Beer in Hand

When I started this blog my estimate for the number of different pubs that I would visit in 2014 was somewhere around the 200 mark so the fact that I reached 50 on 22nd February means I have got off to a pretty good start. A statistic that is more impressive considering that I had four pub free weeks in January.

Hereford's Beer in Hand was a great place to bring up my half century. The venue is fairly new and from the front it doesn't really look like a pub but don't let initial impressions fool you.

I later discovered that Beer in Hand is a former launderette which is now awash (get it?!) with real ales and ciders. Although the pub is only the width of an average shop front it goes back a long way, and the bar is in the far corner, well, it isn't really a bar, just a long table in front of a range of beer barrels so the place has got a beer festival feel to it.

Landlord and landlady Mitchell and Alison are very friendly and knowledgeable on their products and encourage you to try before buy. There is a large selection of local beers and ciders so Craig and I opted for the Ledbury Bitter while the girls chose a cider that was unsurprisingly cloudy in appearance. Be warned Carling drinkers this isn't a place for you, there were no draught lagers although there was a large selection of bottled continental beers though you know you are in for a rocky ride on those when you see that the weakest one is 7% ABV.

The pub is frequented by a range of different types naturally there are the stereotypical real ale buffs (beards and beer guts under their wooly jumpers) but there is also a younger crowd who are obviously drawn in by the quirky feel to the place. Although it is too new to make this years CAMRA good beer guide you can put your mortgage on it being in next year.

Lack of space means the toilets are a bit on the small side, so shamefully I went large and visited the one marked special needs !!

If you are in Hereford this place is a must !!

UPDATE 15th November

Maybe I should take up gambling as I predicted (when we visited this pub back in February) that this pub would be in the 2015 Good Beer Guide and sure enough when it was published in September it was quite rightly included.

As much as I love The Barrels it simply doesn't come close to being my favourite pub in Hereford, the Beer in Hand takes that accolade, this is a fabulous place.

You could spend an age choosing what beer to have such is the ever changing choice. If I lived in Hereford I would make it my aim to appear on the pub's honours board, the Hundred Beer Wall, which commemorates folk that have drunk at least one hundred different beers in the pub..

Now that's something worth achieving !!

Craig and I both went for a pint of Purity Pure Gold which, as you would expect, was a marvellous pint with the girls going for a 'real' cider of some description after trying a sample in advance, something that is encouraged in the Beer in Hand.

There was a deja vu moment as we sat in the same seats (well round the same barrel actually !!) as last time..

An early start and no food since breakfast meant that I was feeling the pace a wee bit at the Beer in Hand and the mandatory curry was still a while off so a snack was required, well, when I say snack this isn't a place for food so it was another pint and three packet of crisps, the old adage eating's cheating was the motto for the moment.

I've almost run out of superlatives for this place. A simply brilliant pub..

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The Britannia

Our venue to watch the England v Ireland six nations rugby international was The Britannia. The pub is a bit of a hike from Hereford city centre but it is well worth the effort. It is a Victorian end of terrace pub, in a quiet residential street, that has recently had both the interior and the exterior refurbished.

My first impressions of the inside of the pub weren't great, the refurbished look of the interior needs weathering and the large amount of natural light coming from the rear of the pub makes it a bit too bright, but in all honesty this is me nit-picking because this is a fabulous pub and the residents that live nearby are very fortunate to have a pub this good on their doorstep.

As it is owned by Wye Valley brewery there is a great selection of good beer, I chose a pint of HPA (Hereford Pale Ale), Craig, Shelley's brother, opted for the Wye Valley bitter, while Shelley and sister in law Maria went for Stowford Press cider. Unfortunately I instantly regretted my decision as the HPA was a lot lighter than the stuff I've had before so, although it tasted otherwise, it looked like a 'sample'...I joined Craig on the Wye Valley bitter for pint number two.

Now I'm not sure what the elderly gentleman sat at the bar was drinking but whatever it was it must have been strong as, not long after we got there, he was forced to do the walk of shame (well, to be fair, it was more the stagger of shame) as he was carefully guided out of the pub by the landlord.

Our hosts could have hardly been any more welcoming as well as prompt, friendly service at the bar, we were given complimentary crisps and peanuts during the match and free sarnies at half time. Rule Britannia !!

True to form, following a couple of slip ups the day before, Maria carried on where she'd left off commenting that one of the England rugby players had got 'cabbage ears', erm, I think you'll find the vegetable in question is a cauliflower Maria !!

The game itself was a real nail bitter with England ending up victorious so it was time for our sweet chariots to carry us to the next pub.

The Queens Arms

We had time to visit one final pub before catching our last bus back to Shelley's brother's house, and ignoring the advice of both Craig and his mate Mike we opted for the lively Queen's Arms. Whereas the rest of the city centre had been relatively quiet this joint was jumping !!

The soundtrack was provided by a karaoke in the corner of the pub and we were serenaded by a version of I Wanna Dance With Somebody from a large lady squeezed into an ill fitting boob tube that would definitely have had grave movement from the late Whitney Houston.

My choice of Welsh Smooth (a bitter rather than a description of tv presenter Steve Jones) was a surprise one though maybe not as surprising as Craig's drink of choice tonic water due to stomach related issues !!

We took our positions in an alcove by the bar and took in the ambience of the place that was by now beginning to fill up, particularly round the pool table. I got the distinct impression that this was a local pub for local people. A man approached me and asked me something but I was completely unable to understand what he was saying due to him slurring every syllable....maybe the Welsh Smooth was stronger than I gave it credit for. He must have had tremendous powers of recovery though as a few minutes later he sang an acceptable karaoke version of Spirit In The Sky !!

The karaoke tunes got us throwing a few shapes though I can only imagine that Kung Fu Fighting was one of the songs given the weird poses in the first picture...

 

 

 

We decided on a swift half for the road before we left for the last bus relatively unscathed from our Queen's experience !!

