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, 6 October 2014

The Brunswick Inn

I had not seen my mate Matt for over seven years since he moved to Derbyshire with his wife Mandy and three daughters, so a catch up over a few beers was long overdue. I suggested The Brunswick Inn near Derby train station (a venue I know well from visits to nearby Pride Park watching Blues away games) as it was convenient for us both and their selection of real ales is outstanding.

The journey from Tamworth to Derby is around thirty minutes however I resisted the temptation of a beer from the at seat buffet service, £3.60 for a can of Carling meant that it was hardly a tricky decision !!

The Brunswick is truly an excellent pub, one of my favourites, and after reacquainting myself with Matt, we were very soon deciding what to drink, with sixteen hand pulled cask ales and eight real ciders we had a huge range to choose from with us both selecting Everards Tiger Bitter.

I hadn't done my research very well about the date of our visit to this popular match day pub, not only were Derby County at home I had failed to realise their opponents that day, Millwall. I was quite relieved to see a 'Home Fans Only' notice on the pub's door.

We had a fairly ambitious October alfresco pint then moved indoors to do seven years worth of catching up..




There is not one negative thing that I could say about The Brunswick Inn (apart from the fact that it is in Derby and not Tamworth) it is everything that is good about the British pub. To emphasise the point, not only were there sixteen real ales to choose from there was a beer festival being held in an adjacent room so the choice was increased further. We moved onto Stancill Best Bitter from the beer festival selection once the bar filled up with post match drinkers, thankfully all home fans !!

Our session ended disappointingly early due to logistical difficulties, Matt's trains were every two hours, but we vowed to not leave it seven years until our next catch up.

The Brunswick Inn, near Derby train station, is a First Class venue.
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