"It's coming on Christmas, they're pulling down trees, they're putting up reindeer, they're singing songs of joy and peace."
So sang Joni Mitchell in the opening lines from The River, from her classic 1971 album, Blue.
A song about escape, getting away from an unbearable truth, the reality of day-to-day life. Which in many ways, for so many people, is what Christmas has become these days. "Oh I wish I had a river to skate away on" is the next line in the song.
We're in December now, so fair enough, but it seemed this year everything kicked off earlier than ever. I encountered my first Christmas beer as November 16th in the Half Moon in Darlington, and whilst I haven't seen many since, I am sure there will be plenty lurking around the corner, waiting to be unleashed on a fair proportion of the nation's bars. I wrote about my aversion to Christmas-themed beersa few years ago, and my view has not changed one bit. The shops seemed to get started earlier too, and the decorations seemed to be out their sooner than ever too.
But aside from that, for so many, Christmas is a time for the good times. Seeing the family, time away from work, catching up on box sets and old familiar films and TV shows from yesteryear. The music from our youth takes over the soundtrack. Old favourites, that familiar refrain, well here it is Merry Christmas, everybody's having fun. An escape from the day to day. And I think that this year with the country in its most miserable and fractured state that I can ever remember, Christmas can't come soon enough for so many of us.
These thoughts were swirling around in my head as I was walking around Leeds over the past couple of days. I was here to see one of my favourite bands, The National, a bit of Christmas shopping, and a wander around some of the city's pubs and bars.
I lived in and around Leeds for 10 years and worked in the city for longer, so I always thought I knew it well. But the city is changing apace, new buildings there or under construction. And with plenty of new bars to boot.
Go North: Brewery Tap on Swinegate
First up for me was the conveniently located North Brewery Tap, right opposite the hotel, where I enjoyed a half of Golden Milk, a 6% apricot sour spiced with cinnamon and turmeric. I loved the ambience here, as I did at Tapped, where I had been before, but with a pint of Fortitude from Bristol Beer Factory and a searingly-so Really Hot One Pizza, I was a happy bunny. Although I felt the effects later....
I visited a pub I hadn't been to for years, the Templar on Vicar Lane, essentially a long room with several different drinking areas and booths, with a great atmosphere, nice beer, brilliant service, and value for money, a classic ex-Melbourne's pub which is still very much as I remember it back in the 80's. I popped in again the following afternoon, the beer was even cheaper - £2.30 for an excellent pint of Kirkstall Three Swords, the pub was busy, and the guy working on his own behind the bar did a brilliant job, patrolling the bar, checking if anyone was waiting, acknowledging who was there. It was an exemplary display of customer service that so many places don't come anywhere close to matching.
The Templar...top pub
I saw The National, who somehow seemed to fit the mood I was in. They were performing at the First Direct Arena, a venue I had last been to a few years ago when I saw one of my heroes, Neil Young. They played tracks from their latest album, I Am Easy to Find, their melodic sound embellished by the addition of a couple of female singers, including Kate Stables from This Is The Kit, whom I had last seen performing last year at the Square Chapel in Halifax!
The gig ended and I drifted down deserted streets to the broad expanse of Briggate, and went for a final beer at Whitelocks, tucked away down one of the yards. This classic old pub, dating from 1715, is a place I used to call in regularly, and whilst never the cheapest, I was slightly staggered to be asked to pay £2.50 for a half of Landlord Dark! I also tried a half of Herald Pale Ale from Meanwood Brewery, quite pleasant, and a relative bargain at £2.10 a half. It is now part of a family of pubs connected to London brewers, Five Points Brewing, so whether that has influenced the current pricing policy, I don't know. Still well worth a visit though.
