I don't remember that but it was a long time ago.
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Again, I don't remember! Jugs were the default until some time in the 80's (I think) and I'm sure I used to drink from them myself. I don't mind people asking to have a jug but I find the modern hipster trend of being given a jug by default very annoying. It's not as annoying as being forced to drink halves or thirds just because the beer's a bit strong.
A good list with 43/50 for me, minus:
The Westminster Arms
The Alexandra
The White Swan
The Royal Oak
The Prince of Greenwich
Harwood Arms
The Harp and shameful given that I live in this pub's borough.
Of those that get an honourable mention, I've been to:
The Snooty Fox
The Bill Murray
The Hawley Arms
The Lord Stanley
McGlynn's
The Pineapple
The Black Cap
The Kings Arms
The Axe
The Wells Tavern
Bradley's Spanish Bar is a minor London institution and in a way, a must-visit with a trip to the legendarily narrow loo being compulsory. Minus the undoubted deaths of the two Spanish wrestling?/boxing? brothers who ran the place, I doubt it's changed since we hung out there in the late '80s, with the hordes spilling out onto Hanway Street - and this was before the smoking ban! A visit here is a little like eating in Wong Kei - people go not for the food but for the unbelievable rudeness! So yes, it's certainly worth a visit, mainly for the experience but also the great vibe and [probably still] funky jukebox - go before it's gone.
Jugs were just about dead by the mid 1970s although we used to ask people "handle or straight" in the late 70s but by then it was usually Nonics (thin/straight/sleever) as the default or in some places the awful tulip glass. About that time branded glasses (other than Guinness) started to appear.
The best thing about pisspots was ease of washing up. Two in each hand, swill in the soapy water sink, rinse in the less soapy water sink, rim down on the drainer ready for the next punters. Change the water when it's the same colour as the beer - Charrington's IPA and Bass in my bartending days. The few straight glasses we kept to ourselves. At least they were dried with a tea towel, it also much the same colour as the beer, before re-use.
I still have my Dad's old Lantern, a lovely glass with the E. R. branding standing for 'Edward'. I actually prefer jars as they are harder to drop and you can carry a round of six.
Straight glass or tulip or jug but never ever a nonic.
Actually its called Youngs -bitter and still is as far as I know.Ordinary was a slang name and its use was frown on by the legendary John Young
Not now: Young's London Original (aka Marston's Bedford Copy).
From The Grauniad: https://www.theguardian.com/food/202...n-melissa-cole
Nah.
My sentiments entirely. As soon as I saw London Pride included I thought "idiot"! My local Tesco does a huge range of crafty cans now After being diagnosed with a low red blood count I've been on the FourPure Big Milk Stout (for medicinal purposes obviously) and reckon that every can must be the equivalent of half a box of iron tablets or gnawing on some rusty old railings. I'm old enough to remember the old women in early Coronation Street drinking Milk Stout so it must be good. I reckon it also keeps the RWhites virus at bay so it's a win-win situation.
Having drank all those beers with the exception of North End some great beers there with the Northern Monk Striding Edge the only dull one.
Too true, and I have no idea why they decide to retain the 'Ordinary' (now renamed 'Gravity'), rather than the Special, which is what most people drank. The odd brews from the micro-brewery in the Bull serve to remind you of what Braks beers used to be like.
Do you mind me asking which one that was? I completed the Brakspear tour in 1979 but never made it to Ye Lion in Henley. I did manage it to the Old Hatch Gate at Cockpole Green and the Old House at Home at Warren Row which were wonderful places. The favourite venue was the Crooked Billet at Stoke Row which is apparently now a gastro place. Back then it was run by an old bloke Nobby who was quite happy to stay open with you in the afternoon as long as he could join in!
I've still got one of those old pale blue and yellow guides to Brakspear pubs.
Finally, an issue of national importance, do you pronounce it correctly (IMO) as "Brakespear" or "Brackspear"? It makes me throw a wobbler when I see it spelt as "Breakspear", similarly with "Weatherspoon"!
Here
Pronuciation? - you might recall "apply the Brakes"
Being close to the Western boundary of the estate, we probably didn't get there more than once or twice. Apart from Henley or a train back towns tended to be off the agenda. Do you remember the outcrop of Gales pubs at Mapledurham? There was the Pack Horse & Pack Saddle on the A4074 and I'm pretty sure the Black Lion near Woodcote was one. Was there a fourth or is that a memory management violation?
There were indeed four, the WhatPub entry for the Fox lists them. I'm sure I used to know why/how Gales acquired them but depletion of brain cells has taken its toll. I think I've got a seventies Oxfordshire Camra guide somewhere, that might shed some light on the matter.
I'm never sure when you're joking. There's a reason why this sort of thing is called an Old Wives Tale. Here's a list of dietary improvements you can make if your red blood cell count is low: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319457. Milk is only helpful if it's vitamin B12 deficiency that you are experiencing. And there is no milk in Milk Stout, only lactose (and hence no B12, unfortunately).
If it's iron that is low, here's what you should be eating:
shellfish, such as oysters, clams, and mussels
fortified cereals
oysters
spinach
chocolate with 45–69% cacao solids
chickpeas
tuna
sardines
baked potato with the skin attached
beef liver
beef
tofu
chicken liver
white beans
lentils
Good luck with finding a beer with those in!
Not quite an old wives tale but perhaps rather exaggerated. Mackeson ("and by golly it does you good") used to be recommended for nursing mothers and even given out in maternity homes, but I suspect only had much effect on the malnourished. There is indeed iron in beer; a pretty small amount compared to daily needs but there really is more in dark beers than light (Scientific proof here). You would need to drink quite a lot to make a substantial difference though. Well that's one excuse...
Top of your list and no problem!:drinkup:
There's pudding too!
I remember just after my sister was born, my mother was diagnosed with having a low iron count - the doctor told her to drink Guinness. My guess though, is that my father probably snaffled it as he drank the stuff. Mind you, he drank anything he could get his hands on...
Thanks for that. Now I know it's an old wives tale I can justify getting the 9% Brewdog collab instead when my Tesco gets more in!!!
I mostly cook my own food including curries etc so already consume enough of those foods. I'd rather gnaw on a rusty iron railing than eat Tofu!!
It's probably safe to assume that I'm joking to some degree in 90% of cases. I'm a big fan of Rhod Gilbert the comedian who built a career out of ranting about the least important things imaginable.
5, not bad for a Northerner who doesn't like Sam's beer. :p