 

 

The Lichfield Vaults

The Lich, as it is known locally, is an 18th century pub in the shadows of Hereford cathedral. The fact that it was showing the France v Wales rugby international was what attracted us to the venue but their very impressive selection of real ales got a thumbs up from me so I stuck to the Sharps Doombar that I had been enjoying at previous venue The Steak and Cider Works.

We found a great spot by the tv just as the national anthems were starting so Welsh speaking Maria sang Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau with great gusto and we settled back to enjoy the game.

I popped to the loo and I returned to see a guilt ridden Maria staring at my empty pint glass that had been full when I left. Her handling had been about as effective as the French front row (Wales were coasting by this stage)  as she admitted knocking over my glass during my comfort break. Her embarrassment wasn't finished there as she then went on to refer to the popular French lager as Kronenburg 1066 - claiming she knew it was a famous year but couldn't remember which one !!

Wales ran out comfortable winners much to the delight of the Welsh contingent...

However the photographs in the corridor contained one showing a much more impressive rugby victory...

The Steak & Cider Works

This recently launched Midland's based pub/restaurant chain aims to 'produce home cooked food with a twist of cider and ale' though the fact that Shelley's brother Craig had been slaving over a hot stove earlier preparing a chilli for us all when we got back meant that it was drink rather food that we required from Hereford's Steak & Cider works, and in all honesty they did a pretty good job. The friendly barman spotted my Brummie accent a mile off and recommended the Sharp's Doombar.

My only criticism of the place was that it was a bit on the bright side so Craig and Maria's friends Mike and Di had no problem spotting us stood up by the fireplace towards the back of the pub with me stood unashamedly facing a rather large mirror !!

We decided a kitty was the best way forward so I got the next round though very nearly accidently pocketed the change myself. I feared accusations of me behaving like Arthur Fowler from Eastenders at Christmas time!!

The main purpose of our visit into Hereford city centre that night was to watch the six nations rugby international between France v Wales. Maria and Di were both sporting their Wales rugby shirts and weren't happy when I referred to the next days game between England and Ireland as 'the main event'. Di's fella Mike is from north of border so like all Scots he supports two team Scotland and A.B.E. (Anyone But England !!)

We quickly finished our pints as kick off was rapidly approaching and went to find a pub that was showing the game.

UPDATE 15th November

This was pub number two on our November Hereford pub crawl with Shelley's brother Craig and sister in law Maria and it's definitely one of the better ones in the town centre.

Nestled in the shadows of Hereford's impressive cathedral, The Steak and Cider Works is probably more food orientated these days however it still works (get it?!!) as a pub.

The ladies were particularly well looked after with a choice of three ciders, the boys were also spoilt for choice with Craig going for a pint of John Smiths ('av it !!) and me on the Sharps Doombar.

We were served by a barmaid that looked like abstract artist Tracey Enim however she must have got out of the wrong side of her unmade piece of artwork as she had a face like a slapped behind, not helped by the fact that the sauce bottle made a loud farting noise when she added mayonnaise to a customer's meal.

It was a bit of a deja vu moment as we stood in the same place as our previous visit, i.e. right in front of a large mirror. Seeing as I'd got a bit of product in my hair I was able to check myself out to see if it was still holding my hair in place correctly !!

Again this was only a brief visit, we'd got plenty more pubs to go to though not before we stopped for a photo outside that looked remarkably similar to the one that was taken earlier this year though we've swapped sides, we'd never be an Ant and Dec would we?!!...

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The Black Lion

The Black Lion in the centre of Hereford is rumoured to be haunted, however on the night Shelley and I went there with her brother Craig and sister in law Maria the most scary thing that confronted us was the local pub nutter !!

I blame Craig as it was his Stereophonics tee shirt that caused him to talk to us in the first place, and then we couldn't shake him off. He asked us repeatedly 'What was the name of the first Stereophonics album'? and even though we looked up the answer (Word Gets Around just incase you are interested) in the hope that this may encourage him to leave us alone it seemed to have the opposite effect !!

The pub itself was excellent, it was a traditional, welcoming pub in the city centre and was well stocked with local ales from the Wye Valley Brewery (I went for a Hereford Pale Ale) but our abiding memory from our visit was the village idiot. You will notice in the snap that Craig is looking round the pub fearing that any minute he'll appear and ask another bit of trivia about The Stereos...

We quickly downed our beers and bolted for the door whilst his back was turned !!

UPDATE 15th November

We were certainly putting in the miles at weekends, from Liverpool to Lichfield and then Hereford we ensured that we packed plenty into our time away from work. The purpose of our trip to Hereford was to visit Shelley's brother Craig and sister in law Maria, not forgetting their dog Bailey. After a few drinks in their house on Friday night we headed into the centre of Hereford early on Saturday afternoon.

When I say a few drinks in the house I may be understating things slightly, the number of bottles that went out for recycling was either impressive or shameful dependent on your viewpoint, and a half two bedtime for someone of my advancing years is not something that I pull out of the bag too often these days.

First stop was The Black Lion a lovely little pub yards away from where we got off the bus. Plenty of local ale from the Wye Valley brewery for yours truly, I was torn between Butty Bach and HPA, I eventually settled on HPA for a couple of reasons, firstly at 4.5% ABV Butty Bach was maybe a bit strong for an opening gambit, and secondly I was unsure as to whether I could pronounce the word Bach correctly, a mistake I couldn't afford to make with Welsh speaking Maria in attendance !!

The last time we visited this pub Craig's Stereophonics tee-shirt attracted the unwelcome attention of the pub's nutcase (am I allowed to use that expression these days?!!) so you will notice that he was much more conservatively dressed on this occasion..

It didn't take long before the conversation became a bit risqué with Maria coming up with a business idea. As a rival to the popular male haunt commonly known as a t*tty bar, she felt that a female equivalent (which she memorably entitled a c*cky bar !!) would be a sure fire winner !! To quote a Dragon from Dragon's Den 'I'm out' !!

We hadn't intended to watch the rugby but the autumn international between England and South Africa was being shown in the back bar. We caught the start of the second half, South Africa scored an early try but maybe got too cocky (that's your fault Maria !!) and allowed England to get back into the game before eventually emerging as deserved victors.

