Looking forward to my beer tasting at Waterstone's in Albion Street next Saturday evening, as part of the Leeds Bookend events.
There will be eight beers to try from Moorhouses, Caledonian, Greene King, Everards, Ilkley, Fullers, Bateman's and Exmoor.
www.bigbookend.co.uk
Sunday, 10 June 2012
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
...but what I may do
...is post answers to specific clues.
I know that the trail is really really hard – it was supposed to be – and I'd love to know how people are getting on with it.
If you have a specific question, ask away – so long as you know that:
1) I reserve the right to answer your question with another question
2) That I may not answer at all
3) That any answer I do give, will be published here for all to see.
So? Who's actually doing this? Anyone? Did you find the 22 heads, or where you can make a greyer bolthead? Tell me! Tell me!
I know that the trail is really really hard – it was supposed to be – and I'd love to know how people are getting on with it.
If you have a specific question, ask away – so long as you know that:
1) I reserve the right to answer your question with another question
2) That I may not answer at all
3) That any answer I do give, will be published here for all to see.
So? Who's actually doing this? Anyone? Did you find the 22 heads, or where you can make a greyer bolthead? Tell me! Tell me!
And no, before you ask...
...I will not be publishing all the clues to the £1,000 prize here. For that, you have to buy the book.
I may put some extra ones here. In fact, if you look hard enough, you may find that I already have done.
But the real stuff – the clues and (crucially) the entry form – is all in the book. It's in all good booksellers (well, their Leeds branches anyway), most rotten ones (worldwide) and I do have one or two on my shelf here, if anyone wants to send me a tenner.
A tenner, Cheryl. Not a tenor.
I may put some extra ones here. In fact, if you look hard enough, you may find that I already have done.
But the real stuff – the clues and (crucially) the entry form – is all in the book. It's in all good booksellers (well, their Leeds branches anyway), most rotten ones (worldwide) and I do have one or two on my shelf here, if anyone wants to send me a tenner.
A tenner, Cheryl. Not a tenor.
The Angel
(Review first published in the YEP, December 22 2011)
The Angel
Angel Inn Yard, Leeds
CUT UP between Fat Face and Curry’s, dive into the dark and meander round the winding alley before you arrive at the front door of The Angel, home to some of the cheapest beer in the city.
My pint of Sam Smith’s Old Brewery Bitter set me back the princely sum of £1.67 here a few lunchtimes ago. This keenly competitive pricing policy draws a lively, thirsty crowd to this popular city centre drinking den, along one of the ribbon-like alleys which run between Briggate and Land’s Lane.
It doesn’t have the beauty or history of Whitelock’s, the trendy cafe bar feel of the White Swan, nor the unspoiled alehouse ambience of the Ship, but the Angel makes up for this with its good prices, great atmosphere and “something for everyone” appeal.
At £1.67 there is inevitably something of the Wetherspoon’s effect here. Downstairs is very much a simple bare-floorboarded taproom, while the alley’s wooden tables are a big draw in summertime for those who want to get fairly tanked up on the cheap.
Somehow though, the upstairs remains a little more exclusive with its tartan carpet and comfortable leather chairs. There is a separate bar up here, but on this occasion only the downstairs counter is in action, requiring drinkers to negotiate the narrow, winding stairs, loaded up with beers. One of my fellow drinkers commandeers the dumb waiter to transport his mates’ round of six pints between floors.
I find a seat in the crimson-painted upstairs lounge where the walls are dotted with monochrome prints of old Leeds, the ancient buildings and the great and the good captured for posterity and extravagantly framed like the proud forbears of some grand stately home. Industrial and architectural pioneer Colonel Harding, civil engineer John Smeaton and Victorian notable Ambrose Edmund Butler are all here, casting their stern gaze on all who pass beneath. Many of the pictures have been clad in Christmas wrapping paper as a curious extra festive touch; some have had the paper torn away to reveal their faces and streetscapes like the scenes of some gigantic advent calendar.
Matching fireplaces at either end of the room speak of the Angel’s true longevity – Sam Smith’s may have only been here for a decade or so but the building itself is much older.
