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 !!







Tuesday, 8 April 2014

The Lyric

The Lyric was the final destination of our weekend in London for Shelley's sister in law Maria's birthday and it was a fabulous place to finish off a great couple of days.

Situated in Soho, the view from the pub's door conforms to every stereotype you may have about this once seedy area. Carlsberg don't do 'exciting men's clubs' but if they did this place would be....




This is a proper local's pub probably because it is tucked away down a side street away from all the tourist attractions nearby.

It is a Victorian building and the pub has kept a lot of its original features including the frontage that is almost as impressive as that of Kelly Brook !!



Inside the pub is like a pub from a bygone era with wooden floors, benches and stools set up around beer barrels that are used as tables.

 
 
 
Although one review of this place said it was a 'predominantly gay' crowd in The Lyric I didn't see any obvious evidence to support this as it was a mixture of all type of folks so there was no need for me and Craig to stick on false handlebar moustaches !!
 
The selection of beers in The Lyric had to be seen to be believed, there were 20 beer taps serving both craft and keg beer. We were encouraged to try before you buy and I eventually opted for a pint of Duchess by the Cottage brewery. The girls went for Orchard Pig cider which got a massive thumbs up from them both, infact Shelley said it was better than Aspall which believe me is praise indeed.
 
Being red bloodied males, Craig and I couldn't fail to notice the barmaid's low cut top and there was very nearly a wardrobe malfunction as she almost spilled out of her blouse when we were at the bar and she had to reach for a glass from a high shelf. We didn't know where to look !! Actually that is a bit of a lie, we knew exactly where to look we just didn't want to get caught !!
 
The wooden stools at the bar weren't very forgiving as one gentleman sat at the bar tried to subtly break wind and was caught out by Shelley who laughingly rebuked him by telling him 'Oi, I heard that' !!
 
We stopped for more beers we should have and ended up missing the train that we had originally intended to catch back to Tamworth. It didn't matter though as the pub was that good it was a minor inconvenience.
 
UPDATE 26th July
 
Having enjoyed a trip around the Queen's house in the morning, we (Shelley, my brother Dave, sister in law Julie and myself) decided we needed a house of the public variety on a sweltering London afternoon. Seeing as we had ended up at Piccadilly Circus which was as busy as erm, Piccadilly Circus we sought sanctuary in our old favourite The Lyric just on the edge of Soho.
 
It was as good as I remembered it from our previous visit earlier in the year though unfortunately this time there was a lack of barmaid in a low cut top action !!
 
As before there was a whole multitude of ales of both the real and the craft variety with Dave and I going for pints of Golden Looking Ale (I've forgotten who brewed it) and both Shelley and Julie choosing the very impressive Orchard Pig cider. I fetched the ciders to our table from the bar which meant that I was literally bringing home the bacon !!
 
 
 
Poor planning from my brother meant that he had miscalculated the number of tee shirts that he needed for the weekend (bearing in mind it was only day two !!) so following a trip to a designer shop (yeah right!!) in Piccadilly Circus to pick up some new tee shirts he was required to change like a comic book hero in the pub. His transformation from Clark Kent to..........Clark Kent was anything but super !!
 
There was definitely a mid afternoon lull as we were polishing off pint number two, with our guests stifling yawns due, I believe, to the warm weather and lack of food, rather than a reflection of our stunning company, and a round of crisps didn't ease the situation. We needed food, fast !! So, when in need of cheap fast food with an alcoholic beverage accompaniment there's nowhere better than your old mate JD Wetherspoons, we headed to The Moon Under Water in Leicester Square......
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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