We moved on after the rugby though an establishment that involved nudity (female or male !!) was not on the agenda !!

 

Sutton Park Hotel

The lack of Sky TV in most Wetherspoons pubs can often be a welcome relief however my night in Boldmere wasn't such an occasion as Neil and myself were both keen to watch the Manchester City v Barcelona Champions League tie so we were forced to make away down the curry corridor of the Bodmere Strip from The Bishop Vesey to The Sutton Park Hotel, a venue that was showing the match.

Previous poor management meant that this pub used to have a bit of a reputation for being rough but they seem to have got their house in order recently, it is very popular in the day and given the fact that it was a miserable Wednesday night there were quite a few in there on the evening we visited.

We were served to our drinks by local character (and Neil's mate) Shaggy, who has hardly moved off The Strip in the last 40 plus years noting that his previous place of employment was The Harvester, a venue next door to The Vesey !!

I was pleasantly surprised to see two types of real ale on offer and opted for a pint of Greene King IPA while Philistine Neil stuck to his usual cooking lager.

We took our places and once the game got underway it soon became the patient passing game that Barcelona are renowned for though I must admit it wasn't long before my concentration lapsed and I started looking round the pub for faces that I remembered during my Boldmere residency. It didn't take me long to spot both Hugh and Nigel both members of the post work drinking crew from The Boldmere Oak that I was part of.

Former schoolfriend Gary and his wife Amanda dropped in during the second half. They were taking advantage of a rare child free night so I am sure they were delighted to see the pair of us, particularly as by that stage we were four pints to the good.

All in all a venue that I would recommend though one to avoid when v*lla are playing as it is normally crawling with them.

The Bishop Vesey

Given that this is another typical Wetherspoon's pub it would be easy to bash the Bishop Vesey but there is a good reason that this pub has featured in the CAMRA good beer guide for thirteen consecutive years, it is a really good venue.

The pub is particularly busy at weekends when it is a used by patrons of Bodmere's bustling balti belt...wow check out that alliteration !!

I used to use The Vesey a lot during the time that I lived in Boldmere and, although a Wetherspoons pub and therefore pretty cheap, I quite often used to spend a fair bit of money in there as we used to use it as a 19th hole following a round of golf at neighbouring Boldmere golf course and almost without exception I'd lose any golf bets so I'd regularly be up the bar in my plus fours !!

On the night I went there I was given the very difficult choice of what must have been ten real ales eventually opting for a pint of Ruddles best bitter for myself and a Carling for my lager loving former flatmate Neil..

The pub has got two floors so we took a seat upstairs by the window, a vantage point that gave us a panoramic view of the Boldmere Strip though we could not quite see as far as Fuzzy Growlers...a dog grooming salon just incase you were wondering !!

The Globe Inn

Our Sunday afternoon walk / pub crawl ended at the CAMRA listed venue The Globe Inn and, appropriately for a pub that shows the rugby, Brains Bread of Heaven was my beer of choice. As a tribute to the Welsh rugby team it had a reddish colouring to it. I am grateful that it was Bread of Heaven that was being sold and not one of the other beers that is produced by the Brains brewery namely Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, try saying that after you've had a few !!

The main reason we visited this splendid pub was to watch the second half of the FA Cup tie between Arsenal and Liverpool which was a bit disappointing as we seemed to see little else but Luis Suarez rolling around in agony anytime anyone came near him.

We stopped for a couple so my whistle was well and truly whetted which made that night's prize karaoke competition (cleverly entitled cashioke) somewhat of a temptation, surely my party piece Elvis Presley's The Wonder of You would guarantee me the £25 top prize !!

UPDATE 9th March

Although it shows most sports, first and foremost The Globe is known as a rugby pub, so it was with that it mind that we chose it as the venue to watch the England v Wales six nations international. We hadn't seen neighbours Gill and Alan all year so we invited them along and caught up during the 35 minute walk to the pub taking full advantage of the fact that it looked like Spring had finally sprung.

Given the fact that it was a Sunday afternoon the pub was surprisingly full though thankfully there wasn't a scrum (get it?!) at the bar to get served. Although we hadn't been out drinking with them for a while Alan remembered my fondness for real ale as he asked me if I was 'still drinking old man's drinks' !! I ordered a pint of old man's drink Worthington bitter.

I'm not sure the pub's heating system had kicked in automatically as the place was sweltering, so we found our positions by the door hoping that people going in and out might give us some much needed relief from the heat.

The game itself was a surprisingly one sided event with England coming out on top 29 18, it could have been a much wider margin had it not been for the generosity of the hosts who gave away a penalty every time they scored a try.

There was a brilliant atmosphere at the final whistle with one group of blokes in the pub breaking into a patriotic sing song with rousing renditions of Land of Hope and Glory, Jerusalem and the obligatory Swing Low. It did go a bit old school at that point though with the singing of On Mother Kelly's Doorstep and My Old Man Said Follow The Van - the worst of it was though I knew all the words !!

The weather was still nice so we walked back satisfied that it was a job well done by England, setting things up nicely for a final weekend showdown.

UPDATE 4th April

Last pub of a mini pub crawl in Tamworth that featured The Bolebridge and The Sir Robert Peel was The Globe.

Seeing as it was nine o'clock on a Friday night the pub was fairly empty. I'm not sure whether that was because the pub was showing Sheffield Wednesday v Leicester City or because the 1980's music that was being piped round the pub was so bad. I mean, who wants to listen to Shaddap You Face by Joe Dolce when you are out having a pint on a Friday?!!

Shelley moved off the cider and onto wine whereas I stuck to ale remembering that The Globe is a CAMRA rated venue and chose a pint of their excellent Worthington bitter.

I mentioned in my first Silk Kite post that there is a Blues fan that we regularly bump into around the pubs of Tamworth who calls me by the wrong name. For ages he called me Gary but bizarrely he has recently started calling me Malcolm. We saw him at the bar when we were leaving, 'All right Malcolm'? he said, and then he proceeded to speak to me about the current financial plight of Birmingham City. When it was time to leave he said 'See ya Gazza' !! How we laughed.

