Bath, Part 2

Bath seems like a bit of an odd tourist destination to me. It's all very lovely with plenty of shops, glorious architecture and pretty parks, but I don't think there's actually very much to do tourist wise. The main draw is the Roman baths, but last time I visited them I wasn't to impressed by some smelly stone rooms. I was a grumpy teenager at the time though so I wasn't impressed by anything except violent movies, computer games and boobs. I thought of visiting the baths on this trip now I'm older and supposedly maturer but I have since been spoiled by visiting Rome and its ruins, which are amazing even if Mussolini did find it necessary to build a motorway right through the middle of them. I guess they didn't have NIMBY's in Italy back then and to be honest I don't know if they have them now, they seem a fairly laid back bunch. I've also visited Pompeii which was absolutely stunning, so I guess some shabby rooms in the middle of a British shopping town just didn't appeal to me. Despite my perceived lack of tourist sights Bath remains packed full of tourists anyway, swarming the rather small section of the town centre where all the sights are packed together. It's great to see the town doing well but I wonder if any of those tourists leave disappointed.

One thing Bath does have is plenty of pubs. After a good start, detailed in my previous post, even more excellent pubs were to come. But first I'll start with the most average pub I visited, the West Gate. This Greene King pub seemed more focussed on food than beer but it did have an OK selection of ale available. Well I think it did this was a dimly lit place, probably to appeal to hungover students and their fear of bright lights. Our group originally sat at a table where the floor was both humming and vibrating, and fearing an imminent power surge, explosion or giant mole we moved to a different table. My first choice of beer, which I can't remember the name of but it sounded interesting, was off, so I opted for a pint of Guzzler from the York Brewery. This wasn't great, with a rather insipid watery flavour. Overall despite a decent Sunday lunch and friendly service I wouldn't be rushing back to this pub.

An "atmospheric" shot of the Star Inn
serving area.

Next up was a pub I'd quite happily rush back to. The Star Inn is on the outskirts of the town centre but is well worth a visit. Owned by Abbey Ales, this traditional three room pub looks attractive from the outside and very cosy and welcoming inside. They serve Bass from the barrel and I opted for a half, and it was pleasant enough. A Bellringer from Abbey Ales was much better, a strong, solid bitter that was perfect for this comfy little pub. The lone barmaid was friendly, even when I managed to spill about a third of my Bass all over the table. Whoops. The only disappointment was that the promised "free nibbles" on a Sunday afternoon mentioned on their website were nowhere to be found. However overall this was a great pub to retreat to in the middle of the day. Very enjoyable and a rather charming place.

My final pub visit on my jaunt around Bath was The Bell. This was a completely different atmosphere compared to the calm, relaxed Star. A live folk band were playing to the heaving pub. I could tell they were a genuine folk band because the lead singer was the hairiest man I'd ever seen. We managed to snag a table and enjoyed the good music and congenial atmosphere. A Mutley's Revenge from Hereford Brewery went down well and I got the chance to do my Mutley from Wacky Races impersonation where I sound like I'm choking on a boiled sweet. This was a lovely little boozer and with the music, laid back crowd and friendly staff it ended up being my favourite pub of the trip.

Well that's it for Bath. Next up it's a return to Manchester and the Port Street Beer House. See you next Sunday!

BrewDog Manchester

The Jortening. Identity blurred
to protect the innocent.

I made a welcome return to Manchester recently. I've previously covered some of the cities fine pubs in a previous post, and this visit added two new establishments. My reason for being in the strange world of the north was a good old fashioned stag night. We eschewed the traditional events of handcuffing the groom to a lamppost or spraying the back of a minicab in vomit and instead plied the groom full of booze, cutting off a piece of his jeans every time he had a drink so by the end of the evening he ended up with a fine pair of denim shorts, or "jorts" to use the modern parlance. This went down a storm with Manchester's finest lasses, and even with a bit of boxers peeking out of the jorts it didn't scare them off from catcalling and leering. They're made of stouter stuff up there.

The majority of the stag night was spent in two of the "finest" clubs Manchester has to offer, the gloriously kitsch Fab Cafe and the terrifying rock club Satan's Hollow. However we did manage to visit a couple of pubs and both of them were (spoilers) excellent. First up was BrewDog Manchester. BrewDog continue to spread across the country like a virus made out of hops and cocky attitude. This is the third outlet I have visited, the previous being Camden and Shoreditch. The Manchester branch was a great experience. Compared to Camden and Shoreditch this place was huge, spread over two levels. I was surprised at how quiet the place was considering how rammed the London outlets always seem to be. Granted it was about 3pm on a Saturday afternoon but I expected more folks there. I must admit I got a little overexcited when I saw two pinball machines, both of which were working well but considering how poorly I did on them I can only presume they were set on "insane" difficulty.

To celebrate the groom signing his life away a tasting session of six beers was presented to us and it didn't disappoint. First up was the Nut Brown Ale by the Ale Smith brewing company, from the good ol' USA. American beers were going to feature strongly in this tasting session, and with good reason, as they are producing some excellent beers over there at the moment. This first ale was proof that Americans can capably produce beer other than intensely hopped pale ales. The first thing to hit was the fabulous aroma, a rich bitter smell with the faintest hint of nuts, inviting you to take a sip. The taste was also excellent, the nut flavours subtly pronounced in the comforting bitter taste. A great start. Next up was Black Racer from Bear Republic. This was a solid Black IPA. I don't really know what a Black IPA is, it appears to mean it's going to have a burnt, malty flavour and this beer hit the right notes. Good stuff.

