Liverpool Miscellany

Tuesday is not the best day for an afternoon survey as in these post-COVID times lots of places will be shut, but with so many targets in the city centre overdue for a tick I'm sure I can find somewhere.

I started in the Caledonia:

Three pump clips were visible and I chose Urban Shaker which was a delicious creamy stout from Carnival Brewing, just a mile and a half away.  How's that for beer miles!

Only two other customers at two o'clock, and I think they were having coffee.  Then they left, so it was just me and two staff - Or the one my side of the counter could be a customer after all? 

The plain but pleasant enough interior hasn't changed since my previous visit, nether has the high quality of the ale.

I noticed one of the handpumps was offering a 1.8% pale ale, I've never had a beer like that before, too strong to be "low alcohol", too weak to be any good?  I suppose I shouldn't knock it 'till I've tried it.  So I won't knock it.

This would have been a peaceful relaxing pint except that the builders outside were making a terrible racket.  The beer was great, though.

It's downhill now both topographically and, I suspect, beer-wise as I head back towards Lime Street and home.

I wandered down Hardman Street, first passing the Florist.  This one was in the guide database, but research this morning revealed that it is a restaurant with no draft beer, so I decided to delete it.  My guide, my arbitrary rules.

I came to the alleyway that used to lead to the long lost Flying Picket, a music venue and bar which closed back in 2004.    This is now Buyers Club:

Another restaurant but this time they have ten keg taps and my "am I OK to come in for a drink?" was answered favourably, "just order at the bar when you're ready".  I chose a pint of Shipyard, always a favourite.

I sat in the bar room which has a bare brick sort of industrial vibe, rather good, I thought.  There were no other customers in here with me, I had seen a few dining groups sitting outside as I made my way in.  The extensive "beer yard" looks very good, with lots of greenery and flowers to soften the stone floor and brick walls.  Inside, as well as the bar area I was sitting in there is a restaurant room which I didn't visit.

I tried to connect what I was seeing with my recollections of the Picket, but twenty two years is a long time to think back and I suspect it has changed quite a lot. 

Just a little further down Hardman Street is Beer Engine:

Back in the depths of history this was a regular Friday night call for me, when it was a night club called Plummers.

More recently I think they actually had cask ale, there is no sign of that now but the beer engines still decorate the end of the counter. 

One of the signs of getting old:  I thought "why is this child asking what I want to drink"?  Of course, it was the barmaid, and she quickly poured me a pint of Erdinger (In an Erdinger glass, naturally).  Later someone ordered a cocktail of some sort, which she prepared with aplomb, clearly a skilled barmaid whatever her age. 

The bare brick decor in here is well done, with lots of breweriania, is that how you spell it? 

A handful of customers were in at three on a Tuesday (I hadn't even expected it to be open).  It was the pool players who had ordered cocktails, not what one expects for pool players but anyone who suggests they shouldn't drink whatever they want is an idiot.  They also ordered some food which, I must say, looked tempting.

I had a look at the menu on my table, it appears rather good; pizzas, wraps, burgers and so on, very reasonably priced.  The note at the bottom "£1 increase on all prices from 2:00am" perhaps indicates the market this place is aiming at.  I don't remember the last time I was in a bar at 02:00, let alone eating!

I continued to monitor the counter:  Hobgoblin IPA came in that chunky Hobgoblin glass, Neck Oil also came in a branded glass, this seems to be the standard nowadays.  Mind you, yesterday I had some White Rat in the Big House and it came in a dimple; I know they've got a stock of White Rat conics but I'm not going to complain when the beer is gorgeous, am I.

I skipped the Fly In The Loaf since I ticked it in 2022 and carried on down the hill.  Never visited Bock Bar was shut despite Google saying it was open from 10.

