7th - 9th January 2013 - Durham

Up in Durham for a work's conference for the early part of this week.  Good opportunity to revisit some previous pubs. traidfion has it however that I should start and end at the hotel and tconsume an Indian on the first night and Italian on the last night, the middle night being reserved for the conference dinner and drinks in the Undercroft Bar of Durham Castle (only lager available so not recorded.)

Beers consumed were :

Monday 7th  January

• Durham Premier InnCity Centre - S&N Newcastle Brown
•  Bishops Mill - Mordue Radgie Gadgie
• Capital Indian - Cobra
• Old House - Caledonian Flying Scotsman and Deuchers IPA
• John Duck Ale House - Durham Brewery John Duck (House beer)

Wednesday 9th January

• Victoria - Big Lamp Big Lamp Bitter
• Dun Cow - Copper Dragon Golden Pippin
• Head of Steam - Harvistoun Bitter and Twisted
• Water House - Northumberland Fuggles Gold
• Bishops Mills - Mordue Radgie Gadgie and Erdinger Weissebier
• Durham Premier Inn City Centre - S&N Newcastle Brown

19th December 2012 - Burton upon Trent

In Burton tonight for the beer circle meeting.

Commercial beers were firstly from Cottage namely their Full Steam Ahead and then the local Old Cottage and their Stout.

17th December 2012 - Work's Christmas Outing - Stoke

The annual Christmas lunchtime outing with the rest of the team from work.

We had booked into a local catering college and the food was of a good quality even if our waiter hadn't quite got to grips with laying out the cutterly as yet, and that they had a plethora of beetroot.  Beer was in the shape of a bottle of Marston's Pedigree.

Afterwards some of us decamped to the Glebe during which time Helen tried her hands on the honky tonk piano.  Joules Slumbering Monk came to the rescue.

Birmingham - 15th December 2012

In Birmingham city centre today for a crawl organized by Paul, an acquaintance from the Burton Beer Circle.  The plan had been to visit pubs in the centre but in fact we started off in the Digbeth part of the city taking in some regular Good Beer guide pubs.

After a somewhat curvacious vying on the industrial type route (or so it felt) we found ourselves at the Anchor.  A number of Chritmas brews were available and my choice was Wreck the Halls from Plain Ales.

From there we headed awaty from the city to the White Swan.  Ringwood Forty Niner was accompanied by an excellent ham salad cob.

The LampTavern was next.  This is the only pub in Birmingham that sells Stanney Bitter from the Stanway Brewery so that had to be my selection here.

We now headed back toward the centre calling at the Old Fox where I had Wentworth Treacle & Oats Stout (would have been moreish had we had time!  Some interesting old theatre posters on display here (being close the to hippodrome) including one with Morecambe and Wise before they were top of the bill.)

The Victoria next which despite an excellent (for future reference) selection of spirits, I stayed on beer in the shape of Dark Star's Old Chestnut.

A new pub next, the Brewdog Bar (in john bright Street) offering a selection of their own craft beers.  Hoppy Christmas was my choice but the Cocoa Psycho I sampled was also interesting.  Whilst expensive maybe, I did remark that the beers herer would last longer than in most other pubs so in a way not really that dear.

We then headed away for a while to go round the German Christmas Market and also to acquire more food before rejoining the others at the post Office Vaults.  I looked through the beer menu before opting for the final beer of the day, Delirium Christmas , a 10% Belgium at which point I decided Christmas could now start..

Burton upon Trent - 29th November 2012

In Burton tonight primarily to attend the England v Scotland u16 Victory Shield match which saw England win 1-0 (and with it the competition.) Have to say the quality of the football was excellent.  Also have to say that the walk back to the railway station was extremely cold.  However we had time to call into the Alfred and found that they were selling some additional beers from a stillage in the back room.

I went first for Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby and then Burton Bridge Old Expensive.  It didn't seem as cold after them!

16th November 2012 - Harbourne

My turn this month to organize the monthly boys outing and so I took the opportunity to visit Harbourne, a place that had certainly been attracting my attention in recent months via its mentions in various local real ale leaflets.  With the German Christmas market having opened the day before I took the opportunity to pop over early and ended up for my first beer in the Wellington in the shape of RCH Hewish Mild (most enjoyable.)

Time to move o to our meeting point, the Old Contemptables where there was something of a festival on wit several new beers for me.  I opted for Sambrooks Junction.  Most of the others soon joined me and it was off to catch the 22 bus to take us to Harbourne. We alighted in War Lane and headed over to the Bell, a nice olde worlde pub close to the golf course. Wye Valley Butty Bach was my selection and shortly after our final member appeared in the pub.

Our route took us next the the New Inns via an under lit pathway and although for of a food type pub maybe, the bar was a pleasant enough place to sip Bath Ales SPA.

Up to the White horse next and some 1779 Porter from Greene King.

The Harbourne Stores had seemed promising so that was out next port of call but we found it to be disappointing.  Marston's EPA drunk here.

Time was pressing so time for one more before heading back to Birmingham so we went to the Junction and some Timothy Taylor Landlord.

As we left it was raining heavily but fortunately the bus shelter was only a few minutes away and only a few minutes.

We ended up at the Wellington (having tried the Joint Stock but it was quite busy) and I again went for RCH Hewish Mild which this time was not quite as good (probably due to the other beers we had been drinking.)

We had time for one more and so over to the post Office Vaults and being short on time I went for the first thing I saw - Freedom Stout.

2nd November 2012 - Sutton Coldfield with RG

Avid readers of this blog (as if!) will recall mention of The Undercocks appearing in a pub in Sutton Coldfield some time ago and I decided back then to watch them for longer at some future time.  Tonight presented an opportunity so we headed over by bus starting at the Bottle of Sack. 

Wetherspoons beer festival was on and and they had one of the beers I'd made a note I wanted to sample - Titanic Golden Porter ("This special brew, for the Wetherspoon real ale festival, is something a little different:m a beer using the ingredient designed to create the characteristics of a traditional porter, yet lighter in colour.  The result is a golden beer with a robust sweetness balanced by swathes of American hops giving a  smooth and powerful flavour, with a crisp finish - Cascade, Northdown and Yakima Galena.")  I guess that experiments like this are how new styles of beer come to be but to me the lack of darker malts meant something was missing.

We headed next to the Station, busy as usual, for Holdens Golden Glow and finally round to the Gate where the band were just completing their warm up.  Beer choice was a bit limited so it was John Smiths Bitter and Carling Black Label.