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Beer Hunt Reconnaissance Trips in 2007, in This White Beer Travels Web page provides details of miscellaneous recce trips in the UK, carried out in the year 2007, that are listed with equivalent trips undertaken elsewhere in the world, in the site's Recce page; the latter can be reached by clicking here. There is a companion page that provides details of UK recces that took place in 2004 and 2005, and one that covers those that took place in 2006. Most of the places covered will be incorporated into future White Beer Travels Beer Hunts, indeed some already have been. For most of the places featured, I quote their post code; plugging this into www.streetmap.co.uk provides a location map, as does the more versatile maps.google.co.uk. The following UK recces are covered in this page or in the companion pages; click on the titles to get more details of them:
I denote whether any pubs mentioned appear in the Good Beer Guide (GBG), issued by CAMRA, the CAMpaign for Real Ale (www,camra.org.uk), the UK's premier beer consumers organisation, e.g. GBG 2007 means that the place in question appears in the 2007 edition (published in September, 2006). Note that, should a place not appear in the GBG, it could, but does not necessarily mean that it does not serve Real Ale, or that there are problems with its Real Ale; the choice of pubs competing for entry is so great that a number of places serving Real Ale in tip-top condition have to be excluded for space reasons. Also, if, for example, a pub is in the 2006 guide, but not the 2007 one, it can by no means be assumed that its beer quality has deteriorated. Some of the pubs are on CAMRA's National Inventory of pubs that have interiors of outstanding historic interest, these being featured in the booklet The CAMRA National Inventory. Pub Interiors of Outstanding Historic Interest (NI), click here for more details. CAMRA has a special website, and it is special/essential, covering the National Inventory, "Campaign for Real Ale. Pub Heritage - Historic Pub Interiors", www.heritagepubs.org.uk. www.beerintheevening.com is a very comprehensive directory of English pubs, which is well worth checking out. Unless indicated otherwise, all beer prices quoted on this page are for a pint of draught/tap beer or a 33cl bottle. Where the strength of a beer is quoted, unless indicated otherwise, this is the ABV (Alcohol by Volume) of a draught/tap beer. Note that many beers have a bottled counterpart, which may have a different ABV to the draught version. For example, Fuller's ESB (5.5%) has an ABV of 5.9% in bottle, Adnams Broadside (4.7%) is a 6.3% beer in bottle, etc, etc. Note that both these examples are filtered in bottle form, whereas, of course, their Real Ale (draught) versions are not. Hop Back Summer Lightning (5%, draught and in bottle), is an example of a beer that in bottled form is unfiltered, this being commonly referred to as "Real Ale in a Bottle". Most pubs are typically open seven days a week from 11am (Noon on Sunday) to 11pm (10.30pm on Sunday). If a pub that is featured opens at significantly different times to these, the hours will be detailed. Note that licensing laws in England and Wales were subject to a major reform in November, 2005, with the much publicised introduction of twenty-four hour drinking. However, licences for this have only been granted to a small proportion of pubs, these not being typically of interest to the lover of Real Ale. However, many Real Ale outlets have extended their hours, to, for example, open at 10am in the morning and close an hour later at night, i.e. at Midnight. At one time, I used to indicate whether places in England were no-smoking or had no-smoking areas. However, such information has now been removed, as all English pubs went no-smoking from July, 2007. I don't provide information on facilities for smoking plonkers, as I don't give a monkeys for them; they have not given a monkeys for non-smokers for many a year, so why should I? Justice is sweet, very sweet. If the person in charge of a business, such as a pub landlord, does not enforce the no smoking legislation, then he/she is liable to a fine of £2,500, so a very high level of enforcement is assured. As part of the Smokefree initiative, members of the public can report infringements using a free phone number: 0800 587 1667. Should you need to use public transport to get about the UK, whilst Beer Hunting, or whatever, then the Traveline UK Public Transport Information website is absolutely invaluable: www.pti.org.uk. Transport