Pubs of 2014

Right, here we go...... The purpose of this blog is to log all the pubs that I have visited and consumed an alcoholic beverage in during 2014. The rules are quite simple, the establishment needs to be a public house, it sounds straightforward but it may get complicated for example things that wouldn't count are a visit to the bar at the cricket, a pre gig drink in a concert venue, a drink at the Birmingham German market etc. As judge and jury my decision is final, and if I'm in any doubt I won't count it.



My prediction as at the start of the year is that the final number will be somewhere around the 200 mark though I won't go to pubs just to get the numbers up, it will be a true reflection of my pub visting year.



My posts will include information about the pub, the ambience of the surroundings, the choice and quality of the beer, any interesting or amusing anecdotes about my visit and, where possible, photographic evidence.



I will try and keep the information as accurate as possible noting that alcohol consumption means that at times this may prove difficult !!



The format of the posts is simple, the first visit to the pub will be the blog entry and that post will be updated for any subsequent visit.



Hope you enjoy it...



Cheers

UPDATE January 2015

Right, that's it, it's finally finished, some 259 pubs later !! It's been hard work but it's nice being able to look back and relive the drinking experiences of 2014.

I am pleased with the final result and whilst I've been reviewing it, I have actually laughed a few times at my own jokes !!

A word of warning, it does start off a bit slow (some of my posts from Bath are a bit dull) but stick with it. In hindsight the format of posting repeat visits to a pub on the original post at times doesn't work very well when reading the blog in its' entirety but on the whole I'm pleased with it and I hope that you enjoy it.

I have stated this in the blog but I will say it again, thanks to anyone that I have had a beer with in 2014 and special thanks to Shelley for her patience !!







Thursday, 6 March 2014

All Bar One

All Bar One in Brindley Place is a venue that I rarely visit, not because I don't like the place, it is more due to the fact that it is so painfully expensive, a pint with the number 5 in it is a possibility in this venue but the night I went was a freebie so any principles that I might have had were put to one side.

My boss was at the bar when I arrived and offered to get me a drink so I went Dutch, by that I don't mean that I offered to pay half I mean that I ordered a pint of Netherland lager Amstel !!

I was joined by colleagues Edel, Val, Gloria and Liz and eventually Bill who, as always was running late. I've been out drinking with Bill before so it was no surprise when he ordered the strongest lager on offer, he doesn't do anything below 5% ABV, infact he used to be a member of what was called the Breakfast Club in his local Hertfordshire pub, lagers up to 5% were the Full English but Bill being Bill always opted for a full strength Continental !!

The pub is what you would expect from this particular chain a bit pretentious but not a bad place to go for a post work drink and the lack of pubs by the office means that this place regularly hosts any after work events that we have.

Edel hurried us along as we were late for our table so my only photographic evidence was the selfie that I took on the way in which looks like I've got no face...



I returned to the venue the next day to get a better one....



UPDATE 27th May

Now, I'm not really a fan of All Bar One, but, as Dear Deidre regularly advises, relationships are all about compromise, so, as Shelley likes the place, I went along with her choice during our post holiday Brum pub crawl without so much as a murmur of complaint.

We had been in Spain literally hours earlier so the fact that it was Tapas Tuesday didn't really do it for this particular senor and senoretta, we stuck to drinks only, me on the Amstel and Shelley on her favourite tipple, Aspall cider..



As anyone who has ever bought a round in this particular establishment will verify it ain't cheap, so I paid considerably more for that pint of Amstel than I did my previous one, a bargain €2 on the marina in Fuengirola, in the sun in my shorts and flip flops..

Time for another holiday me thinks !!



 
 
 

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