Beer fest at the Moon

The Moon at Morton is hosting a beer festival on the 9th and 10th of January. They will be featuring around 10 local beers.

Catherdral spotted!

I had a pint from the first gyle from the new Cathedral Brewery on Thursday night at the Crown at Normanton-on-Trent. Magna Carta - 5%, blonde, full bodied, smooth and easy drinking. Looking forward to tasting more from this new brewery, which is situated in the Green Dragon pub at Lincoln.

Great Northern C-o-T

I hear a rumour that Mark from the Great Northern at Carlton-on-Trent is leaving?
Does anyone know any more?

Crown - Normanton

Since the Crown has re-opened it has had a board advertising that there will be Milestone beers + a guest beer from another brewery.
I have visited a few times and still awaiting.
Can anyone tell when I might see one or is it linked to the opening/brewing of Cathedral ales!!!!

Beer fest at the Castle

Tony and Heidi from the Castle have asked me to give them a plug. They are having a beer festival over the Christmas period, running from Sat 27th to Tues 30th December and including up to 16 local and national beers, 2 scrumpies and live music starting with blues from 'Booba Dust'. Newark CAMRA are arranging a Christmas ramble, ending up at the fest. Stay posted for details.

Wetherspoon's, Retford

Anyone from Newark who is only used to Newark's Wetherspoons, should go to Retford and see theirs.
What a contrast - good beer (it's been in the Good Beer Guide two years running).
The place is smart and well decorated, no broken windows or blood stains on the pavement!
The locals are well mannered.
Always a good range of beers, last Monday night Retford's Grafton brewery had a little stand there giving away free samples.

Dark Night

Popped out for a couple in rainy Newark last night. Surprise and bargain of the night was the Meantime Coffee Porter in 'Spoons - Beerfest on until the 16th Nov. For a start, it was the first beer I asked for and as I waited for the almost obligatory "Sorry it's just gone" I saw a dark liquid flowing - it was actually on. And very coffee-tasting it was too. And in good nick. And at £1.49 for a very tasty 5% beer you can't go wrong.
Also went in The Castle but I can't remember what I had in there - very nice though, whatever it was.
Started and finished the night at Cumbo's with a pint or two of B & T Extra Stout. Mmmmmmm.

A bevvy (or two) in Beverley

What a brilliant weekend we just had! After years of talking about it, we finally went to visit the pubs of Beverley and to make the best of it, we had an overnight stay. En-route, we stopped off in Hull to visit the two National Inventory pubs, Ye Olde White Harte and Ye Olde Black Boy, conveniently situated within gobbing distance of each other.

They both claim to be the oldest pub in Hull but, we were told, the Harte is the oldest building, converted to pub use, whereas the Boy is the oldest purpose-built pub. the Olde White Harte was frequented by the gentry, and the Black Boy by the workers. This is apparent when you enter the pubs. The Harte is large, grand, with a feeling of past decadence about it. The Boy, on the other hand is smaller and less fussy. This is obvious in the front 'smoke room'. Sitting in this wonderful darkened, oak-panelled room it is easy to imaging the men winding down after a hard day's slog in this smoke-filled bar. On then to Beverley.

There are five Good Beer Guide listed pubs in the Town. The first we hit was the Green Dragon and, by coincidence, there was a beer festival on. We had a pint of summat-or-other, which was very good. Next up was the Dog and Duck, just across the Market Square from the Dragon. No festival here, but a decent pint of something else (must start taking notes!). A bag of chips later (well, the girls were with us and they like to eat out) and we were off to the pub we had come for - the White Horse Inn, fondly known as Nellie's to the locals.

This pub is SPECTACULAR!! As you approach this unassuming building from the main road, there are no clues to prepare you for what you might find inside excepting, maybe, the large amount of large Samuel Smith's oak casks clearly visible in the cellar as you pass it on the way to the entrance. Once inside, you are immediately greeted by the smell of gaslight and the crackling of the log fire. No beer choice here - Sam Smith's Old Brewery Bitter only. Now I'm not usually a great fan of OBB, but this was in fine form.

We managed to secure a table next to the fire and sat with our pints just taking in the atmosphere of this fantastic pub. Then we had a wander around. A maze of inter-connected rooms, at least half a dozen, most with their own roaring log fires and each with their own character. This place really is magical, and hard to describe to somebody that hasn't been there. It is, quite possibly, the best pub I have ever visited. We wandered upstairs into a large, gas lit room that resembled someone's living room, strewn with all types of settees, armchairs and tables and full of people enjoying the art of conversation - no pool, darts, TVs or fruit machines here! We stayed for about an hour and a half, but you could easily stay all night - especially at £4.18 for two pints and two halves!

As we were only a stone's throw from another GBG pub, we went just down the road to the Durham Ox. This was the only disappointment of the weekend really. The pub was OK, but I had a pint of very mediocre Tetley's bitter. I should have taken it back really, but didn't. So we headed back into town to re-visit the festival at the Green Dragon. As it was going to be the last one, I opted for a 6% IPA from a brewery I can't remember the name of... Note to self - start taking notes. And that was it. What a fab day out. Cracking pubs, (mostly) great beer and good company.

On the way back today, we took in the cider specialist pub, the Brandy Wharf at, er, Brandy Wharf. Fourteen ciders on tap, including a mulled variety and two made by the pub. Just a pint and a half here (well, they were about 7%).

If you've never done Nellie's, do it. I'm going to go again soon as I can. Praise to Sam Smith's for keeping pubs like this and selling decent beer at a decent price. All the rooms in Nellie's were literally heaving. It was certainly hard to believe that folk aren't using the pub any more. It just goes to show... If you do it right, the people will come.

Crown at Rolleston

The Crown at Rolleston will be open again soon. New landlord gets the keys on 10/11/2008. Back to being a pub that serves food at good prices not GASTRO PUB !!! The landlord used to be at the Full Moon at Morton, and always kept a good array of cask ales. When I get the exact date of opening I'll let you know so you can pop in for a slurp.