Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Good Beer Guide

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – The Ship & Shovell

    London – Westminster (Borough of) – The Ship & Shovell

    A quiet London gave me chance last year to visit a lot of Good Beer Guide pubs in the city which always looked too crowded to get in before. I’m not sure that’s ideal for the hospitality industry, but it certainly allowed me to see some historic interiors and venues packed with atmosphere. The Ship & Shovell is a new addition to the Good Beer Guide that was only added in the new 2022 edition of the book a couple of months ago.

    Unusually for a pub, it’s split in two opposite parts each side of the lane (the pub notes that this is unique in London), although it’s also apparently connected by the cellars which also contain the pub’s kitchen. This side was closed off when I visited, but it’s a handy way of having additional capacity. It’s located on Craven Passage, which is located underneath Charing Cross railway station.

    Here’s the site in the 1890s, with the PH in the middle of the map marking the main part of the pub today, but there’s nothing marked on the extension bit. The building was listed in 1970, with the listed building record noting:

    “Former pair of terrace houses, as one public house. c.1731-32, refaced late C.18 and with late C.19 public house front. Yellow stock brick, slate roof. 3 storeys and dormered mansard. 5 windows wide (3 windows to No. 2 and 2 to No. 3). Ground floor has wooden public house frontage with panelled and glazed doors and bar windows articulated by Corinthian pilasters carrying entablature-fascia. Upper floors have recessed glazing bar sashes under flat arches with stucco voussoirs. Parapet with coping. Pub interior retains good late C.19 mahogany bar fittings and some engraved glass. As originally built part of the Craven family’s C.18 development of their Brewhouse property; c.f. Craven Street.”

    The bar area, all nicely presented and there was a friendly team member who welcomed me as soon as I arrived at the bar. Indeed, the service was always personable and engaging. The pub is only taking cards at the moment for payment, and they take Amex (although I only saw that sign after I had paid with a different card).

    The ship element of the pub’s name is reflected here in the fireplace.

    The pub is operated by Hall and Woodhouse Brewery, so their beers dominate here. There are plenty of draught (or draft if you prefer) options as well as bottles. There were no dark beers available on draught, but there is an interesting looking milk stout Milk Made which is rated 3.84 on Untappd, so I might ask for that next time I’m in one of the brewery’s venues, of which there are six in the city centre.

    I rather liked the food menu, which I think is more substantial at lunchtime, but this caters for most snack tastes (well, no Wotsits I accept, but they do have Mini Cheddars) and there’s a 3 for £5 offer on. The prices for the drinks seem to be around £5 to £6 a pint, which is realistic given the central London location. I can imagine that when London is back to some form of normality that venues like this will be crowded once again, especially at 15:45 on a Friday evening which is when I visited.

    The on-line reviews for the pub are broadly very positive and they’ve clearly pleased CAMRA for their members to list it in the Good Beer Guide. Looking for the negative comments that are sometimes exciting, there’s a complaint and 1/5 star review which notes:

    “No preseco or sparkling wine, bar man just wanted to sell pints and bottles !!”

    Good.

    And another 1/5 complaint about a cold Scotch Egg that wasn’t reheated in a microwave. Personally, I’d rather have a cold Scotch egg and I can’t recall being given one that the pub has microwaved. And a 2/5 star rating from a customer that wasn’t allowed to use the tunnel.

    Anyway, welcoming staff, a clean venue and a laid-back and comfortable atmosphere, so it seems to me like an appropriate and sensible addition to the Good Beer Guide. One of the better options for anyone waiting for a train to depart Charing Cross railway station.

  • Cambridge – Calverley’s Brewery (2nd Visit)

    Cambridge – Calverley’s Brewery (2nd Visit)

    This was the final pub of the day when my friend Nathan and I had our little pub crawl around nine venues in Cambridge last weekend. It’s the slightly hard to find Calverley’s Brewery taproom, a location that I’ve visited before in 2019.