I run into a party of retired YEP staff: proud pre-press men and printers whose working lives were forged in the bowels of our beautiful brutalist building, their days and duties discharged at the heavy-duty end of bringing you the news. The beer is flowing freely of course; their Johnston Press pensions being spent carefully on an afternoon of pre-Christmas leisure.
Licensees Daniel and Joanne Hazelgrave have been here for nearly ten years. Joanne had previously been with Whitbread, running food pubs in their Brewsters and Brewer’s Fayre chains. “I wanted a proper pub and we got lucky seeing this place advertised. Sam Smith’s took a risk with us; we had never had a pub like this.”
She has never looked back: “It’s a special place. It’s only 11 years old but it’s just like an old-fashioned pub. It has a great atmosphere and we have a lot of regulars who make sure that people behave.”
It’s a key point. The balancing act between cheap alehouse and desirable dining house is a hard one to achieve. With a pint of mild at just £1.25 and Alpine lager at £1.59, this could easily become a favoured haunt of the hard drinkers, at the expense of those who want a more convivial pint, or something from the menu. Sam Smith’s other city centre pubs – the General Elliot and the Duncan – are markedly down market compared to here and there might have been a danger that the Angel would have declined in the same way.
That it hasn’t is a tribute to Daniel and Joanne yet also the trademark of a pub whose regular customers are exercised sufficently to ensure that it remains unspoiled.
They have managed to steer clear of much trouble: “We don’t employ door staff and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times we’ve had to call the police. And customers know that once they are barred, they stay barred.”
The food is simple pub grub from the Sam Smith’s menu – choices such as fish and chips (£5.95), cottage pie (£5.50), banghers and mash (£4.95) and Thai green curry (£6.50), each offering the same kind of no-nonsense value which is the absolute hallmark of the place.
Email: s.w.jenkins@ntlworld.com
Twitter: @jenkolovesbeer
FACTFILE
Name: The Angel
Hosts: Daniel and Joanne Hazelgrave
Type: Cut price city centre alehouse
Opening hours: 11am-11pm Mon-Sat, noon-10.30pm Sun
Beers: Old Brewery Bitter (£1.67), Sovereign (£1.68), Mild (£1.25), Alpine lager (£1.59), Taddy Lager (£2.05), Purebrew (£2.80), Extra Stout (£2.14)
Wine: Decent choice from £2.20 small glass
Food: Good choice of bar meals served noon-3pm Mon-Sat
Children: Welcomed until 5pm in upstairs room and outside only
Disabled: Slightly tricky access and no special facilities. No lift to upper floor
Beer Garden: Alleyway with outdoor tables
Parking: On-street and pay-and-display areas nearby
Telephone: 0113 245 1428
The Angel
Angel Inn Yard, Leeds
CUT UP between Fat Face and Curry’s, dive into the dark and meander round the winding alley before you arrive at the front door of The Angel, home to some of the cheapest beer in the city.
My pint of Sam Smith’s Old Brewery Bitter set me back the princely sum of £1.67 here a few lunchtimes ago. This keenly competitive pricing policy draws a lively, thirsty crowd to this popular city centre drinking den, along one of the ribbon-like alleys which run between Briggate and Land’s Lane.
It doesn’t have the beauty or history of Whitelock’s, the trendy cafe bar feel of the White Swan, nor the unspoiled alehouse ambience of the Ship, but the Angel makes up for this with its good prices, great atmosphere and “something for everyone” appeal.
At £1.67 there is inevitably something of the Wetherspoon’s effect here. Downstairs is very much a simple bare-floorboarded taproom, while the alley’s wooden tables are a big draw in summertime for those who want to get fairly tanked up on the cheap.
Somehow though, the upstairs remains a little more exclusive with its tartan carpet and comfortable leather chairs. There is a separate bar up here, but on this occasion only the downstairs counter is in action, requiring drinkers to negotiate the narrow, winding stairs, loaded up with beers. One of my fellow drinkers commandeers the dumb waiter to transport his mates’ round of six pints between floors.
