bottom of the barrel

bottom of the barrel

bottom of the barrel‘draining the dregs’

issue 01

british pubs last orders?

otley beer festival a diary

pubfect what makes the perfect pub?

Yorkshire’s premier beer magazine

The Yorkshire village that makes and exports some of the worlds finest real ales; from the rolling hills of the dales to almost every corner of the world.

masham

bottom of the barrel2

notes from the editorsWelcome to Bottom of the Barrel.

Our quest to uncover the cream of Yorkshire Ales this week begins in Masham, where we delve into the global appeal of Theakston’s brewery, the original brewers of the Yorkshire Dales village. We then make the short trip to Black Sheep to explore the future of brewing using traditional Yorkshire techniques.

Elsewhere in the magazine we follow four young gentlemen to Otley’s tenth annual beer festival, discovering the beers on offer, as well as a curious case of the Southern cider drinker.

Our very own Sherlock Holmes searches for the reasons behind impending closures for some of Britain’s best loved pubs, concluding what the outlook for the country’s pub culture may be.

There’s also an analysis of what makes the perfect pub.

As always, we would love to hear your views on anything related to the magazine, or even if you’ve just found that perfect Yorkshire brew!

Send in your comments or questions to [email protected]

See you at the bar!

contents3-5Theakston’s brewery; a global attractionby Daniel Todd

6-7The black sheep breweryby Will Buckton

8-9Last orders?by Daniel Nicklin

10-11The Otley beer festivalby bb

12Pubfectby Joe Large

with thanks to:Alan DunnJoanne Simmsthe black sheep brewerytheakston’s brewerythe Otley beer festivalOtley rugby clubNHS Leeds

3bottom of the barrel

theakston’s brewery; a global attractionOn passing, the village of Masham seems

just like that of every other: a quiet, peace-ful scene set against a picturesque Yorkshire

backdrop. But you would be forgiven for overlooking it’s main attraction. For there, at

it’s heart, lies a slice of national heritage.


In 1827, Robert Theakston had an ambition: he wanted to brew his own beer. A beer in which he could be both proud and appre-ciative. And with that, he, and his brother-in-law John Wood, set about creating the T&R Theakston brewing company.

The Black Bull Inn was home to the brewers for the first five years of the business be-fore Robert Theakston took sole ownership of the company. Just three years later, he passed it on to his son Thomas, who built a new brewery in the village.

After several changes of owner-ship over two centuries, the brew-ery eventually returned to the Theakston family in 2004, when four Theakston brothers - Nick, Simon, Tim and Edward – pur-chased the brewery off brewing-giants Scottish and Newcastle. In 2009, the brewing of Theakston Bitter returned to Masham at the rejuvenated Masham Brewery.

Today, Theakston’s is enjoyed the

country over and is sent to many British towns from it’s birthplace in North Yorkshire. Joanne, tour guide and worker at the brew-ery explains: “We send the beer the length and breadth of Brit-ain. You can find our beers in many pubs and shops for peo-ple who enjoy their ales and for others that want to try some-thing different from your more commercial beers and lagers.”

As a relatively small brewery, the cost of supplying can prove a heavy constraint on the busi-ness’ expansion: “At the moment we aren’t exporting. But that is our next project - that is what we are working on at the moment. It will be bottled versions of our ales. Currently, the ones that we are bottling are XB and Old Peculier. The other beers come available as cask ale in pubs.

It is a venture that has been at-tempted before, however, fund-ing and means of exporting have not always been easy obstacles to overcome: “It was available

in Australia for a while when we were exporting some beers. We quite often get Australians vis-iting the brewery. Usually be-cause they’ve tried the beer and now they want to come and see where it is being brewed and try the various ales we produce.

“The visitors that we had just yesterday were from New Zea-land. They said that they’d got used to colder drinks when it is warm and that it is nice to enjoy ale as a break from the routine.

“So there is a lot of interest in our ales from countries abroad. I must get about ten emails a day, asking for Old Peculier be-cause it was available in coun-tries – such as the States - and now, unfortunately, it is not. Of course, all the people that could get it, now suddenly find that they can’t. So they’re emailing us saying: ‘Where’s the beer?’.

The brewery does not just attract our intrigued cousins from across the pond, though. Many Europe-

“Today, Theakston’s is enjoyed the country over and is sent to many British towns from it’s birth-place in North Yorkshire.”