    Things have changed substantially since when I last visited, with the opening of this much larger taproom on site, all of which was stables until Calverley’s took over here in 2013. When I visited before, the arrangement was a little more parochial, with a much smaller space available for customers. There was something really rather lovely about feeling part of the brewing process back then as it’s a bit more detached in this larger room, but it’s great to see what progress has been made. There’s also a larger open-air section as well for the warmer months when sitting outside is a bit more viable.

    The beer menu. We did debate also ordering in one (well, more likely two) of the pizzas from Scott’s All Day who are located nearby, but we opted for a slightly cheaper option of a Sainsburys Meal Deal for the train journey home. The reviews on-line of the taproom are very positive and there are some ciders and soft drinks for the non-beer drinkers.

    I went for the Big Dawg, a very decent Double New England IPA, as well as the Big Porter, which was a little less decadent and rich tasting as I’d hoped. I liked the surroundings of this set-up though, with the service being friendly and attentive. The location was clean and organised, with a relaxed ambience. It’s not necessarily the easiest of venues to find, but the signage is improved from my last visit and I’m pleased that they’re doing well. For anyone needing a drink before catching a train from Cambridge railway station, this isn’t too far of a walk to make. Pleasingly, this is also still listed in the Good Beer Guide.

  • Cambridge – Blue Moon

    Cambridge – Blue Moon

    This is the sister pub to the Cambridge Blue and it’s listed in the Good Beer Guide, although I wasn’t aware of it until Nathan suggested that we pop in during our little pub crawl in the city. It was formerly known as the Man on the Moon but was changed to the Blue Moon to maintain some name continuity, but also to have a link to its sister venue.

    Decent selection of beers there across a range of beer styles, although it’s not the neatest written board that I’ve seen.

    It all felt modern and on-trend, aimed I think at a younger audience (as in students, not children) and it seems to be hitting that mark well since it won the Cambridge & District CAMRA Young Members pub of the year award in 2020.

    The Olla Coffee & Cinnamon Milk Stout from Ampersand Brew Co from Diss, this was a suitably decadent Christmas drink which was smooth and had a nice flavour of cinnamon. I haven’t seen the Salty Dog range of crisps before and they were complemented the stout well, although I would have preferred some Wotsits if I’m being honest.

    The Baron Broadbay from Howling Hops, this is a barrel aged whisky sour and there was no hiding from the Laphroaig Scotch Whisky taste. An interesting beer which I liked, but it didn’t take many prisoners. I think I needed a pork pie to go with this to balance out the flavours.

    I very much liked this pub, it had a relaxed and comfortable vibe, whilst also having a well balanced beer menu with numerous different styles. There’s usually a food menu of pizzas, there are frequent tap takeovers and the staff were friendly and keen to help. All really rather lovely and I’d happily come back here again. Definitely a worthy entrant into the Good Beer Guide.

  • Cambridge – Elm Tree

    Cambridge – Elm Tree

    I’m not sure that I’ve been to this pub in Cambridge before, but it’s been one of the ever-present locations in the Good Beer Guide over the last few decades. The pub is well-reviewed on-line, it’s a traditional real ale venue which has a loyal following of locals.

    There was a friendly welcome and the pub is small and quite cosy, with the staff being engaging and helpful. There was once a bar billiards table here, but that has long since gone, which must have been a relief for Nathan as he’d have been annoyed to lose in Cambridge.

    There’s a strong emphasis on Belgian beers and CAMRA note that the pub’s landlord has written a book about the subject. I’ve got little knowledge of Belgian beers, although maybe I’ll work on that in the future. In addition to the 100+ Belgian beers, there’s also a notable cider selection as well.

    The Party Party from Brewpoint Brewery, which seems to be the remnants of the Charles Wells set-up that has just constructed a new brewery site at Bedford. It’s a middle of the road real ale, with the crisps (which are vegan despite the flavour of Roast Rib of Beef) complementing it perfectly. This pub doesn’t serve food, but customers are allowed to bring sandwiches and the like in if they want.

    This pub didn’t have the craft beer options of some of the others that we visited, but the service was welcoming, the environment was comfortable and the beer was well-kept. I can see why this has persisted in the Good Beer Guide for so long and there were numerous real ales to choose from. This was also evidently one of those pubs that I felt someone could come in on their own and be made to feel welcome, always a key requirement of a pub in my view.