for London (www.tfl.gov.uk)'s excellent Journey Planner (www.tfl.gov.uk/journeyplanner) is a must, if you want to work out how to get from A to B, in London. Click here for a White Beer Travels Web page covering stress-free navigation, when using your own car or a coach/bus to get from one pub to the next, etc. And a little, but important aside, should you be spending a few days in London and want to give yourself a great start to the day, with a good breakfast, then a superb option is the Villandry Foodstore Restaurant Bar, 170 Great Portland Street, W1W 5QB, tel 020 7631 3131, www.villandry.com. The bar is open for breakfast from 8am (9am on Saturday) to Noon, on Monday to Saturday; on these days, from Noon, it functions as a cocktail bar, serving excellent food. The food shop and restaurant are open seven days a week, see the website for the times. Whether you have Croissants (£1.95, November, 2005, as per the others quoted), Fresh Fruit Salad with Honey and/or Yogurt (£4.25/£5.50), Continental Breakfast (£4.25), Scottish Smoked Kipper (£6); or Full English Breakfast (£7.75), you will not be disappointed. The prices may seem high, and service charges are added to your bill, but the quality is far superior to even the swankiest of London hotels; the Croissants are the best I have ever tasted, and having lived in France for a number of years, I've had a few good ones. To reach the bar, one passes through an exquisite food shop, with some truly wonderful things on offer. Yes, don't miss this one, when in London. Potential Places for White Beer Travels
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The above photos were taken in Marston's by John White, in May, 2007. The one on the left features fermenters and the one on the right, coppers in the brew house. As the latter are upstream of the former, it would be more traditional to have displayed these photos in the reverse order, but such is the fame of the Marston's Burton Union Fermentation Sets that I give them pride of place.
This British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk) trip featuring Marston's Brewery, in the English Brewing Capital of Burton upon Trent, was organised by the Guild Chairman, Tim Hampson. Tim is the author of Room at the Inn (CAMRA Books, 2003, ISBN 1852491841), and a contributor to numerous publications, including CAMRA's What's Brewing, The Guardian, The Independent and American Brewer. The visit took place in May, 2007. In addition to Tim, and yours truly, John White, the Guild members taking part in the trip were: Roger Protz (www.beer-pages.com), CAMRA Good Beer Guide editor and one of the Guild's Beer Writers of the Year and recipient of the Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award; Jeff Evans, another of the Guild's Beer Writers of the Year, and former editor of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide, and author of a number of books, including the CAMRA Good Bottled Beer Guide; Les Baynton, whose Pint Pot Poetry website, www.pintpotpoetry.co.uk, covers his books on pub poetry, Pub Poems, Beer Lines and Inn Verse; Chris Marchbanks, a brewing and beer technologist, who actually lives in Burton upon Trent; Paul Bayley, another Burton resident, who was the head brewer at Marston's, until retiring in 2002; and Chris Freer, freelance journalist and senior partner in freerbutler graphic design services, www.freerbutler-gds.co.uk, which provides publicity material for brewing companies and pubs.
Marston's Brewery is to be found at Shobnall Road (corner of Crossman Street), Burton upon Trent, DE14 2BW, GPS: 52.807463o N, 1.657218o W (www.marstonsdontcompromise.co.uk), it is a mile and a quarter (two kilometres) from the town's railway station. The brewery is renowned for brewing the famous Marston's Pedigree (4.5%), which undergoes fermentation in the unique and famous Burton Union Sets, featured in the top left photo of this section. Using these, adds to production costs, hence their slogan Marston's Don't Compromise, c.f. their website address. Marston's are part of Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries (www.wdb.co.uk), but this is now named Marston's, a group that also includes Bank's and Hanson's, Jennings and Mansfield, all of whose pubs are to be rebadged Marston's. Mansfield no longer brews, although its brew house equipment has returned to Burton, i.e. it was originally supplied to Mansfield by Burton's Robert Morton DG (RMDG), but this splendid stainless steel equipment is now used by Marston's; it is featured in the photo on the top right of this section.
