It's been five years since I last visited Hull, back in the days when I was able to get Forest tickets for away games and when my night-time pictures were even worse than they are now.
So, here's the report of the return visit at the end of December '23 and a handful of pubs in two parts of the city.
So, here's the report of the return visit at the end of December '23 and a handful of pubs in two parts of the city.
Our three hours of Humber sunshine didn't materialise until the following morning, so off we set under grey skies and drizzle, buffeted by some vicious winds. Reckless pub ticking in a yellow weather warning.
We came across Furley & Co more by chance than planning, spotting it was a current beer guide entry which would provide us with much needed food and shelter.
Situated in a former shipping warehouse, it's more cafe than pub inside: brightly lit, cake stand, pots of tea, and plates being whisked to tables which were mostly all occupied on our arrival by a very mixed crowd.
To one side of the bar there were three handpumps offering cask from Marstons, Great Newsome and Black Sheep. The run of keg taps served Spanish lager, Belgian fruity stuff, and a few interesting Yorkshire crafty concoctions.
A 5.4% porter from Turning Point called 'The Festive' for me, accompanying our wraps and fries.
A short walk through the streets of the old town took us to a second bar of the afternoon, Vintage...
A 5.4% porter from Turning Point called 'The Festive' for me, accompanying our wraps and fries.
A short walk through the streets of the old town took us to a second bar of the afternoon, Vintage...
This featured a great eye-catching frontage - although it's about time for last summer's hanging baskets to come down. Inside, this old jewellers shop is lit by a chandelier and has a gallery of artwork for sale covering the wall opposite the bar. It was just a shame that it was completely empty when we visited - not the first time I've disturbed a staff member from their comfy armchair during my recent pub visits.
There were two available real ales on the bar - Ossett 'White Rat' or Timothy Taylor 'Landlord' alongside a Lilleys cider.
But wow! The White Rat was on absolutely superb form here - probably the best pint of this beer that I've had to date.
The row of retro Playboy covers on the wall above the door gave a clue that Vintage would provide an entry into the ongoing 'Mild Smut in the Gents WC' series.
And indeed they did...
And indeed they did...
Cripes.
The Old Town provides ample venues for a hefty pub crawl with very short distances to crawl. Which isn't always a good thing, so we'd planned our evening to take in a couple of places in the HU5 postcode and give us a bit of exercise.
For now though, our next venue was just a few doors along the same road as Vintage..
This turned out to be quite a modern design within an old building - bar at the front with a fair number of locals propping it up (and getting in the way of seeing the pump clips properly).
Beyond the bar, it was red and black leather banquet seating, with some moody lighting and a nice display of framed album covers on the wall.
That was just one of a good choice of around six cask beers, whilst the pick of the kegs was a chocolate biscuit and marshmallow stout from Yonder or one of Vault City's more unusual sours.
One place that eluded me in 2018 was the Heritage listed Olde Black Boy - uncomfortably packed to the rafters when we tried to squeeze to the bar last time we were here. So I was tempted in when we saw it had opened earlier than my research had suggested, with room at the inn this time.
It wasn't quiet though, with all tables taken in the small front room, and a bunch of folk making a fair bit of noise and standing by the bar in the back.
Real ale options were JW Lees 'Bitter', Butcombe 'Best', or Wye Valley 'HPA'. A couple of odd choices in this part of the world I thought, sticking with the Lees which continued the afternoon's run of beers on great form.
And this is what I call a pie fridge!
Full of character, bench seating, old beer bottles on the shelves, and a model train suspended from the ceiling.
We made the 20-minute walk through the town centre, then up Spring Bank and onto Princes Street - evidently a go-to area for some great looking independent food outlets and a couple of bars, including Pave...
I honed in on the North Riding 'Fudge Brownie Stout' pump clip as soon as we walked into the bar - 7.4%..Fudge Brownie...oh yes!
This was accompanied with a selection of beers to keep most folk happy, including more North Riding options, and brews from Brass Castle and Roosters.
It looks like an old shop unit, with picture windows and a spacious interior, a decent number of early evening customers providing a hum of conversation.
Just a few doors down from Pave was Hull's Atom Brewery flagship venue.
When we were last in Hull, Atom were located in the Old Town pub in Cornmill Exchange, now empty and unused.
Since 2022 they've relocated to this impressive wedge-shaped building which was a branch of the Yorkshire Bank in a previous life.
11 taps offered mainly Atom beers along with a couple of guests. Mrs PropUptheBar picked best, getting the last of the 'Neutron Star' imperial stout. I got suckered into the lone tap to one side of the bar with 'Crypogenics' on it - a very light and peachy pale ale which was refreshing but perhaps not quite what I wanted.
Pattishack were in permanent residence in the kitchen at Atom, with the patties themselves being a good value filling bite to eat.
And take a look at the merchandise...
We had a ten minute walk to our final pub of the evening.
What a cracking pub to finish with.
The St John's is Grade II listed, built in the 1860's before getting an Edwardian era remodeling in 1904/05 by the Hull Brewing Company.
A central corridor takes you to a corner bar on the left-hand side, more spacious lounge bar to the rear, and one time smoke room to the right, now housing a pool table.
We sat on bench seats in the toasty warmth of the front bar with Steptoe and Son on the TV.
I think it's fair to say watching sixties sitcoms in a pub was a first for me.
Then we relocated to the pool table in the room to the right of the entry.
I'd kinda hoped we'd have the room to ourselves long enough to fumble through a game, but no sooner had we started than someone popped 50p on the side and asked if they could have the next game.
Just as long as you're not in a rush, I told him - this was our annual game of pool in the 7th pub of the day and wasn't going to a masterclass!
A productive first day in Hull. The city had another delight of a pub for me to the visit the following evening on a return from a trip to nearby Beverley. All of which I'll ramble on about in the next post when I get around to writing it.
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