07 January 2013

Huddersfield, Batley & Leeds visit

Harold Wilson strides away from Huddersfield Railway Station
With frequent train services from an impressive railway station and a Premier Inn situated next to the canal,
View of Huddersfield Broad Canal from Premier Inn (Annexe)
 Huddersfield was chosen as the weekend base from which to visit some excellent local pubs in West Yorkshire.
FRIDAY - THE TAPROOM, BATLEY
Friday was mainly spent in the car with a long drive in the rain from Newbury to Huddersfield. In the evening we caught the train from Huddersfield to Batley and from there walked to the Taproom, Batley along
Station Road, Batley
cobbled streets lined with impressive stone buildings that were once showrooms for the local 'shoddy' manufacturers.  Just past the Union Rooms, a JD Wetherspoon pub, we reached the Taproom in
The Taproom, Batley
  
Commercial Street, Batley. This pub was once the Wilton Arms but has been renamed since Chris Berry took over in May, 2012. Chris donated the old pub sign to local pub historian, Rod Kay.
Chris Berry, Landlord of the Taproom, Batley
There are two main rooms in the pub and there are handpumps in both rooms providing a good range of ales, mainly from Yorkshire. A blackboard lists all the beers available in both rooms.
Ossett Yorkshire Blonde (3.9% ABV), Timothy Taylor Landlord (4.3% ABV) and Theakston's Old Peculier (5.6%) are the regular beers with several guest ales also available. Live music is featured in the music room on Friday and Saturday nights.
The stage was just big enough to fit 'The Downfall Band' when they played at the Taproom on the Saturday night.
The Downfall Band
For more details of the Taproom, Batley - http://www.taproombatley.com/ 
Twitter: @TaproomBatley Taproom Batley

SATURDAY (1) - THE GROVE, HUDDERSFIELD (1ST VISIT)
Turnbridge lift bridge (Locomotive bridge) over Huddersfield Broad Canal
 The sun came out on Saturday and there was even a rainbow. A good morning for a walk along Huddersfield Broad Canal and a visit to Huddersfield market in the town's Victorian Quarter. A bonus was live music from Frumptarn Guggenband.
Frumptarn Guggenband

An unusual pub sign is sited on the roof of the Boy and Barrel Inn in Beast Market. Irene Morris played piano in the pub every Tuesday evening from 1981 until 2006. 
Boy and Barrel Inn, Beast Market, Huddersfield.
More news about the pub can be found on Johnny and Joe's History 

The Grove, Spring Grove Street, Huddersfield
Although it is on the other side of Huddersfield from the canal basin, the walk past Huddersfield bus station and through the Castlegate underpass soon brought us to The Grove in Spring Grove Street on the corner of Springwood Avenue. A busy pub on a Saturday afternoon is a sure sign of good beer and this is exactly what we found. On our first visit we turned right on entering the pub and went into the smaller of the two rooms. A friendly welcome from behind the bar and a pint of Redwillow Wreckless (Pale Ale - 4.8% ABV) 'An orchestrated cacophony of hops and malt' was the best way to begin this visit! Redwillow Ageless (Double IPA - 7.2% ABV) 'Big on hops, big on flavour' was also available, at the adjacent pump.
Redwillow 'Ageless' & 'Wreckless' - 5th & 6th pumps from left at The Grove

A large blackboard showed details of the beers on handpumps including ABV and price per pint. A smaller blackboard gave details of lagers, wheat beer, fizzy cider and guest kegs.
Smaller blackboard at The Grove
 
A notice on the board near the bar mentioned blues / jazz piano music at The Grove on Sunday evenings so we resolved to return and try some of the other beers the following evening.
More details about The Grove: http://www.groveinn.co.uk/ 
Twitter: @TheGroveHudds The Grove
 
SATURDAY (2) - THE SPORTSMAN, HUDDERSFIELD

From The Grove we walked via the bus station and near the railway station to another pub featured in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2013 - The Sportsman.
Situated near the railway viaduct at 1 St Johns Road, Huddersfield, the Sportsman immediately impressed with its art deco style.
The Sportsman, Huddersfield
The curved bar has a big range of handpumps and the fridges behind the bar include an interesting selection of bottled beers.
Curved bar, The Sportsman, Huddersfield
 With a hand pump dedicated to a beer from Mallinsons brewery in Huddersfield, this was a chance for a pint of the pale and hoppy Dabchick brewed by Mallinsons.
The art deco detail continues into the Gents toilets. Coloured tiles denote various sports including football with the blue and white stripes of Huddersfield Town FC (left), sailing and horse racing.
Tiles in the Gents toilets, The Sportsman, Huddersfield
The origins of these tiles remain a mystery. In October 2011, Hans van Lemmen, an expert on medieval tiles came to investigate the tiles after being contacted by Huddersfield historian Chris Marsden. The Huddersfield Examiner reported on this visit: Huddersfield Examiner 20/10/2011