I carried on homewards and with a supreme effort of willpower resisted the wonderful Dispensary and went into Danny Macs:

Last time I was in here, in 2019, it was called "Roscoe Arms".  Since then it has been Butterfly and Grasshopper and then more recently Danny Macs, but not much has changed, it is still a comfortable friendly boozer, now with something of an Irish theme.

I had a Guinness and sat in the lower part of the pub (It is on a slope to match the street.) on a comfortable leather bench seat along the wall. 

I looked somewhat longingly out of the window at the Dispensary across the road where I could be enjoying Plum Porter. (It was in the Dispensary that I first tasted this wonderful ale, way back in 2011.)   The suffering I go through for the guide!

I think that's enough for a Tuesday, let's go home.

Pub of the day: Caledonian
Beer of the day: Carnival Urban Shaker
Miles walked: 1.8
Maybe coming soon: Greasby, Southport, Cantril Farm

Birkenhead

Foolishly I allowed a negative weather forecast to dissuade me from the intended rural stroll, so instead I headed for Birkenhead, where a number of overdue ticks have rather crept up on me.  I started in the Waterloo:

This pub is something of a backstreet beauty.  The two sided layout has had some knocking through over the years but it is still two separate rooms with two counters.  At least I think that's the case, a mirrored bar back meant I could see another counter but it was just a reflection. 

The two beautifully polished handpumps are purely decorative, I think, so I enjoyed my usual Carling. 

Excellent traditional decor in here, varnished matchboarding below the dado, cream paint above.  Bench seats along one wall.  Everything is well maintained and I think the word I'm looking for is immaculate.  Well done! 

A handful of regulars were in the side I chose, chatting and playing the fruit machines. 

Another one for my collection of witty notices:  If you're waiting for a sign THIS IS IT.

Next, the George and Dragon:

Another well done traditional boozer perhaps not as beautiful as the last one, but a lot busier with about two dozen customers of all ages enjoying lager and chatter.

The cheerful friendly barmaid knew every order before it was asked, a mark of skill indeed.  She was kept busy pouring drinks almost continuously.

There was a group of "lads" in one corner who I thought looked a bit suspect, but I think that was just me.  They did nothing to justify my prejudices, and departed in a taxi at the same time as I left.

On to the Firemans Arms:

Here I found myself in a rather pretty room, the feature catching my eye was the (plastic) flower arrangements on the tables.  Not as busy as the George but still doing well with a number of conversations creating the soundtrack as I relaxed with another Carling. 

Maybe the weather forecast wasn't so wrong after all, it was raining as I departed the Firemans.  Luckily, only a short walk to the next target, a new tick which I had noticed last week on the way past, Future Yard:

This used to be a night club called @75 (Which didn't half make a mess of the index in the book as my software hadn't taken account of names beginning with symbols!)  It has been redone as a rather odd bar cum music venue.  I selected something tasty from the small range of craft ales, all locally sourced.  £5.60 was a bit much after three Carlings all well under four quid.

A number of weirdos were hanging about but I was the only person who bought a beer while I was here.  It's hard to describe the place fairly, it was totally devoid of atmosphere because I was the only customer.  I imagine later on, with some music and some music fans it will be lively.

Anywhere with a "gender neutral and accessible toilet" has to be suspect, I think. Didn't stop me using it, though.  They've slipped up, surely it should be "composting" and/or flushed by rainwater as well?

Oh well, it is good to get bar number 1,501 so I can write "over 1,500" in the description of the next edition of the book.  I had hoped for another new one around here, Bar 36 claims to open at 12 on a Friday but it wasn't, so I'll probably never do that one. 

I headed for the Lion, which spent a time as Monkeys Nuts but seems to have reverted to its previous name.  Curses, it's shut.  Next on my list was Sue's but this is now a burger place which intriguingly has a licence application in the front window, but it's not open now.  At this point I said a rude phrase and headed towards home.

I got as far as Lime Street only to find a string of cancellations so after considering sitting on a stationary train for twenty minutes I decided on a visit to Wetherspoon's North Western, where despite it being packed I was quickly served a pint of Nottingham Citra, which was the beer of the day by a big margin. 

