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View Full Version : Northern Beer Blog - Pubpaper 847 – Leeds – 4 pubs, 7 beers and 5 rums



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13-03-2016, 11:52
Visit the Northern Beer Blog site (http://www.seanliquorish.co.uk/blog/?p=2169)


http://www.seanliquorish.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/1000053-225x300.jpg (http://www.seanliquorish.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/1000053.jpg)Last weekend I had the chance to reacquaint myself the pubs around Leed City Centre. *It’s been a while since I visited and decided to try a few pubs we haven’t previously visited. **First on the list was Brewdog’s Shuffledog (https://www.brewdog.com/bars/uk/shuffledogleeds) pub at the top of town on New York Street, more spacey than their Corn Exchange venue with a shufflepuck arena in the cellar. **The beer offerings are still the same as the other Brewdog pubs, a full range of 10 or so Brewdog ales with the same again as guest beers. *I’d tried most of the Brewdog beers, so was pleased to see that there was a number of new choices for me. *The first beer was Ace of Simcoe, a single hop 4.5% session ale, a lovely beer with a good hit of hoppiness, but a beer you could have more than a couple of. **The second beer was a guest beer Mikkeller Jackie Brown, a dark brown ale with a delicious rich roasted flavour, good coffee and chocolate notes coming through. **This wasn’t cheap at £5 for a ? pint schooner, but is one of the best dark beers I’ve tasted in long time with my wife also liking the taste, a rare compliment for a beer from her. *The bar is light and airy with plenty of space, not like some pubs which try and fit as many tables as possible into the space they have. *A nice chilled place to sit and drink I’ll be visiting again.
http://www.seanliquorish.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/1000051-300x225.jpgWe then moved on to Veritas (http://www.markettowntaverns.co.uk/veritas.asp?Tavern=Veritas&Section=Main) next to the Hospital. *That side of Leeds General Infirmary is made up by a set of classic victorian gothic styled wings with some fantastic architectural touches. *However next to this some fool in the 1960’s decided to extend using generic concrete wings, and damn ugly examples of that to boot. **This method of construction was endemic at the time, very much like the walls of glass going up everywhere now. *Leeds has some great examples of old building the classic styles, the Corn Exchange, the Victoria and County shopping arcades and Leeds Market to name a few in a 5 minute walk, but it also suffers from towers of glass you witness as you arrive by train into the station. *Back to the beer, we stumbled on this venue and it’s a nice chilled place with 6 ale taps and 6 craft kegs lines. *I went for one of each with Northern Monk Eternal and Magic Rock High Wire. *Eternal is a 4.1% Session IPA, a nice well balanced beer with plenty to interest the taste buds, but easy to drink and if on a session would do you nicely for an extended period. **High Wire is an American IPA with a big bang of hop and at 5.5% the strength matches the hoppiness. *Still very refreshing and easy to drink it could get a touch dry after a few.
My next stop was down at Revolucion de Cuba (http://www.revoluciondecuba.com/bar/leeds/) on Calls Lane at the bottom of town. *Now, as you’d expect this isn’t a beer haven so I went for Camden Town Camden Hells Lager, a decent lager style beer with a good range of taste. *More interesting is the rum selection which numbered at least 40 from across the Caribbean, Central America and the States. *A rum had to be tried as well and the Appleton Estate went down a treat. **As a venue I like this place, live Cuban band playing at the far end and good friendly atmosphere despite the cavernous ground floor site it fills. *With only a couple of seats left, those being in the reception area, it still didn’t feel crowded, the sign of a well designed space. *We didn’t eat here but the food looks good and plan to come back here for a longer stay in the future with plenty of money for more than a few rums (my wifes double rum and coke came to over £8). **
http://www.seanliquorish.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/2847140356-300x211.jpg (http://www.seanliquorish.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/2847140356.jpg)Our last stop was at Friends of Ham (http://www.friendsofham.co.uk/) before catching the train back home, a bar I’ve liked since it opened and subsequently extended. *Busy as always we nabbed the last two chairs on the end of a bench table. *Again a well designed bar where being full doesn’t mean you are virtually sitting on a stranger’s lap. **A good range of cask and craft keg lines here, with a mix of regional, national and international beers. **I stayed local with a glass of Magic Rock Salty Kiss and Summer Wine Brewery Pacer. **Both beers I’ve had several times before, the Pacer is a 4.1% session IPA from Honley, Huddersfield. **A nicely balanced beer, easy drinking with plenty of flavours coming through from the constituent ingredients. *Salty Kiss is the opposite and a beer which can divide people. *It is a “Gose” beer, which is brewed to be naturally tart in taste, with a salty undernote. *You either love it or hate it, personally I like it as I have tastes away from the sweet side. *I recommend you try it once at least to see.


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