Monthly Archives: December 2015

Assistance required, please.

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You will no doubt have seen that Leeds, and other places have been devastated by recent flooding. I’m forwarding this appeal for assistance to stricken pubs that was sent out by my our Leeds branch of CAMRA. If we can get as many people as possible to see it then hopefully there will be people out there that can support them. I’m certain that this will also be the case in other areas.

Even if you can’t help directly, please remember to support your local – use it or lose it!

 

Dear Member,

As you’ll be aware, Leeds has suffered from unprecedented flooding over the Boxing Day Weekend. Unfortunately, this has also impacted a number of our pubs too. Here’s some information on affected pubs:
Kirkstall Bridge Inn, Bridge Road (Will be holding a clean-up party, starting at 10am today)

Aire Bar, Sparrows Wharf

Sid’s Little Egg, Bridge End

Bridgewater Arms, Cardigan Fields

Old Red Lion, Meadow Lane

Adelphi, Hunslet Road

Golf Bar Leeds, Little Neville Street

Any help you can offer to these pubs and the surrounding communities to assist them during this difficult time would be very welcome and appreciated.

If you have any information on other affected pubs, please get in touch. We’re concerned over the Cardigan Arms on Kirkstall Road, but have no further information.

Up-to-date information will be on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
Regards

Mike Hampshire

Branch Chairman

Archies, Leeds – a chameleon bar?

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Archies logoWhen it opened in September, I was a little worried that Ossett Brewery’s  latest venture was a step too far, almost taking over the whole of Granary Wharfe when they occupied arches V & W, the previous home of Wasabi Teppan-Yaki who seem to have retreated from Leeds entirely? Maybe it’s a Guy Fawkes style ploy from jealous neighbours to take over all the arches under Leeds station? On the other hand it could just be a very clever, far sighted, piece of excellent business planning?

I’ve mentioned the opening of the southern entrance to Leeds station (LSSE) before, if you wander down Dark Neville Street and have a look, you will see that it’s well on track (no pun intended) for the January 2016 public opening. This will instantly channel an estimated 20% of the passengers travelling through the second busiest station outside London through the Granary Wharfe area. On that basis, if you were a brewery with three outlets in this absolutely charming, historic, canal side location, I think people might say that you were a pretty shrewd operator?

Three, I hear you saying, all Ossett brewery, almost side by side, in the same place? Yeah, three, I reviewed Candlebar previously; food and craft beer, slightly upmarket – definitely not a pub. You must have been in one of The Hop pubs, there’s five of them now (Leeds, Saltaire, Sheffield, Wakefield, York ); real ale, music, one of the best pie and a pint deals ever – definitely a pub. So what’s different about Archie’s then?

Archies dance floorIf you’ve read some of my thoughts on pubs and bars, you’ve probably picked up on my views that a good modern drinking establishment is one that gives people what they want. Archie’s definitely does this, it’s almost all things to all people, at different times. If you want breakfast, at eight in the morning then you’ve got it, from healthy, almost grab and go, to the full English. If you want something decent to eat, real proper food, throughout the day, you’ve got it. If you want real ale, craft style keg or bottled beer, or mass produced branded standards, then you’ve got it. If you hang around till after nine on Friday and Saturday then you’ve got a DJ and music, complete with disco lighting and glitter ball. They even do a proper Sunday lunch, on a Sunday of course.

Archies outsideI think the clichéd business term for it is ‘sweating the asset’. There’s no point taking a twenty year lease on two railway arches in the centre of the UK’s premier city and not opening up till mid-day, then shutting at eleven, knowing you’ll have a few quiet periods in between as well. No, you want people in all through the day and to do that you have to be a bit of a chameleon. I don’t know if I’ve just coined a new phrase there, a ‘Chameleon bar’, because that’s what Archie’s is, the licensed premises version of the ever changing man, giving a bit of everything to lots of people, at different times, just when they want it. Now Ossett brewery have it billed as ‘Archie’s bar and kitchen’ and outside it says ‘Eat’, ‘Drink’ and ‘Disco’. I’m going to tell you it transcends all of these and they really pull it off as a concept, mark my words.