This branch of my favourite pub chain is always busy, an amazing quantity of drinkers and diners keeping the staff working hard, and yet still they provided prompt and efficient service and excellent ales.  

Finally, a second attempt to find a train home, this time it was running.  I have a number of activities planned which will keep me busy over the next few weekends, so don't panic if I disappear for a while.  Rest assured I will be visiting lots of pubs, but they might not be in Merseyside and they might not be blogged.

Pub of the day: Waterloo (Fireman's a very close second)
Beer of the day: Nottingham Citra
Miles walked: 0.9
Maybe coming soon: Southport, Cantril Farm, Greasby

Fifteen Hundred!

I took an uncomfortably hot bus under the river and on to Prenton.  Excitement was mounting as I walked along the row of shops and here it is, Bar 361:

A very pleasant shop conversion with bench seats and an attractive traditionally styled counter complete with gantry.  Really well done.

No real ale so I had my usual Carling, which became my tenth one on untappd.  

Anyway, this is the fifteen hundredth Merseyside pub I have drunk in.  Twenty years ago number 1,000 was MacKenzie in Birkenhead which I passed on the bus today, it is still going.  Will I ever get to two thousand?  I doubt it very much.  Sitting here enjoying my lager, I wondered what the total number of pub visits I have made would be.  I try to revisit every five years, so clearly it is going to be a lot more than 1,500.  I think maybe when I get home I'll do some database analysis, which will tell me how many visits I've logged, although before 2004 many will be missing because then I only retained records of the most recent visit.  Update:  The answer is 3,623.  Of course the figure is fairly meaningless anyway because a typical week for me will include drinking with pals in three or more pubs which I don't record in the database.  (If you look at the merseypub.com website or in the book you can see pubs recorded as "Visited" without a date - These are the ones I drink in regularly.)

Sorry, that's a lot of waffle that's nothing to do with this pub; let's get back to work!  One other customer at one on a Friday is not very good; I hope it is busier this evening.

Next, just along the road is the Halfway House:

The Cask Marque plaque raised my hopes but there was no real ale available, so it was another Carling for me.

The bar side was closed, I sat with two or three others in the very nicely done out lounge.  Nothing spectacular in the decor, it's just very well cared for.

I was pleased to see the cricket on the big screen, they were showing golf in 361.  After lunch England seem to be doing well despite the conditions favouring batting.  I must say the Sky Sports commentary is not a patch on Test Match Special, where Aggers and Tuffers and all the rest provide lots of entertainment. 

Gradually more customers appeared, keeping the place ticking over.  Most of them seemed to be older than I.

Next, on to the Mersey Clipper:

A Greene King house, this one, with Flaming Grill branding. 

On a hot Friday I nervously eyed up the handpumps, only one of the three has a sparkler fitted, and decided discretion is the better part of valour so I had a lager.  They'd run out of Carling, you don't hear that very often!  Madri was my second choice.

In my database this was called the Birch Tree, it seems to have reverted to its previous name some time since my last visit back in 2018.  Nothing else has changed, it is still an above average dining pub.  I'm not sure why but this place seems to have more character than many of the chain pubs.  At half two it was pretty quiet but not completely deserted.

Golf was on the tellies that I could see here, there's only two things more boring than watching golf on the TV, one is watching it in person, and the other is actually playing.  Oooh, controversial!  On further reflection I take that back:  On the telly you only see the exciting shots so it can be quite entertaining.  The other two are still boring, though.

Just the width of the footie ground down the road is the Prenton Park:

 

I had forgotten, or not noticed previously, what a magnificent building this is, I'm going to guess 1920s, with a bit of brewers' Tudor, large castellated bay windows at the rear, tall chimneys and so on.  Inside there has been a lot of knocking through so while it is pleasant it's not very historic. 