The pumps inside Theakston’s ‘Black Bull’ pub

5bottom of the barrelans visit Masham in order to sam-ple some of our countries finest, most historic ales. “The European countries tend to have their own beers. We get a lot of Germans here and they like their beer and they are very good at making their own. It’s the same with the Bel-gians. They come here with an in-terest but not particularly an en-thusiasm. Whereas, perhaps, the Americans and Australians aren’t as in to brewing beer. Warmer countries tend to stick to lager due to it’s cooler temperature.

“So there is a lot of interest. It’s quite amazing, actually, the places people come from and they’ve heard of Theakston’s. Especially Old Peculier because it has got such an unusual name – it sticks and they remember it.

“But our message to those that can’t acquire our beers is that it will get there again, even-tually. But they may need to just hold on a while longer”

Good things come to those who wait, as they say.

Theakston Old Peculier World-famous. A deep, dark co-loured ale that has a distinc-tive warm smell. This ale is full-bodied and weighs in at 5.6%.

Theakston XBWith it’s balanced hops and subtle fruit undertones, this red-tinted ale was intro-duced to the Theakston range in the early 1980’s. 4.5%.

Theakston Best BitterA 3.8%, golden-coloured ale that is malty and fruity in equal measure. It’s citrus-like after taste makes it refreshing as well as flavoursome.

Theakston Black BullOriginally created to commemo-rate the original Theakston pub and brewhouse. A golden am-ber-coloured ale that is both dry and crisp in it’s finish. 3.9%.

Theakston Traditional MildA smooth and dark ale that is lower in percentage (3.5%). Brewed with pale, crystal and black malt for it’s unique taste.

“There is a lot of interest. It’s quite

amazing, actually, the places people come from

and they’ve heard of Theakston’s. Especially Old Peculier because it

has got such an unusual name – it sticks and they

remember it.”

A used Theakston barrel

bb


Some of Black Sheep’s bottled beers

Theakston may be the mother of beer in Mash-am but the Black Sheep of the family is not far away. The two breweries sit side by side in the same beautiful village and both have their own

stories to tell.

the black sheep brewery

As I approached the Black Sheep bar, with the brewery chimney towering overhead, the sweet smell of hops made me instantly thirsty! I looked around and saw a beer mat collection, any teges-tologist would be proud of. Clever phrases such as Chris ‘Ewe’ bank and Rubens ‘Baa’ richello, illus-trated by Sheep versions of the sporting heroes, show that the company has a sense of humour.

At the start of the brewery tour I was treated to a taste of the

sweet malt, which is used to make the beer. The roasted malt for the darker beer, was once used as a substitute for coffee, when ra-tions were used in the war. Every-one has felt sleepy after a couple of pints, but have you ever won-dered why you feel sleepy? It is the hops that make you tired, and this is why they were used to fill pillows. Black Sheep collect their hops from the fields of Hereford, but the main ingredient is York-shire water, collected from their own well in Masham. I’d never

given the ingredients a second thought when drinking beer be-fore, but it is only after tasting them separately, that you can truly appreciate your pint at the local.

The main thing I had come to the Black Sheep for, was to see the ac-tual brewing process, and I wasn‘t disappointed. The famous slate Yorkshire Squares were there in all their glory, which weigh six tonnes and produce 50 barrels each in a single brew. The York-shire Square brewing system was developed over 200 years ago, but sadly the Black Sheep is one of the only breweries left which still uses this traditional method. The ‘Squares’ are fermenting ves-sels, where the beer is left for a few days. The square vessels give the beer it’s distinctive bit-

7bottom of the barrelter taste. A round shape is now preferred, as it makes cleaning them much quicker and easier.

At the end of the tour I was lucky enough to speak to one of the chiefs of the beer industry. Alan Dunn is the Head Brewer, and has been at the Black Sheep for 11 years. When asked what makes Yorkshire beer distinct from other beers he said, “You can see from the presentation alone, that northern beers have a decent creamy head, when pouring the pint, as op-posed to southern ones. It comes about by the addition of a certain amount of wheat and gluten to give a nice tight head on your pint.”

Back when the brewery was first opened, they didn’t export the beer outside the borders of North Yorkshire. Now the beer is sold all over the country in the large supermarkets, and is becoming popular in Scandinavia and North America. Alan said, “There’s a good appreciation of English beers in North America, particularly on the west coast. We were even sent a recent photograph from Momba-sa of a man with a bottle of Black Sheep in his hand. It was the only place that sold beer and we were there!” Even the Pope has tried Black Sheep! To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Monty Python’s The Holy Grail, the Black Sheep Brewery produced a beer called Holy Ale, which was presented to the Pope on his visit to England.