  • Cambridge – Pint Shop (2nd Visit)

    Cambridge – Pint Shop (2nd Visit)

    Pint Shop was the fourth pub on our little tour of Cambridge and it’s Good Beer Guide listed and I’ve visited before, so I’ll keep this post relatively brief.

    I’d say that this was the only pub of the nine that we visited where there was a complete absence of welcome either at the door or at the bar, with the service being a little terse and entirely unengaging. The pub wasn’t that busy, but there weren’t many seats available as the venue has a poor distinction between where drinkers and diners can sit.

    The beer list had a range of styles and numerous credible options, although nothing stood out as exceptional, but it’s certainly not a bad little selection. I’m not convinced that the bar staff had any idea about the beers, but if they did, they weren’t going to tell the customers.

    Some of the pub’s interior decor. I note a series of recent poor reviews commenting on the high prices of the menu and I’m in agreement with those, I’m struggling to see how they’re justifying main course prices of £20 whilst offering a minimal welcome to customers.

    I went for The Turtles All the Way Down from Duration Brewing, based in West Acre in Norfolk. Hoppy and refreshing, I’m not sure I can remember anything about it beyond that.

    The venue wasn’t the cleanest and I saw no evidence of staff cleaning anything, so the two probably go hand in hand. There was nothing of great concern about this pub, but it’s probably one that I’d skip on any future visits to Cambridge as it feels like a venue that is really only for diners and not those just wanting a drink. That was a situation which was less evident when I visited in 2020, but it was at that point much quieter.

  • Shipley / Saltaire – Cap & Collar

    Shipley / Saltaire – Cap & Collar

    The sun hasn’t helped me here in delivering a quality photo of the frontage, but there’s always Google Street View for anyone who requires better imagery…. Anyway, this is a Good Beer Guide listed micropub which was established in 2014 and I wasn’t going to miss out on visiting this when I was in Saltaire.

    I understand that there’s a beer garden to the back, but otherwise this is a relatively small pub. The main bar area is visible and the welcome from the staff member was immediate and seemed genuine.

    The beer options, inevitably limited given that this is a micropub, but a few cask and keg options, although nothing dark. There were though some bottles and cans which I didn’t investigate at the time (but have now looked on-line and there’s plenty of choice across most beer styles), so there were some additional choices there. They also have their own branded clothing on display, which felt a bit aspirational, but there we go…..

    I went for the Spectrum Eclipse from Vocation Brewery, along with Seabrook crisps which I think I’ve become addicted to. As an aside, I used to wonder why Morrisons stocked so many Seabrook crisps, but I’ve now discovered that both of them are headquartered in Bradford.  Very hoppy and fruity, it was a refreshing beer although the lingering flavours were a bit weak.

    There was a nice and friendly neighbourhood and community vibe to the micropub, deservedly in the Good Beer Guide I thought as the beer offerings were something different from the generic. Apparently (well, I’ve from CAMRA) that there a frequent tap takeovers and there are sometimes folk music performances. For those who don’t sufficient Seabrook crisps enough, the pub also has some street food vendors that attending on a rotating basis, giving a bit of choice to customers. All very lovely…..

  • Huddersfield – The Sportsman

    Huddersfield – The Sportsman

    Going back a few weeks (my backlog shows no signs of going away, but I shall persist….) to when Tony and I had a little expedition around the pubs of Huddersfield. This is the Sportsman, a Good Beer Guide listed pub which is noted for its historic pub interior and its selection of beer.

    There’s one main bar in the pub and there are numerous rooms leading off from it. The beer options are on the chalkboard at the end of the bar, neatly divided between keg and cask. There was also a printed menu of Belgian beers, which isn’t something that I really have much knowledge of, but Tony commented that it was a very decent selection.

    I liked the little touches from the 1950s refurbishment, such as the bell for drinks service. Some pubs put systems like this back in over the last couple of years when table service had to be reintroduced.

    We were seated in one of the side rooms and that’s half a pint of Plum Porter from Nailmaker Brewing Company who are from the rather lovely town of Barnsley. It was a very acceptable pint, one of the better porters that I’ve had.