UPDATE 6th June

We couldn't believe how quiet The Globe was when we walked in. It was 8.15 on a Friday night and there were probably no more than ten people in the pub. Maybe the decent weather meant that folks were doing something outdoors or possibly The Globe's rugby loving crowd were saving themselves for early the next morning as it was the first test between England and the All Blacks.

I was on the Worthington's Best Bitter and my good lady was on Strongbow cider. We sat on a comfy sofa which Shelley informed me was a Chesterfield (I had absolutely no idea) and were facing the telly that was mounted on the wall, it was like we were on Gogglebox !!

Signs in the pub proudly informed punters that the forthcoming Ascot Ladies Day being held in the pub was sold out. Admittedly there's a bit of food thrown in but why anyone would pay £25 to watch horse racing in a fairly ordinary pub is beyond me. I can just picture a pub full of Tamworth Eliza Dolittle types bellowing 'Come on Dover, move yer bloomin' a*se' as the horses approach the finishing line.

If there was ever a perfect reason for leaving a pub it was the fact that Story of My Life by One Direction (that's 1D if you are a super fan) was playing on the pub's sound system.

Get yer coat Shelley...

UPDATE 8th August

After successfully working my way down all the real ale taps in previous pub The Bolebridge we stopped off for a quick pint at The Globe on our way to Champagne curry house.

It was only a flying visit as there was a chicken and mushroom dish (a curry rather than the equally delicious pie with same two main ingredients that is also a favourite of mine after a few beverages !!) with my name on it in the curry house, but there was still time for a very pleasant pint of Arkells Moonlight with Shelley on the rose wine....

 

 

It was August 8th and my next few months were about to get miserable, the football season had started !! Blues weren't kicking off until the next day with an away fixture at Middlesbrough however the curtain raiser, being shown in the pub, was Blackburn v Cardiff which hardly whetted the appetite for life in the Championship. Well, put it this way, there was not even the slightest temptation of stopping for another pint.

Curry time...

UPDATE 26th October

I thought I'd have gone off football after witnessing Blues lose 0-8 the day before but surprisingly I fancied a bit more footie watching with the prospect of a decent match between Man Utd and Chelsea. The afternoon was a good one so Shelley and I took a stroll through the castle grounds into Tamworth town centre and headed for The Globe.

The Globe has lost its place in the Good Beer Guide for 2015 which is a bit of a shame because it's a really good pub, there are normally at least a couple of well kept ales on offer with me choosing Worthington's Best Bitter for this visit....

The game was on but the music in the pub drowned out the commentary which to be fair actually wasn't a bad thing as we were treated to some Sunday afternoon Motown. Shelley must have got tired of me saying 'Ooh, I love this song' as we heard classic track after classic track, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, The Jacksons, little Stevie Wonder the hits just kept coming. They sound so much better in their entirety without that pesky Jive Bunny shortening them and giving the artists stutters !! We stayed in our seats and watched the match even though the time was right for dancing in the streets !!

There are always a few events on at The Globe and one in particular caught my eye..

Well if that's what their classing as entertainment these days I'd make sure I ate a fiver's worth of food !!

A bloke with a fabulous hairstyle propped up the bar, he had virtually none at the front but it was very long at the back, think Michael Bolton in the early '90's but a whole lot worse !! He was wearing an Eagles tee-shirt. Their 1974 song Already Gone was presumably written about his hair !!

The man's hair wasn't the only thing to go in the pub, we virtually lost the picture near the end of the match which was a bit of a blow since Man Utd equalised with virtually the last kick of the game, not that we'd have known, there was a snow storm going on in Manchester from where we were sitting !!

The Motown tunes kept coming and this old heart of mine fancied another pint, Shelley seconded that emotion and had a pint of Strongbow. I was tempted to Stop (in the name of love) for another but it was a school night so we headed home.

UPDATE 13th December

We had arranged to go out with neighbours Gill and Alan and I for one could hardly wait to see Alan in our chosen destination The Globe Inn. The reason being was that I had just witnessed Blues winning 6-1 (yep, that's right 6-1) and Alan's team v*lla had just lost 1-0 to West Brom with the winning goal being scored by a Birmingham City supporter !! What a night we were going to have....well, I was anyway !!

I do really like The Globe, Bob our favourite barman from our local The Gate had recently taken over as manager so it was good to see him as he served me to a fine point of Worthington's Best Bitter.

Once we had got pleasantries out of the way (I talked Alan through all six of the goals) we enjoyed a long overdue catch up with our friends.

The pub was nicely full and the more mature crowd that generally frequent The Globe were in festive spirits. There was a function taking place in the room at the back of the pub meaning that there was all manner of attire from the attendees. Alan and I were quite amused by one particular couple who presumably had not consulted on their respective outfits, she was in a shoulderless dress whereas her other half was decked out in jeans, jumper and a thick coat !! Hardly his and hers attire !!

The beer was going down about as frequently as goals went in that afternoon at St Andrews but we all agreed after a few pints that a change of scenery was due so we made our way to The Sir Robert Peel stopping off for a photo outside the pub which is Gill and Alan's first pictorial appearance on the blog..

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Market Vaults

The Market Vaults is a Grade II listed building which has been in operation since the Georgian period. The pub received a £100,000 make over back in 2012 when the pub was run by previous licencees Sandra and Karl. The pub is now under different owners and a different brewery, Joule's have taken over from Marston's.

We hadn't been in for a while so Shelley suggested that we pop in for a Sunday afternoon pint.

The pub itself hadn't changed much since our last visit, it is disappointingly under used, and whilst there were a few in when we first arrived, it soon emptied out leaving no more than half a dozen punters.

The lack of customers at The Market Vaults is a real shame, the pub is full of character and is infact reputed to be haunted.

Shelley went and got us a seat but gave me some money to get the round in leaving one astonished drinker to comment 'I wish I'd got a missus like yours ' !!