Although a quarter of their overall volume is sold to supermarkets in the form of bottled beer, they do not sell to large chains, and do not own any pubs, so all their cask beer is sold into the free market. The Black Sheep Brewery has changed a lot since opening in 1992, and Alan said that this is to keep up with the growing volume demand. “When I started in 1999, we were batch brewing. We brewed on five mornings, and one or two after-noons. Within a few months we were doing five mornings and five

afternoons, so we could see we were going to run out of capac-ity. By 2005 we had spent about £6million expanding the capacity of the site. At the same time we went from a manual cask filling operation, to the automated sys-tem. That in itself cost £1.5mil-lion, and this again increased our output. The next big challenge will be looking to expand again. Some five years ago we bought a piece of land in Masham. As soon as we feel its right to push on, and when the market is right, we’ve got the space to develop. These are exciting times, but I wouldn’t like to put a time frame on it.”

There are four different types of cask beer, produced by the Black

Sheep Brewery. These are Best Bitter, Black Sheep Ale, Golden Sheep and Riggwelter, which gets its name from an old farmers say-ing, referring to a sheep lying on its back! When asked whether there will be any new varieties of Black Sheep, Alan said, “Micro breweries are flourishing at the moment, as they have the flex-ibility to do small batches of one off, or seasonal beers. The Black Sheep Best Bitter is 90% of what we sell in casks, as nationally it is the bees knees! Having said that, never say never, we’re putting to-gether a seasonal programme for next year, so watch this space.

We’re just finishing off what kinds of beer we’re going to do.”

Micro breweries have helped change the beer market, and push the age group of real ale drink-ers down. Twenty years ago the main demographic of beer drink-ers was 35-55 year olds. Now the main age group of beer drinkers is late twenties. With more and more beers available, real ale is bound to appeal to a much wider audience, than it used to. When asked whether micro brewer-ies have had any effect on the Black Sheep Brewery, Alan said,

“Micro breweries have helped us, as they have raised the aware-ness of cask beer, but because of their size they pay less duty, so they can sell cheaper. This means it is difficult for us to compete against them. There are 75 micro breweries in Yorkshire alone, and 600-700 in the UK. They started taking off in the 70’s and 80’s, and some of them are still around now. The 90’s in particular saw a lot of changes. People were com-ing out of other careers and decid-ing to make their own beer. A local business, who make the equip-ment for micro breweries, have all their books full for next year. This means we could see another 30 Yorkshire micro breweries in 2011. We have thought about making our own micro brewery, alongside the existing one, so we can trial new beers on a smaller scale.”

The Black Sheep Brewery is a fam-ily run business, started by Paul Theakston in 1992 after Theakston brewery was taken over by Scot-tish and Newcastle. Back then they brewed 100 barrels a week. £7 million has now been invested and the brewery produces 1700 barrels a week, which is equal to 28,800 pints. If you drank two pints a day this amount would take 40 years to drink.

“As soon as we feel its right to push on, and when the market is right,

we’ve got the space to develop. These are

exciting times...”

bb


The report not only opened a fo-rum for wide debate on the sub-ject, but served to highlight the fact that the 21st century has marked a watershed for casual alcohol consumption, and more specifically the humble British boozer, for a number of fairly ob-vious reasons: the smoking ban, which has seen punters opt for the regulation-free comfort of their living rooms to indulge in alcohol consumption, a height-ened awareness of the dangers of alcohol abuse not only by the public, but by a government and health service who are both rightly keen to see its ill effects stamped out, and perhaps a per-ception – with regards to tradi-tional pubs at least – that they represent old-fashioned values.

Ultimately, this means that pub closure statistics are high and ris-ing, and to my mind these statis-tics have been met with relatively little fanfare – imagine if you will similar closures for museums or art galleries, which arguably have a similar cultural significance; its patrons would be crawling out of the woodwork. (I do realise how ridiculous this comparison sounds, however social integra-tion and interaction is surely as important as the thirst for knowledge, if not in sociological terms then in evolutionary ones).

The statistics themselves make frightening reading for publicans, revealing that last year pub clo-sures in the first 6 months stood at 52 a week, culminating in the

closure of 2,365 pubs by the end of 2009. This also meant the loss of 24,000 jobs in total for the sector. Grim reading indeed, and with little media coverage, even in light of the economic downturn and unemployment

figures of recent months (7.7% at the time of writing).