I find a seat in the crimson-painted upstairs lounge where the walls are dotted with monochrome prints of old Leeds, the ancient buildings and the great and the good captured for posterity and extravagantly framed like the proud forbears of some grand stately home. Industrial and architectural pioneer Colonel Harding, civil engineer John Smeaton and Victorian notable Ambrose Edmund Butler are all here, casting their stern gaze on all who pass beneath. Many of the pictures have been clad in Christmas wrapping paper as a curious extra festive touch; some have had the paper torn away to reveal their faces and streetscapes like the scenes of some gigantic advent calendar.
Matching fireplaces at either end of the room speak of the Angel’s true longevity – Sam Smith’s may have only been here for a decade or so but the building itself is much older.
I run into a party of retired YEP staff: proud pre-press men and printers whose working lives were forged in the bowels of our beautiful brutalist building, their days and duties discharged at the heavy-duty end of bringing you the news. The beer is flowing freely of course; their Johnston Press pensions being spent carefully on an afternoon of pre-Christmas leisure.
Licensees Daniel and Joanne Hazelgrave have been here for nearly ten years. Joanne had previously been with Whitbread, running food pubs in their Brewsters and Brewer’s Fayre chains. “I wanted a proper pub and we got lucky seeing this place advertised. Sam Smith’s took a risk with us; we had never had a pub like this.”
She has never looked back: “It’s a special place. It’s only 11 years old but it’s just like an old-fashioned pub. It has a great atmosphere and we have a lot of regulars who make sure that people behave.”
It’s a key point. The balancing act between cheap alehouse and desirable dining house is a hard one to achieve. With a pint of mild at just £1.25 and Alpine lager at £1.59, this could easily become a favoured haunt of the hard drinkers, at the expense of those who want a more convivial pint, or something from the menu. Sam Smith’s other city centre pubs – the General Elliot and the Duncan – are markedly down market compared to here and there might have been a danger that the Angel would have declined in the same way.
That it hasn’t is a tribute to Daniel and Joanne yet also the trademark of a pub whose regular customers are exercised sufficently to ensure that it remains unspoiled.
They have managed to steer clear of much trouble: “We don’t employ door staff and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times we’ve had to call the police. And customers know that once they are barred, they stay barred.”
The food is simple pub grub from the Sam Smith’s menu – choices such as fish and chips (£5.95), cottage pie (£5.50), banghers and mash (£4.95) and Thai green curry (£6.50), each offering the same kind of no-nonsense value which is the absolute hallmark of the place.
Email: s.w.jenkins@ntlworld.com
Twitter: @jenkolovesbeer
FACTFILE
Name: The Angel
Hosts: Daniel and Joanne Hazelgrave
Type: Cut price city centre alehouse
Opening hours: 11am-11pm Mon-Sat, noon-10.30pm Sun
Beers: Old Brewery Bitter (£1.67), Sovereign (£1.68), Mild (£1.25), Alpine lager (£1.59), Taddy Lager (£2.05), Purebrew (£2.80), Extra Stout (£2.14)
Wine: Decent choice from £2.20 small glass
Food: Good choice of bar meals served noon-3pm Mon-Sat
Children: Welcomed until 5pm in upstairs room and outside only
Disabled: Slightly tricky access and no special facilities. No lift to upper floor
Beer Garden: Alleyway with outdoor tables
Parking: On-street and pay-and-display areas nearby
Telephone: 0113 245 1428
There's no need to take this seriously...
...but if you are, there are now less than six months to go to follow the clues in the Great Leeds Pub Crawl, and try to claim the £1,000 prize.
Those you really are taking it seriously will know that the tiebreak hinges on how many paces it takes for me to walk across the city centre from the Palace to the Highland. I walked to the pub the other day with my good friend, the world-renowned classical composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad, who announced, once we were at the bar, that when she walked 100 paces, I walked 91. She had been counting, apparently. This may not help you, unless you happen to know Cheryl. (She's a small Cambridgeshire redhead too, but that really is of no use at all.)
Those you really are taking it seriously will know that the tiebreak hinges on how many paces it takes for me to walk across the city centre from the Palace to the Highland. I walked to the pub the other day with my good friend, the world-renowned classical composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad, who announced, once we were at the bar, that when she walked 100 paces, I walked 91. She had been counting, apparently. This may not help you, unless you happen to know Cheryl. (She's a small Cambridgeshire redhead too, but that really is of no use at all.)
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