Archies beer enginesThe focal point of Archie’s is Archie, the Orange and white VW camper van that stands looking out of the front window. The side of Archie is a juice bar, conveniently located by the entrance, whereas his rear end is part of the bar and houses the hand pulled real ales. When we visited these were Ossett Yorkshire Blond (3.2%) & Silver King (4.3%), Rat Brewery White Rat (4.05) Fernandes Golden Arrow (4.2%). Okay, they are all from the Ossett stable but priced between £2.90 and £3.05, I thought they represented real value for a city centre boozer. I fancied a pint of White Rat. On the first pull it went woosh and the conversation went something like this, ‘It’s gone off Sir, but there’s another barrel racked and ready to go. If you don’t mind waiting a couple of minutes I’ll bring it over to you.’ Within five minutes I had a foaming pint of quality ale, spot on and top service. It’s a decent drink is White Rat and so was the Yorkshire Blond Mrs C drank. You can see why this Ossett brew is their best seller. Both were on top form.

Archies tap listThe food looked quite good and worth trying, you can see the chefs preparing everything in their state of the art kitchen, the full menu is on the web site. Inside Archie’s there is a place for everyone; sat in the bar area, in the lighter second arch, on the mezzanine floor or on the dance floor, whatever your mood. I don’t recommend sitting in the dance floor area if you want to read one of the complimentary daily papers as the glitter ball casts an ever-changing psychedelic shadow on your newspaper – I told you it was a chameleon bar!

The decor is a real mix that shouldn’t work, but does; brick arches, floor to ceiling windows at the front, comfortable gloom to the rear; beach surf shack meets deep sea diver somewhere on the banks of the Leeds and Liverpool canal. There’s even a bit of a Yellow Submarine thing going on, the chunky funky, red, green and yellow pipes running between the kitchen/cellar area are the insulation for the beer lines. The toilets scored a solid ten out of ten, as good as anywhere and better than most, I include hotels here. This is a theme of Ossett brewery premises and they should be commended. The mirror in the gents is brilliant. I’m not going to tell you, just go and have a look. Even the rumble of the trains on platforms 15 & 16 above adds a little something to the atmosphere.

Archies insideWho does is suit? Everyone really from leather Chesterfields, through bench style seating and tall stools to deckchairs. It probably suits different people breakfasting in the morning to those who drop in for a lunch or just a pint. I’ve had some good summer evenings stood outside The Hop and this place will just be the same. I don’t want to be there when they take the tables out and the DJ starts, but others will want to and I bet they will be as suited as I was on a Saturday lunch time. Overall a good atmosphere and a proper Chameleon bar.

It’s a few weeks since I popped in and had a chat with one of the assistant managers, really nice guy. I called in again on the Saturday before Christmas with a few friends. They’ve featured in previous posts, a mixed bunch of all ages and callings. Like me they were also suitably impressed, especially with the Halifax concert band who played carols while the staff plied us with complimentary mulled wine and mince pies – Bloody marvellous!

What are they singing in your Pub this Christmas?

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HailsmilingmornsheetmusicI’m constantly trying to assess what makes pubs tick? Why some places are busy and others struggling. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve spent a fair bit of time in and around Leeds city centre at various gatherings and events; all part of the festive cheer. I’ve been on some good sessions lately, mainly afternoon and early evening. I don’t particularly care for places when they get too busy; queuing at the bar, not been able to hear what anyone is saying, being accosted by well-meaning, or otherwise, drunks. Mark my words, I’m gone well before any queue starts to build.

One of the few times I’m happy in a busy pub is in my own local, wherever that may have been, during whatever époque. You know where you stand in your own local. It’s strange though, apart from the obvious, Christmas eve, Christmas day and the like, even local pubs don’t seem to be as busy as they used to be. They just don’t seem to be the centre of the community any more.

We used to have Carol singing in my current local; hymn sheets, guitars, banjos, accordions, drums, the lot. Unfortunately it ‘died a death’ some time ago when the long time tenant retired, to be replaced by a series of managers. A couple of years back someone tried to revive the tradition. After a written communication to the brewery, Humphrey declared that it could go ahead, providing all the songs were at least one hundred years old. You don’t have to be a copyright lawyer to see through the naive, extremely risk averse strategy of Sam Smiths in this and many other of their petty diktats.

