Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Good Beer Guide

Rotherham : Bluecoat

I first visited here in November 2024 and since I’m in the area again, and knowing that it’s in the cheapest JD Wetherspoon price bracket I thought that I’d pop in again. It’s listed in the Good Beer Guide and it was built as a Bluecoat charity school, but was turned into a pub in 1981 and JD Wetherspoon took it over in 2001. Following the closure of the now burnt out Rhinoceros pub in the town, this is the only pub that the chain have in Rotherham now.

This breakfast, unlimited coffee and half a pint of real ale came to the grand total of £5.18, which is some impressive value. And it tasted delicious, I’m not really one for full English breakfasts (or breakfasses as they seem to be called when customers order more than one) but I rather like the arrangement here.

The on-line reviews are generally very good, averaging 4.2 out of 5 on Google.

“It went from bad to worse, we ordered food and drinks using the app straight to our table – one drink was a pepsi max and one was pepsi. The guy brought the drinks over and one of the drinks had a lemon in, assuming this was a marker for which drink was which I asked which one was the full fat drink. The server said ‘I don’t know, sniff them’. At first I thought he was joking so laughed it off, until he walked off with nothing else to say”

This one I’ve seen variations of in numerous pubs in the chain.

“Ordering via app is a nightmare. Can’t make any changes at all to food order (dietary requirements etc), no way to request food without an ingredient etc. Tried to speak to bar staff in person and all we got was “you can’t make changes. Also, the food was disgusting.”

I’m guessing they tried to take out an ingredient of a meal that’s going to be cooked in the microwave….

“I work within the funeral service, after a long hard day at work. In the 19,5,2021, i was lucky enough to be out on a first date with a gorgeous lady. We decided to go and use one of your establishments (bluecoats rotherham).

Upon placing our order which was two large portions of scampi and chips, with a side plate of garlic bread. waiting for the service. After twenty minutes, the food arrived.

The order was wrong, the kitchen staff had sent one large portion and one small. After i pointed out the fact that there should have been two large portions. The small plate was taken away..
Thus leaving the large portion and garlic bread at our table..

Now to reiterate that i was on a date, i wasn’t thinking that for me to consume my meal would have been a ideal way to impress the lady I was with.. As she was left plate less.

After 15 minutes of waiting, of course now, the two plates are cold upon the table. So i called over the waiter, whom after a short and polite conversation, said he would take the plates and replace them under the kitchen heat light.

Now in so far as my limited knowledge of food preparation, is it safe to reheat fish products or indeed is it acceptable to even reheat any food products thereafter???

Upon hearing what the waiter was planning, i took decisive actions to ensure that i was able to have the reheated food, passed back to me.. i pulled the scampi apart.
And said that all three plates should be served at the same time.

We ordered food approximately 8.05 pm .. 8.55pm fifty minutes after placing our first initial order, still our table is merely adorned by pints of Carling (with a dash of lime). Lets not forget that this is a first date and still we haven’t been able to have a late evening meal… So releasing that it was a wasted opportunity for us to relax and have a good time. I called for the manager (Shaun) to come and i gave him the opportunity to explain what the problem was?

Upon which I was unfairly accused, of being nasty to two members of his staff. Which I then asked who i had apparently upset.. to which he retorted that he didn’t need to justify anything… he then claimed that I was being rude towards himself, which indeed i wasn’t.. The lady i was with can clarify this to be fact .. i was left feeling despondent as to how i was mad eto feel and highly disrespected in front of the whole public house…

I asked for a refund and left, luckily enough for me and my date, all was not lost. We enjoyed our meal at the local KFC…

I would like to Express my discontent and anger as to how i was spoken to and how the manager tried to publicly show me up..

I remained in my seat at all times, i didn’t raise my voice during the conversation, i didn’t personally insult anyone, i didn’t swear.. I i didn’t wish to be treated as i was.”

I have no words, but I hope that the date went well.

“Absolutely a disgrace the decor was very dark and dismissal decided not to eat surely if this was a “weather spoon” pub why isn’t they a dress code and the customers that it attracted were from the angel and county brough very low life will not set foot in this place ever again !!!”

Dress code? Seems aspirational.

In terms of the real ale, there are seven on at the time of writing, the Ruddles and Abbot Ale from Greene King, as well as Doom Bar from Sharp’s being the regular beers. The four rotating ales are the Ossian from Inveralmond, the Odin’s Gold from Rudgate, the Midnight Bell from Leeds Brewery and the Cavendish from Welbeck Abbey. I went for half a pint of the Midnight Bell which was roasty, malty and had a bit of liquorice taste to it, well-kept and smooth.

