Rat Race Ale House If you are in the North East of England, Hartlepool is 45 minutes on the train from Newcastle. Chick on the link above because it's opening hours are not all day, everyday. This was recommended to me a year ago and since I do a festive Newcastle visit every year, I thought that I would take a train and have a look. I think that I made the right decision. I was there on a Wednesday for the 12:00 to 14:00 lunch time opening. The Rat Race is run by Peter Morgan and having now been there, I can say it's a must visit. He is friendly, welcoming and really knows his beers. He also has a number of bottled Belgian beers and they are very affordable. So, what's it like? First of all it's small and being so small it doesn't have a bar. It's a tap after all. I didn't notice the astro turf until someone mentioned it. It's clean and more of a shrine to quality ales. If only it was in the South Wales. Two ales, one Belgian and a Rat Race Polo, if only I had more time. Wonderful. I'll be back there in December 2014.
0 Comments
Poechenellekelder just round the corner from the Manneken Pis, less than five minutes work the Grand Place in the centre of Brussels is this little gem. It is quite easy to walk straight past, which is be a great same. This place really does have character and great beer and excellent staff. The Spag Bol wasn't bad either and the portion was large. Go to Belgium and eat Italian. And inside it looks like this (as below) And the beer and the food. The beer was suggested by my waitress, who knew her ale. If you like beer and are in Brussels, this is a must visit.
Or in Flemish, Café Botteltje is part of Hotel Marion near the seafront in Ostend. It gets it's name from it's stock of bottled Belgian beers and it has approximately 300 of them. It also has 13 on draft and 50 Belgian Gins, no that I drink shorts. There is Wifi too, which is free but you have to ask for password. It opens at 11:30 everyday apart from Mondays when it opens at 16:30. Reviews of Cafe Bottle are aplenty on the Internet and all follow the same track. While they all praise the selection of beers, most bemoan the poor service that they got. On my visit, nothing could be further from the truth. The lady behind the bar, do they have barmaids in Flanders, was excellent. Nothing was too much trouble and her knowledge of local brews was outstanding. Below is what I worked my way through, all rather slowly as the ABVs were rather high. My recommendation is just go there, you won't be disappointed. Oh yes, they do rather good food too.
If you are heading to Cafe Manuscript, first of all do not use Google Maps for directions, it's wrong. It has the cafe half way along the street not on the corner near the end. However after finally finding it, it was well worth the trouble. Badged beertourism.com, that's how I found it, it is a little gem. The beer menu is rather large, both on draught and bottled. The menu is below. And the draught beers The barman was welcoming, the toilets were clean, the beers were excellent and the only thing that was missing was WiFi. I had a couple and as it was Belgium they were rather strong. Bit tiddly afterwards. Return visit? Yes please! Tucked away, 5 minutes walk from the Gare du Midi station in Brussels is the Cantillon Brewery. It is also known as the Gueze Museum. The truth to be know, it is a real life working brewery with a touch of a museum about it. In fact you can turn up at practically anytime, pay €6.00, get a free glass of Cantillon Lambic and then wander around to your heart's content. Your guide is a well written pamphlet in the language of your choice. On Saturday 09 November 2013, Cantillon threw open it's doors for a public brew day. From 06:30 to 17:00, every 20 minutes, in English, French, Dutch and Italian there were guided tours. Entrance was the usual €6.00 with a glass of lambic, only this time the place was packed out. Entrance, Kriek & waiting for the Tour. The tour itself (in English) And the finish product
Belgium is much like Wales. Two languages (mainly), an over reliance on coal and steel and lots of rain. They both also have a history of fine ales. However, where Belgium pulls ahead is in the sheer number and variety of quality beers. The bars seem to have a different attitude too beer too. Sure, you will see international big brand lagers but you will also see a wide selection of draught (tap) and bottled beers. Another thing that I have noted is the knowledge and pride that Belgian bar staff have in their country's beer. One other handy thing is that Belgium has the densess railway network in the world, handy if you have had a few. Moeder Lambic If you take the Eurostar to Brussels, you end up at the Gare du Midi / Zuid station. Tucked away up the hill in the adjacent St Giles area is Moeder Lambic. A little corner of a street bar that is very easy to walk straight past. And that would be a shame as it is a bit of a legend. If you are looking for a quality Belgian ale, free Wifi and an excellent atmosphere, then this is the place. Open from 16:00 til late, it soon fills up, so get there early. Food crisps (potato chips) and various Belgian cheeses. Oh yes and an eclectic variety of music is played. My selection of beers. Not too many as I was already rather tiddly And how to find it.
