A bit o'stout!

[Bloodaxe]

I popped into the Newcastle Arms yesterday, located by some whimsy of fate in Newcastle. It's just been awarded NE Pub of the Year by CAMRA and being as ever keen to check their claims I ordered a pint of Marble Brewery's of Manchester's Chocolate Stout- which was splendid, then followed that with a pint of Burton Bridge Top Dog Stout- which wasn't nearly so splendid- shame! So it was back on the Marbles's! All rounded off with a few pints of Mordues Workie Ticket. All in all a good pub which deserve it's accolade, the beer's definately a hell of a lot better now than it used to be in there.

[MeridianFC]

Thanks for the report. It's been forever since I've had any of the Mordue brews. Must remedy that soon.

[Richard English]

Quote "...Marble Brewery's of Manchester's Chocolate Stout..."

Is that brewery in the Marble Arch pub in the Rochdale Road?

[chazwicke]

I had three imperial stouts at a tasting (Strong Ales) last night including one that had been aged in a JW LEES cask for a year. I was not impressed with any of the three but I did like an oatmeal stout from Brewers Alley that I had sampled earlier in the evening. That being said, I'm not a huge fan of most American microbrewed stouts anyway.

There were some fairly rare beers there and a new one from Franklins called Chaos that was delightful.

[Bloodaxe]

I don't know where the brewery is in Manchester, Richard. Actually it's the first time I've come across Marbles's beers in the North East, although I have heard of them. The Landlord in the Newcastle Arms seems to be trying his best to get a varied selection of ales, stouts and porters. Porters are rarely seen in this neck of the woods so it's good to have the opportunity to try some. Mild is pretty rare up here too- Geordies seem to think it a bit wimpy, which is a shame as I do enjoy a pint or two when I can.

[Richard English]

The Marble Arch is one of the best boozers in Manchester but it didn't brew its own when I was last there.

And I agree about mild. My local brewery, Harvey's, brew two milds, a dark and a light, and I always drink it in The Garland (probably the best Harvey's pub there is).

[Bloodaxe]

I've had the harvey's Mild before, nice pint I remember. I'm actually off to Wrexham for a couple of days- do you know of any good pubs there? Or would I be better beetling off to Shrewsbury which I have been to before, and which has got some good boozers?

[Richard English]

Wrexham I don't know but Shrewsbury is a fine old town with a good selection of pubs - some of which were probably there back in the days when Brother Cadfael was at the Abbey.

[chazwicke]

Ellis Peters? Those are fun stories. And the TV series was good as well. But I really love Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth. It is possibly my favorite novel ever. It takes place in similar time frames as Brother Cadfael.

I've been to Shrewsbury once. I recall stopping for lunch and enjoying the architecture of the town. And I'm certain we had a pint with lunch. Can't recall which as it was back in October of 1989.

And I'll take a mild anyday.:)

[DecoJuicer]

It's like you are speaking a foreign language.;)

[Richard English]

Quote "...It's like you are speaking a foreign language..."

Yes. It's called English ;-)

[fretlessman71]

Ah, I see - he's making it up as he goes along - he even had the audacity to name the language after himself! ;)

So why aren't there any Americans with the surname "American"?

[chazwicke]

That might be risky these days if you were a world traveller.:eek:

[DecoJuicer]

Come on Chaz, have some fun. Tattoo an American flag on your arm, put on your best NASCAR/Winston T-shirt, and travel abroad.

Don't forget to talk REALLY loud to people who speak limited English.

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by DecoJuicer

Don't forget to talk REALLY loud to people who speak limited English.

LOL! I've actually witnessed this before.

Usually when I'm abroad I keep my political opinions to myself. It has served me fairly well as I have spent many a beer with other pub patrons in my travels. I usually spend the evening asking them questions about their countries.

[DecoJuicer]

Lately, I keep my political opinions to myself, unless I am around people who I know are like minded, or at least don't mind an intelligent conversation.

As for traveling abroad, I used to go to Canada alot, and I have been to the world showcase at Epcot.

[chazwicke]

I've been to 19 countries and 45 States.

[DecoJuicer]

My dad's mom was originally from the UK. In fact, I still have family there, and an open invite. My dad's uncle lives on a private golf course near Sandwich, I think. He was here about a year ago, and since I was his personal chauffeur for 3 weeks, he kept encoutaging me to bring the family and come visit him. One of these days I am going. When I go though, I would like to take a whole month off of work, and travel through Europe. I figure that it is going to be a once in a lifetime trip for me, so I might as well make it worth my while.

When I finally do go, I will have to get some input from folks here to plan my nightly stops to correspond with great pubs.

[chazwicke]

The best beer in the world is in the UK. IMHO of course. ;)

[Bloodaxe]

Well, we could do worse here! Well, Chazwicke, I've been to 12 US states and I like the American people- honest! On the other hand, I think you make lousy tourists! Too many seem to take the "we're better than you are" attitude then wonder why they piss off the locals. But I must admit, we're probably all guilty of that- we always think we're better than the locals, and I'm half English/half Norwegian! What am I talking about? I am!