Despite the glorification of pubs as a grand old British tradition the main argument against them, and possibly the reason why my earlier ‘call to arms’ with regards to their protection will fall on deaf ears, is that alcohol, when drunk in large quantities, harms people, which is understandably high on the agenda in a coun-try such as Britain, where along with much of northern Europe,

alcohol abuse is rife. The logical conclusion to make would be that a fall in the number of establish-ments that serve alcohol would see a similar fall in the instances of alcohol abuse, but of course nothing is that simple, and the statistics would seem to back that up. Research from the Of-fice of National Statistics shows that in fact household drink-ing was the main contributor to heavy drinking among adults in the UK, with 54% of men and 73% of women claiming they

drank heavily in theirs or some-one else’s home in the last week.

It would be difficult to look at the state of pubs – and the ear-lier statistic - without looking at the wider drinking landscape, which inevitably leads us on to supermarkets, and the vilifica-tion of the business model that has brought affordability and over-indulgence hand-in- hand. Government and NHS efforts are afoot to curb the irresponsibility that has come with cheap super-

last orders?A recent article published in The Lan-

cet journal by former government ‘drug tsar’ Professor David Nutt, claimed that

alcohol was a more dangerous drug than heroin or crack.

9bottom of the barrelmarket drinks, as the new health secretary Andrew Lansley pro-poses a ban on ‘cut-price’ alcohol, of which the benefits for society and the taxpayer are significant – the NHS notes that among other statistics, the planned legisla-tion could save 3400 lives a year. How exactly this would be put into place and whether or not it would affect pubs is uncertain, however I would urge officials to look closely at the role pubs play in society, and also to make sure to outlaw over-consump-tion rather than punish citizens for merely enjoying a drink in moderation, and risking stray-ing into authoritarian territory.

For the moderate drinker, pubs are now a haven. The smoking ban and the emergence of admit-tedly polarising gastro-pubs have made modern pubs friendly ac-cessible places to socialise and enjoy a drink. Seasoned drink-ers may pine for the days when pubs were smoky, dimly-lit holes where men went to escape their wives and drown their sorrows – and I don’t doubt these places still exist and thrive in their own way – but modern pubs must reflect modern society, and al-though some might also bemoan the erosion of their ‘liberties’, clinging to old ways will only see

them slip through their fingers.

Gone also, are the days when 14 year-old boys with the good-fortune to have any hint of fa-cial hair could get a pint at a bar, as new legislation and tougher measures now mean that under-age drinking in pubs and bars is a rarity. Even so, there is also something to be said for the idea that an under-age drinker is safer drinking illegally in the surroundings of a pub than lo-cal playing field, (not that I con-done such behaviour of course).

This culture of responsible drink-ing is also one that health officials are keen to promote. A spokes-person for NHS Leeds, which works actively to address the is-sue of alcohol harm reduction in the city, said, “…the Leeds Alcohol Strategy seeks to encourage and promote a culture of responsible drinking coupled with responsible management of licensed premis-es.”, a statement which seems to support the establishments that practice their trade responsibly.

There is also the thorny issue of the economy. To let such a huge sector of the brewing industry wither and die would be disas-trous for those employed in these areas - the sector generates £28 billion per year in economic ac-tivity - not to mention the pa-trons – 13 rural pubs close each week, meaning hundreds of vil-lages no longer have a local pub.

Pubs might have had a bad rap in recent years but to confuse social drinking with binge drink-ing and moderation with over-indulgence would be a mistake. British pubs symbolise an age-old heritage, the social hub of many communities, and the mod-ern equivalent of the watering-hole. Lawmakers and consumers alike should realise the positive place that the pub can hold in society, so that hopefully they don’t end up as museum pieces.

“British pubs symbolise an age-old heritage, the

social hub of many communities, and the modern equivalent of the watering-hole.”

bbThe brewing industry has been hit hard by the downturn


the otley beer festival

DN: We got an obscure bus to Ot-ley, not knowing what to expect from the town’s ‘beer festival.’ Would it be a German rosy-faced affair with bearded enthusi-asts, or a secluded affair with the locals giving us the ‘you’re not from around here’ eyes?

Thankfully, it was neither, and after cautiously making our way inside, we collect-ed our half-pint glasses and started to sample the beers.