Customers at the Sportsman. Framed Huddersfield Town FC football shirt on right.
More details about The Sportsman: Under the viaduct - The Sportsman
Twitter: @TheSportsmanHud The Sportsman

Next stop was Huddersfield railway station for the train to Batley and a second visit to the Taproom. See 'Friday' for more details of the Taproom, Batley.

SUNDAY (1) - WHITELOCKS, LEEDS

To Huddersfield railway station again, this time for the (crowded) train to Leeds.
Water tank on the roof - view from Huddersfield station 
There was time to get a photo of the roof mounted water tank near Huddersfield station, built in the days of steam locomotives, before catching the train. It was nice to be able to see the scenery pass by because the previous journeys to Batley, on the same route, were in darkness. Leeds station has been transformed since my previous visit.
Leeds - station is in lower left of map
A community worker, in a high vis jacket, kindly offered me an identical map of Leeds when I stopped to take a photo of a map at the exit from the station.
There was some time to wait before Leeds Art Gallery opened at 1pm so a pub listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2013 would be my first destination. Whitelocks First City Luncheon Bar consists of a row of cottages tucked away in Turks Head Yard, off Briggate.
Whitelocks - Turks Head Yard, Leeds
 Inside the copper covered bar with ornate tiles on the facing and some stained glass windows give a distinctive look to Whitelocks.
Whitelocks Luncheon Bar Dining Area
Tables had been reserved in the dining area but I was able to occupy a table and enjoy a look at the Sunday papers and drink a pint of Kirkstall Pale Ale in advance of the diners' arrival.

More details about Whitelocks: http://www.whitelocksleeds.com/
Twitter @WhitelocksLeeds Whitelocks Ale House

Leeds was now busy with Christmas shoppers and attractive arcades like the County Arcade make the city a good shopping destination.

County Arcade, Leeds

SUNDAY (2) - VERITAS ALE & WINE BAR, LEEDS

After a worthwhile(free) visit to Leeds Art Gallery, I was ready to visit a second pub.
Veritas Ale & Wine Bar (left) and Leeds General Infirmary
The Veritas Ale & Wine Bar at 43 Great George Street, opposite the Gothic Revival style buildings of Leeds General Infirmary, has a good range of draught and bottled beers.
Veritas Ale & Wine Bar, Leeds
It has a light continental feel and is something of a cross between a restaurant, cafe and pub. Timothy Taylor Landlord is a regular beer here but I chose a guest ale, Mary Jane from Ilkley Brewery.

More details: Veritas 
Twitter: @VeritasLeeds Veritas Bar Leeds

SUNDAY (3) - NORTH BAR, LEEDS

A walk towards the east, through the busy Christmas market in Millennium Square
Christmas market at Millennium Square
and past St John's Church, the oldest church in the city centre, leads to the North Bar at 24 New Briggate.
North Bar, Leeds
The North Bar has a narrow frontage but there is a functional long bar inside with a range of keg taps and handpumps. 
North Bar, Leeds
On the long wall opposite the bar there is a wooden board with the names of beers that have been served at the North Bar. The bar carries a big range of bottled beers so many of these beers may still be available. 
'Beer wall', North Bar, Leeds
The beer I chose was 'North Prototype', a 3.8% ABV pale ale, brewed by Kirkstall brewery in collaboration with North Bar.
The buildings and site of the original brewery are now the home of Leeds Metropolitan University in Kirkstall, in the north west of Leeds.The new Kirkstall brewery is situated on the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool canal, in the shadow of the original brewery.
More details for Kirkstall Brewery: http://www.kirkstallbrewerycompany.com/
Twitter: @kirkstallbrew Kirkstall Brewery Co

More details for North Bar, Leeds: http://northbar.com/a/
 Twitter: @NorthBarDrinks North Bar