The beer was fabulous I opted for a pint of Joule's Slumbering Monk which was top quality, mind you beer always seems to taste nicer on a school night.

The pub was showing the FA Cup draw though unsurprisingly Blues's interest in the competition had long since ended, after all it was mid February !!

One surprise addition to the pub was a piano that was situated near the bar. The pub now runs weekly open mic nights, be warned though, The Voice reject Sam Buttery hails from Tamworth...you have been warned !!

UPDATE 12th April

Pub number three of our Saturday afternoon/evening pub crawl of Tamworth was the Market Vaults. I've mentioned before that this a lovely historic place slap bang in the middle of the town centre that is generally empty when we visit. How delighted we were therefore to see a few punters in there when we called in.

Shelley went and got us a seat while I was getting them in and looked horrified when I returned from the bar with just my pint, made worse when I told her that the pub was totally out of cider. How me and the landlord laughed when he came back a couple of minutes later with Shelley's drink, he'd gone to change the barrel and was in on the joke.

Once again I chose a Joule's Slumbering Monk and as lovely as it was with a really nutty taste it was certainly not a session ale, I found it quite heavy going, almost like having a meal.

As much as I don't mind well behaved dogs in pubs (more often than not they are a more welcome addition than kids) I think one prerequisite is that the dog must be clean. This wasn't the case for the dog that was in the Market Vaults that day sprawled out in the middle of the pub. It is difficult to describe the smell, think damp carpets and you'll get the picture !! Bath time Rover !!

The FA Cup semi final between Wigan and Arsenal was showing on the pub's tv but to be honest neither of us were particularly interested, me because, as is the annual tradition, Blues's interest in the competition finished months ago, and Shelley because a nail breakage incident had just occurred.

We stayed a while in the pub due to the fact that it took me so long to finish my heavy beer (no wonder the monk slumbered after a pint of the stuff) and made our way to the next pub The White Lion.

UPDATE 21st June

Amazingly our walk from The Gate into Tamworth town centre didn't include the usual stop off at The Bolebridge, maybe I'm losing my powers of persuasion !! Instead we walked through the grounds of Tamworth Castle (looking at their picturesque best on a sunny midsummer's night) and headed straight for The Market Vaults.

The Market Vaults is proving to be quite a popular pub these days, helped by the fact that it looks a lot more welcoming than it used to. The back passage (stop sniggering at the back !!) at the side of the pub where you used to gain entry in now blocked off meaning that entry is now through the pub's front door which is propped open giving a sense of genuine welcome. The pavement café style seating outside the pub adds to the general ambience of the place.

Great care is also being given to the beer that is on offer, this is down jointly to the change in both ownership and brewery. Slumbering Monk is always my drink of choice in The Market Vaults with Shelley on the Stowford Press. Once again it was impossible to avoid the festival of football so we had one eye on Germany v Ghana while we enjoyed our beer.

The pub really filled up with the arrival of a coach party. The Market Vaults was the final stop off point at the end of a trip out for local CAMRA members though tellingly I heard one of them say that the beer in The Market Vaults was the best pint that he'd had all day.

A man, stood at the bar, was trying, somewhat unsuccessfully, to chat up the young lady next to him. She went by the name of Organa. What kind of name is that?! Do you remember the good old days when girls were called names like Sharon and Tracy?! Life was so much simpler back then.

Time was getting on and we were eager not to stay too long as the Saturday night party crowd would soon be arriving in the town centre to drink Glitter Bombs and Smirnoff Ice so we drank up and decided that it was curry o'clock.

UPDATE 10th July

We were on our way, on a fabulous summer's evening, from The Amington to the curry house and the pavement café style seating outside The Market Vaults was too tempting to turn down so we popped in for an aperitif.

Granted us Brummies aren't always that popular with the Tamworth locals so I couldn't help smiling at the significance of hearing the haunting sound of the intro to Led Zep's Immigrant Song as I walked into the bar !!

The beer is brilliant in The Market Vaults so it my usual Joule's Slumbering Monk and a Stowford Press for Shelley, one of her favourite tipples.

We went and sat outside..

..and the Parisienne style seating meant that I felt I could have actually been in the French capital apart from the fact that I had a view of Cash Creator rather than the Champs Elysees !!

UPDATE 31st July

Please see the update for The Bolebridge on 31st July, in summary I made no notes on our two pub visits this night due to me being disorganised. As we were in the Market Vaults I would definitely have been drinking Slumbering Monk and Shelley would undoubtedly have found me witty, charming and the usual great company that she has become accustomed to !!...

UPDATE 28th September

This year's fabulous weather just seems to go on and on and we keep saying, when the sun is shining on a Sunday, let's go for a walk and an outdoor pint, it maybe the last chance we get in 2014, we've been saying it for several weeks now !! We decided to take a stroll through Tamworth's picturesque castle grounds so we could call in at the Market Vaults, we've drunk in the beer garden there before but not under the new ownership and we were keen to give it a try.

I had half hoped I'd get a Ryder cup update (it was the final day and Europe were closing in on victory) when we got to the pub, unfortunately the pub's television was showing a re-run of the previous evenings episode of X Factor !! If ever there was a reason to escape to the beer garden clutching our drinks (Slumbering Monk for me, Stowford Press for Shelley) then this was it.

We were pleasantly surprised when we saw the garden, it had been refurbished and now included what looked like a small bar, and a pebbled path that led to a tiny gate at the back of the garden. Maybe Narnia was behind the gate?! What a great location to enjoy the weather, and just like in the Bulmer's advert we headed for the table that was in the sun....

Apart from a couple of blokes, who left soon after we arrived, we literally had the garden to ourselves, which could only mean one thing.....no kids !!!!!

Although it was only supposed to be a one pint pit stop strategy it was too good an opportunity to miss so we stopped for another. It became apparent during the brief period when I went inside to get our drinks that Shelley would be hopeless on sentry duty. In the above photograph you can just make out the flag of Staffordshire that is flying from the top of Tamworth castle, it disappeared when I was at the bar and Shelley didn't notice it happening !!

