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 !!







Monday, 30 June 2014

Subside

My visit to Subside is a significant one for this blog, it is pub number 150. Not a bad effort considering firstly we are not even half way through the year, secondly I had four weeks off the beer in January and thirdly in addition to the 150 there have been a huge number of repeat visits. For example I have visited The Gate twenty one times so far this year.

Subside is a bar that I pass every night on my way home from work. It describes itself as 'Birmingham's rock and alternative bar' so being a Brummie and a fan of both musical genres my blog wouldn't be complete without a visit to this place.



Little has changed about the place since its time as the  Xposure Rock Café. There are photographs of various rock icons on the walls, okay so I've heard of Metallica and Guns 'n' Roses but who the heck are Parkway Drive?!! It sounds more like a brand of cigarettes !!

I didn't hold out much hope for a decent pint, especially a decent pint of real ale. I was intrigued by the availability of a keg version of Wychwood Hobgoblin which was okayish, unsurprisingly not a patch on the cask variety and certainly didn't justify the £4 price tag.

My Subside experience was completed by a soundtrack of shouty music, I am not sure whether it was death metal, thrash metal, black metal, doom metal, speed metal or industrial metal but it certainly wasn't what old fashioned me refers to as heavy metal. I felt like pleading for them to turn the racket off in the style on an exasperated parent !!

If you want picturesque views of the city centre then Subside isn't the place for you, a quick glance out of the window offers you sights of cars going round Paradise Circus. The 1960's town planners must have been on some pretty strong drugs when they looked at a road traffic interchange and decided that Paradise was an appropriate moniker !!

I was intrigued by a collage on the wall of various rock concert tickets and back stage passes from the likes of Poison, The Cult, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden, ZZ Top etc..



What amused me was the fact that amongst all this rock memorabilia was a VIP guest pass from Birmingham City v Norwich City !!

Whoever thought of the World Cup drink promotion at Subside should be given a role as an economic policy adviser to the government as, according to my reckoning, what seemed like a generous offer at the time has in actual fact not cost the pub a penny. Their offer was 'All England games will carry special offers while they lead and for the rest of the night if they win'. Considering we won no games and never took the lead then the pub was quids in !!

Apparently I can 'Phat It Up' every Saturday night at Subside whatever that means. I didn't hang around long enough to find out..
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