twobeergeeks` Pub of the Month, July 2018

And it`s the Waggon & Horses! 

In our city, pubs with really good beer and that are welcoming to families are few and far between, we have found. However, the True North chain balks that trend and, in the Waggon and Horses, they have a family-friendly place that could be great....

The spacious pub includes two rooms in an open plan style with a main dining area and a less formal bar. Listening to feedback from punters, you can now eat in both areas and there is a seated area outside albeit beside a busy road, hence the (much-publicised recently) need for a beer garden. The food is fab but this is a beer blog! True North's own beers tend to be solid and head brewer Dean Hollingworth is rightly proud of Torpedo, a tasty DIPA haze at 8% ish and thus year's brews have been increasingly adventurous. Also you will probably find Black Iris and maybe even something like Verdant or Anarchy backed up by an array of fridge beers and a huge gin portfolio.

Current `Beer Garden`

On Vocation, so to speak

Anyways, over the past few months, there has been lots of talk about adding a beer garden to the Abbeydale road establishment but this has been swiftly countered by Friends of Millhouses, who do a lot of work maintaining and protecting the fantastic park. The proposals suggest that TN are not looking for a huge space but they are offering a substantial sum and annual payments. Sounds good to us.

And there is a meeting at the pub, Thursday 2nd August at 6PM to discuss the plans.

Hope this pans out; we've said for years that the Waggon needs a beer garden. 2BG's Pub of the Month for July! Cheers.

LAST MONTH`S PotM -  HERE

& MAY!

Northern Powerhouse Brew Series - Wylam Brewery

Did you get a box? We did, thanks to Hop Hideout and Beer Central, our Sheffield Powerhouses!

Intriguing idea, this one. Wylam hooked up with a variety of the best brewers in the North of England to produce a tour de force over a wide range of beer styles from kettle sour to imperial stout.

Power pack!

We've been fans of Newcastle's Wylam ever since having Jakehead at the Broadfield, or was it at a Picture House Social beer festival a few years back, and now they've taken their rightful place amongst the big players.

Everyone we have talked to seems to have their own favourite and we'd say that all are worth a try but here are our picks:-

1) Mixed Fermentation Farmhouse - Wylam & Black Lodge

2) Kettle Sour - Wylam & Magic Rock

3) Split here. 

Brown - Wylam & Cloudwater (DAN)

IPA - Wylam & Northern Monk (MIKE)

Our winner!

      

To be honest, Black Lodge were a new brewery to us amongst a host of usual suspects but we will certainly be looking to track them down again soon. And we hope Wylam repeat the project in the future!

Which brew was your favourite?

twobeergeeks` Pub of the Month, June 2018

OK. Game on. This month's 2BG's pub of the month is a bit different but one we agree on. June is a time when we really start thinking about holidays and where better to go on holiday than..... The Peak District. This month`s winner is …… The Buxton Tap House !

Recently we have both enjoyed visits up to Buxton and spent an enjoyable time at the brewery's Tap House. Tucked away down a street next to the Pavilion Gardens, you are greeted by friendly bar staff in a clean cut benches and big tables arrangement. Comfy enough and you then face a three-pronged attack of temptation; bar, bottles and food. All are top notch.

Decisions, decisions....

A couple of casks are on offer but also a vast array of kegged splendour almost exclusively from Buxton 's range new and core. Danny's visit heralded some of the fantastic collaborations with his faves Omnipollo whilst I spied some variations on the excellent Berliner Weisse Sky Line. Whatever, you are guaranteed a reyt royal range, although not much of the dark stuff on the bar when I visited.

More is better!

The place is like a mini version of Hawkhead's place although the actual Buxton brewery is a schlep away from the Tap, not on-site like at Staveley. Food is similar too - tasty accompaniments to the beer, often with a modern twist. Yum.

And, before you leave, we challenge you to resist the temptation to buy a big bag of beer; a rucksack full of Cranachan has to be done, doesn't it, so take a full wallet!

Takeaway is a must!