DT: When I got stuck into my first beer, I was delighted they were half-pint glasses! The glori-ously named ‘Staggering Genius’ (Great Heck), a thickly textured wheat beer, was a tough nut to crack. The musty, bitter taste created a product not one bit in keeping with the name. Stag-gering but by no means genius.

JL: Wheat beers, an acquired taste if ever there was. It ’s cli-chéd, but never judge a book by

the cover. It was from here we decided to heed the informa-tion given in the program for further choices. The hand pulls beckoned for my next selec-tion, Jorvik Blonde (Rudgate). It incorporated some wonder-fully refreshing flavours, in-cluding peach, to give my taste buds rejuvenation after the first ill-advised beer. I definite-ly found it a worthy use of my vote for beer of the festival!

DT: Just peachy!

WB: A good beer festival can throw up a number of surprise treats, and Otley was no differ-ent. Oh Be Joyful (Thwaites) is not due for release until early 2011, but we were given a sneak

Our day of beer diary this month comes fresh from the tenth Otley Beer Festival. We join Danny Nicklin, Joe Large Dan Todd and Will Buckton as they venture across West Yorkshire to sample unique beers from the northern pas-tures of England, as well as experiencing a sneaky insight into the quirks that come with a good British beer festival.

The main room at the festival


flavours’, everything was there, and there in perfect balance.

WB: I can’t avoid mention-ing the traditional bitter taste of Mary Jane (Ilkley Brewery) and the refreshing citrus notes of Wharfebank Golden Ales (Wharfebank Brewery), both breweries did a fantastic job of flying the flag for beer in my lo-cal area of Lower Wharfedale.

The latter did a wonder-ful job of refreshing me af-ter some dark, heavy beers!

JL: The half-pint measures had allowed us to try a vast array of beers throughout the day, with the friendly bar staff helping us out with recommendations along the way. We were able to gauge a good amount of the sixty-plus drinks on offer, be-tween us of course, before stag-gering to the bus stop to begin a surprisingly in depth discus-sion on the day. The beer festi-val was a new experience for all of us, and one I can categorically say we’ll be attending again.

WB: Ilkley Beer Festival in Feb-ruary?

JL: Sounds good to me, we’ll see if Todd can shake the soft southerner tag!

DT: I’ll try my best.

DN: Definitely up for it, let’s hope it lives up to this one.

preview here. The first in a new seasonal ‘signature collection’ for the brewery, the beer was the choice of the day for me. With a dark appearance and a strong malt taste, the beer is made from the Thwaites back catalogue of brewing recipes. At 6.5% this is not a drink for the faint hearted!

DN: The programme did turn out to be very useful indeed, as was proven with my next choice. After a few pretty stan-dard ales, I plumped for Norse Berry Ale (Saltaire), perhaps in a last ditch effort to get one of my five a day (the festival tuck shop only sells food in pie form).

Described as, ‘a lager infused with the unique flavour of Nor-wegian Tyttebaer – or Tittyber-ries.’ As for Tittyberries, you can make your own jokes – this isn’t Viz, no matter how much you want it to be. The ale itself was fantastic, a light tasting la-ger with a fruity palate (I’m not saying I know which part of Nor-way the berries were from, but I know fruit when I taste it!)

JL: The Norse Berry Ale was definitely one we could all en-joy, probably best enjoyed on a summers day, but still enjoyable even though we’re well into the long winter nights now! We were soon all giving banter to each other about our choices, with the majority of us punting for an eclectic mix of ales. We did, how-ever, have one soft southerner in our ranks, who was swiftly resorting to the ciders.......

DT: I found the drink of the day nestled in the ciders, I can be ex-cused for being a ‘soft southern-er’ for that, surely?! The Broado-ak Pear Cider was a delightful reason to move onto ciders.

The West Country Perry was a lovely pale green in colour, and weighing in at a hefty 7.5% it threatened to be overwhelm-

ingly strong. Fortunately it had the flavour at the fore-front, giving the feel of drink-ing a light fruit juice. Both refreshing and intensely en-joyable, it definitely gets full marks from me. And don’t lie boys, you enjoyed it as well!

JL: I’m not going to lie Dan, it was a pretty spectacular drink. But, that doesn’t mask the fact that the resident southerner resorted to the ciders at a ‘beer festival.’

DN: Gentlemen, we all know we were at a ‘beer festival’, but we’ve got to concede to the qual-

ity of the drink. Still, it doesn’t compare to my beer of the day. Cherry Stout (Nook), almost a jet-black ale, at 5.2% it could’ve been too heavy, but I was get-ting all the delicate flavours.

