Blog Tracker
14-10-2021, 09:27
Visit The Bring on the Beer site (https://bringotbeer.blogspot.com/2021/10/pubtober-14-blue-bell-cardiff.html)
Let me quickly preface this by saying this vignette is about the city centre pub which has recently had a change - or should that be reversion - of name; and not the other pub out in St Mellon's which used to be called The Blue Bell, and before that The Bluebell Inn but which is now called the Coach House. Got that? Cool.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2MlJz8OlS1rXOcJ6Sc7rPuqPZItEhbdNjBbsX8pKzKN eZoQDZSkQGnHbH0iorTsVCUtI6zenIVycVob6IAv9ccTIK5JCw mMTDxqPjOJX69KlZr_tqdA_v3h3BD_OHajpmZhi6_mVebAaX8H 7oUAp-UYqHbPBfdZ4AqKCR7wxALJRqe7kargGpzfh6BA=w573-h438 (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2MlJz8OlS1rXOcJ6Sc7rPuqPZItEhbdNjBbsX8pKzKN eZoQDZSkQGnHbH0iorTsVCUtI6zenIVycVob6IAv9ccTIK5JCw mMTDxqPjOJX69KlZr_tqdA_v3h3BD_OHajpmZhi6_mVebAaX8H 7oUAp-UYqHbPBfdZ4AqKCR7wxALJRqe7kargGpzfh6BA=s960)
Picture from Blue Bell Facebook page
Dating from 1813, the Blue Bell is a recent acquisition by the company that also runs Cardiff's Brewhouse bar, Retro nightclub and another ancient classic venue, the Philharmonic - the latter being rescued from lying dormant and abandoned for the best part of a decade before it was royally scrubbed up to become the overly majestic hotspot it is today.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1WtI7GGp4QlAeJPyx7AyQiAw0tVtWsgVJbB1IDQFgLt Ojpewk5p_ITDrEHiyK-9b7KBafIofkQBduGnOQn0pCSbNPmZvl2SanI_pBykIPCmqPfUb wvVmGXzw5RBeJjmY01S4edh0S3JQFXp1N9hzRVtSyxbwexLfmL nu1kEdsjIx-t6kfpizxfQcREw=w485-h279
Regiment....dis...missed!
At the point that the pandemic hit, the pub was called the Goat Major, a nice but pretty run of the mill Brains outlet. Given the military moniker in 1995 after the mascot of the Royal Welsh infantry regiment, it always felt to me like the poor relation in a city with such iconic Brains pubs as the Old Arcade, City Arms and Cottage; despite being in no less a convenient place for tourism and rugby.
As the Brains/Marstons saga (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/brains-pubs-marstons-takeover-beer-19509901)unfolded, the Goat was one of the first casualties but the opportunity was taken by its new owners. With a new gaffer came a new - or is that old - name, with the erstwhile epithet making a return.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXUWs5Q-do023nFX1ukznhguJmibefdhnfZ9yN_Wcd12qzKG9eS_TURk8J grJ4gYQUk9zDeB2ZbC0zdSFMwlo4MFhGG_2BcE6qhKZ6VRouzS VTa94I7ZA9btnwnFRs60O6i5LeevAMXfuOlJSJp-QujBsxrtPv3NxBk9GnUdhwpPd3jpiWqbiYgRLmZQ=w576-h543 (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXUWs5Q-do023nFX1ukznhguJmibefdhnfZ9yN_Wcd12qzKG9eS_TURk8J grJ4gYQUk9zDeB2ZbC0zdSFMwlo4MFhGG_2BcE6qhKZ6VRouzS VTa94I7ZA9btnwnFRs60O6i5LeevAMXfuOlJSJp-QujBsxrtPv3NxBk9GnUdhwpPd3jpiWqbiYgRLmZQ=s1024)
Back to the future
Me being the cultural philistine I was, I didn't realise this, and thought that a brand new pub had opened up. It took me a while to join the dots.
After a much needed but sensitive internal refurbishment and with the Brains casks swapped out for some from another Welsh brewery - Glamorgan - suddenly this old timer felt young and refreshed again. It's an anti-Rummer Tavern. Instead of being ruined, it's been enhanced. The interior is still the same classic city pub style with plenty of wood and carpet, but there's a new enthusiastic energy about the place that instantly makes me smile whenever I pop in.
