It was a week night, so it wasn't too busy, but they did have music on in the side room. There's a restaurant upstairs, so if it wasn't for the John Hewitt and the Crown there's be little incentive to go anywhere else...
Sunday 23 August 2009
The Bar in McHugh's
The caption to this photo references another GBG pub - The Kitchen Bar. We went in, and the only one of three pumps actually connected to something was serving beer which must have been either really badly treated or tapped a week or more ago. The barman was quite off-hand about the whole thing.
McHughs, Belfast
OK, this isn't a Branch trip either, but I was in Belfast and visited the GBG pubs in the city centre. McHughs is in Queen's Square, at the bottom of the High Streeet and close to the Customs House. The staff were friendly, the beer was a marginal 3 and they had two taps, Whitewater's Belfast Ale and Copperhead, that month's seasonal. I was surprised to hear that it had been substantially refurbished in the 90s, as it had an uspoilt, authentic ambience.
Saturday 15 August 2009
Sue @ Frankwell
We did get down to the Frankwell Beer Festival, but we only saw Kevin there. He'd nipped off for a refill when I snapped Sue enjoying one of the many fine beers on offer.
Monday 10 August 2009
Nelson Inn
Still catching up - this one's from June 2008, and trip to Ludlow, stopping in Dorrington (the Horseshoes), Onny (The Apple Tree), and here - the Nelson, Rocks Green, Ludlow, before hitting the town centre.
Saturday 18 July 2009
Calanda Brewery, Chur
No, this isn't a branch trip out. In late January 2009, a couple of friend and myself whent off to Switzerland to visit some sites associated with the artist HR Giger (including two Giger Bars). On the way to the bar in Chur, we passed the Calanda brewery. I've just uploaded the photo so though't I'd stick it on the blog. Swiss beers are brewed to purity laws, but we only found one cask conditioned one, from a micro in Basle
Tuesday 14 July 2009
Cider Makes You Happy
I was asked last year to shoot some photos for the Cider and Perry Trail publicity. One pint lasted for the whole shoot, which it makes it even more remarkable that Ian and Clive found something as funny as this. Needless to say, this one didn't make the portfolio for the newspapers (which didn't use them until the last week of the Trail in any case).
White Horse Inn, Clun
Out the back of the White Horse Inn last year at the Clun Valley Beer Festival. I can't remember which brew number this was, but it wasn't half good!
2008 Shrewsbury Beer Festival
The 2008 Beer Festival was a wonderful event, despite the weather on the Friday night. However, with the Butter Market up for sale, and the Music Hall now closed, finding a venue for a full scale festival might defeat us. Hopes are high for a smaller event later in the year, though.
There were few times in the festival when Keith and Baz could have their hands on the bar rather than pouring. I think this was just at the start of the Friday night session.
Thursday 9 July 2009
Danger! Brewer at work...
The Branch headed out on 19 June to Morda to see Shane Parr in his natural environment, brewing Stonehouse beers. Shane, wife Alison and father-in-law Iain (who turns out to have been born in Glasgow) made us very welcome. Shane did a tour of the brewing plant indoors, and the growing plants outdoors, but finally demonstrated that sometimes it just comes down to elbow grease to smooth the production process.
More power to Stonehouse beers!
Care for a drop, sir?
Another photograph from the Stonehouse trip (16/6/09) As well as a few samples - in lovely nick, of course. Shane and Alison did us proud with a lovely ploughman's. We finished the night with a visit to some Oswestry pubs, which seemed to divide into the very busy and the very quiet, with beer quality not apparently the deciding factor.
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