    Having visited Saltaire, I’m happy to try some of the brewery’s beers and this red ale had some interesting notes of fruit, but was otherwise perhaps a little unexceptional. Well kept and at the appropriate temperature though, so no issues there.

    I don’t normally feel the need to take photos in toilets, but I like their heritage in this pub. In terms of the main part of the building, it would have been easy for a pub company to entirely knock out the internal walls of the pub, but enough has survived here to give it that historic feel, with some old plans of the building on the wall as well.

    Reviews of the pub are nearly all positive, just with the occasional one like:

    “Need to get this OTT OCD covid attitude rectified or it’ll go the way of the Corner. Soulless and sterile as things stand.”

    It’s disappointing that customers don’t perhaps recognise just how difficult it is for pubs to try and please their wider customer base, but I thought they were doing a really good job with a combination of serving at the bar but also with the team member coming over to offer table service for our second drink. The pub responded politely to the review as well, all nicely done.

    Anyway, this was a friendly and welcoming pub, with something of a community feel in all of the positive meanings of the word and I can see why it has won numerous CAMRA awards. Other customers were conversational and welcoming and the staff member was engaging and knowledgeable about the beer options. I liked the choice of beers as well, there was a range of styles on the extensive beer list. I’m glad that it’s in the Good Beer Guide….

  • Huddersfield – The Cherry Tree

    Huddersfield – The Cherry Tree

    More working through my little backlog of photos (there are several thousand, so my three readers will be in for a real treat over the next few weeks). This is from my visit to Huddersfield a few weeks ago and this is the pub that I went to after arriving in the town, the JD Wetherspoon operated Cherry Tree. It’s listed in the Good Beer Guide and is located near to the station, although I managed to get lost and took about ten minutes to make the one minute walk. It allowed me to see Huddersfield at least….

    I’ve never seen a Wetherspoons pub with a screen listing their real ales. My first impressions of the pub weren’t ideal as a very drunk woman was starting a fight outside and smashing up parts of the pub. The staff seemed to know her and went out to get rid of her and to repair their pub. A customer ran to the bar shouting help was needed and panicking about where the staff were, perhaps not realising that they were already at the scene of the incident. She did think about phoning 999, but she decided against it, but she had to order herself a vodka to calm down. Clever strategy that….

    There’s the screen for anyone who is interested in what JD Wetherspoon had available in this pub several weeks ago. I suspect that this is a limited audience.

    I got half a pint of the Wobbly Bob from Phoenix Brewery, which I can’t really remember several weeks on, but I gave it 3.75 on Untappd, so it must have been perfectly acceptable.

    And a chicken jalfrezi whilst I was there, alongside a pint of Brewdog Punk IPA. This is my go to food order for meals at JD Wetherspoons now, since I can’t order the pastrami bagel as it was ditched a few years ago (which still annoys me as is evident that I keep whingeing on about it). I go for the Punk IPA as it’s a bit like the Tesco meal deal, getting the most expensive drink as it comes free with the meal…..

    The pub isn’t brilliantly reviewed on-line, although that just makes for more exciting reading. Someone managed to order to the wrong pub (hopefully Richard won’t read this, as I won’t mention his little debacle in this regard):

    “Very poor, came from the Lord Wilson wetherspoons pub and didn’t realise I was still logged into L W and ordered drink to wrong pub, did not want to know do [so] went back to Lord Wilson, they to [too] didn’t want to know quoted terms and conditions blah blah, won’t go to any wetherspoons again.”

    But it’s important not to exaggerate in reviews:

    “Ruined by not enough staff!! with new table service 10 mins wait time on 2 occasions a man could die of dehydration”

    Ten minute wait, it’s hard to imagine how brave this customer was….

    “Terrible experience, sat down at the front outside, paid for our drinks. Then told that we couldn’t sit anywhere near weatherspoon pub, due us having a dog, due to company policy. Its the only weatherspoons i have been to that have done this to us, and wouldnt even give us some water for the dog. They seriously need to re-think their policy.”