No real ale so I had another Carling. 

For the first time on this survey, the main sound in the pub was conversation as the customers discussed various topics, most of which seemed to be football related.  When does the season begin, it can't be long now? 

Suddenly a gaggle of women appeared, increasing the sound level significantly.  I was going to write "old" there but they were all younger than I, one or two of them much younger. 

I checked the cricket on my phone, England not doing so well this afternoon.

By the time I'd finished my pint the place was buzzing, the music completely drowned by cheerful chatter. 

Where next?  I could head down to the Sportsman's and then on to the Beehive, but there's one outlier in the other direction, so I think that is the way to go.  When I blogged a visit to Oxton a few weeks ago someone anonymous commented that I'd got the Cock and Pullet as closed but in fact it has reopened.  So let's try that one now, reverted to its former name, the Royal:

What an excellent end to today's researches, two handpumps and one was White Rat so I had a wonderful pint thereof.  Last time I was in here, eleven years ago, I noted seven handpumps.  Sadly the "Cock and" chain didn't survive, but at least in this case the pub and the fine real ale have.

Pleasantly decorated with some bare brick walls and comfortable bench seating all round the room. 

Like the last pub, plenty of customers were keeping the chatter level high.

In summary, a great survey which started with a new one and a big number, and ended with a favourite ale.  One can't ask for more than that!  Let's go home.

Pub of the day: Royal
Beer of the day: Ossett White Rat
Miles walked: 1.6
Maybe coming soon: Cantril Farm, Birkenhead, Southport

Sunlight on Bebington

Technically not a pub research trip today, just a few pubs with friends on a pleasantly sunny afternoon.  We headed to Port Sunlight and the historic Bridge Inn:

We eschewed the only cask (Greene King IPA) and had Neck Oil here.

Last time I was here I sat in the other side, I seem to recall, but that is now the restaurant area, so we settled in the comfortable bar side (Where you can also dine.) of this beautiful pub/hotel.

The standard Flaming Grill menu was selling well, fish and chips was £9.39

Next, we headed under the railway to Bebington to visit the Rose And Crown:

Another beauty, this multi-roomed place is a Thwaites house serving their own beers and guests.  We had Thwaites Gold, which was very good. 

It was pretty quiet in here at half three on a Wednesday, but I noticed a number of tables reserved for later so it obviously gets busier.

I see they have live music every Saturday.

Just up the road is the Wellington:

Another pleasant pub, this time run by Greene King.  Sadly, no cask was on so we had Hazy Day, a very tasty pale one from GK.

Again ticking over gently but not at all busy. 

Time to double back to the four o'clock opening Collaboration, a new one for me:

This is number 1,499 on my all time list of visited Merseyside pubs, and it's a good 'un.  An excellent micro pub where we enjoyed a fine pint of Farm Yard Sheaf, which has Citra hops in its delicious recipe.  A standard shop conversion, pretty busy with a mixed crowd at five o'clock.  By the time we left there were people standing because all the seats were occupied.

I am hoping to make number 1,500 something special but I fear it won't match this gem.  I guess I'll just take things as they come.  It could be this week!

Having exhausted my list of targets in this part of Bebington, we decided to head back to Birkenhead.  I attempted to lead the party back to the station via a short cut which doesn't exist so we ended up going the long way round.  I have submitted a correction to Google Maps.

Back in Birkenhead a quick visit to Wetherspoon's Brass Balance was called for.  Here we selected Bishops Farewell from Oakham, a great beer to finish our afternoon out.

This place is always busy and popular and today was no exception, but there were still plenty of places for us to find a table.

Pub of the day: Collaboration
Beer of the day: Oakham Bishops Farewell
Miles walked: 1.9
Maybe coming soon: Cantril Farm, Prenton, Southport, Birkenhead

St Helens

The weather forecast was very poor, so once again I abandoned a plan which required lots of walking.  Instead I headed to St Helens where there are plenty of required targets.

