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| All that I see is mine - as Ilbert De Lacy must have said of the view from Pontefract Castle. |
...not to tick the latest entry in the 2019 Good Beer Guide, but rather for a visit to my son, Andy and his fiancé Leah.
On Saturday the three of us had a wander around Pontefract in search of a good beer or two.
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| Originally fearsome but now a bit fallen down... |
...and what better after all that castle history stuff than to partake in a little Weatherspoons history at their town centre pub, The Broken Bridge.
Though the premises looks like it has all the history of a disused Poundland store, Weatherspoons have established that there was once an old historic house on the site. They have also established that the name Pontefract comes from Pontus Fractus which is Latin for 'our bridge is broken' (or something like that). Another triumph for Spoons' historic researchers....
Inside it looks like...
...well...
...a Weatherspoons...yes that same old successful formula...
...and even though Weatherspoons are expert purveyors of the ridiculously cheap pint of real ale, the mind boggles as to how the Chinese manage to get their casks over here for the price (unless there’s a secret pipeline)...
....no hang on...I’ve just read the pump clip 'small print' and it seems it was brewed in Wolverhampton (aren’t they all...?).
As this visit was also before the 'phone crash and factory-reset’ event (see last post) once again I cannot remember which beer I had (and alcohol induced memory loss had nothing to do with it).
But these are the only two pump clip photos I have - so it was probably one of them and Andy would have had the other.
I also have two 'beer in glass' photos...this looks like the ‘Chinese’ pale ale from Wolverhampton...
...and this must be the ‘Monkey Wrench’. CAMRA experts may be able to tell whether either or both were good...
After this things could only get better and it wasn’t just the Pontefract architecture...
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| Tim would have preferred these premises for his Spoons (probably)... |
...we also found a proper pub...
I had visited the Robin Hood on my last visit - and though it was still serving the same excellent beers from its own ‘Henry Smith’ brewery, it also had a bit of a cosmetic facelift inside. There was a great atmosphere to the place, bar staff and landlord really friendly ...
The Henry Smiths bitter was excellent. The landlord explained that since there were a number of other Smiths who had historically set up breweries in Yorkshire, there might as well be a Henry Smith’s as well - what better reason...!
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| Proper Yorkshire beer... |
In fact it was so very good, I had to have another one...
There were other (perfectly good) beers too...
An absolutely top notch pub and beer - well worth a visit...
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| Cars possibly all just off shot - waiting to run me over when I cross the road... |
...though expect to take your life in your hands crossing the busy road junction....(don’t ask me how I managed to get a photo of it with no cars - I’ve no idea... :)
look at the lacings on that pint!!! Good to see you back Hermit!
ReplyDeleteCheers BB - yes a cracking Yorkshire bitter that :)
ReplyDelete"On Saturday the three of us had a wander around Pontefract in search of a good beer or two."
ReplyDeleteOne of the best reasons for a walk.
" of what was reputedly England’s most fearsome castle. "
An interesting read that.
"Though the premises looks like it has all the history of a disused Poundland store,"
Heh.
"the mind boggles as to how the Chinese manage to get their casks over here for the pric"
Blimey! (to the fact it's Chinese) I thought you were taking the mickey.
"I’ve just read the pump clip 'small print' and it seems it was brewed in Wolverhampton"
I was just about to point that out. :)
"(and alcohol induced memory loss had nothing to do with it)."
No comment. ;)
"so it was probably one of them and Andy would have had the other."
Deducing worth of Sherlock himself!
"The landlord explained that since there were a number of other Smiths who had historically set up breweries in Yorkshire, there might as well be a Henry Smith’s as well"
Us Smiths do tend to be everywhere. :)
"In fact it was so very good, I had to have another one..."
I love a good bitter. (thumbs up)
"(don’t ask me how I managed to get a photo of it with no cars - I’ve no idea... :)"
Andy and Leah were on either side blocking traffic, weren't they? (LOL)
Cheers