a nice oldy worldy pub and quite quirky but the ales weren’t great. Still enjoyable. 7/10.

4). Gardeners Arms. A good pub, a couple of ales and a nice old pub building. Very friendly feel and enjoyable. Not quite as unique as others we had been to that day though.  6.5/10.

5). Far from the Madding Crowd.  Great staff and great selection of ales, one of the best you will find in oxford, also cheap but some of the group felt it was a bit wetherspoonsy! I quite like it though! 6/10.