I wonder if she'd notice if I crept to the bar to get a third pint?!!...

The Old Crown

At long last when we pulled back the curtains we discovered not only was it not raining, the sun was actually shining meaning we could finally do some walking. Muddy fields and sodden canal towpaths meant that we needed to stick to pavements and Shelley had the inspired decision of a walk to the nearby village of Wiggington, made even more appealing when she informed me that the village contained a pub !!

Wiggington's village pub, The Old Crown, was a bit disappointing, despite its setting, and the impressive views from the beer garden, the place itself seemingly hadn't been decorated since Rick Astley topped the charts, infact I was half expecting the barmaid to have big hair and shoulder pads !!

What it lacked in the decor department was compensated by its beer, I had a superb pint of Marston's Sunbeam (a beer that is a huge favourite in our local The Gate) and Shelley was equally impressed with her pint of Th*tcher's Gold cider.

A few people were tucking into what looked like a fairly uninspiring Sunday lunch though one look at the menu indicated that the pub wasn't a place that you'd visit for fine dining as in the week you can get a three course meal for £5.50 !!

Although they tried their best to drive us away (the pubs sound system treated us to both Celine Dion and Jennifer Rush) we decided to stop for another pint though we ensured that we did not overstay our welcome as country and western act The Bryans were playing later so we line danced our way back to the centre of Tamworth.

Sunflower Lounge

Being seasoned travellers we made sure that we checked the time of our replacement bus back to Tamworth on line before making our way to the pick up point. To our horror, though the website stated otherwise, there was no 20.49 or 21.03, the next bus was 21.49 so, left with nearly an hour to kill, there was only one option....go for a drink !!

Shelley's aunt always says that you can judge a place on how clean their toilets are, based on that, previous experience had taught us that we should never ever go to the Sunflower Lounge, however the fact that it was the nearest pub to our rail replacement bus pick up point (exclusive fashion boutique TK Max) meant that we took our chances and hoped that we didn't have to answer when nature called !!

Largely unchanged since it opened, Sunflower Lounge is a magnet for trendy indie kids, many of whom go there before heading off to Snobs nightclub. The music is of the 'alternative' variety and is always played at volume eleven which, that night, was probably quite a relief to Shelley as she didn't have to listen to me moaning about non existent buses and Blues's desperate home form. 

Although there was no real ale there was quite a good selection of world beers to be had and I gave a loud Wunderbar when I saw that my favourite German wheat beer Erdinger was available on draught.

Although I ordered Shelley a half of cider the volume of the music meant that the barman returned with a pint meaning that I had to strenuously deny Shelley's claim that I was 'trying to get her drunk' !!

Whilst our trip to the Sunflower Lounge was an impromptu one there are certainly worse places to drink so we moved the upstairs lounge and mingled with the germ free adolescents. Although I quite like alternative music I felt all of my 47 years during our brief stay and barring a single song by The Stone Roses I didn't recognise any of the music.

Time for a sharp exit.........

Bar Estilo

I'd arranged to meet Shelley and her friend Lisa at Bar Estilo in The Mailbox. They had finished their food and were on the wine so I did what any discerning gentleman would do in the circumstances...went up the bar to get my own drink !!

The chances of me getting a real ale at Bar Estilo were about as unlikely as a Blues win earlier that day though the 'choice' of just one draught beer of any description (Spanish lager Estrella) beggared belief. I assumed the price of the beer included a return trip to Spain to fetch the drink as it was a Spanish eye watering £4.60 a pint, made worse by the fact that when my change arrived on a tray (don't you just hate that?!) it was a fiver short !!

The lack of draught beer did little to deter folk from visiting the place as it was extremely busy, however the fact that it was standing room only wasn't a problem for me I found myself a place next to Shelley's friend Lisa...

As bars go it is definitely a place that is more geared towards eating rather than drinking but by that stage I was salivating at the prospect of pie and chips back in Tamworth, so we posed for one final snap...

...said our goodbyes to Lisa and made our way to catch the replacement bus back to Staffordshire.

The Lamp Tavern

I received a text from Shelley to say that her and Lisa were running late so I was left with an hour to kill on my own in town so, rather than order another pint in The Troc, I made my way to a pub on the outskirts of town that I haven't been to in years namely The Lamp Tavern.

Although technically situated in Highgate, the pub is actually at the bottom (pardon the pun) of Hurst Street, so on my way I pirouetted past ballet fans queuing to see Swan Lake at The Hippodrome, then minced my way past clubs Missing, and Eden which was staging Bear Brum, I have no idea what it entailed and the photograph on the poster outside of a scantily clad man did not tempt me to try and find out !!

Years ago my brother Dave and I had an afternoon lock in (ask your Dad kids) at The Lamp Tavern so I had fond memories of the place though the inclement weather meant that my hands were too cold to take a decent selfie so I am not necessarily capturing the place (or myself for that matter) in all its glory.

The pub is one of the smallest pubs in the city and a big favourite of the real ale community so I was like a kid in a sweet shop as there were about six on offer so after much deliberation I chose a pint of Everards Tiger Bitter served to me by long standing landlord Eddie.

Although it was fairly early on Saturday evening, there was no spare seats to be had so I went and stood by a couple of fellow Blues fans and moaned about things at St Andrews until they left to get their cab, well at least that's what they told me !!

There was a piano in the corridor behind the bar and it was being played rather well by a bunch of students though their choice of songs was old fashioned to say the least though somewhat embarrassingly I found myself singing along to If You Were The Only Girl In The World And I Was The Only Boy !!

All in all a great (very) little pub and I will definitely return very soon.

The Trocadero

'The Troc' as it is affectionately known is the second pub I went to for an after work drink, depressingly as long ago as 1986, sadly the first pub, the late lamented Yard of Ale, is now a Chinese restaurant.

The Troc was the venue for mine and Shelley's second date on my recommendation, so it was somewhat embarrassing that day when she spotted a mouse scurrying underneath an adjacent table !!