And pop in I do every time I go to Cardiff. Mostly because it's one of the few pubs around with an eponymous, named ale - Blue Bell Ale - which is a hell of a coup and is what first enticed me to visit. Served alongside other Glamorgan classics such as the superb Jemima's Pitchfork, this drop is a marketing manager's dream.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRSWyqIy75tHIPW5NQzuzVq-WTfUX1L0XspTidtQbpv2Qp5uzE5nYfVKqAw8X23JFlqsGQJZh-QlnOH90RN3HeJ9-rpDVRjEc1I7KVkUtopW406EGTABrFLWFq2AYfb_ZLETWsi00bM KSWIN-ulqP-SVv4nUao3Fo76TqY1nf6fl-42Gp4-5ST55VCUg=w552-h368 (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRSWyqIy75tHIPW5NQzuzVq-WTfUX1L0XspTidtQbpv2Qp5uzE5nYfVKqAw8X23JFlqsGQJZh-QlnOH90RN3HeJ9-rpDVRjEc1I7KVkUtopW406EGTABrFLWFq2AYfb_ZLETWsi00bM KSWIN-ulqP-SVv4nUao3Fo76TqY1nf6fl-42Gp4-5ST55VCUg=s2048)
Drinking the pub dry...literally
Picture from Blue Bell Facebook page
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhot3pWGZNc1SEh2namKBjlVrc8i9FG817vMqlREuUWoL q_zcSP0sAxmFFftZ3h0fW_ciQexcT36VTyABwi7nxNZSMSjEfE NwxG_MegIhidUa8Ijkb7EKSsYQPqNkz-mQDJOBcvNG-IrTRUG7JLEdcWz1NtHZGBdneYwphoVteCf4R_-E_jH07ztSrD-w=s320 (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhot3pWGZNc1SEh2namKBjlVrc8i9FG817vMqlREuUWoL q_zcSP0sAxmFFftZ3h0fW_ciQexcT36VTyABwi7nxNZSMSjEfE NwxG_MegIhidUa8Ijkb7EKSsYQPqNkz-mQDJOBcvNG-IrTRUG7JLEdcWz1NtHZGBdneYwphoVteCf4R_-E_jH07ztSrD-w=s2048) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhG8Ph6hZlLDdwmtx0PpgPQIfTdLKM42tCuukLPmFbuom dOLDEh7q66fNnCZexgfHlGWQLDPTEsux7BpcpGfpTJGJ7YnZwY pFiKHiWUqqZre3pfCR--E79AsUBSxRKjLjZ287t7lmVaImJPQAaGbjxtrNIMX2H_Lj29EV JZu2d6wMI1FLaRZ1aQs6OHww=s320 (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhG8Ph6hZlLDdwmtx0PpgPQIfTdLKM42tCuukLPmFbuom dOLDEh7q66fNnCZexgfHlGWQLDPTEsux7BpcpGfpTJGJ7YnZwY pFiKHiWUqqZre3pfCR--E79AsUBSxRKjLjZ287t7lmVaImJPQAaGbjxtrNIMX2H_Lj29EV JZu2d6wMI1FLaRZ1aQs6OHww=s2048)https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEim8gjKSEj6epzrByiSS9Dti_sRNAEX_KHjHZnrIlCPGn XDUNvdrpyEZW9RJLRvlQCWR69ii9xS_msOfuUs9rJSz_G4Dz-tQdaWlDXJr_8MoeESq40R2vWrnTYzT7QH5KFzlLS6ZtdFRbgAs H6slJaNIVcjZ_7GTi52qfoz6iBiO3gPltUgwk3Y4te1aQ=s320 (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEim8gjKSEj6epzrByiSS9Dti_sRNAEX_KHjHZnrIlCPGn XDUNvdrpyEZW9RJLRvlQCWR69ii9xS_msOfuUs9rJSz_G4Dz-tQdaWlDXJr_8MoeESq40R2vWrnTYzT7QH5KFzlLS6ZtdFRbgAs H6slJaNIVcjZ_7GTi52qfoz6iBiO3gPltUgwk3Y4te1aQ=s204 8)
Extra points for nonic glassware
(L-R : Welsh Pale, Blue Bell, Jemima's Pitchfork)
Elsewhere, unusual-for-this-part-of-the-world "craft" beers on keg such as Brixton and Camden complement the usual macro offerings. There's a full pub food menu, and plentiful big screens mean you won't miss any sport, even if like me you choose to be a bar wanker and perch on the end of the beautiful mahogany edifice.
The new owners don't seem to be squandering the chance they've been given to own and operate this classic location. With views of the castle, it helpfully abuts a craft beer bar and is just seconds away from the teriffically tempting triumverate of Womanby Street, Quay Street and Church Street; and is just minutes away from Cardiff Arms Park.
