Bass brewery when proper beer was made.

[Chippy_Tea]

Can someone explain what 'proper' beer is?

Not cheap supermarket lager!

 

[Hop_it]

I walked out into the countryside earlier this week to visit an old pub called the Holly Bush - wonky floors and dark oak beams that must have been old when Noah was a lad. I noticed all the hedgerows for about 200yds either side of the pub (it's on a crossing between two lanes) were thick with hops growing... I wonder if that might indicate the pub used to brew it's own beer back in the day...

The name "Holly Bush" rings some bells with me. I used to live in WGC, and later in Hatfield when I was in my late teens and early twenties (late 60s and early 70s). I used to frequent quite a few pubs in the St Albans area - Where is it?

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

The name "Holly Bush" rings some bells with me. I used to live in WGC, and later in Hatfield when I was in my late teens and early twenties (late 60s and early 70s). I used to frequent quite a few pubs in the St Albans area - Where is it?

At Potter's Crouch - roughly equidistant between S'Norbans, Hemel and Watford.
Nice pub - the old landlord Ray, who still runs the cellar, has won Fullers' "best pint of London Pride" and "best kept cellar" year after year after year. Apparently the CEO of Fullers does drop in for a pint occasionally...

 

[foxy]

I think it depends on the part of the country. Round here, fortunately there are enough people who don't mind paying a bit more to get something really good and we have two properly independent small breweries in the countryside just outside the city: Farr Brew and Three Brewers.

Farr Brew are even driving back the tide a bit, and as of last year they bought three country pubs near the brewery and opened them up to serve their beers. Yesterday I visited this one and it was epic. Beer menu included ales hopped with Citra, NZ hops and Mosaic - bliss.

Elephant and Castle
View attachment 49225

Last time I was in the UK got talking to the owner of the Blue Monkey Brewery in a pub in

An early kit date unknown, anyone recall this kit.
View attachment 49208

The kits were sold from the 20's until the outbreak of the second world war. Was never illegal to brew beer at home just needed a licence which cost 4 shillings.

 

[Cheyne_brewer]

Man that would be amazing to see! I used to love going by the Wards brewery as a kid - even then it seemed exciting that a big brewery was still producing in a city centre. The smell was awesome even though I was a kid at the time ;p

In my younger years Sheffield was blessed with competing regional breweries - Wards, Stones, the tiny Mackeson brewery near Beeley Woods and Whitbread. Wards was by far my favourite, a gorgeous soft malty pint. Vaux bought the brewery and it went south from there. Another casualty of consolidation. I have a recipe for Wards bitter which I must try one day.

 

[foxy]

In my younger years Sheffield was blessed with competing regional breweries - Wards, Stones, the tiny Mackeson brewery near Beeley Woods and Whitbread. Wards was by far my favourite, a gorgeous soft malty pint. Vaux bought the brewery and it went south from there. Another casualty of consolidation. I have a recipe for Wards bitter which I must try one day.

I have that recipe too, either got it from Ron Pattison or Edd

 

[Binkei Huckaback]

Not cheap supermarket lager!

Is that fact or opinion?

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

Last time I was in the UK got talking to the owner of the Blue Monkey Brewery in a pub in

and...

 

[foxy]

and...

Must have fell asleep at the key board. It was in Loughborough the only have a small brewery but I believe establishing more public houses. Don't know how they went they were already exporting beer to America.

 

[marshbrewer]

Good sanitation and reasonable precautions are in order, but that Union system - open to the elements

A man after my own heart. Brewing was simple, that is why there were so many publican brewers. It is the home brewers of today who are making things difficult. It only takes one pleb in America taking closed vessel fermentation first recorded by Terri Fahrendorf out of context and a whole new unnecessary form of brewing is born.

If the Button Union system would give modern, pressurised, closed transfer brewers the willies, they should have a look at Yorkshire Squares. Open fermenting, wort deliberately pumped up and exposed to oxygen

 

[trummy]

Foxy now the Organ Grinder formally The Pack Horse a Kimberly pub - quite liked their 'Classic'. Blue Monkey beers are good. If you make Loughborough again try 'The Needle and Pin' in the Rushes, a micro Pub with an enthusiastic Landlord

 

[Hop_it]

At Potter's Crouch - roughly equidistant between S'Norbans, Hemel and Watford.
Nice pub - the old landlord Ray, who still runs the cellar, has won Fullers' "best pint of London Pride" and "best kept cellar" year after year after year. Apparently the CEO of Fullers does drop in for a pint occasionally...

View attachment 49264 View attachment 49265View attachment 49266

Thanks for clarifying, but this is not the one that I remember. It's the wrong side of St Albans for the pubs that I frequented at that time. I guess that there might have been more than one "Holly Bush" in that area in those days. However, it does look like a very nice country pub