Real Ale, Real Music

Tap takeovers where one brewery takes over the pumps and taps of a particular establishment are common enough, but the Toon on Tour festival taking place in Halifax in February puts a different slant on things.... "Hi, Chris. Will you be calling in the bar/s this weekend? Got an idea I'd like to put to you."  The text was from Michael Ainsworth. The idea was to have a city-based takeover of the pump and keg lines at the two bars he runs in the town, the Grayston Unity and The Meandering Bear. The first city he had in mind was Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a city that he knows that I love to visit. And that's where I came in. Would I be interested in curating the beers for the festival? I thought for a minute. I said yes. There is something unique about Newcastle. The city, built on the side of the Tyne Valley, is full of stunning views. Bridges, roads, and railways pass below you, sometimes above. Grand old buildings give the city a sense of importance, and in Grey S...

For many people, January is a month when resolutions are made, diets started, gym memberships taken out. Which means the pub can get left out of things. But there is no reason to completely abandon them.... January is probably the most miserable month in the calendar. Christmas gone, back at work, long dark days, bills to pay. Indeed, as I write this on the 20th of the month, it is the so-called Blue Monday, as apparently analysis been conducted which shows that this is actually the most depressing day in the calendar. It tends to be on the 3rd Monday of January, but can sometimes be a week earlier or later. And despite that, some people decide to make themselves even more miserable by depriving themselves of things that they love! Chocolate, a favourite food, alcohol, maybe. But if you decide to give up alcohol for a month, there is no reason to completely abandon the pub. Staff still need to be paid, their bills still keep coming in, and so the non-alcoholic option, a meal out, o...

An iconic Calderdale pub re-opened its doors a few days before Christmas after being closed for several years. And so I've been along to have a look.... The Puzzle Hall in Sowerby Bridge was always a quirky place. I first visited it 40-odd years ago when I was growing up in the town. Back then it was a tied house belonging to Wards of Sheffield, one of only two pubs they had in Calderdale (the other was The Star at Greetland). This in itself marked it out as unusual at a time when the local pub scene was dominated by the likes of Websters, Tetleys, and Whitbread. Its location, on Hollins Mill Lane, past the town's swimming baths, library, and fire station (only the library is still open these days), was somewhat isolated, squeezed in between the river and industrial units, with the Rochdale Canal flowing above on a bank across the narrow road. This meant that, despite only being a few minutes' walk from the busy A58, it was on the edge of town, not really on the road t...

It's that time of year, the in between bit, as one year ends, another one starts.... The dog days are the period in summer between July and early September when the weather is traditionally at its hottest and its most uncomfortable. As a side effect, it encourages stagnation and a lack of activity - traditionally this would be when most holidays took place, the factories and offices would be closed. Its winter equivalent for many people is the period between Christmas Day and New Year, when, whether it be induced by over-indulgence, boredom, missing the daily routine, the days merging into one - there is generally a similar sense of torpor prevailing for so many, if you don't do anything about it. So to Boxing Day, football at Stockport. A friend had organised a coach, so after meeting up in Halifax, we set off over the Pennines on one of the most grey and gloomy days you could imagine. We were dropped off by Stockport market, and found that Remedy, The Angel, and The Bake...