Real Ale, Real Music

An excellent few days in the city of Brunel and Banksy, a most fascinating, vibrant, and welcoming place for a visit.... Bristol Marina A tortoiseshell cat greeted me as I walked into the pub. I went up to the bar and ordered a half of Forzai, from North Wales brewers, Heavy Industry. As I handed over my money, the cat was at my feet, purring. And as I went over to grab a stool, it beat me to it, but then vacated it quickly so I could sit down. I sat down, looked around, and I realised it wasn't the same cat. They were everywhere. There was one in a basket by the window. There was one on the bar. They were under tables, perched beside customers. There was also a load of house rules for on the chalkboard, peppered with some pretty colourful language! I was in the Bag O'Nails, a quirky traditional pub at the bottom of a steep road in the Hotwells area of Bristol. Love's 'Forever Changes' was on the turntable. Andmoreagain. A kitten skidded in from the back. The

It's that time of year again.... Every September, there builds up a great and eager sense of anticipation in some circles as the new Good Beer Guide release date approaches. To many though, this feverish excitement felt by these people completely escapes them as their lives carry on as normal, blissfully unaware that to some the publication of this guide is more eagerly awaited than Christmas, or the birth of a new child, or the release of the new season's football fixtures. It is a time when hopes can be realised, dreams shattered, or years of hard work called into question. Pages are eagerly-turned, favourites sought out to see that they have made the cut. And likewise they are scoured for those places that are now in, maybe a favourite, maybe one you would vehemently oppose. For some, whose life's work is to complete every pub in the beer guide, it is the start of a year to plan. More gaps to fill in, more trips across the length and breadth of the country, maybe i

A first visit to one of Leeds' most rural pubs, followed by a re-arranged gig from one of the best of the new wave of bands coming out of South London.... With there being another Saturday of industrial action affecting Northern Rail, I had no option other than to drive over to Leeds for the evening's re-arranged gig at the Brudenell Social Club from rising Sarf Landon indie band, Goat Girl, whose original date back in April had been postponed due to drummer Rosy having had an accident hours before they were due on stage. So on the way I decided to visit one of the pubs in the Leeds area that I had not visited before. I thumbed through the Good Beer Guide and spotted the Abbey Inn at Newlay, which was only a mile or two away from the Brudenell. The pub is situated at the end of Pollard Lane, about a mile off the B6157, as it runs through the west Leeds suburb of Bramley. Pollard Lane starts off with houses on both sides, but then open country appears as you drop down into t

A weekend of great music, along with a tour taking in some excellent pubs and interesting beers in one of West Yorkshire's best drinking towns.... One of my favourite albums of 2017 was 'Youth Detention' by the wonderfully-named Lee Bains lll and The Glory Fires, a band out of Birmingham, Alabama. I hadn't heard them on the radio, but I liked the sound of them from a review I read about the album. A few weeks later, I was in Newcastle, and I picked up a copy of the album from HMV in the Intu Shopping Complex. I was heading up north to the coast, so when I set off I put the CD on in the car. From the first ringing note, I was hooked. As I drove through the northern suburbs of the city, the opening tracks blasted out, a wall of feedback-enriched driving Southern rock performed with a raw passion and sheer energy I'd not heard all year. By the time I hit the A1, I had turned the volume up several times, and by the time I pulled into the car park at Low Newton-by-the-s

A brilliant weekend in Halifax, as the Indyfax Festival and some quality music give the town an August Bank Holiday to remember.... The Victorian Craft Beer Cafe The IndyFax festival was born a year or two ago at the Victorian Craft Beer Cafe in Halifax, but over the past couple of years has also embraced several of the other new bars that have opened in town - The Grayston Unity, Pump Room, and the Alexandra/Lantern. And from Thursday 23rd until Bank Holiday Monday there were some fantastic beers and special events in these venues and beyond. I had my first visit on the Friday, when I popped into the Grayston before wandering down to Square Chapel to see This Is The Kit. Now Square wasn't actually part of the event, but as usual they had some pretty decent beer on, I managed to sample a nice Little Rock IPA from Harbour, and the best beer I have ever had from Seven Brothers, a fruity beer called Peach, which was delicious. This Is The Kit were very good, probably slightly