Everywhere used to have a ‘sing’ in the pub at Christmas where I was brought up. Different pubs had different sessions, often at weekly intervals throughout advent. There was no formal organisation, just word of mouth and tradition, which brought people from near and far and the pubs were absolutely rammed. I did think that this was the case everywhere, across the UK? Apparently not, the tradition of local carols in pubs doesn’t seem to happen much outside the Southern Pennines around the North and North West of Sheffield. Places like Penistone, Stocksbridge, Oughtibridge, Grenoside and many other villages across this part of Sheffield and out into North Derbyshire. I can hear people saying, we have carol singing in our pub! Well you might, but not quite like this because these ‘sings’, the local colloquial word, have their own unique carols. Often arrangements of traditional versions, there are umpteen versions of While Shepherds … Seriously, my Grandfather, a keen exponent, knew a repertoire of at least six or seven versions.

One of his, and my own, favourites is Swain Hark an adaption of Hark, Hark, What news … I reckon that the version sung in each locality is slightly different from the next. If you want to get an idea of what I am on about have a listen to Kate Rusby’s album Sweet Bells. Kate comes from the Penistone area and is a big exponent of the tradition, there are several ‘local carols’ on the album, including a version of the Swain Hark and Hail chime on (there is a version of Swain Hark on You Tube, but it’s not local singers and they murder it, so I’m not linking it).

Between the various localities there’s a great variance in not only the way individual songs are sung, but the repertoire of songs themselves. There are many traditional songs sung in the Sheffield area that aren’t really heard elsewhere, and vice versa. Some of them aren’t actually Christmas Carols at all. The Holmfirth Anthem or Pratty Flowers is traditionally sung at Christmas but is neither christmassy nor religious in content. For those from outside God’s own county, Holmfirth is the location for Last of the Sumer wine and ‘Pratty’ is dialectic pronunciation for ‘pretty’. Another with no apparent Christmas message is Hail smiling morn an Easter hymn according to some sources. The You Tube clips I’ve linked here are from The Royal, Dungworth, a noted pub with a singing tradition, where the mixed singers are accompanied. I’ve not been to The Royal, Dungworth , but my own recollections from the Penistone area were that the singers were nearly always male voices, with no accompaniment. This version of Hail Smiling Morn dating from 1904, which is on Wikipedia (to whom I’m also obliged for the above image), is much closer to the choral style renditions I remember.

Another good place to go and hear this local carolling is The Fountain Inn at Ingbirchworth, or The Rag, as we always knew it as kids growing up in the village, where they still have sings on the four Sundays before Christmas. They usually have three, many local, real ales on which are always on decent form when I pop over to see my folks.

If you want to investigate this tradition for yourself there are a couple of excellent websites dedicated to it, Local Carols lists times, dates and venues for forthcoming events. The slightly more erudite, but possibly not as comprehensively updated, Village Carols site contains detailed background and research around the tradition. If you’re not content with You Tube videos then there are several professional recordings of many of the carols, this one from Smithsonian Folkways  is as good as any, and I can actually make out voices of people I know on the recordings from The Fountain Inn.

Anyway, whatever your views on this, one thing is quite obvious. It got people, lots of people into the pubs, drinking lots of ale and keeping the local pub part of local life. The very glue of which the local community is held together with. Will it catch on in twenty-first century Britain and provide a new lease of life for struggling pubs? I doubt it, but wherever it is still going on we all need to keep supporting this and other local traditions because when they’re gone they’re usually gone for good.

What’s all this about wooden casks then? The Junction Cas’ part II

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Junction Neil

Neil Midgley. Landlord of The Junction

It was very clear from my visit, that The Junction, Castleford is a brilliant community pub, but it’s also a very good real ale pub, with a unique ‘from the wood only’ selling point. So, what’s all the fuss about these wooden casks, I wanted to know?

Well I tried some beer from the wood at Wakefield CAMRA beer festival. I was impressed but I didn’t have a touchstone as I was unfamiliar with the beers I tried. This was also the case here. My first taste was Cas Vegas from local The Revolutions brewing Co. Excellent, so I had another, I really like a lot of what this musically inspired brewery are turning out at the minute. Sods law though, the barrel ran off, so I tried the ‘one off’ Elland brewery special – Codex, a ruby ale from which you definitely got a feel of the barrel. Anyway, while I’m stood talking I saw landlord Neil Midgley pulling through a new beer, which turned out to be Elland Beyond The Pale. I like this and I’m familiar with it having drunk it on many occasions. I’ve even been lucky enough to have tried it on a ‘self service’ arrangement in the brewery itself.