I went there on a solo mission after the match as I was meeting Shelley and her mate Lisa a bit later in The Mailbox. When I arrived the place was packed which is often the case with The Troc is it is popular with shoppers and sports fans. I had originally planned to watch the Manchester City v Chelsea FA Cup tie but there was a free table and whilst it was out of view of the tv's it was next to the fire, so I settled down with my hitherto untried pint of Adnams Explorer, and enjoyed the warmth. However this was very shortlived as the miserable git behind the bar came over and turned the fire off !!

Naturally as I was on my own getting the obligatory photo in the pub was going to be a bit of a problem so I ended up taking three selfies and choosing the one that looked like I'd got the least amount of double chins... If you think that one is bad you should have seen the other two !!

UPDATE 9th April

My second trip of the year to The Troc was to meet my old flat mate Neil for a post work beverage. When it comes to drinking Neil has got a fairly standard approach in a pub, he never strays away from pints of Carling so I feared the worst when I arrived and saw that he'd got 'em in, yep, you've guessed it, the barmaid came back with two pints of Carling !!

The Troc is a Birmingham institution, it has been there for years, has hardly changed in all that time and is busy whenever you go in. Thankfully that night we were lucky enough to get the last remaining seats in the place and had a good old catch up as we hadn't seen each other for a couple of months with one of the main topics of conversation being us both coming out of cricketing retirement on May 5th in a memorial game for the 'Bearwood legends' !!

I rectified the drink situation when I went up the bar for our refills, naturally I got Neil a pint of Carling and I chose a pint of Greene King IPA for myself. It disproved the theory that you get what you pay for, the tasteless gassy liquid was £3.06 whereas my crisp, smooth vision of coppery brown loveliness with hints of caramel mixed in with its general hopiness was a steal at £1.73.

Whilst the main feature of this blog is the beer Neil took this is to the extreme when he took the following photo, the photo of my pint is great the photo of me less so. Infact it is the worst case of a decapitation since that of Anne Boleyn !!

Being the disciplined professionals that we are we had one eye on work the next day so called it a night after a pitiful four pints. I must get my work / drink balance more in proportion !!

UPDATE 16th June

I hadn't seen former flatmate Neil for a few weeks so we decided to combine a few beers with a World Cup game and Germany v Portugal looked the most attractive of the forthcoming 5pm fixtures.

Poor planning on my part (I'd agreed to attend a meeting between 4pm and 5pm) meant that I didn't get the 5.01pm departure that I was hoping for. Not that it mattered as virtually every bar was showing the match on Broad St so I was kept informed of progress as I walked into town, stopping of a Velvet Music Bar to see Germany score their opener from the penalty spot.

Calling at the Velvet Music Bar wasn't my only stop off point on my way into the city centre. I found a fiver on the floor outside Gatecrasher night club and promptly said out loud 'finders keepers'.

I arrived at The Troc at just before 5.25pm and got the round in, a pint of Carling for Neil and a Greene King IPA for yours truly. Monday Club at The Troc meant that Carling was £1.90 a pint which is still expensive if you ask real ale loving me !!

Neil arrived on the stroke of half time and by that stage it was already game over, the efficient Germans were three nil up and Portugal were down to ten men. There was no shirt removing antics from Portuguese winker Cristiano Ronaldo on this occasion.

We had prime seats under the tv and watched as Germany scored a fourth. I was going pint for goal with the Germans and actually took a five four lead, well to be honest pint number five was well after the final whistle but I'm claiming the victory !!

Work life balance issues meant that pint number five was where I called it a night and made my way for the 20.03 back to Tamworth five pints to the good.

It's a good job the World Cup is only once every four years !!

 

 

 

 

Bar 8

Bar 8 is a relatively new addition so I made my first visit there with sister Karen to meet fellow Blue Noses Andy, Deb and Dave. The pub is dedicated to Birmingham City legend, and wearer of the number 8 shirt, Trevor Francis.

 Bar 8 is a great place to go for the post match inquest which, that day, didn't last long as the two one defeat to Huddersfield Town was arguably the worst performance of the season.

Frustratingly there was no real ale on offer so I went for a pint of Dutch lager Amstel as a tribute to our former Amsterdam born winger Daniel De Ridder.

In a throw back to the days when TF graced the hallowed St Andrews turf the barmaids were wearing the full Birmingham City kit though, disappointingly, the talent behind the bar was about as impressive as that in the current Birmingham City first team !!

Former Blues player, and fellow number 8 wearer, Paul Tait turned up at the bar (unfortunately not wearing his infamous anti v*lla tee shirt) though he barely had time to get served as, somewhat annoyingly, last orders were called at 5.20 though there was still time for one last photo wishing the great man was still playing for us...

UPDATE 25th October

When I settled down at the start of Blues's game against Bournemouth I had absolutely no idea of what was to follow....

To go one nil down after 122 seconds doesn't help, nor does being reduced to ten men after seven minutes but 0-8?!! Really?!! 0-8?!! It sounds more like economical bowling figures !! I should have put a bet on, in response (at 0-3) to my mate Andy's text that Bar 08 would be the choice of post match drinking venue I said I hope that's not your score prediction !! My face sums up my mood just after the final whistle...

To say we were speechless when I met up with Deb, Andy, Dave and Al after the game is something of an understatement. It would be no exaggeration to say that it was the worst performance that I have seen from a Birmingham City team in the forty years I have been watching them, and trust me, there have been some pretty bad performances in those four decades. Totally and utterly unacceptable.

One of the choices of beer in the bar was a surprising one, Midlands brewery Sadler's have decided to cash in on the popular tv series Peaky Blinders (a programme supposedly set just around the corner from St Andrews) and have launched an ale of the same name which was available in bottles..

It was as dark and heavy as some of the music I listen to so not necessarily for my taste buds but definitely drinkable however it did not take my mind off what I had just witnessed. I was bracing myself for the texts, which I would undoubtedly receive, from gloating v*lla fans with quips about After Eight Mints etc. I did stop and wonder, when I saw his photo as a young man on a door in the bar, what Blues's most famous number eight would make of the debacle...