It’s a venue with history, the staff seem friendly, it’s clean, the prices are low and the real ale selection is decent. All really rather lovely.

January 26, 2025
Stafford : Sun Inn

At the end of December, I had a spare hour in Stafford and was able to tick off another Titanic pub which is conveniently also a Good Beer Guide listed pub. Previously known as the Tequila Red and O’Neill’s, the Titanic Brewery took this existing, albeit closed, pub over in 2010 and they’ve been able to develop it into a popular community venue.

Every community needs a Titanic pub.

There’s Cherry Porter, my favourite of the mainstream Titanic beers.

Ooooh, and a decent selection of crisps.

The beer board and the prices all seem reasonable to me.

I found space in a little snug. It was a busy venue and they were serving out a fair amount of food, so I was pleased to find anywhere to sit.

Here we go, my delicious, rich, smooth Cherry Porter alongside some agreeable mature cheddar and red onion crisps.

The reviews on-line are nearly all positive, other than a recent one which gave 1 star and commented “I do not recommend this pub as the prices are excessive and had no entertainment”. The prices are excessive only in comparison to Wetherspoons and perhaps they should lay on a dancing band…. Anyway, most people seem happy and I was for what that’s worth.

The pub created a comfortable, almost sophisticated, atmosphere, with the Titanic beers of course being something of a plus.

January 26, 2025
Stockport : Angel Inn

Next on my tour of Good Beer Guide pubs in Stockport was the Angel Inn and I’m not sure that I would have noticed it if I had just been walking by, the scaffolding is quite dominant here.

The beer list, there was a decent mixture of cask and keg.

I’m a big fan of Tiny Rebel so it was a little bit of a treat to see two of their beers on cask.

The interior is functional rather than jazzy. It was early January when I visited, hence the Christmas tree. More on the history in a moment, but its change of uses over the last few decades have led to some of the traditional feel perhaps being a little lost.

The first beer was half of the Sertified Simcoe from Tiny Rebel, which was a punchy, hoppy and juicy little number. Acceptable crisps too.

More interior. It was a welcoming environment with friendly service and warm surroundings.

This was, as far as I’m concerned, about as good as cask gets. It’s half a pint of the EWA from Tiny Rebel, well rounded with a suitable amount of sweetness. It was creamy and tasted of cookies and Twix, really rather decadent.

This whole set-up is interesting as I just assumed it had been a pub for centuries and it did indeed have a long history, but it stopped being a pub in the 1950s and turned instead into a retail outlet. However, 57 years on, it was reopened as a pub and that seems like a really good idea to me. In terms of the building, it dates from the 1500s and has a wattle and daub construction, having first been turned into a pub in the early nineteenth century. Always a positive thing to see a pub being reborn, especially one in such an historic building and the wide range of cask and keg options added to the excitement. Thanks to the Good Beer Guide for directing me here.

January 19, 2025
Stockport : Petersgate Tap

Back on my tour of Good Beer Guide pubs around the country, this two storey pub is located in what was formerly a betting shop. There’s now a mix of craft and real ale going on, alongside numerous real ciders and a bottle shop area upstairs.

The beer selection and they’re also listed on Untappd.

The bar arrangement and there was a friendly welcome from the staff member.

I had two half pints, the first was the Barncliffe Bitter from Small World Beers. A clean and hoppy beer with a rather lingering bitterness, but pleasant.

I had high hopes for the Black Forest from Vibrant Forest Brewery, but there was little chocolate, just some oats and not much else. The beer tasted a little tired, not much vibrancy going on here.

Anyway, a rather nice bar and I can see why this has found itself in the Good Beer Guide. It’s a relatively small independent venue, so it has that micropub vibe, with no loud music going on. The on-line reviews are positive other than one nonsensical one star review that there was only one dark beer available on the bar, which is not unreasonable in a small pub. The angry customer went marching off to Wetherspoons, although I know that even they sometimes only have one dark beer available and it’s not even really fair to compare a large national chain with a small micropub. The prices were towards the lower end of the scale for what I’m used to, although the cost of beer in Stockport is lower than the national average. All really rather lovely.

