Two New Pubs for Oxford

Pub news tends to be dominated by closures, so it's fantastic to be able to report on not one, but two new openings in Oxford in the latter half of 2018.

It's taken me a couple of months to wander up to Summertown to visit the Bicycle Shed, but we made it on the day of opening to the Plough on Cornmarket Street.

Smart bar at The Plough, Cornmarket Street, Oxford

The Plough (38 Cornmarket Street, OX1 3HA).
The Plough opened on Friday 21st December to make the most of the festive drinks trade, although it's still a work-in-progress with the upstairs dining room to be completed.  The downstairs bar will be dedicated to serving drinks, with large windows opening up onto Cornmarket and St Michael's Street.  It's bright and airy with a modern feel and an unusual 'V' shaped bar.
First registered as a pub in 1656, the last ales were served on the site in 1924 at which point it was converted into the Domestic Bazaar Company.  Austin Reed opened in 1936 and sold their suits in this location until 2016. 
Many of the original features were lost during it's shop conversion, although the 1st floor windows and two pediments are said to be original.
The return of the Plough is the work of Chris Mulhall, who runs the 1855 bar in the Castle Quarter.  XT brewery have worked in partnership on the project, so on this first day visit we found XT4 plus Animal 'Hop Kitty' & 'Koala' on cask, whilst their Oxford Lager, Oxford IPA and Imperial Stout were pouring on the keg lines.  Excitingly they're installed brewing equipment and the facility to serve the beer straight from the tanks.

Brewing Kit at the Plough

The 'Koala' was served up with a great frothy head and was tasting great.  I popped back to the bar for a half of the 8.6% stout, which I don't think I've seen available anywhere previously.

According to to this Oxford History website there were 16 pubs along Cornmarket over the years, from the original Jolly Farmers at number 1 to the Sun Vaults at number 63.
Until this years re-opening of the Plough, The Crown was the only one remaining of these 16 pubs.

Oxford's second new pub to report is a couple of miles north up Banbury Road in the Summertown area...

Oxfords leafy suburbs - The Bicycle Shed Pub and Summertown Cycles

The Bicycle Shed (204-206 Banbury Road, OX2 7BY -  website)
Opening at the beginning of October 2018 this is a venture by the same folks behind central locations St Aldates Tavern, The Grapes and the George Street Social.
They've taken over a location once housing an Indian restaurant and (appropriately with their name) next door to Summertown Cycles.  For many years now the Dew Drop Inn has been the only pub serving this part of town, with a fair old trek to get to the nearest alternatives.

Drinking Locale at the Bicycle Shed, Summertown

The Bicycle Shed is set back from the road with a patio area out front.  The website and early reviews were heavily orientated towards food, so I worried that this would be a 'gastro' pub with little thought for anyone just wanting a drink.  But the front bar is comfortable to just settle and relax in, whilst the back room, the 'Potting Shed', is set for dining with many of the tables reserved on our visit. 
On the bar were three local cask ales from Siren, XT and Loose Cannon, plus some decent keg offerings including a couple of beers from Box Steam and a tasty single-hop table beer from Tap Social.
We did stay to eat and I'd happily recommend heading here for the food.  There's a focus on vegetarian and vegan dishes, although good choices for the carnivore too, catering for all.

It's brilliant to see new pubs appear and I hope that they attract new customers and prosper well.Hopefully 2019 will see the Somerset in Marston finally reopening after a long campaign by locals, and perhaps the Hollybush on Osney Island opening it's doors once more? 

Good for the...Constitution, Camden Town

Attending a training course found me back in Camden Town earlier in the week: a return to what was a bit of a local haunt back in the days when I lived in London.
Over the year's I've seen many a band, who turned out not to be the next big thing,  playing in sticky floored venues across Camden.
And on the most foolhardy of nights we'd end up with cans of Red Stripe in the dodgy back room of the Marathon Bar.
Those were the days. 
Sort of.

The all-seeing Camden Eye.

