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 !!







Sunday, 4 May 2014

Brew Dog

Now, as a CAMRA member, my choice of Brew Dog as a pre match venue is a bit of a contentious one. Brew Dog is a Scottish based brewery that specialises in craft beers, and there is a bit of animosity between real ale drinkers, like myself, and craft beer drinkers. Real ale comes in casks and is a still, living product served at just below room temperature, whereas craft beer comes in kegs, is served much colder and is fizzier.

That said, Brew Dog is a bit of a rarity, in an era when pubs close with alarming frequency this is a newly opened pub in Birmingham city centre on the once thriving St John Bright street. Ultimately (and here's me on my soap box !!) drinking should be about choice, and at a time when it would appear that the big breweries want us to drink the same three drinks, Carling, Worthington or Strongbow, anything that challenges that is surely a welcome addition.

Now let's get one thing straight, Wetherspoons fans may want to give this place a wide berth as the price list for draught beer will testify..




Yikes !!

I opted for a pint of Punk IPA and, at 5.4% I was pretty sure I'd wake up the next morning feeling (Johnny) Rotten !! The pub itself is great, I chose a seat downstairs once I'd asked the bemused barman to take a photo of me..



Downstairs was basic to say the least, it resembled a coal bunker but somehow it worked.



I've got a lot of respect for the brewery (putting aside my views as a real ale drinker) as, according to their website, their reason for opening a pub in Birmingham is as follows 'We'd struggle to sleep at night if we didn't have a bar in the ancestral home of heavy metal'. Fair play !!

After my shock at the prices of draught beer (was Paradox Heaven Hill really £15 a pint?!!) I surveyed the bottle menu and noticed that a coke can sized bottle of Black Horizon Tokyo (Mikkeller edition) will knock you back a whopping £20 !! If you are doing a Birmingham city centre pub crawl this isn't a place to get a round in !!

Ultimately though this isn't a place to come and sink your standard four or five pints, it is a place to sample (they serve beer in third, half and pint measures) lots of different beers and maybe boast to your mates that you've drank a beer that is 15% ABV.

As far as I'm concerned Brew Dog is the dog's... !!!



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