In which I write a load of old cobblers about pub visits in Northampton.
Picking up where I finished the last post, we had a brewery bar, micropub, a modernised back street boozer and Spoons remaining on our list.
First up: Phipps NBC.
Phipps began brewing in Northampton in 1817, although they'd started earlier in nearby Towcester in 1801. The NBC was added when they merged with the neighbours Northampton Brewing Company in 1957.
But London giants Watney Mann took them over in 1960 and developed the scourge of real ale drinkers - Watney's Red Barrel - at the Northampton site, happily ripping out the hand pumps from their tied pubs because keg was king.
The long discontinued Phipps NBC beers were recreated in 2008 under supervision of some of the past brewers. These were brewed at Oakham, until in 2014 a magnificent site was found to enable a return to Northampton. Their new home was the Albion Brewery (formerly the Ratcliffe & Jeffrey Albion Brewery, which Phipps had swallowed up many years earlier).
Picking up where I finished the last post, we had a brewery bar, micropub, a modernised back street boozer and Spoons remaining on our list.
First up: Phipps NBC.
Phipps began brewing in Northampton in 1817, although they'd started earlier in nearby Towcester in 1801. The NBC was added when they merged with the neighbours Northampton Brewing Company in 1957.
The long discontinued Phipps NBC beers were recreated in 2008 under supervision of some of the past brewers. These were brewed at Oakham, until in 2014 a magnificent site was found to enable a return to Northampton. Their new home was the Albion Brewery (formerly the Ratcliffe & Jeffrey Albion Brewery, which Phipps had swallowed up many years earlier).
The brewing kit is behind glass at the back of the building, with a bar in front which has an instant wow factor. With a high ceiling and large windows letting the light in, there is plenty of salvaged bits of etched glass, fancy carved wood and brewery signage, plus Northamptonshire skittles and bar billiards (both covered over and out of use at the time of our visit sadly).
The bar had a run of seven Phipps NBC beers available, all of which had a retro feel, many recreated from old recipes.
I picked the very tasty brown ale, 'Bison', before returning for a Gold Star, a punchy 5.2% ESB, both beers being thoroughly enjoyable, thank you very much.
Good to see a decent crowd coming in and most of the tables filling up during the time we were in the Albion Bar. This is somewhere I'll definitely come back to when next in town and try the rest of the beer range. For now, we had a town centre micropub to find.
Despite having had a run of hit 'n' miss micro's recently, denting my enthusiasm, I really liked the Ale House.
We had the drama of the dog and whether she'd be allowed to stay in the pub after committing the crime of barking at a couple of customers.
Then a young chap produced a large bouquet of birthday flowers for his girlfriend, who looked slightly embarrassed to be the centre of attention.
"Can you hide 'em now," said a fella at the next table, "the missus'll be in soon and be asking when I'm going to buy her flowers if she sees those."
Cripes. Fair point.
I romantically asked Mrs PropUptheBar if I could buy her a half pint of Brew XI...
To be honest, it was just OK - an inoffensive beer that it's been suggested is a shadow of it's former self. If I ever had it as an East Midland's youth, I don't remember it.
The M&B pump clip caught my attention, briefly distracting from the fact that they were also serving Bass.
A beer selection that would certainly keep some beer bloggers happy. Should neither of these ales take your fancy, pale ales from Framework and Ossett and a local stout were also on offer.
Moving on to our next destination, we undertook a bit if a walk out of the centre.
A beer selection that would certainly keep some beer bloggers happy. Should neither of these ales take your fancy, pale ales from Framework and Ossett and a local stout were also on offer.
Moving on to our next destination, we undertook a bit if a walk out of the centre.
This was a neatly refurbished backstreet corner pub, the chosen colour of the external paint-job giving away what you'd find within.
Comfy enough, with some nice breweriana on the walls.
And a decent range of beer, with several from the local Roman Way Brewery. My 'Marc Anthony' amber ale was a delicious drop, enjoyed with some pretty super food.
Which just left one Northampton pub visit to bring the evening to a conclusion.
The Cordwainer (The Ridings, Northampton, NN1 2AQ - web)
Northampton's Wetherspoon's was buzzing on a Saturday evening - most tables occupied, lots of folk at the bar and the constant din of loud conversations over jugs of cocktails.
It's spread over two floors, with bars on each, plus a garden and outdoor terrace on the first floor.
I have no idea how good the ale choice was - I was stood at the bar in front of the Oakham 'Kaizen' pump-clip, so that's exactly what I ordered. A decent pale hoppy brew, in good condition.
The security team did the rounds, checking IDs of all the tables in the corner we'd sat in. I had my drivers licence to the ready, but was bypassed. Dammit - I hate looking over 25.
Leaving 'Spoons, it was time to call it a night and return to our hotel.
We'd had a great day in the town, with some superb pubs visited and great beers drunk. And I'm aware there are several that we missed as well - another destination to add to the 'must go back' list.
We'd had a great day in the town, with some superb pubs visited and great beers drunk. And I'm aware there are several that we missed as well - another destination to add to the 'must go back' list.
You look 27.
ReplyDelete