Imperial IPA from Green Flash was excellent and the highlight of the tasting session. I was a bit worried that at 9.4% this was going to be an unsubtle assault of hops and booze, with the harsh finish that these types of beer can suffer from. Amazingly it was the complete opposite. Despite the high strength the beer went down as smooth as chocolate mousse covered in Vaseline and was a hoppy delight. A really fine example of what skilled brewing can produce. Anniversary Ale from the Port Brewing Company was up next and managed to make all the mistakes the Imperial IPA skillfully avoided. A classic example of chuck in the hops and booze and let's see what happens, it was harsh, tasted strongly of alcohol with no subtlety to back it up, and was just not very pleasurable to drink. It might have been passable if it hadn't come after the Imperial IPA but unfortunately it just highlighted what a disappointment this beer was.

Next up was the lowlight of the session, but others may enjoy it. It's Lambic time! My tongue tried to escape from my mouth at the very thought of having to sip this sour, fruity disaster. My idiot brain started to try and comfort me - maybe it'll be good this time! Perhaps the fruity sourness won't want to make you end it all right there and then! One sip and I immediately wanted to fire my brain. Made by Brasserie Cantillon it was pure lambic through and through. I hated it. Luckily it didn't destroy my taste buds for the final beer of the session, the Stone Brewery Espresso Imperial Russian Stout. This eliminated all memories of the horrific lambic and ended the session on a high. This full bodied classic stout was spot on. As a regular stout this would be a terrific treat, but with the coffee added it was absolutely brilliant.

As you've read this far into the post I may as well tell you why I thought BrewDog Manchester was both better and worse than their Camden outlet, which is the branch I've frequented most. The extra space was definitely a plus over the tiny Camden branch, which gets packed full of punters early and it's practically impossible to get a seat after 6pm. As the Manchester one is twice the size it never felt very busy there, even as the evening drew on. The downside to this extra space is that the atmosphere didn't seem as good, the closeness of the Camden space encouraging punters to mix up a little and get the conversation going. Everyone just stuck to their own groups in the Manchester branch, which is unusual in a Northern bar as every man and their dog usually tries to strike up a conversation with you as all the Southerners desperately try to avoid eye contact and drink their beer as quickly as possible.

Well this post went on longer than I expected. Best save my biting commentary on the Port Street Beer House for next week. I've also gone and got myself a "Twitter," why not follow me @bitterbloke. Cheers!

Bath Part 1

First of all apologies for the long wait in posting this hopefully witty and entertaining chapter of my blog. It's been a busy past few weeks for me, with a trip to Paris with the Lovely Jemma and a stag do in Manchester. I managed to visit a couple of new places in Manchester since my last visit there and I'll be blogging about those soon. Sadly there's not much to report about Paris beer wise. The French love their wine so I knew finding decent places for beer would be a problem. However Time Out mentioned a couple of craft ale bars that have sprung up. I was prepared to visit both and blog about them to you lovely people.

Sadly the first bar was closed on the night we went to visit, and then the next day my delicate British stomach was completed baffled by the amount of butter, cream and red meat I was consuming and I spent most of the day on the loo. This made a visit to the pub both unappealing and unlikely. Don't worry, while I was on the toilet I was weeping, firstly because I just wanted it all to end but also because I'd let my reader(s?) down by not being able to write about some weird French brews. The only beer I did manage to drink in Paris was a Leffe Blonde at Marlusse Et Lapin, a quirky little bar with an area called granny's room, complete with old lady bed and old fashioned drawers and cupboards. Luckily there were no activities granny would have disapproved of from the couple sitting on the bed, just polite conversation and slurping of wine. Well I assume it was polite conversation, they could have been talking about doing disgraceful things to each other involving whips and cattle prods, but because everything in the French language sounds beautiful I never would have known. Both the beer and the bar were pretty good.

But that's enough about Paris. A few weeks ago I paid a visit to the town of Bath. The weather was a bit hit and miss but luckily there were plenty of pubs to duck in to when the weather got a bit dreary. Things got off to a good start with a visit to Pig and Fiddle. This is a shabby but welcoming place with a large, narrow main room, a large beer garden and a hidden snug round the back of the bar. The airy main room is packed with tacky memorabilia which adds to the laid back vibe of the place. A solid ale selection was on offer, and I went for a pint of Adam Henson's Rare Breed by the Buxton Brewery. I have no idea who Adam Henson is but his rare breed is pretty good, with a pleasurable hoppy finish.

Leaving the Pig and Fiddle we moved to somewhere with a more mature vibe, The Salamander. Owned by Bath Ales, it has a modern interior and a grown up feel, but the atmosphere was a little stilted and not as welcoming as the Fiddle. It felt like I was invading a very middle class book club. There were probably more glasses of wine than beer on the tables, and the customers were enjoying tasty looking but expensive food. The Bath Ales were pretty good, with a Special Pale Ale (SPA) going down very well with a light, almost lemongrass flavour, very pleasurable. The Summer Hare was not quite as good but a solid hoppy finish made it a decent sup.

The final pub, for this post at least, is The Raven. This is a friendly two floor boozer with a laid back vibe. It appeared to be heavily involved in the local community with plenty of posters advertising future events, mainly aimed towards students. There are two house brews on offer, brewed by Blindman's, and I opted for a pint of Raven's Gold. Sadly this didn't live up to my expectations and it was a rather limp, bland golden ale. The plate of sausage and mash I ordered for lunch was tremendous though, making the trip to the pub more than worthwhile. Be aware that there's a £10 card minimum here, and that the house red is terrible. I only mention this so you don't get caught out like my friend and end up ordering a large glass of the house red to make up the minimum. The wine was horrific, tasting like it had been passed through a diseased duck on a hot July's day.

Plenty to come in Part 2, including two of the best pubs on the trip. See you next Sunday. That's right, I'm going to update this blog every Sunday! Let's see how long that lasts.