I started my survey at the Brasserie Chalon:

The name always conjures up a mental picture of a posh bistro restaurant sort of place, I wonder if it ever was like that? 

What we find now is a nicely done plain clean and tidy boozer, where I enjoyed my first Carling of the day.  Quite a lot of people in at lunchtime, and the rooms were filled with cheerful conversations.  One bloke, with two empty Amstel glasses in front of him, was asleep.  It's a bit early for that, I thought.  But why not - The place is warm, comfortable and friendly and he's not doing any harm to anyone.

Next, on to somewhere where I should get a pint of something good, the Sefton:

Or maybe not.  I chose Rev James.  I took a sip, er, that's not right.  I took a bigger swig:  Yeuch!  More suited to pouring on chips.  Now I hate taking beer back, and have often drunk dodgy pints rather than reject them, or even left them behind on the table and walked out, but this one was horrible so I stepped up and complained.  The cheerful barmaid quickly poured me a pint of London Pride which was very good albeit perhaps slightly short measure.  Even better, she immediately turned the clip round on the Rev James. 

So, the crisis over, I sat back and enjoyed my pint.  The pub was ticking over nicely with a scattered crowd of diners and drinkers.  On a Friday afternoon it really should be busier than this, though. 

The large open room decorated in traditional style was, of course, covered in euro flags, I expect many pubs will do well around the final on Sunday.  On that subject, I was somewhat surprised to find my local Wetherspoon branch extra busy on Wednesday evening, despite them only displaying sports on one telly.  All good for my shares, though! 

Next, along Westfield Street let's see what survives:  The Wheatsheaf is neglected and has a For Sale sign, Kingdom (Punch Tarmey's when I visited) is boarded up and also for sale.  On the other hand, Dreem has lost its D but is still going strong:

Nothing has changed in this plain down market corridor bar since my previous call, back in 2018.  The regulars all know each other and they just ignore the stranger fiddling with his tablet.

Carling was my choice here, only £2.60.   Good grief, this place has that rare thing, a clearly readable price list, and I've chosen an expensive beer!  Fosters, John Smith's and Strongbow are all cheaper.

The weather is so bad the central heating is on in here, and my chosen seat was in front of a pleasantly warm radiator.

Now, on to one of those wonderful things:  A new(ish) place I've never heard of, number 1,498 on my list of visited bars, Coco's:

The sign on the door says only over 35s are allowed in here, I'm not sure if that is a joke or are they serious?  Not a limitation I have to worry about, anyway.  I checked streetview to find out how new this place is and discovered it has been here for at least eight years, so I'm embarrassed to admit I must have walked past without noticing it on a number of occasions.  Oh well, better late than never.

Another small bar where everyone knows everyone else, and most (but not all) of them are older than I.  Once again, the pub ticker typing on his tablet is ignored.

The decor is very well done with black sparkle tiles in the floor and silvery walls decorated with Elvis pictures.  There's a small stage at one end of the room, so perhaps it's live music later; more likely karaoke.

Another Carling for me, £2.60 again. 

What a wonderful friendly boozer this is, everyone is cheerful and enjoying their chatter, although having said that a brief argument started while I was in the gents, I could hear some raised voices.  It was all over by the time I came out.

Just one more target in this end of town, the Market Tavern:

There was only one operational handpump in a mainly keg pub, but I risked a pint of Moorhouse's White Witch.  It was gorgeous, definitely pint of the day, remarkably fruity.

Although by no means packed the pub was much busier than all the previous ticks, and the background music was mostly drowned out by chatter and laughter. 

It's not often I notice a humorous "quotation" on the wall I've not seen before, but I do like "Trust me, you can dance" credited to Beer.  I have fallen for that one on occasion.

St Helens truly is a wonderful pub destination, even if you don't go looking for the specialist cask places.  All life is here, which I fear is the snob's way of saying it is all down market.  Can I put it better?  Real people in real pubs, is that closer to what I'm trying to say? 