I'm quite pathetically un-rock'n'roll these days, with a remit to get home at a sensible hour.
Just enough time, then, to check out a handful of bars after being released form my course. 

The Camden Eye (2 Kentish Town Road, NW1 9NX)
This pub stands majestically on the junction of Kentish Town Road and Camden Road, looking across the road at both the Underground station and rock institution The Underworld.
It used to be the Halfway House until being taken over by Laine's and re-named in 2017.  In a recent face-lift the mock Tudor frontage of the upper floors has been replaced by a moody blue paint-job and a white all-seeing eye on the gable.
I just hopped in for a very swift half here, so didn't really get to take in the full pub experience, but it's in a handy location and serves up a decent ale brewed by Laine's, plus a good craft keg selection.

Brewdog (113 Bayham Street, NW1 0AG)

I can remember visiting this when it first opened back in 2011, excited by this new-fangled craft beer stuff (It'll never catch on).
This was a time when Brewdog hadn't begun worldwide domination and you couldn't pick up a Punk IPA in your local Tesco.  The Camden branch was just the fourth bar in their chain to open and their first outside of Scotland.

It's a relatively small street-corner location, hence can get very busy very quickly.  Midweek at 5pm though there's just a handful of customers and it's comfortable and relaxed.
Brewdog rarely disappoint with the opportunity to pick something stupidly strong, and so it was on this occasion  as I chose 'Heir Apparent', an 11.5% imperial stout from Lickinghole Creek Brewery over in the US of A.  And very nice it was too.
My one gripe is the barman filling the glass below the ⅓ pint line and telling me to wait a few minutes and it would settle to the line.  Hmmm - I'd rather see it filled to the line straight away and pleasantly settle just above a few minutes later. 
Especially as these strong imported ales sure don't come cheap.

Just over five minutes walk eastwards from Brewdog takes me to an area once known as Agar Town.  This is a lost neighbourhood of London, which may not be a bad thing as it was, by all accounts, a bit of a shit-hole.  Built in the 1840's it was cheaply constructed with no street lights or sewerage and quickly gained a terrible reputation.
Charles Dickens is quoted as saying that "the stench on a rainy day is enough to knock down a bullock".
In 1866 the Midland Railway enquired about buying the land as they constructed the new St Pancras station. The estate landlords couldn't have been more eager to sell up and the whole area was demolished within 2 months. 
All of which brings me to...

The Constitution (42 St Pancras Way, Camden Town, NW1 2QT)

Better than a fruit machine.
Retro table-top Donkey Kong  at the Constitution.

Built in 1858, this pub is the last remaining building of the Agar Estate.  With a host of dull modern buildings in the vicinity now, the pub stands proudly next to the canal.

It has a sizeable open plan room although there's a bit of a shortage of tables partly because a darts board and pool table take up a chunk of the space.  There's a small raised area occupied this evening by a few old boys and a sleepy dog, whilst a bunch of youngsters utilise the pool table.

With four ales on cask, I picked an autumnal ale from Windsor & Eton Brewery, served in good condition and coming in at £4 a pint.  Which I figured was pretty reasonable for London.  
The Constitution is listed in the 2019 Good Beer Guide and is well worth venturing beyond the main drag of Camden Town to visit.

Next up, a long walk along Agar Grove took me to...

Two Tribes (Tileyard Studios, Tileyard Road, N7 9AH).
This brewery and tap room only opened in April 2018, although Two Tribes began brewing on the south coast in Sussex in 2015.  They brew a Jamaica Porter and Session IPA for Island Records, reportedly taking up much of the capacity at the brewery, so this new location in central London can be used to conjure up more experimental creations.
Tileyard studio's houses a vast number of recording studios including one's belonging to Basement Jaxx, The Prodigy and Mark Ronson.  
So I guess you could search out the brewery tap room in the hope of rubbing shoulders with someone famous.  Personally I could've been sat next to Mark Ronson and been none the wiser.

Two Tribes.  Nope, can't think of any way to incorporate Frankie Goes to Hollywood into the caption.