Whitelocks: a classic
The following day, I encountered Christmas full on as I walked in to the sprawling Trinity Shopping Centre which covers swathes of the city centre. Shoppers, Santas, Trees, Elves on shelves were all in abundance. Christmas shopping done, I headed up to North Street in bright December sunshine, and called in a couple of close-together pubs, both which were oases of calm after the bustle of the shops. First up was the Reliance, back in the Good Beer Guide, and with a pleasant Monday lunchtime chilled-out vibe, with a steady flow of people popping in for a drink or bite to eat. Stripped woodwork with subdued colours, a great soundtrack, and decent beer from Sunbeam.
The Reliance....chilled
Just along from the Reliance is a place that was new to me. This is the Brunswick, and whilst the former is all muted colours, its neighbour announces itself with bright, bold paintwork on the exterior. Inside, a pleasant light and airy room with plenty of windows and 6 hand pumps. Beers included a number from Kirkstall, plus Vocation, and a collaboration between Wylam and Deya, a pleasant ruby ale of which I sampled a half, before going for a Kirkstall Pale. I got chatting about beer and pubs with the bloke behind the bar and the only other person who was in there when I arrived, a guy forced to go alcohol-free as he was waiting for some test results. I liked the Brunswick, probably the best cask of the visit, and a nice friendly welcome.
Bright colours: The Brunswick
It was getting time to head homewards, so I went back to my hotel to collect my bag. I did though manage a quick half at the Scarbrough taps, another regular haunt of days gone by before I caught my train back home.
The essential guide to the pubs and bars that line the railways in the towns and villages of the beautiful Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, an area which has a lot to offer and captivate the visitor. Here's the latest, updated version.... The original Rail Ale Trail heads through the Pennines from Dewsbury through Huddersfield to Stalybridge, or vice versa, depending on your starting point. Made famous by Oz Clarke and James May on a TV drinking trip around Britain several years ago, it reached saturation point on weekends to such an extent that lager and shorts were banned by some pubs and plastic glasses introduced to the hordes of stag dos, hen parties, and fancy-dressed revellers that invaded the trans-Pennine towns and villages. There are some great pubs en route and whilst things have calmed down from a few years ago, they can still get very busy on a summer Saturday in particular. However, only a few miles away to the north, there is another trail possible which takes in s
News has broken over the past few days that Elland Brewery, famous for their 1872 Porter which was voted the Champion Beer Of Britain in 2023 have ceased trading. And with other breweries also struggling, the upheavals I wrote about last month are showing no signs of letting up.... I was out with some friends last Saturday afternoon, celebrating one of our number's birthday. With the drinks and conversation flowing as we enjoyed a most enjoyable catch up, we were joined by another friend who mentioned that he'd been out a little earlier and had heard a story from a good source in one of the local pubs that Elland Brewery who, a mere 6 months ago had won Champion Beer of Britain at the Great British Beer Festival for their flagship 1872 Porter, had gone bust. During a break in the conversation, I scoured Google for news about Elland Brewery. Nothing, apart from that win at the GBBF last year. I mentioned it to a couple of people when I was working at the Meandering Bear in Halif
The 2025 CAMRA Good Beer Guide was published a few days ago, bringing with it joy to those had been included, particularly for the first time. The day after publication I visited one such place and then called in a former Guide regular only a couple of miles away that had failed to make the cut once again this time.... Pecket Well is a small village situated on the edge of the Pennine moors a couple of miles out of Hebden Bridge. To get there I turned off the main A646 Calder Valley road as I arrived in the town and then took the A6033 up the hill towards Oxenhope. Houses, some of them over-and-under-dwellings, a feature of this part of the world where flat land is at a premium, were perched on corners at crazy angles and clung to the side of the road for dear life as I began to leave the town behind. Following a twisty and vertiginous climb through dense woodland the road eventually emerged into the open at the fringes of the tree line as the slope began to lessen. Here I came to a we
So sang Joni Mitchell in the opening lines from The River, from her classic 1971 album, Blue.
Great read, Chris. Loads still going on in Leeds, much of it really good craft.
ReplyDeleteI've never quite "got" the National. More impressive than moving. Will make a concerted effort.
Listen to Tracy Thorn's cover of "River" on Tinsel and Light, my favourite Christmas album.