A new house and a Snooty Fox

As mentioned in my last update I'm afraid I've been slacking off from this blog due to foolishly deciding to buy a house. This has meant my time has been taken up running back and forth dealing with estate agents, solicitors, surveyors, utilitiy companies and furniture suppliers. And more importantly I haven't had any internet access for the past few weeks.

It's my first time buying a house and it's been an exciting journey. I must admit I was a bit nervous throughout the process after discovering the house buying section of the MoneySavingExpert forums and reading some of the horror stories on there. I always find doing a bit of research on the internet on a subject is both a blessing and curse. It's a blessing because I learn a lot about the subject and get differing viewpoints, and can prepare for any potential hiccups. It's a curse because I realise just how many things can go horribly wrong, and just terribly wrong it can go. In this case, after reading the MSE forums, I was worried that during the house buying process there would be a point where I just end up sitting in a corner silently rocking back and forth while clutching my mobile phone, hoping my solicitor wouldn't call me up to tell me the office dog accidentally ate all of my paperwork and the buying process will be delayed for a year.

Bringing it all together in the most
shambolic way possible

Thankfully the estate agents and solicitors weren't completely useless and didn't have an office dog, so the process went through smoothly with no paperwork being eaten by any type of domestic pet. Getting internet access also went through OK. As part of their charter BT are required to mess something up, and in this case a BT Engineer who was supposed to visit our house never arrived as "the work could all be done at the exchange." Of course we weren't told this until the next day, after The Lovely Jemma had spent a day at home waiting for a BT engineer who was never going to arrive. As it's BT the complaint process is long and ultimately pointless, so they will most likely get away with this.

But now that I'm settled in and have internet it's time for a few updates on my beery travels. I'll be doing a few posts over the next few weeks and I'll start off with a report on the delights of The Snooty Fox. This relatively new pub has been getting a lot of acclaim from CAMRA members and other real ale fans who don't sport beards. When I saw they were having a Northern ale festival I decided to go check out this well regarded boozer for the first time. I ventured off to Canonbury, which is one of those places nobody knew existed until the London Overground discovered it like a mechanical, lumbering Christopher Columbus. Upon entering the pub my first impressions were "this is a small pub" and also "bloody hell there's a lot of people here I'm never going to get a seat." There was a jovial atmosphere inside, and also a very appealing selection of Northern ales, some being served from the bar and others from barrels in a temporary area which was probably using up some of the seating.

Highly Recommended

They clearly care about the beer here and all the ale was in tip top condition. Highlights included the Magic Rock High Wire NZ. The Lovely Jemma described this one best as a "adventure in my mouth, and I like the adventure." It's a fruity, fragrant and absolutely delicious beer, and one to challenge the mighty Thornbridge Kipling as a new hoppy favourite. The New World Red from the Saltaire Brewery was also great, with a lovely malty bitterness that gave this ruby red beer a nice warming feel to it. Delightful.

I spotted and correctly identified beer writer and blogger Pete Brown in attendance, and it turns out he was there to do a talk on his new book. It's quite an achievement for me to identify someone correctly. Usually I point at someone and say "Isn't that Christopher Walken?" before The Lovely Jemma has to point out that it's not Mr Walken but actually just a homeless person and that's why he's rooting through some bins.

Sadly the conversation in the pub was so loud I wasn't able to catch much of what Mr Brown was saying.  The bits I caught sounded far more entertaining and informative then anything I could of thought up, which is probably why he's publishing books and I'm sat here typing gibberish into a blog that is largely read by Google Spiderbots. We did share one thing in common though: he also seemed pretty pleased with the beer quality in the pub.

As part of the festival a small Northern themed food menu was available. I went for a Toad in the Hole which filled me up nicely. Overall a very pleasant evening was had in this cosy and welcoming pub, and I look forward to returning.

As mentioned there are more updates to come as I continue to enthral you all with my February ale tales. See you soon!

Still Alive

Just a short post to reassure my regular reader that I am still alive. The past few weeks have been busy for me as I've somehow managed to get myself a house. Buying and doing up a house takes up a surprising amount of time, even if The Lovely Jemma has done most of the work. I've also been without internet although BT and EE have finally managed to come together and provide broadband to my humble abode.

Despite the house taking up a lot of my time I have managed to visit a few pubs and sample a few ales over the last few weeks, including visiting a couple of pubs in what is now my "new" local area in South East London. It is my duty to tell you about these adventures so look out for updates over the next few days.

Cheers!

January blues and bottled ale

I find January a difficult month to do any visits to a pub. Because it's after Christmas I feel like a fat bloated mess, even though this year I was actually pretty good and barely put on any weight at all. I just can't seem to scarf down chocolate coins, "Christmas" wine and fourth helpings of roast potatoes like I used to. The heady days of having a third helping of trifle after finishing a Chocolate Orange are behind me. In fact the days of receiving a Chocolate Orange at all for Christmas appear to be over as I didn't receive one of the spherical faux fruity treats. Luckily for me my poorly wired brain lets me feel all the guilt and worry of putting on a few pounds anyway.

Another reason January is difficult for a pub visit is that nobody has any cash after Christmas, and with beer prices going up and up with no sign of stopping it's getting harder to justify a night out at the pub. Having starting to hit the limits on what they can tax on cigarettes and petrol before the public hit the streets and lynch an MP it appears some sections of the government have targeted booze as the next easy money maker. Luckily most MP's enjoy getting sloshed so I'm not sure how far they will take thesetax rises. Still you know things are getting bad when the Wetherspoons in Victoria Station has reached £3.30 a pint for the guest ales. I might as well go to a proper pub for those prices.

The poor weather isn't helping pub custom either, with our ever reliable transport system effectively making sure I can't visit any decent pubs. I also don't trust myself with a belly full of ales and a pavement full of  ice.

January has probably been even more difficult this year for pubs due to the Dryathlon campaign. I have mixed feelings about the campaign. I understand the sentiment of asking people to give up drink for a month for Cancer Research, and holding it in January means people can feel better about their new years resolution by donating to charity. But it seems a bit unfair to me to hold it during the most difficult month for pubs. With pubs closing down at the rate of two a day they need all the help they can get. Of course many of the pubs closing are flea ridden, vomit soaked pits of violence and despair, but plenty of good ones go as well.

I'm aware I'm being a terrible hypocrite by bemoaning that pubs get no custom in January when they really need it, and I've barely visited any pubs myself. In fact the only couple I've been to this month have been Weatherpersons. However I have been supporting the ale industry in my own little way this month by enjoying some good bottled ales. With Winter here in full force a warming Sneck Lifter from Jennings hit the spot perfectly. This is a full bodied strong ale with subtle raisin notes that is always a winner. I also enjoyed a bottle of Victory Ale from Bateman's which was another solid strong ale this time with caramel undertones. There's nothing more pleasant than a sturdy strong ale on a chilly Winters evening and I can recommend both of these for such an occasion.

While at the Wetherspoons in London Victoria Station I tried a half pint of Hopslinger Red Rye, from the fledging By The Horns brewery based in merry old London. Their brews are a bit of an acquired taste at the moment and I get the impression they're still finding their feet. The Red Rye was an OK attempt at an American Red Ale, but it got a little sickly and I was glad I only had a half.

With payday coming soon I think a lot more visits to pubs are going to be on the horizon. Maybe next year I'll make it a resolution to visit more pubs in January, if only so I don't feel guilty when I inevitably berate Cancer Research for holding Dryathlon a second time. See you in February.