I really liked the Two Tribes tap room.  It's small in size, meaning that when you grab a seat inside it feels as though you're really in among'st the workings of the brewery.  

Unlike many of the weekend-only tap rooms they've got good opening hours (Mon 12-6, Tue,Wed and Thur 12-9, Fri and Sat 12-12, closed on a Sunday).
Great beers.  Card-only (the hip kids don't do cash anymore).  And DJs and live music lined up on many nights.

So, a short evening.  All very sensible and just scratching the surface of what Camden and surrounding areas have to offer to the beer hunter. 
Every once in a while I have to concede that I can't visit every pub.

Bolton Wandering

Exploring the Pubs & Bars in Bolton & Horwich

I've gotten out of synch here, taking an age to write up this October mid-week football trip to watch Forest play at Bolton Wanderers.
So with no further ado - afternoon pub explorations:

Straight off the train I headed to a Good Beer Guide recommendation - Great Ale at The Vaults (Market Place, BL1 2AL).
The Market Place has been smartly and impressively renovated to create a retail and leisure hot-spot.  Down on the lower level, as the name suggests, you can find this bar, between eating places and a Dino-themed crazy golf course. It's kinda an ale bar for folks who don't like pubs.  

Great ale in an un-traditional setting - in the Vaults

I went with the bartenders recommendation of a Beatniz Brewery 'Beach Bum' pale ale.  It's described by the brewer as a beer to sip in the sunshine, so I wasn't in the ideal environment, sitting with my coat on inside a shopping centre.  
Interesting place with a good craft ale and cask choice, but I wanted something more traditional.

And where better for that than The Old Man and Scythe (6-8 Churchgate, BL1 1HL).
This historic pub throws it's hat in the ring when it comes to the much contested title of 'Britain's oldest pub'.  With mention of a pub on the site in 1251 it's in the top 10, or perhaps even 4th oldest in the country, depending on where you look.

The Old Man & Scythe - one of the countries oldest pubs.

It was rebuilt in 1636 in time to witness the execution outside it's doors in 1651 of the Earl of Derby for his part in a Civil War massacre.
As with all these old pubs, out of necessity of keeping it standing up, many parts of it have seen some modernisation, although the cellars and some of the wooden beams are said to date back to the 17th century.
So what music to complement the olde worlde charm?  Well that'd be Megadeth's 'Peace sells', along with some early nineties alt-rock - perhaps not the most appropriate for the ancient surroundings,  but I was thoroughly enjoying them sat in the snug with my pint of 'Flat Cap' bitter.
A Google search for the pub brings up You Tube video's of ghostly images caught on CCTV.  And cast any scepticism aside, because the pubs paranormal activity is reported in both the Daily Mail and the Mirror - two papers that never get their facts wrong.

A walk back across town took me to The Hen & Chickens (143 Deansgate, BL1 1EX).
I really liked this traditional town centre pub and would have stayed longer if I hadn't  set myself a strict schedule.

I stood in the doorway weighing up which door to use: the 'Vault' or 'Lounge Bar' in fear of getting stuck in the wrong side of the pub.  Only to find that it's now open plan and both led to the same place ultimately.
There's a nice feel to the pub - a number of happy daytime regulars, a lovely tiled frontage on a horseshoe bar and a good range of ales including Bass bitter for the traditionalists.  
I sat up on the raised area beyond the bar, where an old gent made a comment to me each time he passed to and from the games room at the back of the pub.  Didn't understand a word of what he said each time but my hapless grin and nod seemed to suffice.

Walking back through town I skipped the Good Beer Guide listed Elephant & Castle, with a perhaps unfair appraisal from the outside.  But then stumbled across a new brew pub that I hadn't known was there.