January 18, 2025
Stockport : Swan With Two Necks (Good Beer Guide)

The next pub in my tour of Good Beer Guide pubs in Stockport was the Swan with Two Necks, owned by the local Robinsons Brewery. Robinsons started brewing at the Unicorn Inn in Stockport in 1849 and they’re still going, now owning over 260 pubs and inns in the north-west of England and north Wales.

It’s not common to see a pub now which still has outdoor toilets, but I thought it added to the authenticity of the place. Who needs expensive renovations? There has been a pub with this name since the late eighteenth century, but the brewery notes that it was rebuilt in 1926 which makes it an interesting inter-war survival. CAMRA are able to provide a useful background to the heritage of the pub:

“A long, narrow pub which has changed little since its rebuilding in 1926, just before it was bought by local brewers Robinsons. The interior is simply organised and the extensive use of wall panelling is typical of inter-war pubs. To the left of the tiled and panelled entrance lobby is the vault, with plentiful panelling, although much of it was actually added as recently as about 2009 (and now covers over a fireplace). The other door from the entrance leads into a drinking lobby, which is essentially an expansion of the corridor and faces the servery. Beyond this is the delightful smoke room which, with its Tudor-style fireplace and oak panelling, has a particularly warm and comfortable atmosphere. From the central lobby one can see the unusual feature of roller shutters which can be brought down to safeguard the contents of the bar-back shelves and, above the servery entrance, a notice saying ‘waiters’ from the days when waiter service was a regular feature in north-western pubs. A small room at the back came into pub use during the 1960s.”

As for the pub name, it’s all about swans. The historical significance of swans in England is closely tied to the monarchy and, for centuries, unmarked swans in open waters were considered the property of the King or Queen. This ownership was formalised through a practice called ‘swan upping’ where young swans were marked with notches on their beaks to indicate ownership. In the sixteenth century, Queen Elizabeth I granted ownership of some swans to two organisations, namely the Worshipful Company of Vintners and the Worshipful Company of Dyers. To keep track of ownership, these organisations marked the beaks of their swans. The Dyers’ Company marked their swans with one nick on the beak, while the Vintners’ Company used two nicks to identify their birds. Over time, the term ‘two nicks’ was misinterpreted and mispronounced as ‘two necks’. And that’s how a pub name was born…

The real ale selection. There were two staff members, both of whom were friendly and welcoming. A customer later on asked for a gluten free beer and there was rather a debate with the publican suggesting that the customer was wrong on numerous matters, it was an exciting conversation to listen to.

My first half was the Unicorn from Robinsons Brewery, which is better than the reviews on Untappd suggested. A traditional beer with a malty edge and some caramel flavour, actually rather decent.

My second half was the Old Tom Original, also from Robinsons Brewery. I liked this, a complex beer which was boozy, rich, slightly sweet and a chocolate edge. It had a fruit flavour that I couldn’t identify and it felt like a well-rounded beer.

The separate front bar has remained, a survivor of how pubs have been opened up over recent decades.

Wood panelling, I had this room to myself. There was another room at the rear with a couple of people in, but it was a quiet pub when I visited. Anyway, I enjoyed this pub and I liked how it hadn’t been knocked around and ‘modernised’. It feels old fashioned, but that’s to the good as not every pub needs to be modern and shiny.

January 9, 2025
Stockport : The Magnet (Good Beer Guide)

Whilst in Stockport, I thought that I would have a little meander around some of the Good Beer Guide venues, with this being the first one.

The pub was opened in 1840 and was used as a coaching inn given its location to the Heaton Norris railway station, which closed in the 1960s. There’s a traditional feel to the decor and I like that there are numerous rooms with different seating and design styles. There’s an article in the newspaper from 1841 which notes:

“John Newton, of Stockport, will wrestle any person whose weight does not exceed his (5 and a half score) for £5 a side. He may be heard of at the Magnet Inn in Stockport.”

I suppose that was a handy guy to have as a doorman…. I have no idea what that weight means, the nearest that AI could get was that a northern measure of weight was a score which was 20 pounds, but that would make for a very light wrestler.

The Magnet is the ‘inn’ by Andrew Street, showing how near the railway station was. It has lost that railway station link now and it had some troubled years, being closed and starting to become derelict for a short while. However, it has been turned around over recent years and it has become something of a destination venue.

It was reasonably busy on the evening that I was there, with the service being friendly and welcoming.