SUNDAY (4) - KING'S HEAD, HUDDERSFIELD

Back at Huddersfield railway station, there are pubs housed in the old ticket offices at the east and west wings of the station building. The King's Head, formerly the Station Tavern, is situated in the east wing.
Jimi Hendrix in the King's Head pub sign on platform 1.
 There are some stairs up to the entrance at the front and a back entrance from platform 1 for disabled customers. A unique approach is that Jimi Hendrix is the king used in the pub sign.
Smaller bar, near front entrance, at King's Head, Huddersfield
Inside, there is one large room with the original tiled floor and two smaller adjoining rooms with some unusual continental beer posters on the walls.
Pint of Magic Rock 'Curious' (left) at King's Head
I was happy to find 'Curious' by Magic Rock on the bar and ordered a pint. The sparkler at the point of dispense gives the pint a creamy look when first poured. This 'Original Pale Ale' is 3.9% ABV and is  brewed with plenty of US hops to give the beer a floral aroma and citrus flavours.
Magic Rock Brewing Co is a local brewery established in 2011 and based at the Bed Factory, Quarmby Mills, Oare, Huddersfield.

More details about Magic Rock Brewing Co. http://www.magicrockbrewing.com/
Twitter: @MagicRockBrewCo Magic Rock Brewing

More details for King's Head, Huddersfield: http://the-kings-head-huddersfield.co.uk/
                       
SUNDAY (5) - THE GROVE, HUDDERSFIELD (2ND VISIT)
The Grove, Huddersfield
The reason for returning to the Grove, apart from the excellent range of beers, was for some jazz / blues piano music. This time we turned left, into the bigger room, of the pub on entering. The notice below advertising the Sunday Session with pianist Ewen McLeod Hill (aka Thirteenth Pyramid) had been spotted on a previous visit. 
The music was relaxing and Ewen wasn't put off by people chatting while he played.
We chatted with friendly people at the neighbouring table who had brought their dog with them and the pub is definitely 'dog friendly'.
The main blackboards had details of all the cask beers in both bars. My first beer was an American Rye from Buxton Brewery, a good opportunity to try a beer from this brewery whose beers are not seen in Berkshire as a rule. This turned out to be one of my favourite beers of the weekend and a bargain at £2.70 pint. 
Cask ales at the Grove, Huddersfield
The other beers sampled during the evening included the seriously spicy 'Winter Solstice' (3.8% ABV) from Raw Brewing Company, based at Stavely, near Chesterfield, which was served from the 'Low Gravity Pump' and the fruity tasting 'Magus' by The Durham Brewery.
A good feature of the Grove is their splendid 'Grove' branded half pint and pint glasses. These are taller than a standard glass and oversized so that you can be sure of getting a decent measure of beer in your glass.

Another memorable feature of The Grove is the variety of art exhibited on the walls and even on the ceiling.
There was time for a chat with Ewen, the pianist, after his last piece and before it was time to leave. It was also a chance to sample 'Dobber' from the North Manchester microbrewery, Marble Brewery, another brewery whose beers don't reach Berkshire.
More details about the pianist: Ewen McLeod Hill
More details about The Grove: http://www.groveinn.co.uk/ 
Twitter: @TheGroveHudds The Grove 
 

09 August 2012

Great British Beer Festival - London Olympia 2012

A ticket to the Trade Session at the Great British Beer Festival gives the holder admittance to the festival for up to five hours before it opens to the public at 5pm on the opening Tuesday - 7 August 2012.
Twitter came to my rescue in the shape of Rob Derbyshire (@BGRTRob) who kindly posted a spare ticket to me so that I could attend.
I travelled from Newbury to Olympia via Paddington with Rick Wyatt, cider maker, and Roy Bailey, writer and former cider / perry maker. Rick was carrying two bottles of cider with him (Berkshire Gold - 500ml and Abbey Gold - 750ml) to give to Paul Scrivens, chairman and cider contact of the Reading CAMRA branch.
Rick Wyatt, Paul Scrivens & Roy Bailey
Adrian Bean, chairman of West Berkshire CAMRA branch was working at the Hutton Bar and suggested a visit to the upper floor of Olympia from the staircase nearby. From the upper floor you get a good view of the ground floor including a huge poster encouraging people to sign the e-petition protesting at the beer duty escalator.

At the Dunlop bar, where I had just ordered a Mallinson's Citra, I met Dickie Bird, the Elland Brewery company secretary. Beyond the Pale was the beer from Elland brewery at this bar. I pointed out Arkell's Wiltshire Gold to him and mentioned that it was brewed in a tower brewery. Dickie explained that Elland Brewery is all on one level and relies on pumps for transfer. He also pointed out that Empire Brewery, next on the alphabetical brewery list on this bar was also situated near to Elland Brewery and that West Yorkshire has more breweries than any other county. 
Pete Brown, the author of several books about beer, was placing flyers for his new book 'Shakespeare's Local' on tables. This will cover five centuries of history seen through one extraordinary pub. I interrupted him to take a photo with the current issue of 'Ullage' (West Berkshire CAMRA newsletter).