Although I do not posses the necessary talent to elevate myself to the beer tasting level of Roger Protz, like him, I am now able to say that the wooden casks at The Junction definitely give something else to the beer. Something that is not present when it is served from a standard cask. Now if you asked me what that something else would be, then I would be hard pressed to put it in words. I think I’ve previously said the wood imparted an ‘old fashioned’ and very much improved feel to the beer. If you read David Litten’s book about The Junction you will see what Roger Protz thought.

 

Junction tap list

Junction tap list

Before I tried another, I had a chat with Neil. He drew me towards a Kirkstall brewery, Herzblut. He promised me it would be special, having been barrel aged in a Madeira cask. The very deep brown ale was unbelievably complex, with many layers of flavour, yet still with the same additional extras that everything else I tried had. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but Neil summed it up for me, ‘it adds another dimension’.

I wished I had known earlier in the year because I turned down the opportunity of having a taste of an IPA that Andrew Usher’s had sent half way round the North Atlantic on a yacht. At the time, I thought it sounded a bit gimmicky, having said that, if I had a yacht I think it would have been a good idea. I’ve never had a yacht, or any sort of a boat. It always strikes me that you spend more time fannying about with boats than you do actually sailing them. Coincidentally, one of the reasons I sort of drifted away from the Scooter scene. I’m more interested in actual riding than stood at the side of the road, tinkering, talking, comparing and admiring. Okay, if you’ve got a Scooter with an original cast iron barrel then there are heat capacity issues and you can’t go very far without stopping for half an hour and letting everything cool down. Most people have moved on though and uprated to a modern alloy barrel. It works, my mate did Leeds to Isle of Wight in one run, with no more stops than a family with small kids would make. I chickened out and drove the van!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

LCGB 50th anniversary IOM

Now you might think I’m going off message here, but I’m not. The point looks like, from a Scooter perspective, that modern is best. Now air cooled cast iron cylinder barrels are principally a twentieth century phenomena and internal combustion technology is, in historical terms, still evolving. On the other hand, stout wooden casks have been around for several millennia, their evolution stopped a long long time ago. The Worshipful Company of Coopers was awarded their Royal charter in 1501 and casks haven’t changed that much since. So we are looking at a relatively simple, yet highly developed piece of engineering which is prized by connoisseurs for it’s ability to react with whatever liquor is contained, imparting complex flavours that plastic or steel cannot do.

On the basis of everything above, I am now convinced that wood is best, so get yourself down to The Junction for some of those beers from the wood, glorious wood. I’m predicting a rise in the availability of ale from wooden casks in 2015, certainly in the West Yorkshire area. Something that is undoubtedly due to the pioneering spirit of Neil Midgley at The Junction.

The Junction, Castleford

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Junction logo

The Junction

Driving through Castleford, on a cold and damp Thursday evening in late November, it looked very much like the town the Specials sang about, back in 1980. I’d driven past the pub many times over the years. I’d never been in, just another town centre pub, or is it?

 

Now I hadn’t been to Cas Vegas for a while and I’d heard all about The Junction from David Litten and others, so I wasn’t surprised to find it choc a bloc at eight o’clock. Fair enough it wasn’t a normal Thursday evening session and a lot of people had turned up for the launch of British Guild of Beer writers member, David Litten’s first book, From Junk to Junction.

Junction SPBW

SPBW

Looking around, you couldn’t miss the massed CAMRA and SPBW members, familiar faces from beer festivals and the like. There were polo shirts and merchandise on sale with The Junction logo on them, and a lot of people wearing them. There was even a guy from Finland amongst the regular customers.

 
Several local celebrities were in attendance; Ian Clayton, writer, TV presenter and Junction regular, officiated as MC. Barrie Pepper commended David on his achievement and presented him with a copy of his own book about his father’s pub.