The beer selection is substantial and they use Untappd for their beer menus. They have around 14 cask beers and 12 kegs to choose from, with the selection being well curated with most beer styles represented. The beer prices are also all towards the lower end of the scale.

My first beer was the Bright & Early from Wakey Wakey Brew Co and after trying it, I was surprised at its low rating on Untappd. Lots of toffee evident in the flavour, along with orange peel. The staff member pro-actively mentioned that they use lined glasses for their half pints, something which I personally think is a rather good policy.

Second beer was the Whiskey in the Jar from Liquid Light Brew Co. It was rather sweet and a little boozy with a taste of dark chocolate, really quite punchy.

I can absolutely see why this pub is in the Good Beer Guide as it’s welcoming, clean and has lots of beer which seems to be in very good condition. The reviews on-line are very positive and just about as high as a busy pub can reasonably get. They’ve never picked up a one star review on Google which is an achievement in itself. The food option is pizzas which are freshly made, with the non-beer drinks choice also being wide. The National Geographic also published an article last year, which I think is badly written for numerous reasons, but it mentions the pub as one of the twelve best pubs in the UK which must have been a pleasant little boost for them. And this was a positive start to my visit of pubs in Stockport, friendly and hospitable, so all rather lovely.

January 7, 2025
Manchester Trip : Port Street Beer House

The next venue on the list that Simon and I thought would be a good idea to visit is the Port Street Beer House. They’ve been open since 2011 and they have 18 keg lines and 7 cask lines, a balance that sounds just about right to me. It’s also no surprise given this heritage that the pub is listed in the Good Beer Guide, so that’s another one for my list.

This was a busy venue, although we found ourselves a place to stand. This is the Sun Goes Down mild from Thornbridge Brewery and this wasn’t as good as I had hoped for, it was too light and had a slight taste of charcoal. However, it’s always positive to see a mild on a menu.

Apologies for the finger in the way of the lens here, but this beer didn’t disappoint. It’s the Double Crumble – Apple, Blueberry and Maple from Pastore Brewing, and this surprised and delighted. Lots of maple, a bit of fruit and a creamy mouthfeel, just as I like a sour to be.

Richard treated himself to a fruited pale, the Specialist in the Field from Farm Yard Brew Co. I’m glad he bought it, it had a bit of a zing to put it mildly, but I didn’t find much depth of flavour in the whole arrangement. By this time we had gone hunting for a table and Łukasz has found one outside which was wet, but obstacles such as this don’t stop him. I don’t think the Polish are known for letting wet benches from getting in the way of their drinking.

This is a popular bar and judging from the positive on-line reviews, it’s a really well run operation. Where they get negative reviews, they’re like this:

“I used to come here regularly, but the last time I was there, they didn’t accept my legal tender (only card payments). This is unacceptable behaviour, and I do hope it’s now corrected. If so, I’ll change this review.”

I can’t imagine the bar shed many tears over this and it’s a reminder that cash isn’t king, but I won’t go down that line. There were some interesting beers available and the whole beer menu felt well curated. I would have preferred it to be quieter so we could get a table, but the reality is that it’s a popular and interesting place which I’m glad is doing well. And of course, it’s a worthy entrant into the Good Beer Guide.

January 1, 2025
Liverpool – Lion Tavern (Good Beer Guide)

I’ve been to this pub before, but I felt that a revisit was needed as my last time here was before I decided to try and visit every Good Beer Guide pub in the country. There’s some rail heritage to the Lion, it’s named after the locomotive that worked the Liverpool to Manchester Railway. This locomotive was made in 1838 and it’s now on display at Liverpool Museum, with this pub opening in 1840.

Interesting even from the exterior and the pub is listed on the CAMRA Historic Interior register and they note that:

“This richly appointed pub has a layout very similar to others on Merseyside in this guide, namely the Stork Hotel, Birkenhead, and the Prince Arthur, Liverpool. It has an L-shaped corridor wrapping round the public bar on the street corner, and with spaces leading off it. A plan of 1903 shows the public bar as now, but in 1915 the Lion expanded into the building next door. The corridor was then created along with a news room (so-named in the window glass) in the newly acquired area, and a lounge beneath a skylight (the dividing walls were, sadly, taken down in 1967). The corridor has a mosaic floor and a lovely Art Nouveau tiled dado, above which is a timber and etched glass screen, with openings allowing service to drinkers in the corridor. The back fitting in the public bar seems to be Victorian: the dado tiling here is to the same design as in the corridor. There is a fine set of old carved screens in the front windows carrying advertising, something that is occasionally seen in Scotland but rarely in England.”

