Yes, it's me, I'm back! A month in Japan and two or three weeks when I was busy doing other things have prevented surveys, but I should be OK for a few weeks now. (No promises!) If you want to see what I did on holiday I am creating a record here, it is mainly trains but there are a few beer and bar reports.
Today I headed to Crosby to revisit a couple of targets, starting with the Corner Post:
This is a classic micro pub, a pleasant friendly shop conversion offering excellent real ales. Shortly after their two o'clock opening there were only two other customers, who were chatting with the friendly barman.
I had a fine pint of Glacier from Beartown, a pleasant pale one, and relaxed on the bench seat.
I've said it before and I'll probably say it again: If someone opened a place like this near my home, I'd be in every day and the pub guide could go hang!
Just round the corner is a more traditional pub, the Royal Oak:
A rather fine building knocked through inside with not much original remaining except for some leaded glass in the back windows.
I reverted to my usual Carling here. I drank quite a lot of Asahi in Japan so I was used to this, and there were a couple of other boring "national" brews, Sapporo, Yebisu, and so on. I also had some much more interesting beers from micro breweries, at up to 14%.
Only two or three customers at three on a Saturday. Hopefully they are busier later.
That reminds me, I wonder how many pubs will be open in the early hours of Monday for the footie. If there is one near me I might go just to say I've had a pint at half four in the morning. Regular readers of my blogs may know I visited Smithfield Market in London especially to get a pint at 7am when the pub opened!
The plan was to head to Waterloo next, but Google Maps threw up a target of which I wasn't aware, so next it's the Oxford Bar:
The Morning Advertiser loves to go on about how many bars are closing, but they really need to count openings as well, I keep finding new (to me) ones in unexpected places, such as this.
A standard, but very well done, shop conversion, and I was pleased to see two handpumps. Less pleased to find my pint of Kalaidascope from Strawberry Fields was a little tired. I drank it anyway.
Three groups of customers, of ages ranging from about six to older than me, were filling the small room with cheerful chatter, the place is clearly doing well.
Rugby was on the telly, I saw lots of fans as I passed through town, is it at Anfield? No, the match on the TV is in Cardiff. Eventually I got Google to tell me that the fans I had seen were heading to Rugby League at Everton's new stadium.
Where next? In Waterloo there is one pub overdue for a tick, and one never ticked, so let's start at the Liver, a long standing favourite of mine. No, let's not. I headed for the Bodega del Lobo:
This tiny shop conversion is really pleasant inside. It is a special target because last time I was here they were closed for a private function, so I was really keen to get in today.
There were five taps on the bar back and I chose Mahou, a tasty lager from Madrid. I noted I didn't pay for it, I hope I remember when it's time to leave!
Five other customers were creating cheerful chit-chat which was drowning the muzac.
I'm not sure what it is but I really like this one. Could it be that one of the taps is Guinness which is always a good option in a bar, I think. (I noticed the two blokes in here were both on the black stuff.) The place is also beautifully decorated and fitted out.
Can I add my usual grumble that the cocktail menu doesn't include my favourite, a bloody Mary? Even British Airways can do this on a long haul flight, and they have a bottle of Worcester Sauce ready!
Just two doors down is Soul Train Club Tropicana from which a lot of noise is emanating, but I think I ought to try it:
Definitely a night time place this, with a small front bar room and a larger back room. At five on a Saturday I was the only customer.
The decor is rather good, sort of Hawaiian style I think, I imagine this place is packed later on, (and it should be) but at this time it's a bit early.
I enjoyed my San Miguel in total solitude. Directly opposite my seat was an historic Four Tops poster. I saw them live on Monday, not really my sort of music but I had won free tickets and they were really very good, along with The Temptations.
The "boss" was fiddling with the audio, eventually resulting in a period of silence. Three more customers came in, maybe the peace and quiet attracted them!?
Next, there's a bar I've never ticked just a short distance down the road. Could Bunratty's be open? No, it isn't; is it ever?
So just one more required tick locally, a favourite of mine, the Liver:
I forgot to take a photo, it's always difficult here without getting run over especially after a few pints, so this one is from 2021.
Still a great pub but no real ale any more, I'm afraid, so deleted from my favourites list. Never mind, I enjoyed my pint of Strongbow. Which came in a Strongbow glass, as it should.
Not packed but doing quite well at five on a Saturday, although I couldn't see anyone eating. Rugby was on the giant screen but I don't think anyone was watching.
Well well, three new ticks, I didn't expect that. Time for home.
Beer of the day: Beartown Glacier
Miles walked: 1.9
Merseyside pubs visited in the last five years: 1,012
Maybe coming soon: Undecided
