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Thread: The Rear of the Year

  1. #1
    Old & Bitter oldboots's Avatar
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    Smile The Rear of the Year

    A couple of the best known Blogsters; Boak & Bailey and The Pub Curmudgeon have done their customary review of what they thought best, so here's mine, following first B&B's categories then Mudgie's.

    Best (local) Pub: Harrogate Tap
    Best (non-local) Pub: The Cardinals Hat
    Best Overseas Bar: I haven't been abroad but this is over the sea Stein Inn
    Best Cask Beer: difficult but Harrogate Plum Porter with Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild a close second.
    Best Bottled Beer: De Molen Gekken & Dwazen (also the most expensive beer of the year at £15 for 330ml)
    Best Keg Beer: Turning Point Thousands of Evils
    Best Overall Beer: Turning Point Thousands of Evils
    Best Brewery: Turning Point (so glad they've moved closer to me and opened a brewery tap)
    Best Blog: Boak & Bailey
    Best Twitter: Pub Curmudgeon.

    speaking of whom

    Best New Pub Visited: Ship Isis
    Best Revisit: Lion Tavern
    Beer of the Year: Turning Point Thousands of Evils
    Pub Cat of the Year: Garfield

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by oldboots View Post
    A couple of the best known Blogsters; Boak & Bailey and The Pub Curmudgeon have done their customary review of what they thought best, so here's mine, following first B&B's categories then Mudgie's.

    Best (local) Pub: Harrogate Tap
    Best (non-local) Pub: The Cardinals Hat
    Best Overseas Bar: I haven't been abroad but this is over the sea Stein Inn
    Best Cask Beer: difficult but Harrogate Plum Porter with Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild a close second.
    Best Bottled Beer: De Molen Gekken & Dwazen (also the most expensive beer of the year at £15 for 330ml)
    Best Keg Beer: Turning Point Thousands of Evils
    Best Overall Beer: Turning Point Thousands of Evils
    Best Brewery: Turning Point (so glad they've moved closer to me and opened a brewery tap)
    Best Blog: Boak & Bailey
    Best Twitter: Pub Curmudgeon.

    speaking of whom

    Best New Pub Visited: Ship Isis
    Best Revisit: Lion Tavern
    Beer of the Year: Turning Point Thousands of Evils
    Pub Cat of the Year: Garfield
    Best (local) Pub: The Cock & Bottle
    Best (reasonably local) Pub: The Prince Alfred or The Windsor Castle
    Best (non-local) Pub: Shakespeares
    Best Overseas Bar: Les Deux Magots
    Best Cask Beer: Marble's Manchester Bitter at The Kings Arms
    Best Bottled Beer: I don't drink the stuff
    Best Keg Beer: I don't drink the stuff and when forced to do so, rarely note it
    Best Overall Beer: Marble's Manchester Bitter
    Best Brewery: Oakham
    Best Blog: A London Inheritance
    Best Twitter: I don't acknowledge social media

    Best New Pub Visited: Shakespeares
    Best Revisit: Old Fountain
    Beer of the Year: Marble's Manchester Bitter
    Pub Cat of the Year: The long suffering moggie at The Ladbroke Arms

  3. #3
    This Space For Hire Aqualung's Avatar
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    There's only a few categoried that I can think of an answer for :-

    Best Local Pub :
    Rose & Crown.
    Ye Olde moniker is a recent addition that I've never heard anyone using. They recently broke free from the influence of the ee-aw group on the beer choice and have extended the keg range a bit. I went there this week and tried all six cask options, only two of which I recognised. They have also committed to having one pump devoted to the local ELB which will include any seasonal or experimental brews. I also had (of all things) a pint of keg Old Tom which was excellent. Cask prices are around the £4.00 mark and the Old Tom was £5.15.

    The best local Spoons is the George at Wanstead. I went here on a Saturday a few months ago and was surprised to find the bar area filling up with football types from Oop North. I had checked West Ham and Orient who were both away. When they had left I asked at the bar if they knew who they were and it turned out that one group was from Yorkshire (Leeds?) on the way to Millwall, and a second from Lancashire (Blackburn?) on the way to QPR. I was impressed as neither venues are anywhere near Wanstead but presumably the tube station across the road helps.
    I would advise against coming here on a Friday or Saturday night. The only other thing is that some idiot keeps ordering Marston beers.

    Best Pub:
    The Great Western/ remains my favourite. The three rotating guests rarely disappoint and even if they do I always have one or more of the Holden's Mild, Bitter and Special. It's worth avoiding in the run up to Xmas when the back room usually gets booked. It also gets rammed when Wolves are at home despite being nowhere near the ground.

