Another year over

As 2015 draws to a close I think of the new breweries I've discovered and the ones I've visited and wonder what amazing beers will come in 2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣6️⃣ from the breweries I know and whatever new startups appear over the next year.

Happy New Year from The CyberBeer Blog 🍻

Fly In The Loaf

The Fly In The Loaf is a large, open-plan pub close to Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral.

When I visited in June, this was the selection....

The reasoning behind Brewdog's 5AM Saint.

What's in a name?

The reasoning behind @brewdog's 5AM Saint

https://www.brewdog.com/lowdown/blog/return-of-the-saint

Old Harker's Arms Pie, Game and Ale Week 2015

Old Harkers Arms sits on the side of the Shropshire Union Canal that flows through Chester and is conveniently located at the bottom of the steps from the road leading to the train station.

From Friday 16th October - Sunday 25th October Harkers had is annual Pie and Ale week, consisting of 10 different pies and 10 ales that have won Champion Beer Of Britain at the GBBF.  This year the festival had been rebranded to Pie, Game and Ale week.

Upon my arrival the pub was bustling and it was difficult to find a seat.  I think I took the last available table!  The first thing I noticed was the lack of pub games!  This was, after all, supposed to be Pie, Game and Ale week!  When I examined a menu it became clear, Game referred not to pub games, but to a selection of Game Meats (such as pigeon, venison and rabbit).  I steered clear of this and had a steak and Stilton pie with mash, veg and gravy.

Three quarters of an hour and two halves later I decided I was ready for desert and order a pecan pie.  (Yes, three of the pies were deserts!  Is that cheating?!)

Altogether, a nice meal with some good beers.  

Hail To The (Greene) King

The Greene King brewery was established in 1799 by Benjamin Greene.

Successful for over 200 years, Greene King earned a bad name for themselves in the 1970s and 1980s when they took over and closed down  Morland, Ruddles, Hardys & Hanson and Tolly Cobbold, keeping the beer recipes for themselves and brewing them at their Bury St. Edmonds brewery but keeping the original names such as Ruddles County and Morland Old Speckled Hen.  The Belhaven brewery in Dunbar continues to operate in Scotland.  Due to this the name has become a sewar word within the real ale community with most people referring to GK in polite conversation.

Should you have frequented a Greene King pub ten or fifteen years ago, most only sold Greene King IPA (3.8%) and Abbott (5.2%).  If you were lucky you'd locate one with these plus Morland Old Speckled Hen and on a rare occasion you'd discover one with these three plus a guest ale.

Greene King also operates Hungry Horse, Loch Fyne and Metropolitan Pub Company.  In Hungry Horse pubs you will tend to find only IPA and Abbott.

This is slowly changing.  Two pubs on Merseyside are breaking the Greene King mould.  The Freshfield at Formby (http://cyberbeer.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-freshfield-formby.html) and The Pumphouse on Liverpool's Albert Dock have a selection of 10-14 real ales and serve an extensive food menu.

This article is based on my personal experiences and things other drinkers have said to me over the course of fifteen years.  It is in no way endorsed by Greene King PLC or The Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA).

Ye Hole In Ye Wall, Liverpool 15/7/15

Ye Hole In Ye Wall the oldest pub in Liverpool.

Landlord Steve only gets beers from Micro Breweries and has six handpulls, always on.

Below is the current selection.

Tasters are not offered but "Taster Trays" of three thirds are sold for the price of a pint plus a small deposit.

The Excelsior, Liverpool 15/7/15

A short walk from the bus stop on Dale Street is my first stop, The Excelsior.

A large open-plan(ish) pub, The Excelsior is divided into three parts, a large bar area with two bars and a separate large dining / function room.

The bar sports six hand pumps (all on) and an extensive food menu is served 12-2

Below are the beers that are currently on.

The food was very nice, I had a Bacon and Brie Panini and skin-on chips.

The chips were the best I've tasted in a long time, they can with salt on and didn't even need vinegar or ketchup!

Charters Bar, Peterborough 25/6/15

As this is my final (regular) vist to Charters in Peterborough, here's the beer and cider boards.

The Liverpool Pigeon, Crosby

Returning to Freshfields station, I just miss my train and had 15 mins to wait for the next one.

I departed the train at Blundellsands And Crosby, then walked a mile, guided by Google Maps, to The Liverpool Pigeon micropub, currently Liverpool CAMRA Pub Of The Year.

The Liverpool Pigeon is one of many MicroPubs popping up around the Liverpool and Wirral area, and around the country!

Opening its doors in October 2013, landlord Pat has won Liverpool CAMRA Pub Of The Year two years running in 2014 and 2015.

Four real ales greeted me upon my arrival.  No food, but a selection of nuts from the Liverpool Nut Company.

After two halves, I walked another mile, this time in a straight line, to Waterloo.

The Freshfield, Formby

Getting the train from Spital, it's half and hour into Liverpool Central.  At Central I changed to the Northern Line for another half hour run to Freshfields.

A ten minute walk from the station brought me to The Freshfield pub.

A modern open plan pub, an ale lover's delight presents itself as you walk through the door!

14 hand pulls!

A good verity of local and national beers.

I didn't catch the barman's name, but he was very polite and helpful.

The current management have been there since 2012 and the pub was in the top three for national Pub Of The Year this year.

The beer was of good quality and reasonably priced.  CAMRA Discount offered.  Price varied depending on strength, discount varied depending on prices!

There is also an extensive food menu. 

I had firey chicken with blue cheese dip to start, 

and a pulled pork fajita and onion rings as my main.

The pub is dog friendly and even has a menu for them!

In addition to their regular range of 14 real ales The Freshfield is having a beer festival in July with upto 100 real and craft ales!

Liverpool Beer Festival 2015 (20/02/2015)

Today I am at Liverpool Beer Festival.

This festival is a ticket-only even and sells out several months before the event!  As with other pre-sale beer festivals CAMRA members get extra beer tokens.  Tickets for the session I attended were £7!

The event is held every February in the crypt of Liverpool's Metropolitan cathedral, known locally as "Paddy's Wigwam", so is nicknamed "Ales From The Crypt".

The event has been by advance ticket only for many years now, unfortunately the tickets sell out by November!

Electronic tickets are scanned up entry and a passout wristband issued.  Proceed down the stairs to collect your free glass (a half pint glass with no 3rd line on it!), proceed down again and into the crypt. Every similar beer festival I have ever been to has has beer tokens available on the door, not this one!  You are required to proceed all the way to the opposite end of the beer festival, where you must then buy sheets of beer tokens, minimum £10!  CAMRA members get an additional £3 of vouchers upon showing a current membership card.  Even though remaining tokens are refundable, this is one of the most expensive beer festivals I have ever atteneded with an initial cost of £17.

Once in and beer tokens bought, there was an initial range of 220 beers.  Not all were on,   The festival started at the sponsor bar, who this year were Liverpool Craft Beer Company.  The pricing wasn't too bad. Under 4% £1/half 4%-7% £1.50/half and over 7% £2.00/half.  The staff I delt with were nice and friendly and usually gave generous tasters!  I even got talking to a member of bar staff who was on a break.

It was busy, but not heaving.  Although there was room to move in at main hall, finding a table to sit at to eat at in the next hall was next to impossible.