One of the entrances, I like pubs with character like this and there are plenty of them in Liverpool.

The beer range which I thought was reasonable with some quality ales there to choose from.

One of the two bars, I was surprised by the lack of customers although there were a couple in the other side.

I went for half a pint of the Dark Flagon from Wily Fox Brewery, which I’ve had a couple of times before and enjoyed. It’s an excellent cask beer, there’s an initial hit of chocolate and then a rum finish. It’s smooth, decadent and just a little sweet.

It’s a beautiful pub and although it was quieter than I expected, the atmosphere was welcoming and the member of bar staff was friendly and engaging. It’s very well reviewed on-line, although I always feel the need to have a little look at the negative reviews to see what excitement has taken place, but there’s not much other than one customer who said he reported the manager to the police for being rude to him. I can imagine that the police were thrilled. The pub prides itself on its free jukebox, but a couple of customers are irritated that their choices have been deleted, but other than that, plenty of happy customers.

The real ale range seemed reasonable and interesting, the pub had character, the service was friendly and the surroundings were comfortable. All rather lovely and I can see why it’s listed in the Good Beer Guide.

December 6, 2024
Preston – Winckley Street Ale House (Good Beer Guide)

With an hour left until my train, this was the last pub in Preston that I was able to visit in my little expedition around their Good Beer Guide listed venues. It was known as the Otter’s Pocket when it opened in November 2018, but was renamed to its current name in March 2020. Prior to that it had been a shop and then previous to that it was a Mediterranean restaurant for several years.

The pub interior, it’s relatively spacious as there are a few more seats at the rear, but it’s still ultimately a micro-pub and I can imagine that it gets full relatively quickly.

That’s not a lined glass, so this is a short measure. It’s the Jelly Swirl Trifle pale Ale from Play Brew Co, but it had considerable flavour for a cask beer. It does what it say on the can (well on the Untappd screen), sweet, jelly and like a dessert.

My second beer, which was a third of the Gingerbread Latte from Vault City Brewing. Often Christmas beers really aren’t very good, but this is one that I can absolutely get behind. It was smooth, boozy, decadent and had an excellent mouthfeel with tastes of ginger and cinnamon.

I didn’t take a photo of the screen, although their beers are listed on Untappd for anyone who is interested in perusing their menu. The service was polite, but the atmosphere felt a little stilted and it wasn’t perfectly clean as the table was sticky and the handwash in the toilet had run out, but I accept that these things happen. They weren’t doing food when I was there, but they have pies, burgers, salads and light bites on Wednesday to Sunday lunchtimes and Wednesday to Saturday evenings, a relatively large menu given the size of the premises.

Certainly an interesting venue and I can see why they’re in the Good Beer Guide with their choices of real ales. The craft beer selection was excellent and that Vault City beer was a joy to behold, a beautiful beer on which to end my little trip to Preston. All really rather lovely and I look forwards to visiting again to see what craft beer that they have to surprise and delight me.

December 5, 2024
Preston – Guild Ale House (Good Beer Guide)

Next in my Good Beer Guide expedition was the Guild Ale House, which was the town’s first micro-pub when it opened in February 2016 in place of the former Hospice charity shop who previously occupied the premises.

The only two customers in the entire pub were sitting in front of the bar pumps, but fortunately they had a drinks screen which made matters easier. There’s a choice of cask and keg on the screen, but they also have a bottled selection as well including some Belgian options.

I went for the Bullet Tooth Tony from Wilde Child Brewing Company, which was well-kept and had some fruit tones, but I found it quite bland. I’ve always rated Wilde Child’s darker beers rather better, but it wasn’t an unpleasant beer.

The pub’s interior which is spacious and there’s a reasonable amount of space. They frequently have live music and other events, although they don’t play background music which is something I think they’re doing right.

I noted CAMRA’s comment of “worth noting they may close earlier than stated times dependent on footfall”, so I didn’t risk going in the evening and went at lunchtime. The venue is though very well-reviewed and in the eight years they’ve been trading they haven’t picked up a single 1-star review on Google, and only have two 2-star reviews. That’s a fairly impressive piece of pub management, so it’s no surprise that they’ve also won several CAMRA awards. Anyway, this seems to be a consistently good real ale pub and long may it continue.

December 5, 2024