    Wetherspoons have a national policy of no dogs on the premises (other than assistance dogs) and having seen some recent real problems in decent pubs which allow dogs, I suspect it’s by far the safest policy to have, including in gardens.

    This is my favourite review though:

    “Never ever going to Cherry Tree again, we ordered via the app, I had to go fetch our drinks after 20mins of waiting, then I had to fill the coffee machine up for them as the kids running the place were so unorganised, by the time I got back to the table food had arrived, my partner had half eaten his and mine was cold…”

    I’m not sure customers filling the coffee machine is at all ideal, but I was amused by the “my partner had half eaten his”. He sounds awesome  🙂

    Anyway, as a pub, this was all fine despite the drama going on outside, which wasn’t really the ideal introduction to Huddersfield. The staff were engaging, the customers not fighting were friendly and the environment was sort of clean. The range of beers justifies this pub being in the Good Beer Guide and I did pop back later in the week to have a rather delicious Amarillo golden ale from Saltaire Brewery.

  • Hull – Taphouse Brewpub

    Hull – Taphouse Brewpub

    This is the final Good Beer Guide listed pub in Hull that I hadn’t visited before, located in the rather on-trend Fruit Market area of the city. It’s a combination of a brewery which is jointly used by Bone Machine and the Yorkshire Brewing Company, as well as a bar area.

    The beer options on the board, a mixture of keg, cask and at the time of my visit, a German beer festival as well for Oktoberfest. I thought that the beer pricing was reasonable and I ordered at the bar, although I think it was meant to be table service. Either way, the staff were friendly and the atmosphere was laid-back and inviting.

    The food menu, where the prices were a bit more punchy. I had already eaten, but the food options looked good.

    I went for a couple of half pints, the Erdinger Dunkel (above) and the Men Beyond the Glass from Bone Machine. Both were very drinkable and at the appropriate temperature and all that. The interior of the bar is all modern and I liked the seating around the table, although it took me some manoeuvring to get in. There are plenty of power points dotted around the bar, which is perhaps something of a sign about how modern an interior is.

    It’s an interesting bar and I liked it, although I can imagine that it gets busy on weekends (and indeed, we couldn’t get in one evening last year as it was full). It’s well reviewed, although there is a 1-star review because the venue used disposable cutlery last year to make it easier to maintain Covid compliance, despite it being a “really nice place. Atmosphere, food and service were great”, which must be disheartening. But there’s always someone wanting to do a place down over Covid, although hopefully that is something which is behind us. The beer range wasn’t the most decadent that I’ve seen, but there were a range of different styles and there was plenty of choice. So that’s another bar that I’m pleased is listed in the Good Beer Guide and I think that I made the right decision to go and visit to complete my collection of Hull pubs that are listed in it. Although the new book is out in a few weeks, so if there’s somewhere new that’s another place I’d have to traipse to….

  • Shipley – Norman Rae

    Shipley – Norman Rae

    From a couple of weeks ago, this was my visit to the Good Beer Guide listed Norman Rae pub in Shipley, operated by JD Wetherspoons. It’s a relatively large and modern pub building, although a little unexceptional perhaps in terms of the design.

    That’s the Baltic Rum Porter from Bridgehouse Brewery, a really decent 6% ABV beer with a richness of flavour that only cost £1 for a half pint. I also had the 1872 Porter from Elland Brewery and the Raspberry Blonde from Little Critters Brewing Company, also excellent beers at the same very reasonable price. All three of those beers are way above average and there was certainly nothing generic about any of them. I’m unsure how much money is being made here  by the brewer or the pub at those prices, but I can see why this JD Wetherspoon outlet has found itself in the Good Beer Guide.

    I had the chicken jalfrezi at the same time, all as expected. The pub is relatively well reviewed and the staff members were friendly and helpful. The pub was sufficiently clean and the service was efficient and prompt. JD Wetherspoon pubs might have their faults, but they’re still operating to a decent standard and the real ale options and prices were really quite lovely. I did pop back here for breakfast one morning, which was also fine, and was realistically much better value than the Ibis hotel that I was staying in.