A Trip to Cardiff...

OK, this isn't solely my blog, indeed, I haven't been to Cardiff for quite a few years now, but I've written this following feedback given to me by the 'Two Golfers' aka the 'Two Davids', many thanks to them, and I've done a bit of research myself too...

They've pointed me to 3 'great' pubs/bars they visited recently, all in the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Good Beer Guide currently (and there are many more Cardiff pubs in the Guide too of course). I'm starting with The City Arms, 10-12 Quay Street, CF10 1EA (tel: 02920 641913, website), built in the 1880s, as you can see from the website, this is a Brains owned pub, so regular cask ales include their Bitter (3.7%), SA (4.2%), and Rev James Original (4.5%). Plus they sell 7 guest ales from near and far. David, not Dave G, said he'd enjoyed drinking a London Porter (5.7%) from Old Soul Brewing (of Florida! website), travels well it seems. The pub is situated close to the Millennium Stadium and, in addition to 10 real ales, they also sell 10 crafty keg beers, 10 traditional ciders, and many more craft beers in bottle! 

Next is Zerodegrees, 27 Westgate Street, CF10 1DD (tel: 02920 229494, website), with its Grade II listed 1930s frontage, this former bus garage also sits close to the Millennium/Principality Stadium, and is described as a brewpub/microbrewery and restaurant. There are another 3 Zerodegrees establishments in the chain, one being at Blackheath in London, obviously where they get their name from! They sell 6 beers, 4 regulars of their own, Wheat Ale (4.2%), Pale Ale (4.6%), Pilsner (4.8%), and a 4.8% Czech-style Black Lager, which David extolled the virtues of, and 2 guests, usually locally sourced, and often brewed on the premises, eg their 4% Mango (flavoured wheat beer). Though other food is sold, they specialize in pizzas, which Dave G describes as "excellent", as he describes the ales as being too!

The final bar for this blog is the basement bar Hopbunker, 5-7 Queen Street, CF10 2AF (tel: 02920 398889, website), only established in the last couple of years, it has already been voted CAMRA Cardiff Pub of the Year, and Cider pub of the Year, for both 2016 and 2017! Though neither David  singled out any particular ale enjoyed here, the bar has up to 15 real ales from all over the UK (don't be surprised to see something from Hopcraft Brewing as this is their 'brewery tap' - website), at least 6 real ciders, and 20 crafty keg beers, so, plenty of choice indeed. Dave G described this as an "excellent place to visit, being spotlessly clean with very pleasant and helpful staff." Can't put it better than that, thanks again to Dave and David, cheers!

Walking Along/Close To the Thames...

With my brother, The 'Routemeister' Dan, we covered a fair number of miles in two days, certainly 20+ on the first day, probably just a dozen or so on the second day. Leaving Putney, we walked along the Thames eastwards and left the river at Vauxhall Bridge, heading towards Kennington, and a new favourite pub of mine, The Mansion House, 48 Kennington Park Road, London SE11 4RS (tel: 0207 582 5599, website).

The Mansion House is one of the few Oakham Ales (website), of Peterborough, hostelries in the country, in a new building opposite St Mary's Church, with 'Pan-Asian' cuisine served from the kitchen. 4 regular Oakham Ales on tap, all excellent of course, their 3.8% pale and hoppy session ale JHB, and three stronger pale hoppy bitters, Inferno (4%), CITRA (4.2%) and I think they alternate the 4th between Scarlet Macaw (4.4%) and Bishops Farewell (4.6%), as you can see from the photograph, the Bishops Farewell was on when we visited; prices above £4 a pint (20p off for CAMRA members) and a 'Happy Hour' of 2 hours between 5 and 7pm, when a pint of all cask conditioned ales costs just £3! A veritable delight for a lover of Oakham Ales like me, but...

They also have a fifth 'seasonal' ale at £3.50 a pint, which for October is the 4.4% 3 Witches, an excellent pale golden ale with hints of fruit in the taste and a dry bitter finish, very refreshing! The hops used in the brewing process are Amarillo, Cascade and Willamette, so you can see where the fruity flavours and aroma come from, Oakham setting the standard...

We then cut by the Elephant & Castle to get back to the river at Tower Bridge, and wandered westwards to Borough Market and The Rake, 14A Winchester Walk, London SE1 9AG (tel: 0207 407 0557, website). There are 4 ales on offer, though one finished whilst we were there, so 5 available... We only drank the one here, the other 4 being Ghost Mango Reaper (4.4%), Northern Whisper (3.8%), and Burton Bridge Mild (4%), which was replaced by my old employer's Kelham Island Porter (4%). The ale we did drink was Manning Brewers Sha Man (4.5%), a "pale passion fruit beer" which was slightly fruity, pale golden bitter with a hint of sourness in the finish, not bad at all.

The next day we wandered away from the river to begin with, up to Putney Heath, then crossed Wimbledon Common, then across Richmond Park to Sheen Gate, where we left to return to the river at Mortlake, and visited The Ship, 10 Thames Bank, London SW14 7QR (tel: 0208 876 1439, website). I do like this late 18th century pub, and, a surprise! Just after we entered, 3 gentlemen arrived, one of whom I know, Keith, who used to drink at the same pub as me in Hammersmith, and supports the same football team as me too, we hadn't seen each other since meeting up by chance at the CAMRA beer festival in Hove in 2011, great stuff! Keith owned up he had been chatting to another friend about me only recently at the Andover Arms, but I shan't tell you the event they were talking about...

So, great to see Keith again, and meeting his two mates was good too, pleasant chaps all, meanwhile my brother was drinking outside, communicating with his daughters and wife, no doubt, but we did have a drink here, of course. Now, I'm not the best fan of Greene King ales, but this was so good I had to go back for more! This was the 4.2% Starry Night, brewed with Australian Galaxy hops, a pale copper coloured ale, with a hint of biscuit in the aroma, and a hint of citrus in the taste, with a nice dry bitter finish, pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed drinking it. Oh yes, 4 ales on in total, and although I can't remember the price, CAMRA members do get 10% off the price of the cask conditioned ales, nice one!

Then we walked back to Putney along the river...