    Best Brewery:
    It's still Salopian but there are others that run it close. There are so many I've never tried (Turning Point for one!).

  4. #4
    Still about Mobyduck's Avatar
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    A few of my highlights plus one lowlight, can be found here.
    "Everybody's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer."
    -W.C.Fields

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    Quote Originally Posted by Aqualung View Post
    There's only a few categoried that I can think of an answer for :-

    Best Local Pub :
    Rose & Crown.
    Ye Olde moniker is a recent addition ...
    Yup - applied around 2008, it sure is. In more ways than just this one.
    Last edited by Tris39; 21-12-2019 at 20:32.

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    This Space For Hire Aqualung's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tris39 View Post
    Yup - applied around 2008, it sure is. In more ways than just this one.
    I went to it in the 1970s when it was a keg only Truman's pub. I don't remember the layout but it had a thick red carpet and was awful. I've quite taken to it in its modern guise as it's quiet on weekday afternoons and the beer choice is improving.

  7. #7
    It wasn't me Quinno's Avatar
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    My level of note-keeping is obviously a little less thorough than some of you lot, so I will content myself to the following;

    Best new pubs of 2019
    The Bridge End Inn (10)
    Olde Cottage (9.5)
    Black Bear (9)
    The Bicton Inn (9)

    Worst new pubs of 2019 (all scored 2!)

    Twynersh
    Prague (in retrospect, this was the worst of the lot)
    Royal Exchange

    Best cask beer - Bathams! First time drunk for a couple of years and by god it was fantastic.

    Best bottled UK beer - Hook Norton Double Stout remains a fabulous drop in both cask and bottle, the former being very hard to find, sadly.
    Last edited by Quinno; 22-12-2019 at 14:58.

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    I'm never going to tick off as many pubs as some of you lot, but this year my occassional meaderings around the West Midlands and Cotswolds reveal:

    Best New Pub

    The Bull and Bladder

    Worst New Pub

    Ye Olde Saracens Head

    Best cask/bottled beer

    I expect flack for this from some quarters but Purity Mad Goose is in most decent pubs round our way, and bottles in the shops, and it suits me fine. But I agree with Q above: if Batham's ever made it over here I'd be in clover.
    Last edited by NickDavies; 22-12-2019 at 19:43.

  9. #9
    Real Ale Drinker
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    Quote Originally Posted by oldboots View Post
    A couple of the best known Blogsters; Boak & Bailey and The Pub Curmudgeon have done their customary review of what they thought best, so here's mine, following first B&B's categories then Mudgie's.

    Best (local) Pub: Harrogate Tap
    Best (non-local) Pub: The Cardinals Hat
    Best Overseas Bar: I haven't been abroad but this is over the sea Stein Inn
    Best Cask Beer: difficult but Harrogate Plum Porter with Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild a close second.
    Best Bottled Beer: De Molen Gekken & Dwazen (also the most expensive beer of the year at £15 for 330ml)
    Best Keg Beer: Turning Point Thousands of Evils
    Best Overall Beer: Turning Point Thousands of Evils
    Best Brewery: Turning Point (so glad they've moved closer to me and opened a brewery tap)
    Best Blog: Boak & Bailey
    Best Twitter: Pub Curmudgeon.

    speaking of whom

    Best New Pub Visited: Ship Isis
    Best Revisit: Lion Tavern
    Beer of the Year: Turning Point Thousands of Evils
    Pub Cat of the Year: Garfield
    Best (local) Pub: Tie between The Grapes and The Ship And Mitre - Liverpool.
    Best (non-local) Pub: The Wellington - Birmingham.
    Best cask beer: Crème Bearlee - Beartown.
    Best Brewery: Salopian.
    Best new pub visited: Burnt Pig - Ilkeston.

    Don't go abroad, don't do keg, don't do social media

  10. #10
    This Space For Hire Wittenden's Avatar
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    Best local (Kent) pubs:Larkins' Alehouse and/or The Black Dog
    Best (rest of the country) pubs:Kings Arms Hotel and/or Surrey Oaks
    Best new pub visited:The Wheel Inn
    Best cask beer:Cellar Head -West Kent IPA
    Brewery that has given most joy:Brewery of Angels and Demons.

    I havn't had a keg beer that has been better than its cask equivalent, and I am not attracted to weird beers with fruit additions. I don't go abroad, and I go to the pub to get away from the Cat.
    "At that moment I would have given a kingdom, not for champagne or hock and soda, or hot coffee but for a glass of beer" Marquess Curzon of Kedlestone, Viceroy of India.

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