More... (https://bringotbeer.blogspot.com/2021/10/pubtober-14-blue-bell-cardiff.html)
Let me quickly preface this by saying this vignette is about the city centre pub which has recently had a change - or should that be reversion - of name; and not the other pub out in St Mellon's which used to be called The Blue Bell, and before that The Bluebell Inn but which is now called the Coach House. Got that? Cool.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2MlJz8OlS1rXOcJ6Sc7rPuqPZItEhbdNjBbsX8pKzKN eZoQDZSkQGnHbH0iorTsVCUtI6zenIVycVob6IAv9ccTIK5JCw mMTDxqPjOJX69KlZr_tqdA_v3h3BD_OHajpmZhi6_mVebAaX8H 7oUAp-UYqHbPBfdZ4AqKCR7wxALJRqe7kargGpzfh6BA=w573-h438 (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2MlJz8OlS1rXOcJ6Sc7rPuqPZItEhbdNjBbsX8pKzKN eZoQDZSkQGnHbH0iorTsVCUtI6zenIVycVob6IAv9ccTIK5JCw mMTDxqPjOJX69KlZr_tqdA_v3h3BD_OHajpmZhi6_mVebAaX8H 7oUAp-UYqHbPBfdZ4AqKCR7wxALJRqe7kargGpzfh6BA=s960)
Picture from Blue Bell Facebook page
Dating from 1813, the Blue Bell is a recent acquisition by the company that also runs Cardiff's Brewhouse bar, Retro nightclub and another ancient classic venue, the Philharmonic - the latter being rescued from lying dormant and abandoned for the best part of a decade before it was royally scrubbed up to become the overly majestic hotspot it is today.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1WtI7GGp4QlAeJPyx7AyQiAw0tVtWsgVJbB1IDQFgLt Ojpewk5p_ITDrEHiyK-9b7KBafIofkQBduGnOQn0pCSbNPmZvl2SanI_pBykIPCmqPfUb wvVmGXzw5RBeJjmY01S4edh0S3JQFXp1N9hzRVtSyxbwexLfmL nu1kEdsjIx-t6kfpizxfQcREw=w485-h279
Regiment....dis...missed!
At the point that the pandemic hit, the pub was called the Goat Major, a nice but pretty run of the mill Brains outlet. Given the military moniker in 1995 after the mascot of the Royal Welsh infantry regiment, it always felt to me like the poor relation in a city with such iconic Brains pubs as the Old Arcade, City Arms and Cottage; despite being in no less a convenient place for tourism and rugby.
As the Brains/Marstons saga (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/brains-pubs-marstons-takeover-beer-19509901)unfolded, the Goat was one of the first casualties but the opportunity was taken by its new owners. With a new gaffer came a new - or is that old - name, with the erstwhile epithet making a return.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXUWs5Q-do023nFX1ukznhguJmibefdhnfZ9yN_Wcd12qzKG9eS_TURk8J grJ4gYQUk9zDeB2ZbC0zdSFMwlo4MFhGG_2BcE6qhKZ6VRouzS VTa94I7ZA9btnwnFRs60O6i5LeevAMXfuOlJSJp-QujBsxrtPv3NxBk9GnUdhwpPd3jpiWqbiYgRLmZQ=w576-h543 (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXUWs5Q-do023nFX1ukznhguJmibefdhnfZ9yN_Wcd12qzKG9eS_TURk8J grJ4gYQUk9zDeB2ZbC0zdSFMwlo4MFhGG_2BcE6qhKZ6VRouzS VTa94I7ZA9btnwnFRs60O6i5LeevAMXfuOlJSJp-QujBsxrtPv3NxBk9GnUdhwpPd3jpiWqbiYgRLmZQ=s1024)
Back to the future
Me being the cultural philistine I was, I didn't realise this, and thought that a brand new pub had opened up. It took me a while to join the dots.
After a much needed but sensitive internal refurbishment and with the Brains casks swapped out for some from another Welsh brewery - Glamorgan - suddenly this old timer felt young and refreshed again. It's an anti-Rummer Tavern. Instead of being ruined, it's been enhanced. The interior is still the same classic city pub style with plenty of wood and carpet, but there's a new enthusiastic energy about the place that instantly makes me smile whenever I pop in.