Now I’ve emailed Mr Pepper because I’d like to get hold of this particular book because it’s given me a really good idea around my Dad’s old pub. If only I was as brave as David in not only writing it, but then going down the self publishing route.

Junction David

Mr Litten and myself

Thankfully, owing to many kind donations, his costs look like they have all been covered and any profits will be going to the Alzheimer’s charity. I take my hat off to David here because he has put a lot of work into this book which I know is the result of tremendous dedication, enthusiasm and a true labour of love.

I’m not sure exactly what the highlight of the evening was, there were several to be fair. Firstly the community singing led by Rich Jones and accompanied by maestro Colin Williams, resplendent in white tux’ and red dickie, on the piano. The mucky fat on bread deserves a proper mention. That’s Dripping on bread, with a sprinkling of salt, to the uninitiated and it was delightful. In addition to the excellent speeches, David presented Landlady Maureen with a bouquet which was a nice touch.

Junction Colin

Music Maestro please  

Colin Williams said he came in on the first day that licensees, Neil and Maureen opened up and has often played the piano on evenings when they have had a ‘bit of a do’. Like a lot of others, although he doesn’t live in Castleford he regularly makes the trip to The Junction for a pint and good company. I commented on the words of the pub anthems. These were put to Lionel bart’s Food Glorious Food by Rich who is a regular who possesses a great deal of knowledge about the boozer and beer in general, he also penned the poem, An A – Z of The Junction which is on the rear cover of Mr Litten’s book. Not only a good singer, but an erudite gentleman as well. The only thing that sort of unsettled me was Ernie sat on his shoulder. Now it isn’t the first time I’ve seen a parrot in a pub. It’s just that I don’t think you ever get over the novelty of seeing a parrot at liberty in a public space.

Junction parrot

Rich Jones and Ernie

If you’ve never been to The Junction I strongly recommend you get yourselves along to sample the excellent real ales from the wood. If you want to know more about this unique pub, ideally before you visit, then you need to get yourself a copy of Mr Littens book, £7.50 over the bar or £10 by post, email David at [email protected] or read his own account of the evening at A Swift One for full details.

 

Tankovna at Headrow House, Leeds

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HH

Headrow House

Tank beer? I’m going to hold my hands up here and say I honestly thought it was a gimmick. Even though Headrow House opened in October, I’ve held off visiting until the first week of advent. I thought Belgrave Music Hall  was okay, good in parts, excellent, really cheap pizza, but I was put off by an arsey bar maid the first time I went in who took exception at me asking for a top up on a pint of Cloudwater, containing at best two thirds.

Anyway, I’ve been to Headrow House now and it’s dawned on me that I should have been going in from the start. It’s almost as if the people behind the venture just had a bit of a practice, trying out a few ideas, with BMH and have now decided to do it properly. I only really went because a mate had been pestering me to have a look, saying things like; I would like it and the beer was excellent. You were right Al, it looks like a new default venue.

The first pint I had was a Saltaire Pacifica. For me this is proper beer, traditionally brewed with a modern outlook and a boat load of southern hemisphere hops. It instantly highlighted one of the characteristics of real ale because it wasn’t nearly as good as the same pint of beer I had in another noted and esteemed Leeds City centre real ale house, only six days before. Strangely enough I paid 20p more for a pint in the traditional boozer than the £4 here in what is a trendy bar/cocktail bar/restaurant/music venue/roof top garden crossover. If I had to put money on it, I reckon the pint I had last Sunday was fresh on and came from Saltaire in the back of the same van as this barrel did on the Friday (of the week before now). Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t bad beer, it just wasn’t as good as it could have been. So I decided to see what all the fuss was about and try the Tankovna.

HH tank

Tankovna

I apologise Headrow House/BMH people, this is no gimmick, this is beautiful. Frozen glasses, big foaming head, golden amber and a taste like … ? I agonised over the taste; malt, a touch of sweetness and a sort of a cross between sweetcorn and a cows breath when she’s been eating silage. Sounds horrendous I know but if you’re familiar with fermented grass and farmyard animals, then you will know what I mean. This is not Lager as I know it, this is real beer. This is the business and it is no cheap stunt. It is however £4.60 for a pint.

