BITE user comments - Young_Camra_LE3_Crew
Comments by Young_Camra_LE3_Crew
*** LATEST UPDATE RE: BLUES & BOOZE FESTIVAL ***
As you will know from Jessica's previous post, the Vic is hosting its 2nd Real Ale and Music Festival next week, from Thursday 17th - Sunday 20th July.
I've just received the beer list for the event, and thought I'd share it with you:
ISLE OF MULL - McCAIG'S FOLLY, 4.2%
ISLE OF MULL - GALLEON GOLD, 3.9%
WINDIE GOAT - PEDEN'S COVE, 3.5%
WINDIE GOAT - PRIEST'S WHEEL, 4.3%
BROUGHTON - EDINBURGH PALE ALE, 4.5%
BROUGHTON - GHILLIE, 4.5%
BROUGHTON - OLD JOCK, 6.7%
KINVER - LIGHT RAILWAY, 3.8%
BLUE BEAR - WHITE BEAR, 4.5%
BLUE BEAR - WANDERLUST, 3.8%
BLUE BEAR - ROAR SPIRIT, 4.2%
GREEN JACK - CANARY, 3.8%
BLUE COW - BEST BITTER, 3.8%
BLUE COW - UDDER BEST, 4.0%
ALES OF THE UNEXPECTED - WHEN HARRY MET TILLY, 4.5%
ALES OF THE UNEXPECTED - ERNIE�S BEST BITTER, 6.0%
ALES OF THE UNEXPECTED - JOCK�S SANCTUARY, 4.3%
OYSTER - EASDALE ALE, 3.8%
OYSTER - THISTLE TICKLER, 4.0%
TRAQUAIR - STUART ALE, 4.5%
WHITSTABLE - NATIVE, 3.8%
WHITSTABLE - OYSTER STOUT, 4.5%
OSSETT - BLACK BULL, 3.9%
VALE - GRAMPLING PREMIUM, 4.6%
OAKHAM - HELTER SKELTER, 5.0%
OAKHAM - ENDLESS SUMMER, 3.4%
A strong Scottish showing, and selected ales from some of the smaller Island breweries.
There will be at least 2 additional beers, however details of these have yet to be confirmed.
This is going to be a Scoopers Paradise - I recommend any serious ale-head pays it a visit...
See you there!
11 Jul 2008 16:03
Another one of the Stamford Ale houses I had the pleasure of visiting over the May bank holiday weekend, the Jolly Brewer was perhaps the biggest surprise for me.
A fairly basic pub in terms of decor, though nicely light and spacious, with (as mentioned by NickZ below) pool and darts facilities, this unassuming establishment has a lot to offer the serious ale drinker; up to 4 draught ales from some great breweries kept in tip top condition and served with a smile by the friendly staff.
I'm informed that the pub is tied to Admiral, which makes the achievement of the current licensees and their dedication to Real Ale all the more admirable (no pun intended!).
On my visit I sampled Black Abbott and Sod, both from Idle, along with Milestone's Classic Dark Mild - all of which I found to be in excellent condition.
From what I hear their Beer Festival, which has started today and I can't attend (dammit!!), is proving to be a success with 15 micro ales on stillage and another 4 on the 'pumps.
This is definitely one pub I'll be returning to.
9 May 2008 14:19
Visited this well respected establishment with great expectations, first on the Thursday before the May bank holiday and again on the holiday Monday.
I'd heard nothing but good things about this small, basic boozer with its strong emphasis on micro ales, and arrived on Thursday hoping to find an exciting and varied range of ales; evidently I'd mistimed my visit though, as the selection was limited and included a couple of nationals.
My partner and I sampled a quick half each and found the condition to be reasonable, however we didn't stay for another due to the very limited options.
On my second visit I found the atmosphere very different - the pub was very busy (it was a bank holiday evening and the sun was out, so no great shock there), but the crowd seemed a rather unsavoury lot; we stayed for one half in the (decent sized) beer garden, where we were glared at by hard-looking blokes with tattoos and dogs. It felt more like drinking in the beer garden of a city estate pub than a pleasant Stamford ale house!
That said, my partner has visited the pub on numerous occasions and never encountered such an atmosphere, so this may have been down to the sun!
We sampled 2 ales, Nethergate's April Fool and Foxfield's Yellow Cascade. To my surprise both were very green and hazy and certainly not ready.
Overall my first impressions have been less than hoped, however I will be visiting Stamford again and intend to give this place another chance.
9 May 2008 13:48
Hmmmm, not wanting to get engaged in the pedantry of micro vs. national I think I'll focus on the pub itself!
An Ufford house (one of five in their estate), the Tobie Norris is an excellent example of a restoration project undertaken properly.