And pop in I do every time I go to Cardiff. Mostly because it's one of the few pubs around with an eponymous, named ale - Blue Bell Ale - which is a hell of a coup and is what first enticed me to visit. Served alongside other Glamorgan classics such as the superb Jemima's Pitchfork, this drop is a marketing manager's dream.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRSWyqIy75tHIPW5NQzuzVq-WTfUX1L0XspTidtQbpv2Qp5uzE5nYfVKqAw8X23JFlqsGQJZh-QlnOH90RN3HeJ9-rpDVRjEc1I7KVkUtopW406EGTABrFLWFq2AYfb_ZLETWsi00bM KSWIN-ulqP-SVv4nUao3Fo76TqY1nf6fl-42Gp4-5ST55VCUg=w552-h368 (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhRSWyqIy75tHIPW5NQzuzVq-WTfUX1L0XspTidtQbpv2Qp5uzE5nYfVKqAw8X23JFlqsGQJZh-QlnOH90RN3HeJ9-rpDVRjEc1I7KVkUtopW406EGTABrFLWFq2AYfb_ZLETWsi00bM KSWIN-ulqP-SVv4nUao3Fo76TqY1nf6fl-42Gp4-5ST55VCUg=s2048)
Drinking the pub dry...literally
Picture from Blue Bell Facebook page
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhot3pWGZNc1SEh2namKBjlVrc8i9FG817vMqlREuUWoL q_zcSP0sAxmFFftZ3h0fW_ciQexcT36VTyABwi7nxNZSMSjEfE NwxG_MegIhidUa8Ijkb7EKSsYQPqNkz-mQDJOBcvNG-IrTRUG7JLEdcWz1NtHZGBdneYwphoVteCf4R_-E_jH07ztSrD-w=s320 (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhot3pWGZNc1SEh2namKBjlVrc8i9FG817vMqlREuUWoL q_zcSP0sAxmFFftZ3h0fW_ciQexcT36VTyABwi7nxNZSMSjEfE NwxG_MegIhidUa8Ijkb7EKSsYQPqNkz-mQDJOBcvNG-IrTRUG7JLEdcWz1NtHZGBdneYwphoVteCf4R_-E_jH07ztSrD-w=s2048) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhG8Ph6hZlLDdwmtx0PpgPQIfTdLKM42tCuukLPmFbuom dOLDEh7q66fNnCZexgfHlGWQLDPTEsux7BpcpGfpTJGJ7YnZwY pFiKHiWUqqZre3pfCR--E79AsUBSxRKjLjZ287t7lmVaImJPQAaGbjxtrNIMX2H_Lj29EV JZu2d6wMI1FLaRZ1aQs6OHww=s320 (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhG8Ph6hZlLDdwmtx0PpgPQIfTdLKM42tCuukLPmFbuom dOLDEh7q66fNnCZexgfHlGWQLDPTEsux7BpcpGfpTJGJ7YnZwY pFiKHiWUqqZre3pfCR--E79AsUBSxRKjLjZ287t7lmVaImJPQAaGbjxtrNIMX2H_Lj29EV JZu2d6wMI1FLaRZ1aQs6OHww=s2048)https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEim8gjKSEj6epzrByiSS9Dti_sRNAEX_KHjHZnrIlCPGn XDUNvdrpyEZW9RJLRvlQCWR69ii9xS_msOfuUs9rJSz_G4Dz-tQdaWlDXJr_8MoeESq40R2vWrnTYzT7QH5KFzlLS6ZtdFRbgAs H6slJaNIVcjZ_7GTi52qfoz6iBiO3gPltUgwk3Y4te1aQ=s320 (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEim8gjKSEj6epzrByiSS9Dti_sRNAEX_KHjHZnrIlCPGn XDUNvdrpyEZW9RJLRvlQCWR69ii9xS_msOfuUs9rJSz_G4Dz-tQdaWlDXJr_8MoeESq40R2vWrnTYzT7QH5KFzlLS6ZtdFRbgAs H6slJaNIVcjZ_7GTi52qfoz6iBiO3gPltUgwk3Y4te1aQ=s204 8)
Extra points for nonic glassware
(L-R : Welsh Pale, Blue Bell, Jemima's Pitchfork)
Elsewhere, unusual-for-this-part-of-the-world "craft" beers on keg such as Brixton and Camden complement the usual macro offerings. There's a full pub food menu, and plentiful big screens mean you won't miss any sport, even if like me you choose to be a bar wanker and perch on the end of the beautiful mahogany edifice.
The new owners don't seem to be squandering the chance they've been given to own and operate this classic location. With views of the castle, it helpfully abuts a craft beer bar and is just seconds away from the teriffically tempting triumverate of Womanby Street, Quay Street and Church Street; and is just minutes away from Cardiff Arms Park.
More... (https://bringotbeer.blogspot.com/2021/10/pubtober-14-blue-bell-cardiff.html)