Now it was time to find Andy Parker, another Twitter contact (@tabamatu) who had texted me his whereabouts from a table near the bar with American cask and bottled beers. Arriving early at the festival is always a good idea as you can find a seat at a table and have a base to leave any books, bottles etc.. This was also an opportunity to meet Jane (@i96jms) who kindly took some of the photos in this post.
We ordered Dark Drake a stout from Dancing Duck brewery at the Davis bar and Andy introduced me to Mike from Buxton brewery. Mike and Andy discussed the merits of Axe Edge, the brewery's double IPA hopped with Amarillo, Citra and Nelson Sauvin. Matt from Hawkshead brewery joined us and the group expanded further with Zak Avery the beer writer and specialist beer retailer and Yan from Pivovar the beer bar company. This mix shows how useful it can be to be able to visit the trade session and meet people from the brewing and blogging spheres. However, you need good hearing to keep up with the conversation especially when the Skinners Brewery drummers march past at regular intervals, led by Betty Stoggs!
When our beers had gone we headed for the Brains brewery bar which included two beers from the new craft brewery which can handle smaller quantities. Weiss Weiss Baby is their first weissbeer, exclusively launched at the festival. Barry Island IPA was created by Simon Martin (@RealAleToday) the real ale and craft beer reviewer on YouTube. 
We ordered Barry Island IPA and when I got my camera out to take a photo of the pump clips, Jane organised a photo of us at the bar.
Tim Thomas & Andy Parker (drinking Brains Barry Island IPA)
Andy spotted Marverine Cole (@BeerBeauty) nearby and I was honoured by a lovely greeting from her when she recognised me as someone who had contacted her about meeting up at the festival. Jane kindly took a photo of us and I was able to give Marverine a copy of 'Ullage' newsletter.
It had been a good choice to order Barry Island IPA earlier as Simon Martin was near us and Simon told us how he had spent a day at the Cardiff brewery when the beer was brewed according to his specification. Rob Derbyshire, who had supplied my trade session ticket, was keen to do a joint beer review with Simon so I was enlisted as the camera operator and we set off for the Ruth bar to get another beer. We chose American cask beers with Geary's Pale Ale for me, Lagunitas Undercover Shutdown Ale for Andy and Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous for Rob and Simon to do their joint review. Rob and Simon gave an entertaining review and awarded top marks to the beer while I tried to keep the camera steady. Afterwards I took my own photo of them.
Rob Derbyshire & Simon Martin (after reviewing Stone - Sublimely  Self-Righteous)
I spent the rest of the day with CAMRA friends including beer writer Jeff Evans (@insidebeer), Oxford Drinker editor (Steven Green) and Delia Allott from Binghams Brewery. I had two good beers from the Champion  Beer of Britain bar - Little Valley Hebden's Wheat (Silver in Speciality Beer category) and Dark Star American Pale Ale (Gold in Golden Ales category and Bronze overall). 
Skinner's Cornish Knocker Ale, Dark Star American Pale Ale & Dunham Massey Chocolate Cherry Mild at CBOB bar
I was also given a taste of the Champion Beer of Britain 2012 - Coniston brewery's No. 9 Barley Wine. The final beer was one of my favourites of the day - Infinity by Blue Monkey from Richards bar.
Tim Thomas visited the Great British Beer Festival 2012 organised by the Campaign for Real Ale on Tuesday 7 August as a guest of Rob Derbyshire. Thanks also to Andy Parker for a bottle to take home (Kopikat - Imperial Vanilla Coffee Stout from Summer Wine Brewery) and for introductions and to Jane for photos.