Pub of the day: Market Tavern
Beer of the day: White Witch
Miles walked: 1.2
Maybe coming soon: Cantril Farm, Bebington, Prenton

Cains Brewery Village

The poor weather made my plan with a long walk rather unattractive, so instead today a train and a bus carried me to Cains Brewery Village where there are a number of outlets not visited since 2018 and, I hope, a couple of new ones as well. 

I started in the beautiful Brewery Tap:

On Wednesday I was chatting to a pal about beer quality and I said it was a long time since I'd had an off pint.  So inevitably my very next pint of cask, Beartown Glacier, was somewhat "on the turn" here.  I probably should have rejected it.  Another customer took back a pint of Madri and it was promptly replaced by a Staropramen.  Does that mean all the beer is awful?

The gorgeous interior is unchanged since my last visit, and the pub was doing a decent trade despite the cold weather.  Multiple conversations mixed with "grunt-bonk-bonk-bonk-bonk-applause-thirty-forty".  

Next, a new one, Cains Brewery:

One fairly small room with bare brick walls, I don't think I've been in here before.  Completely deserted at two o'clock, just two bar staff and me. 

Four handpumps on the counter but no clips, I think the small brewery which can be seen behind the servery is currently idle, which is a shame as their recreation of Cains FA was superb.

Gosh, two more customers! I glanced down at my tablet and when I looked up they had disappeared.  Maybe sitting outside?  Then another one, and he stayed. 

Looking out of the door I could see plenty of people walking up and down the street, so at least some parts of the complex must be busier.  It's a bit early for footie fans to be bagging their places, the match starts at five.  No tellies in here so this one will be a football free zone, I guess. 

Baltic Market:

This one is a giant busy food hall, I got a pint of Dortmunder from the bar and sat at the corner of one of the bench tables.  Lots of food was coming out from all of the little kitchens, very tempting I must say. 

This is where all the people I'd seen on the street have ended up, the place is packed. 

Definitely not a "pub" but somehow I like this place.  All you have to do is sit at a bench and order food and drink on your phone, and it magically appears.  My idea of heaven! 

Platform 89:

Another one new to me, once again a smallish bar; this time it seems to aim at live music or maybe karaoke, there's a large table with microphones and a big mixing desk.  And some enormous speakers.

Modern decor in here, nicely done with a "black sparkle" counter front. 

The cheerful barmaid quickly left her chat to serve me a pint of Madri, in a plastic glass.  The weather has put everyone off, she said - There were only two other customers.  Another footie-free one, this.

No one else arrived or departed while I swigged my beer. 

Finally, the Tank Room:

I seem to recall the special feature of this outlet was proper Czech lager from a large tank.  No longer the case, the special tanks are out of action although still present.  So I chose the always tasty Neck Oil.

Quirky fun decor in here, once again I like it, but it's a shame the tanks are no longer in use. 

Custom was gently ticking over.

Amusing sight of the day:  Two women ordered a large quantity of shots, I guessed there was a gang of them outside.  One was left with four or five of those little thimbles to carry, and to ensure she didn't spill any she took a sip out of each one!  Don't worry, I won't tell.  (Except here)  Of course, it's equally possible that there was no "gang" and all the shots tasted were hers, but my version is more fun, I think.

Five ticks, two new ones, time for home I think.  My total is now 1,497, we're getting close!

As I departed I passed the building which was a nightclub-style place called Black Pearl when I was here in 2022.  It is now called BOXPARK and according to their website it is a large "events space" surrounded by food and drink counters.  At four o'clock there was a long queue of people waiting to get in, presumably wanting to watch the football.

Pub of the day: Brewery Tap
Beer of the day: Neck Oil
Miles walked: 0.75
Maybe coming soon: Cantril Farm, Bebington, Prenton, Southport