For me the centre of Headrow House is the Beer Hall, think a modern take on the old Bier Keller. Banquettes around the side and refectory style tables and benches down the middle that have the appearance of being made by a failed apprentice butchers block maker. There’s even some of those low slung ercol style chairs they used to have in the staff room at secondary school, circa early seventies. I’m not sure about the ‘wall of logs’ only because I’ve got visions of someone shoving a lit fire lighter in it and it all going up in flames one Saturday night.

HH team

Top bar staff

Apart from the bar at the head of the hall the main focus is the four large copper tanks containing the Plzeňský Prazdroj, that’s Pilsner Urquell to you and me. The competent and friendly staff, we even did a cheesy photo, told me that the unpasteurised Pilsner comes once a week in a big tank in the back of a van. A Czech guy drives the first leg from Plzen to Calais and then Ian does the second leg up to Leeds and back to Calais. Once the four tanks are filled the Pilsner has a shelf life of 21 days until the tank is vented when it lasts for five days. The amount they were selling tells me there was no way there’s any hanging round for five days and I reckon Ian the driver will be gainfullly employed for a long time to come.

HH tap list

Headrow House Tap list

Now I’ve had this discussion with a mate, an original CAMRA bloke, continuous unbroken membership since he joined in the early seventies as student. He was adamant there was no such thing as real Lager, I might have agreed, but not now. I’ve had it, unpasteurised, unfiltered real Lager and it’s frabjous and we are having an outing in the next couple of week to prove the point to a wider audience. I’m just sorry that I can’t compare it with keg Pilsner Urquell beer, because I’ve never had it. What I can say though is that no pasteurised keg or bottled Lager, readily available in UK pubs, tastes like anything like this. So from a CAMRA point of view, it would be real ale then? And will it vary, depending on the brew and how long the tank has been opened?

If you want other beers at Headrow House, then they have them; real ales, craft beers, cans, bottles. Prices were par for the course for Leeds city centre.

HH directroy

Floor directory

Now Headrow House is more than just a Beer Hall. I’ll quote you from their own publicity; Four floors Three bars One Restaurant One Beer hall Three Outdoor areas One Cocktail bar Live room and more! The Cocktail bar looked nice, quiet, sophisticated, relaxed; you can get the Pilsner in here but not the other real ales. The Ox Club restaurant had just finished the Brunch setting in the open plan, watch the chefs style kitchen. The restaurant looked worth a try, most things under £10, modern stylish British cuisine – Onglet, chips, watercress for a tenner sounded pretty reasonable to me.

You couldn’t get onto the highest outdoor terrace owing to the strategically placed Crimbo tree. I’m guessing they don’t want people perched high above the city centre on a steel gantry in inclement weather. In fact there was only me on the roof terrace, stood in the teeth of the storm. I’m not sure about the relevance of the illuminated REM lyrics? They did look good against the back drop of Desmond’s drab raiments though. On summer evenings it has real potential, apart from the downside of probably being overpopulated by smokers. Maybe the terrace could be nicknamed ‘Fag ash Lil’s’, a nice reference to the building’s previous incumbent. Toilets? Different. Clean, tidy and functional so on that score they get a good pass. Anyone who has spent any time in a cell will instantly recognise the pans; Home Office spec stainless steel, one piece. Fair to say, the lack of a toilet seat didn’t go down well with either of the ladies in our party.

HH rooftop 2

Roof top terrace

Clientele? 2.30pm Saturday afternoon, second Saturday in December, Briggate’s absolutely rammed with Christmas shoppers and everywhere we’ve been in so far is quiet, apart from the noted LUFC pubs (LUFC v Hull). Stuck down Bramley’s yard, off the Eastgate end of the Headrow you’d think Headrow House would be quiet too. It isn’t though and you can just about get a table to sit at, so long as you don’t mind sharing. All ages, 18 to 65+, groups of middle age mixed groups, odd student/young professional types on Mac books, couples and groups of male drinkers, of all ages. The standout being that everyone, in their own way, was well dressed and presented. You know, the sort of people who had taken a bit of pride in their appearance. There was even a bit of Stone Island, that obviously weren’t interested in football.

Overall, Headrow House is brill, if BMH was the prototype then this is the real thing. Not a pub, but at the same time, more than a pub. Something that offers lots of everything to lots of people in a modern thriving city centre.