Northern Monkey Brew Co (Nelson Square, Bolton, BL1 1AQ)
This brewery and bar was only opened in September of 2018.  Bolton friends Ryan Bailey and Liam Convey started brewing beers in an extension of one of their homes.  They've obviously done a pretty good job of it, leading to them being able to renovate this old pizza restaurant into a smart modern venue, with the brewing kit on show to the side of the bar.
There were three cask ales available and a good range of craft keg offerings from their own brewery plus guests.  Extra marks for the second rock soundtrack of the day with a bit of Foo Fighters and Soundgarden to accompany my tasty 3.8% 'Wilhelmina', a pale session ale.
I appreciate that this bar would probably be best visited later in the day with more of a crowd to create an atmosphere, but I had places to be.

Halloween decorations -well, a bit of cotton wool masquerading as a spiders web. 
Brew kit and bar at the Northern Monkey Brew Co.

Check-in time at the Travelodge had been reached so I dropped my bag off and speculated how I was going to get myself out to the Reebok, Macron, whatever the football ground is called these days.

Bolton have indeed wandered

Their home is now at Middle Brook, by Horwich Parkway rail station.  Horwich Parkway is still a fair way from Horwich itself, but I decided to catch a bus there as it seemed ripe with some good drinking establishments.
"Where about's in Horwich?" the driver asked me as I boarded the 575 bus.  
It's unhelpful when passengers say "don't know", as I did.  
"I'm going to the Blackedge brewery" I added as an after-thought, in case this made things easier. 
His furrowed brow, deep in thought, suggested that this brewery wasn't a top destination for tourists or locals alike.  But then with a spark of recognition he said he knew where I meant and he'd give me a shout when to get off.

Where he was referring to was in fact the The Ale House (36 Church Street, Horwich, BL6 6AD) run by Bank Top.  It did have 'Brewery' emblazoned across it's frontage in all fairness.

Bank Top Brewery's sister-pub up at Astley Bridge is a multiple winner of the local CAMRA pub of the year, but I'd decided it was too much of a rush to get up there today.  So this was a great alternative and turned out to be a fantastic down-to-earth boozer.  The curved bar is set to the left of the front door, with lounge-like areas to the right, consisting of curved banquette seating along the wall and a couple of high tables with stools.  No TV, no food.  Just a spectacular run of 8 hand pumps serving up 7 Bank Top ales and a Nottinghamshire interloper from Milestone.  
When I arrived there were just a couple of blokes and a dog, but it quickly filled up, creating a pleasant atmosphere and hum of conversation. 
From here it was just over a 5 minute walk down the hill to my original intended destination...

Blackedge Brewery Tap Room (Moreton Mill, Hampson Street, Horwich, BL6 7JH).

Just time to squeeze this in before trekking to the game. These are the sort of venues that  can vary dramatically, so I walked through the dimly lit yard and entered the brewery not knowing what to expect.  As you enter, the brewing kit is visible behind a glass window, then up the stairs you'll find their bar, opened in 2015.  
And very nice it is too.  
It has a homely feel, with large rugs, sofa's and bar stools at high tables made out of wooden barrels.  There's a good selection on the drinks menu whether you're after craft ale, cask ales or cider (for which they've won a 2018 cider-pub-of-the-year award).  
First up I opted for a US-hopped IPA before heading back to the bar for a half of the traditional 'Heritage IPA', clocking in at 6%.  I had a phase on the look-out for 'proper' IPA's after reading Pete Brown's excellent 'Hops & Glory' book.  This version by Blackedge was absolutely fantastic.

I knew I had over a 2-mile walk ahead of me and the one chap in the bar wearing a football scarf had left 15 minutes ago, so it was time to leave the Blackedge Tap.  There's helpfully a couple of chip shops en-route, then a number of supporters to follow through a maze of cul de sacs and footpaths in a housing estate as a short-cut to the ground.

Evening kick-off at the University of Bolton Stadium.

For a modern ground I quite liked Bolton - some would say that's because Forest won 3-0 and they'd probably be quite right that my opinion is easily swayed by a winning performance and a good atmosphere in the away end.
Any ideas of a post-match pint were scuppered by the irregular service back from Horwich Parkway to Bolton.  I missed the 10pm train by 5 minutes, then had to hang around for an 11pm replacement bus service.   
A great, if exhausting, day, with some fine quality beers and great pubs.