British Railway stations and beer, two things that really don't go together. A station buffet and couple of cans of Euro Lager and Strongbow and usually that's you lot, if you are lucky. However in recent years a change has occurred. Stations like Newcastle and Sheffield now have dedicated real ale bars and even the small station in Hartlepool has it's own dedicated tap, even though it doesn't have a bar. As I'm down south here are two of the better outlets in London. OK, so it may be small but it has Brewdog, free Wifi and clean toilets, so what more could you want. Actually it's like a little of sanity in a sea of crazed travelers. Not cheap, a pint of 5 AM Saint is £5.60 but you are on the station concourse. Waiting for your train, pop in and have a look. Along on the Tube - Kings Cross Kings Cross, now renovated is a lot better than it used to be. Although apart from the Harry Potter platform whatever, unless you were catching a train, you wouldn't want to go there. Now there is reason to go there, courtesy of the London brewer Fullers. On the St Pancras side is the The Parcel Yard, an olde worlde (but not in a bad way) station pub. A full bar of hand pumps with Fullers range of excellent ales on. There are guest ales too. Lots of different rooms to drink in, good quality food and free Cloud Wifi. It also has arrivals and departure screens, which is handy. Another worth a visit. The Great British Storm of October 2013 was rather kind to Cardiff. Although it poured down during the night of Sunday/Monday 27/28 October. Tuesday the sun came out, so it was time to get back to the Wethersoon's beer festival. The Spoons of choice was the Aneurin Bevan in Gabalfa. And here is the choice of ales, well at least one set of hand pumps. And the beer of the day, well only one as it was lunchtime. From the Untappd review.
Waimea - Tring Brewery - 4.0% ABV. Nice refreshing almost fruity ale, nice bitter finish B++ As it was a rather good refreshing pint, which was just as well as the sun was out. I popped into the Pen & Wig in Newport yesterday (Saturday 26 October 2013) to have a quick and it was packed out. I knew that mine host Richard Jackson (below) was selling up but I didn't realise that it would be this soon and also that the pub is closing for a week while the new owner takes over. And the reason to pop into the Pen & Wig, superior beer. And my pint for the day from my Untappd review DOBS Best Bitter - Exe Valley Brewery - 4.1% ABV. Good bitter, slightly lacking in finish B+ #ale #beer #bier And what will happen in the future to the Pen & Wig, who can tell? However, one thing is for certain, Richard Jackson will be sorely missed.
26 October 2013 - The Godfrey Morgan in Newport is my favourite of the four Wetherspoon pubs in the city. It is a little out of the city centre on Chepstow Road. If you are walking, then it's about a 20 minute walk from the city centre. Unlike the Tom Toya Lewis and the John Wallace Linton, the bar doesn't open until 09:00, although it opens at 08:00 for food and non alcoholic drinks. Of the two banks of hand pumps, only one of them had beers that I haven't had before. However they were more than enough for me. The beer reviews as uploaded to Untappd Even Keel - Ballast Point - 4.5% ABV. Listed as a session IPA and brewed in the UK but Marston. Citrus bitter body and straight bitter finish B++ #ale #beer #bier Harpoon IPA - Harpoon Brewery - 5.9% ABV. Not really an IPA and does taste of 5.9%, average B #ale #beer #bier Toasted Oak IPA - Innis & Gunn - 5.6% ABV. Creamy, slightly bitter and smooth B+ #ale #beer #bier And yes it has free Wifi from The Cloud
|