From the moment you enter the wonderful stone building you get a real sense of history and would be forgiven for thinking that the pub has been open for centuries - it hasn't, in fact it's just coming up on two years since the doors opened to the public.
I had the pleasure of visiting the pub twice in five days, fist on the Thursday before the May bank holiday, and again on the holiday Monday itself for their beer festival.
Thursday afternoon saw the pub very quiet, allowing my partner and I to explore the place at our leisure - resulting in several gasps of appreciation from myself. You really do feel like you're in a museum!
Comprising three floors, each historically furnished in keeping with the character of the building, it's easy to see why owner Michael has put in for the Best Pub Restoration award ... from what I've seen it's a sure fire winner.
The beer range is micro-orientated, which is no bad thing; condition of beers sampled from the cellar on Thursday and Monday was excellent, though some of the beers outside on stillage on the Monday were still a little green.
The pizza menu on offer here is rather special, and the pizzas themselves are most excellent - I would advise anyone considering eating here to go for the "Not So Large" option though, since these are enormous.
It's worth noting on the pizza front that during the month of May the Tobie will be offering 2 not so large pizzas with 2 toppings of your choice for just �10!
I notice there has been some criticism of the pricing of the beer here, with some feeling that around �3 a pint is too high; all I can say is I have no objection to paying a small premium for the privilege of drinking in such a wonderful environment - especially as it discourages the less salubrious end of the market from frequenting the pub (on Monday they were all to be found down the road in the Green Man from what I could see).
Finally a comment about the staff and management. On both of my visits I found them to be genuinely friendly, courteous and helpful - always a bonus!
Great beer, great food, great environment, great service. Who can ask for more?!
9 May 2008 12:12
This is rapidly becoming my pub of choice in Leicester, both for quality of beer and range offered.
Since re-opening a few months back this excellent pub (formerly one of Leicester's less salubrious drinking holes) has gone from strength to strength, largely due to the dedication of it's management team.
Operating as effective brewery tap for the newly established Bee's brewery of Queniborough and Ales of the Unexpected (a Glastonbury subdivision) the pub guarantees five new ales every Friday, with the focus very much micro-orientated. This range is complemented by a strong Samuel Smiths showing - Old Brewery Bitter, Lager, Cider Reserve and Wheat Beer - ensuring that there really is something for most tastes.
The recent beer & sausage festival proved a roaring success, attracting a strong showing from both local ale fans and the serious ticking community - hopefully an indicator of things to come.
The one area the new management do need to keep an eye on is the clientele; due to its location and the reluctance of certain undesirable elements to give up "their" local it would be very easy for this place to find itself lumbered with a lot of the less salubrious drinkers, who in turn are a major deterrent to those of us who want a good pint of Real Ale and no attitude.
Hopefully once the ongoing process of refurbishment has been completed and the interior has a face-lift this will go some way towards deterring this particular element.
Nevertheless, if the management remain committed to quality in terms of both selection and condition, and continue to adopt a sensible approach I see no reason why this pub should not achieve its full potential.
9 May 2008 11:19
Once upon a time this was my favourite Real Ale watering hole in Leicester; sadly however the Criterion seems to have been suffering of late.
Repeated recent visits have yielded cloudy, poorly conditioned ales, while the range has gone down hill significantly following the buy out of the pub by the Rugby Brewing Co.
I have it on good authority that the decline in beer range and general poor quality of the selection is due to Rugby encouraging a policy of "swapsies" between their estate and other smaller brewers - essentially they palm off some of there less popular casks for similarly unpopular selections from other brewers.
On my most recent visit (Thursday May 8th) I sampled 2 ales - Dishy Debbie from Hart and Itchen Valley's Hampshire Rose. Both were in far from tip top condition (both rather hazy, with a pronounced musty quality to the flavour).
In the main bar I found a middle aged chap in shirt and tie sat on a stool and slumped unconscious on the bar beside a half empty glass of Trappiste Rochefort 10, while outside in the tiny beer garden by the road a talentless duo with a guitar and dog sang and played at the top of their voices - unlicinsed and unwanted by the customers, ignored by the staff.
Couple this with the ridiculously slow service consistently provided - expect to wait a goodly length of time, even if the pub is empty due to the staff standing in the kitchen paying no heed to the bar - and you have an establishment which has lost a lot of its appeal.
I will be keeping a close eye on this pub, but it looks as though it's going to the dogs; thank goodness the Queen Victoria has re-opened and is catering for Leicesters Real Ale Connoisseur community!
9 May 2008 10:40
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The Queen Victoria, Leicester
I regret to report the passing of this pub - the bailiffs have been in and the place is now boarded up.
It's a great shame - it should have been a great success, but things didn't go as one would have hoped.
The Queen is dead.
14 Oct 2008 00:04