The bar closes at 5.30pm so there was only time for one drink before moving elsewhere for more (joys and) sorrows drowning.....

The Wagon and Horses

Back street boozer the Wagon and Horses is the place where we go before visiting neighbouring Temple of Doom St Andrews.

The pub is a ten minute walk from the ground so the regular 2.35pm conundrum is whether or not you've got time to squeeze in another pint before kick off, a situation that isn't helped by the fact that the clock on the pub's wall has its numbers in reverse !! The answer is generally yes, as the chances of missing an early Blues goal is always highly unlikely !!

There is normally at least one real ale on offer, I opted for a pint of Doombar and, although the place is usually pretty full, getting served isn't generally a problem. In days gone by the pub's pre match crowd would often burst into song though these days it is generally tunes (normally of the Britpop variety) from the pub's fabulous juke box that sends us on our way to the match with a spring in our step, though the fact that the route to the ground is up a steep hill we literally do have to follow the words of the club's anthem to the letter and Keep Right On To The End Of The Road !!

We often comment that the fact that the pub is that good, coupled with the fact that Blues are that bad, then a better plan would be to go the pub then go straight home. It would save on the inevitable misery !!

UPDATE 8th March

Don't get me wrong, there been very few joys and plenty of sorrows in the time I've spent watching Birmingham City but, given the fact that this season's home league form is the worst in the club's 139 year history, means that the pre match pint is generally the highlight of a match day. Saturday March 8th was another such occasion !!

The unseasonably mild weather produced a few fashion crimes, Gray was wearing his menacing Peaky Blinders cloth cap despite the fact that it was a balmy 13 degrees outside, and Steve appeared to be wearing his wife's blouse. Had the fashion police visited there would have been some arrests !!

The beer is always good in The Wagon, and that day was no exception, Sharp's Doombar was once more my chosen tipple. I had a couple of pints and psyched myself up for the match, surely we couldn't lose again........we did two nil !!!

UPDATE 11th March

Two games in four days meant that I visited The Wagon and Horses both on Saturday and Tuesday. My first observation from the Tuesday night was that the fashion crimes from a few days before were thankfully confined to the annals of history as both Gray and Steve were back to being the embodiments of sartorial elegance !!

There were two real ale options available to me but mine and Shelley's trip to the Cheltenham Gold Cup three days later meant that there was really only one choice, Goffs Cheltenham Gold. I saw it as a sign that I'd pick the winner of the big race.

I mentioned in a previous post that the musical style in The Wagon on a match day favours the Brit pop era and I made a note of the musical selections from the jukebox that night to emphasise the point. It was like a who's who of alternative music of the 1990's ; Oasis, Pulp, Inspiral Carpets, Blur, Stone Roses and Suede, it took a random choice of The Monkees to break the 90's dominance. It was 'twisting my melon man'.

As usual, my big decision of the night was did I have time for an extra pint? Seeing as I had to make that decision at 7.20pm (noting that it was a 7.45pm kick off) meant that realistically the answer was no but the 2 0 reverse a few days earlier meant that the possibility of missing kick off would be a welcome relief.......I had the extra pint and entered the ground with almost three minutes gone, we were winning 0 0, trust me, things are that bad currently that a 0 0 scoreline feels like a victory !!


UPDATE 27th August

Well, I couldn't put it off any longer, this was the day when I made my first appearance to watch Birmingham City in the 2014/5 season. £12 for the League Cup tie with Sunderland seemed like a real bargain, however I feared I may be of a different opinion at just after 9.30pm !!

I was the first to arrive of my football friends (adopts thumbs up Inbetweeners style pose) and had a choice of two ales, Wye Valley Dorothy Goodbody's Amber Ale or Milestone Loxley Ale. According to the brewery Dorothy Goodbody is the daughter of a Herefordshire hop grower who is close to the head brewer. She sounds quite a catch, and I wonder if she's Goodbody by name and.........

My chums began arriving slowly and Carling Cup winners 2011 merchandise was being sported by some. We couldn't do it again could we? Flippin' 'eck, what am I saying?!! Dorothy's beer must be strong !!

Unfortunately Dorothy Goodbody's Amber Ale ran out so I moved onto the equally impressive Loxley ale. The pub was surprisingly empty and the usual crowd of blokes who take good control of the tunes that get played on the jukebox were notable by their absence, this was evidenced when the music went country and western on a couple of occasions.

The pub isn't in the most salubrious of areas, it is surrounded by industrial units and a bus garage at the front so it is just as well the beer garden at the back is so picturesque, check this out..

I left with an up for the cup spring in my step. This could be our year !!

EDIT

It wasn't, we lost three nil !!

UPDATE 25th October

This visit to The Wagon and Horses was a very brief one. I was on route from The Anchor to St Andrews with my mates Matt and Gaz when we decided to pop into The Wagon for a quick pint, I'm not sure whether it was to numb the pain or to prolong the agony for as long as possible !!

The Wagon is a fabulous pre match venue, we have often said that it is invariably the highlight of the match day experience. The beer is good (Sharps Doombar for me on this occasion) and the place is populated with familiar long suffering faces.

I have mentioned in the past that the music has a Madchester bias, however it was taken to a whole new level during this visit, the song selections were The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses and erm The Stone Roses as someone had put the whole first album on the jukebox. Now I know Ian Brown wants to be adored but this was ridiculous !!

I am quite a fan of street art (I really admire what Banksy does for example) and feel that there is a place for art/graffiti as long as it done well so I couldn't help thinking that the addition (in sticker format) to the art work in the gent's toilet was a welcome one..

Given its location in the little boys room I am not sure whether it was an expression of disdain or an instruction !!

As is generally the case we all gave our predictions for that afternoon's match with Bournemouth being the opponents on this occasion. I optimistically went for a one nil Blues win, eternal optimist Gaz also went for a Blues win (2-1) while Matt, somewhat disappointingly, went for a 0-3 reverse. Surely we couldn't be that bad could we?

EDIT. Matt was the closest, it was 0-8 !!