[Richard English]

Sandwich is a medieval town, once a major port, and is situated in Kent, The Garden of England. The world's finest hops are still grown in Kent and Shepherd Neame, arguably the UK's oldest brewery, is in Faversham, just down the coast.

I was actually born in Kent so have a soft spot for the county, although, sadly, the once-great hop industry is but a shadow of its former self. The pubs, though, are still grand and although it is arguable as to whether England makes ALL the best beers (there are some very fine brews now in the USA) it certainly has the best pubs.

Air fares across the Atlantic are now at an all-time low (I would guess no more than $500 from Michigan) and can't stay that way for very long now that the price of oil is continually increasing and unlikely ever to reduce, so 2006 is a good time for that visit to London. Then you can just hop on the train to Belgium, Germany and the Czech Republic.

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by Bloodaxe
[Band I'm half English/half Norwegian! What am I talking about? I am! [/B]

My heritage is half English and Half Norwegian too. My dad's side was English and the Norse comes from my mom. I was thinking of her yesterday. It was her birthday and she would have been 82. My dad would have been 85 on the 19th.


I have always encountered friendly people where ever I have travelled. Never had any problems anywhere except the former Yugoslavia and an unfortunate encounter with some Gypsies and then later some border gaurds.

[DecoJuicer]

Airfare is close to $700 per person right now, and that is with a stop in Toronto. It would probably be cheaper if I left right from Toronto, but Expedia won't give me that info right now for some reason.

Flying with a family of 4 puts me close to $3000 in airfare alone. After hotels and cars and trains and food and misc. stuff, that would be close to $6000-$7000 trip. Lots of money for a civil servant.;)

However, we have been putting a little a way for a special vacation in ther future, so that is surely one option.

[Richard English]

Quote "...Expedia won't give me that info right now for some reason...."

Try another agent. Expedia aren't the only travel agency - just the only one started by Bill Gates :-(

[DecoJuicer]

Well, it would just be an exercise right now. This years vacation is already planned for December. I'm taking the wife and kids to see The Mouse in Florida.

The soonest I would be able to do it is September of 2007. That would end up giving me more time to build up my vacation fund anyway. I promise though, one day I will get over to see where I came from(at least a quarter of me anyway).;)

Until then, I will just have to live vicariously through the rest of you...oh yeah, and drink some beers with international flavor.

[Richard English]

When you're in Florida, the best pub is the Cricketer's Arms, on International Drive. I can't remember the name of the plaza, but it's about a mile from the Peabody, towards "Ripley's Believe it or not".

It has three or four cask-conditioned ales, some local some imported from the UK. Fuller's London Pride was on when I was there.

When you come to England make it August then you can visit the GBBF. at least 400 different UK cask-conditioned ales plus a similar number of foreign beers and ciders.

I shall be there as always.

[Sladek]

Originally posted by chazwicke
That being said, I'm not a huge fan of most American microbrewed stouts anyway.
Hey Chaz, are you just not a big stout fan, or that British/Irish stouts are so much better? I'm not a big stout drinker so I can't really compare them. I'm just curious why you say that.

[DecoJuicer]

Originally posted by Richard English
When you come to England make it August then you can visit the GBBF. at least 400 different UK cask-conditioned ales plus a similar number of foreign beers and ciders.

I get my vacation time every August, so that would be perfect.

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by Sladek
Hey Chaz, are you just not a big stout fan, or that British/Irish stouts are so much better? I'm not a big stout drinker so I can't really compare them. I'm just curious why you say that.


I do tend to enjoy the Euro Stouts more. Especially those from the UK and Ireland. Most of them are not quite as upfront with the roastiness or coffee flavors but are more subtle or finessed. I don't know whether it is because they have been at it longer or just why it is. And I prefer Oatmeal Stouts in America when they are available. The oats seem to mellow the flavors a bit and give the beer a certain "silkiness". There are some stouts I really do like here in the States but they seem to be the exceptions. More times than not in my travels around the USA if I happen into a brewpub and sample the stout I won't like it much or at least not as much their other offerings.

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by DecoJuicer
I get my vacation time every August, so that would be perfect.

Deco, do yourself a favor and try to make the GBBF. It is by far the best festival I have ever attended. And the festivals that followed it on my list have also been real ale festivals in the UK. It just does not get much better.

[Goban]

Originally posted by DecoJuicer
Well, it would just be an exercise right now. This years vacation is already planned for December. I'm taking the wife and kids to see The Mouse in Florida.

The soonest I would be able to do it is September of 2007. That would end up giving me more time to build up my vacation fund anyway. I promise though, one day I will get over to see where I came from(at least a quarter of me anyway).;)

Until then, I will just have to live vicariously through the rest of you...oh yeah, and drink some beers with international flavor.

My wife and I have been saving for a trip to Ireland and the U.K.

We are on a five-year plan to save for the trip. But the projected 5 years always seems to start over every year.

We’ll get there someday. Now that my family keeps increasing in number (my wife wants another child), I think it’s probably not a bad idea to wait anyway. I would like my kids to be old enough to understand why we are there.

[Richard English]

Someone once told me of a simple algorithm for making a decision and I have used it for many years. It's this:

Do you want it yes/no?
Can you afford it yes/no?

Both yesses, do it - you only have the one life.