All Things Beer!

Sounds like it will be a fun weekend Albatross! 

another great thing is that we're going mid-week, so I'm off work for the full week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(hate that place!)

another great thing is that we're going mid-week, so I'm off work for the full week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(hate that place!)

Even better!!!

Really excited to be going down to Sheffield in 3 weeks time... we'll be there for 3 days and have booked a lovely apartment (instead of a hotel) which seems to be pretty much equidistant between the Ossett tap and Abbeydale heaven (Dev Cat).
And because we will be there more than 1 day, this time we will make it over to the pubs in the Kelham Island area too.

That would place you somewhere around Barnsley! Unless you really meant Ossett's The Hop, rather the Tap! 

You have to make it to Kelham Island, also New Barrack Tavern and the Rutland Arms.
When will you be there....maybe myself and the missus might be able to make it down

That would place you somewhere around Barnsley! Unless you really meant Ossett's The Hop, rather the Tap! 

You have to make it to Kelham Island, also New Barrack Tavern and the Rutland Arms.
When will you be there....maybe myself and the missus might be able to make it down

Yeah, I meant The Hop, of course! I think it's the 8 - 10th we're there.

Brilliant break in Sheffield!
Drank my body weight (a lot!) in Ossett Excelsior, plus a lot of other good beers as well.  We never had a single bad beer until we stopped into a Wetherspoons on our way home!

Discovered a new (to us) pub in Fulwood (suburb of Sheffield?) called the Rising Sun... 13 hand pumps, 6 are Abbeydale and the rest ever-changing guest ales.  We were there on a good day, and everything we tasted was completely brilliant.  Plus there was a constant parade of dogs coming in and out, which we always enjoy.

Discovered a new (to us) pub in Fulwood (suburb of Sheffield?) called the Rising Sun... 13 hand pumps, 6 are Abbeydale and the rest ever-changing guest ales.  We were there on a good day, and everything we tasted was completely brilliant.  Plus there was a constant parade of dogs coming in and out, which we always enjoy.

I love dogs in pubs, always makes my day. That sounds like a brilliant place!

I love dogs in pubs, always makes my day. That sounds like a brilliant place!

I love dogs in pubs too! One of the pubs hubby used to play against in his pool league had a resident pooch. He was the sweetest guy, and everyone just adored him. He was the reason I loved that pub. If it wasn't for him it would have been just like so many others.

Came to post: We're off to a Jazz, Wine and Craft Beer festival tomorrow. I can't wait to see what is new since last year.

I will be visiting in the Oxford area on the 4th of July this year. I know I will be missing all the wonderful celebrations back home so I was hoping I could find a bar in Oxford where there might be other Americans celebrating and enjoying a cold American beer. Any chances y'all know of any places like that?

Hobgoblin has made it to Vincennes! Hobgoblin has made it to Vincennes! I had a bit of a giggle as I took the bottle from the shelf of refrigerated beers, singing 'Happy birthday to me!' (although that is next week....) and hugging the bottle. One of the employees happened to be walking by, smiled and asked if I'd ever tried it. I explained about drinking it while living in the UK, then only finding it in Owensboro, Ky, since moving back, which is currently about 87 miles away.

Oh the JOY!

I still had (currently drinking it) one Hobgoblin saved in the fridge. Today we went to Evansville and hit two different liquor stores to pick up a few special beers since it is hubby's birthday. I got a Trooper, a Sam Smith's Organic Cherry, and a Voodoo Doughnut Pretzel, Raspberry and Chocolate Ale from Rogue Brewery. The Voodoo Doughnut line has that one, a Chocolate, Banana and Peanut Butter ale, a Maple Bacon ale, and maybe others. I haven't really researched it. I'm not sure about the Maple Bacon one, but at $11.99 for 750ml, I only got one to try, and would try the Chocolate, Banana and Peanut Butter one next.

Been back from a trip to the US for just over a week. We were in Philadelphia, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont and Carolina.
Came across a few brew pubs whilst there, and some great bars.
Bru and Wurst in Philly was great, nice selection of beers though most were over 7%! Found a brewpub in New London, NH called The Flying Goose.
A few other places, but the reason I'm posting this is to mention one in Lebanon, NH called Seven Barrels Brewery. All there own beers brewed on site. I looked at the beer list and selected a red ale, forget the name now, and then continued to look through and noticed it said they had cask beers, I looked around and then spotted 2 hand pumps on the bar! The barmaid was still doing my wife's drink and I asked what they had on cask, she said that the red was on so I asked for it from cask. However, the beer wasn't great, had a bit of a sour taste to it. Not quite so bad that i sent back although in my local here I would have done. After I had an IPA on tap. Anyway, whilst having that got chatting with the barmaid, she was asking where we were from and then asked me what I thought about the beers as they advertise their beers as being "British style" so do get a bit worried when Brits come in to see if they really are. I mentioned about not often finding cask in the US and she said "yes, we don't sell much and that has been on a while"! I mentioned about it being sour and she seemed genuinely shocked when I said that cask beer has a life of only 3 or 4 days once it's on.

I mentioned about it being sour and she seemed genuinely shocked when I said that cask beer has a life of only 3 or 4 days once it's on.

Mmm, definitely something you don't see a lot of in American bars, and therefore, I don't think a lot of training is being given.  Some small brewers may create a cask ale in small amounts for something special, but usually it's all kegs/bottles in the US.  And Americans are atuned to having an ice cold brew, rather than a cellar temp brew ,so they're not too popular, other than for novelty factor!    Get lots of great beer in America now though -  Always something interesting to try when I go there!   

Get lots of great beer in America now though -  Always something interesting to try when I go there!   

I was pleasantly surprised when moving home two years ago just how much choice there is now for great beer here. We have an enjoyable time studying the selection and choosing what we want to try. Even hubby is pleasantly surprised by what we have to choose from, and how much of it is brewed within 50 miles of us.

I mentioned about not often finding cask in the US and she said "yes, we don't sell much and that has been on a while"! I mentioned about it being sour and she seemed genuinely shocked when I said that cask beer has a life of only 3 or 4 days once it's on.

Glasgow Real Ale Festival starts tomorrow... the first CAMRA fest in Glasgow for almost 20 years!  We've been working hard on it, and learning a lot from our more seasoned fest organisers from Renfrewshire CAMRA.  Beer list looks really good, but our draught German beer supplier has let us down and is now only supplying bottles, which has been a huge disappointment, as we've been advertising German biers vom fass. 

http://www.glasgowrealalefestival.co.uk/

That looks like a great beer list Albatross! Enjoy!!!!   
(But sorry about your German beer  )