After my earlier dispute with the programme, describing Fall-ing Stone (Wold Top) as ‘decid-edly more-ish’, only to find out it was decidedly less-ish, this was all water under the bridge, as I could truly taste everything I’d been touted. ‘A well-bodied oat stout with notes of cherry and li-quorice palate, as well as roasted

“The gloriously named Staggering Genius

(Great Heck), a thick-ly textured wheat

beer, was a tough nut to crack. The musty, bitter taste created

a product not one bit in keeping with the

name. Staggering but, by no means genius.”

Cider?

bb


the modern day to provide drinks for all tastes. There is a growing in-terest in continental lagers, as well as quirky ales from micro-brewer-ies and an overwhelming demand for local ales in local ale houses.

Publican Ryan New, who recently took over his first pub, was quick to break ties with major breweries in an effort to give pride of place to local brewers along his bar; a move that has seen acclaim in terms of re-views and people through the door.

He is adamant that it is vital for his community for his inn to represent its local ales, “We started work-ing here before taking it over. The amount of people who came in and asked what local ales we had on, only to be disappointed, was over-whelming. We knew that once the place was ours we were definitely going to make an effort to turn it to a community pub, and the ales were the first step to doing that.”

Mr New is also well aware that the way he stores his beer is essential to his customers enjoying their pint,

“How you look after the local cask ales is so important. You could have the best ale in the world leaving the brewery but if it’s not stored right in the cel-lar, or poured well, it’s wasted.”

These features of a good pub are obvious. The more controversial points remain over the presence of entertainment and the style of food served. Many wouldn’t head to the pub if there was nothing to do there; whether it be watching the sport on a big screen in a social environment, or playing pool; they would sooner stay at home and have a drink on the sofa with their friends. By the same token people don’t want to wan-der into a social environment, only to be distracted from their friends company by the loud music and slot machines dominating some of to-day’s establishments. Oz and Hugh definitely disagreed on this matter!

And what about Food? Everyone agrees it should be there in some form or other, the question is as to the type. Bar snacks go hand in hand with a pint, who wouldn’t say no to a bag of cheese and on-ion with their favourite beer? Slap up pub grub is sometimes exactly what the doctor ordered on a Fri-day night after weeks slog at work, and the nicer it tastes with fresh ingredients the better. But then there is the emergence of gastro-pubs, where food takes prominence over the social side of sitting in the pub with your mates and a pint with a bit of food to accompany. There must be a limit somewhere.

The making of a great pub, as Ryan New succinctly puts it, “Good beer, good food and good friendly service, at a fair price. That’s my recipe for success!”

With 717 English Heritage listed pub-lic houses in Yorkshire and the Hum-ber, the region boasts an incredible amount of traditional drinking holes.

When it comes to a pint in the pub, us British love nothing more than to relax in surroundings that romanti-cise such a simple occasion. Grow-ing up in a historic pub allowed Josh Willow to see the importance of surroundings, “My family’s pub, whilst being a bit in the sticks, pulled people in due to its quaint, country style building. It used to be a blacksmiths, so the interior of the building is steeped in history. I loved sitting in there as a lad; the customers felt like they were drink-ing in times gone by (The pub still has its original billiards table), and obviously a nine year olds imagina-tion runs wild when you’re in an en-vironment like that! I still feel like that when I go and visit my parents back there today, but clearly the drink, rather than the youth, is re-sponsible for my imagination now!”

Josh believes modern buildings can still lend themselves to housing good drinking establishments, : “I think more modern pubs can be good, however many of them try to be too modern. If they maintain things like the friendly welcome and the good beers then there is no reason the pub can’t be equally as special.”

As we all know, the beer is a vital ingredient for any tavern, the dif-ficulty is selecting which ones to distribute. Whilst traditionally ales are the most notorious and interest-ing drink in a pub, it is essential in

After watching Oz Clarke and Hugh Dennis’ exploits on the BBC’s ‘Raise the Bar’, I found myself questioning

what it is that makes the perfect pub. And, especially, what makes Yorkshire pubs some of the best in the

country.

pubfect

“Good beer, good food and good friendly

service, at a fair price. That’s my recipe for

success!”

bb


next issueincludes:

Ilkley beer festival

continental beers; we try so you dont’t have to

brewing at home

bottom of the barrel

bottom of the barrel

Documents