2019 - The Year in Beer - Part Two

Continuing from where we left off, with this beer and travel-related review of 2019.

Best Days Out

A day in Rye with Retired Martin. At the back end of February, under a cloudless sky, Martin and I took a good look round this charming Sussex, hilltop town. We enjoyed some excellent beer at the Ypres Castle; an exemplary pub, run by the legendary Jeff Bell, followed by fish and chips, eaten straight out of the bag - the perfect end to a perfect day out.

Shifnal with the Real Pub Men. A day out in the Shropshire town of Shifnal; a place I’d never heard of the town until a few weeks before the trip. Despite the inclement weather, and general gloom of late November,  I really enjoyed exploring Shifnal’s excellent array of pubs, an undertaking made all the more enjoyable by the equally excellent company.

Bucket List

Bucket lists, by their very nature, are meant to be fluid, but one quite achievable item is for me to visit every European country, (44 in total, if you include  places such as Andora, Monaco, San Merino & Liechtenstein.)

Poland was one country I crossed off the list. I enjoyed a delightful four day break in Krakow; a city which, unlike Warsaw, was largely spared the destruction of the Second World War. With much of the Krakow’s old town still intact there was plenty to see and hold my interest plus, of course, some interesting bars and beers.

China. Although not on my original list of countries to visit,  I wasn’t going to turn down the chance of a business trip to China, even if it was rather short for my liking. Not much in the way of beer, but a pretty amazing place, with lots to see, both old and new, authentic cuisine and the sheer experience of just being there.

 

Qatar. I passed through Doha, the capital of this enigmatic Gulf State, whilst changing flights, on my journey to and from Guangzhou. It would have been good to stop off for a look round, as I liked what I saw from the promotional video we were shown on the plane.

Luxury Cruise.  At the end of October, Mrs PBT’s and I enjoyed a short, two day mini-cruise, from Southampton to Zeebrugge and back. We journeyed on the Cunard Queen Elizabeth, which afforded a real touch of luxury and a good introduction to the world of cruising.

Best Locations to Enjoy a Beer

Greyhound, Charcott. A continuing success story for this lovingly restored village local, rescued from closure by an enterprising local couple. Since re-opening two and a half years ago, the Greyhound has become a thriving and welcoming country pub, offering good beer and good food to both local residents and visitors.

Codsall Station Bar. A restored Victorian waiting room and booking office next to the platform at Codsall station. Now converted into a rather nice outlet for Holden’s beers, this was the first stop on our day out in Shifnal, and is definitely  is a place well worth missing a few trains for!

Ypres Castle, Rye.  A lovely old pub, reached via a steep flight of steps from the town's Gun Gardens and the Ypres Tower. Lovingly restored and run with pride and real professionalism by the legendary Jeff Bell. Old Dairy, beers at their best, local ciders and Rothaus Pils from Germany’s Black Forest.

Hopbine, Petteridge.  Another classic country pub, tucked away in a quiet rural hamlet, consisting of just a few cottages. Last year marked my first visit since the pub became a free-house. I liked it so much that I returned for a second visit, a few months later.

Wrega Polish Pub & Gallery. A great place, to enjoy al fresco eating and drinking, that I stumbled upon, by accident, after a day spent
walking round Krakow’s old Jewish quarter.

Peters Brauhaus, Köln. A very traditional looking establishment, where the gravity-dispensed Peters Kӧlsch ranked amongst the best we came across in the city.

Bierhaus en d'r Salzgass, Köln.  Another real traditional old-school,  Cologne pub, this one serving  Päffgen Kölsch, again  dispensed straight from the cask. Päffgen’s brew-pub lies some distance west of the Altstadt, so to find this excellent Kölsch available right in the city centre, was a real bonus.
 

North Downs Way

Back in July I enjoyed three days extended walking, completing the missing sections of the Canterbury loop. The only downside was low cloud and drizzly rain blowing in off the English Channel, on the second day. What should have a been a route along the White Cliffs, with glorious views out to sea, ended up as a day shrouded in mist.

I found it rather satisfying, not just walking about in an area relatively close to home, but putting up at a B&B that is still in the same county.  

This had the added benefit of being able to allowing a full day’s walking by hitting the trail straight after breakfast.

Campaign for Real Ale

For several years now, I have been questioning whether I wish my membership of CAMRA to continue. Back in November, I concluded that apart from the excellent BEER magazine, there is very little happening within the organisation which persuaded me to remain a member. As I was not a life member, I took the sad decision to terminate my membership, after 45 years as a member.

I intend to write a full-blown article about how I arrived at this rather brutal decision, but I feel that whilst it’s been a lot of fun along the way, CAMRA has lost its way and is no longer relevant in today's fast changing world.

The Campaign was primarily a young person’s organisation when I joined, but now the opposite is true. Back in those early days there was a real sense of discovery in seeking out local beers around the country, and enjoying them in some real, cracking pubs. If you like there was an almost pioneering spirit associated with CAMRA; a spirit whic has long sinve vanished. 

Over the years, I've met scores of interesting people, made many good friends and got to drink some amazing beers in some equally amazing pubs, but all good things come to an end and, for this reason alone, I think it's best to go out on a high.

CAMRA can hold its head up high for providing the spark which led to the totally unforeseen rise in interest in beer around the world, and the creation of hundreds, if not thousands of new breweries, producing an unprecedented and ever expanding range of different beers. I'm proud to have played a part in this incredible achievement.