10 April 2012

West Berkshire Brewery - A Jolly Day Out

West Berkshire Brewery organised a couple of  'Jolly Days Out', in February and March 2012, for the benefit of friends of the brewery. These days provided a good chance for everyone to see the brewery's new premises after the move from the Old Bakery in Yattendon to Home Farm in Frilsham.
Tom Lucas (left) from West Berkshire Brewery and Tim Wale (right) from Tutts Clump Cider were behind the bar in the Brewery Shop to give everyone a pint of beer on arrival. The monthly beer Pig and Tea, Dr Hexter's Wedding Ale and Good Old Boy were the beers available on handpump for the March day.
Pig and Tea is a dark beer with rich flavours of roasted barley with hints of coffee and chocolate and a fruity finish from the Bramling Cross hops.
The shop and office are now light and spacious. Prize certificates, awarded since the brewery was started by Dave and Helen Maggs in 1995, are displayed on the wall that divides the office from the shop.
Bottles of beer from certain other breweries are stored on the low shelves of this dividing wall.
On the opposite wall of the shop there is purpose built shelving to create a 'wall of bottles' and this is where a full range of beers from the West Berkshire Brewery can be found including Full Circle, Dr Hexter's Healer,
Maggs' Magnificent Mild and Mr Chubb's Lunchtime Bitter.
On arrival we had been split into groups for brewery tour purposes. While one group chatted and looked

around the shop the other group were led out of the shop and across the yard to the brewery in another barn.

Brewery Tour

Brewer, Will Twomey, gathered the group by the hot water tank which supplies water for cask washing. He explained that a condenser is now used with the result that the traditional smell of brewing that Yattendon residents had become accustomed to is now a thing of the past.
Our next stop was the main area of the brewery where Will pointed out the main vessels to us. In the photo below the hot liquor tank is on the right, the mash tun is in the middle with a hopper above and the copper is on the left.
Will explained the stages of the brewing process which includes a boil in the copper using a gas fired heating element. The hot liquid is finally transferred through a heat exchanger into one of several fermenter vessels.
The old Courage brewery at Reading was the source of the storage vessels which have been adapted for use as fermenter vessels in Frilsham, as shown below.
A further photo shows our group standing between the two rows of fermenter vessels with the main brewing vessels beyond.
Will now led us up the metal stairway to a gallery area where bags of malt and boxes of hops are stored.
He explained how these ingredients are sourced and how they are used in various proportions to produce 
individual West Berkshire Brewery beers. We had a chance to taste some of the malts including Maris Otter Pale malt and Crystal malt. Only English hops are used including local hops from Kingston Bagpuize. Different hop varieties are used for different beers with Bramling Cross used for 'Good Old Boy'.

Vintage bus trip to the Rising Sun, Stockcross

After both groups had been on the brewery tour and drained their pint glasses it was time to get on board Tim Wale's vintage AEC Regent 111 double decker bus for the next stage of our jolly day out. (In the photo
the main entrance to the brewery, in the long barn building, can also be seen.) The seats on the top deck of the bus were quickly filled and as we set off the party mood took hold and there was some enthusiastic singing of 'We're all going on a Summer Holiday!' As the bus tackled the uphill gradient on Everington Lane, Tim was obliged to engage first gear and we could admire the stately progress through the Berkshire countryside from our elevated vantage point. We passed through Hermitage and then onto the A34 before arriving at the Rising Sun in Stockcross.    The Rising Sun website
The Rising Sun is a traditional pub owned by the West Berkshire Brewery and managed by Stuart and Nicola  Bagley. It was a sunny day so the tables in the garden were soon taken once everyone had been to the bar and exchanged a ticket for a pint of beer.
On the March day, the handpumps were supplying (from left to right): Tutts Clump Farmhouse Cider, Mr Chubbs Lunchtime Bitter, Dr Hexter's Healer, Pegasus (guest ale from Milton Brewery), Tilting Charlie (February's monthly beer) and Good Old Boy.
A row of  heated food containers occupied a long table inside the pub. It was soon time for everyone to exchange a further ticket for a turn at helping themselves to the prepared food which catered to all tastes and was of the good quality which supports Stuart's reputation as a chef.
The remainder of the afternoon gave people time to try another beer or two before it was time to get back onto the bus for the 4.15pm return journey to the brewery.
Everyone agreed that it had indeed been a jolly day out as promised by the brewery.
It was a great way to introduce friends of the brewery to the new premises and their pub.
The brewery will continue to support Brewhouse Music events at Yattendon Village Hall.
It is likely that the Rising Sun will introduce some brewery visits in the future as a new venture that will ensure that friends of West Berkshire Brewery who were not able to enjoy one of these jolly days out will still be given the opportunity to see around the brewery that brews the beers that are served at the pub.
To become a friend of West Berkshire Brewery send an email to info@wbbrew.co.uk with the subject as 'WBB friends list'. West Berkshire Brewery events are also mentioned on twitter (@westberksbrew) and on facebook (West Berkshire Brewery).