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Indomitable026

By Indomitable026
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Bert Cheese

Bert Cheese

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In our part of the world (Surrey) we had Friary Muck.

 

And perhaps a bit of Brickwoods that encroached from its spiritual home in Pompey?

I'm a tad young to have sampled any but apparently it was mostly pretty dire stuff, quickly dropped by Whitbread when they bought them out in 1971 for the tied estate pubs.

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APOLLO

APOLLO

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I think people tend to forget now, or just not know, how common a “bad pint” was in the 60s and 70s. Standards had slipped; Watneys Red Barrel, Whitbread Tankard and the like were a roaring success precisely because of their consistent standards, compared to “traditional” beers. I remember pints of Greene King tasting as though they had just been pumped out of the Cam or Orwell.

 

CAMRA did the industry, and the drinker alike the great service of making brewers realise that they had to do better.

 

Wigan was "the bad beer" capital of the world in the 70's - Walkers warrington brewery wasn't nicknamed "The Headache Factory" without reason !!

 

The best beer by far back then was Tetleys bitter - brewed in Yorkshire and always a good pint, but only a handful of Tetley's Yorkshire served pubs existed in Wigan.

 

Walkers "headache tackle" was everywhere in the 70's. Well over 60% of the very many Wigan pubs & clubs back then were Walkers - not all were bad - some were better than others (at looking after the ale).

 

Greenall Whitley - Bland bitter, lousy mild and that "Grunhalle" lager was, well, pi55. We kept clear of GW pubs. (not that there were many)

 

Burtonwood - I never liked their bitter, golden mild was very good though, as well as the strong winter brew "Top Hat" (which we christened "Flat Cap" !!

 

Whitbread - only a couple of pubs selling chemical ale (or was it comical ale) - not good.

 

Bass Charringtons - not bad but again only a handful of pubs / clubs.

 

Others - a very few other brewery run pubs, a couple were good, the rest often questionable beer, Thwaites, Vaux, Boddingtons (spew) and some I can't remember (destroyed brain cells !!)

 

Guinness was sold in a lot of pubs, but was not usually good back then - it was said it did not travel well - we would go well out of our way for a good pint of the black stuff. There were many other beers also back then, bottles of brown (Brown & Bitter), Newcastle Brown, Mackeson (macky & mild was nice) and I saw Lager come from nothing to the main drink of today. Burtonwood lager was 20p, Bitter 12p, Mild 10p when I started my "apprenticeship"

 

Today most beer around town is reasonable / good / excellent and a few Cafe / Pub type small places have opened which are very good. Some sell local produced beer, that is absolutely excellent (Prospect Brewery being, for me, the best). Wigan Central pub under the arches of Wigan North Western station has a good selection. (and a train departure board so you won't miss your train !!)

 

Brit15

Edited by APOLLO
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rockershovel

rockershovel

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It's not just the brewing process it's also how it's kept and dispensed, if it's not kept cool or the pipes regularly cleaned, it will have a detrimental effect on the beer.

 

I don't know what Wadsworth, do with their beer, but it never tastes all that good, sometimes I have rejected it, in their tied houses as in a free house.

 

I started drinking in Cambridge, standards could be very variable; a lot of tied houses selling keg without really keeping their pipes clean, because students will drink anything, and rough old workmen's boozers selling Greene King or Tolly Cobbold. Rural pubs tended to be pretty hit-and-miss in those pre-breathalyser days. The Spade and Beckett in Thompson's Lane was well worth the walk when a delivery of Directors Ale or Christmas Ale had come in. 

 

I've sometimes seen Wadsworth 6X dispensed from a cask on trestles, behind the bar. this really isn't best practice, but not all East Anglian pubs have cellars. 

Edited by rockershovel
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Joseph_Pestell

Joseph_Pestell

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It's not just the brewing process it's also how it's kept and dispensed, if it's not kept cool or the pipes regularly cleaned, it will have a detrimental effect on the beer.

 

I don't know what Wadsworth, do with their beer, but it never tastes all that good, sometimes I have rejected it, in their tied houses as in a free house.

 

You surprise me. I have always found Wadsworth beers very consistent in the tied houses. 6X used to be very risky in the free trade but rather better now (cask, it's always awful in keg)..

 

Until recently Wadsworth was a very traditional brewery but they invested in a lot of new kit a couple of years back.

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MinZaPint

MinZaPint

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In our part of the world (Surrey) we had Friary Muck.

Known as Friary Spew! in the Harrow in Cheam, I'm now in Dorset, we have a couple of Tap Houses close by with changing selections, a board from each

 

post-13586-0-93680900-1544719341_thumb.jpg

 

post-13586-0-91758200-1544719363_thumb.jpg

 

All served straight from the barrel, very good!

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Siberian Snooper

Siberian Snooper

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Known as Friary Spew! in the Harrow in Cheam, I'm now in Dorset, we have a couple of Tap Houses close by with changing selections, a board from each

 

attachicon.gif20181206_161943.jpg

 

attachicon.gif20181212_173838.jpg

 

 

All served straight from the barrel, very good!

I can recommend the Sharpes Atlantic.

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HonestTom

HonestTom

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Tim Taylor's Landlord is very nice! As is St Austell Proper job!!

 

I do find with Landlord that it needs to be kept well, although I suppose that's true of most beers. A friend of mine is himself a pub landlord and introduced me to this brew.

 

I developed a taste for Proper Job while holidaying in Cornwall this year. I like to sample the local beers when on holiday.

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Joseph_Pestell

Joseph_Pestell

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Just opened some H&W (Badger) Wicked Wyvern, a very nice American-style IPA.

 

Used to be such an ordinary brewery but they have been doing some great stuff in recent years. Had a nice couple of pints on Thursday of one of their seasonal beers, Pickled Pheasant.

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Liam

Liam

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JulBrew, labelled as 'The Gambia's very own brewery.' Tastes OK, quite similar to Becks.

 

And on Tuesday, following my research visit to Purity, I had a glass of Pure UBU, one of their ales. A very nice ale, recommend it to anyone.

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NHY 581

NHY 581

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Settling into a few of these.Bohemian Ale from the Bernard brewery in South Bohemian, Czech Republic. My beer of choice in the Republic. Worringly drinkable at 8.2%.

 

 

Rob.

Looks like it's kicked in already.........

post-14122-0-86603700-1545848450_thumb.jpg

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NHY 581

NHY 581

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I know it's not in the 'spirit' of this thread, but a poorly tummy means it's Taylor's of Harrogate for me.

Try a drop of brandy with it. Brandy and Port is very good for ones tummy.

 

 

Rob

Adnams Old Ale.

 

Bless you!

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