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The above photos were taken in The Visitors Centre within Marston's Brewery by John White, in May, 2007. Guild brewery visits typically include a talk on the brewery and this visit was no exception, except that it very much had an out-of-the-ordinary theme, in that it was entitled "Burton Brewing Liquor"; most people who are reading this will be aware of the fact that Liquor is the term used by brewers for the water that is used in the brewing process. It is well known by beer fans that Burton became such an important brewing centre because of the nature of its water; it is very hard indeed, with very high levels of calcium, magnesium, sodium, chloride, carbonate, sulphate, etc. The sulphate is particularly pertinent, since a small proportion of it reacts in the brewing process to produce sulphurous compounds at the parts per billion level (hydrogen sulphide (H2S) (hydrogen sulfide in the USA), mercaptans such as ethyl sulphide, etc) which can readily be detected by the drinker, and which is affectionately known as The Burton Snatch, the beers including, of course: Marston's Pedigree; Marston's Burton Bitter (3.8%); the seasonal Marston's Old Empire (5.7%); the seasonal Marston's Evening Glow (5%), an interesting Red Beer; and a pre-casked version of the next seasonl, Marston's VPA (Very Pale Ale) (4%), this being in the foreground, in the "water" photo, above right.
Richard Westwood, the brewery's Director of Brewing and Customer Services, gave a superb, historic insight into how Burton upon Trent's water made the town such a pre-eminent brewing centre, and gave us truly fascinating information on the water side of brewing, which I never dreamed would be so interesting. We found that it is not just a question of tapping one well and sending its water to the brew house; there are a number of sources of water available to Marston's, a mix of their own wells and town water, which are blended to provide the mineral level required. In the photo, above left, Roger Protz, Tim Hampson and Paul Bayley can be seen during the presentation in the visitor centre, poring over diagrams detailing the complex nature of the water supplies and how they are blended. In the photo, above right, with Roger Protz looking on, Richard Westwood has a bottle of one of the water components ("Marston's Field", i.e. near the football field on their land) that go to make up the Marston's Blend, with another on the table. These were sampled by the guild members, along with, of course, a number of the brewery's excellent beers, all of which had the Burton Snatch.
The brewery visit was conducted by Richard Westwood and Philip Parkinson. As well the fermentation vessels solely used for Marston's beers, those used to produce a particularly famous Burton Beer, Draught Bass, were pointed out. These are the ones in the background of the photo at the top left of this section. Ironically, this was once brewed by Bass, and at one time using Union Sets for fermentation, but with the brand now owned by that load of Bankers, InBev, it is brewed by Marston's, and conventional fermentation is used. The Bass Brewery Museum, in Burton, which is now called The Coors Visitor Centre and Museum of Brewing (www.coorsvisitorcentre.com), is the UK's premier beer/brewing museum. Most of the beers manufactured by Coors, in Burton are moderate, apart from one exception, Worthington White Shield (5.7%), the UK's most famous bottle-conditioned beer (yeast in the bottle), which is brewed st The White Shield Brewery, within the Museum of Brewing, a museum which is well worth visiting.
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Of course, Marston's Brewery is a real Mecca in the beer world, an absolute must-visit, something which the general public can do, in groups, by prior arrangement, although you may be able to join a pre-booked group. With its Union Sets and impressive brew house, and excellent range of beers, Marston's is one of the very best breweries to visit, a real shrine, with its own, excellent collection of memorabilia and breweriana, in its most pleasant of Visitor's Centres, where one ends up after the group brewery visits, see the photo to the left, taken inside the Visitor Centre, by John White, in May, 2007. Each visit lasts around three hours, the £6 charge (May, 2007), including four halves of different Marston's beers, with extras at only a £1 a pint. For further information on Marston's Brewery Tours, click on contact and then on "brewery tours" on their website. |
Many thanks to Natalie Cowie of Vital (www.getvital.co.uk), who carry out marketing for Marston's, for organising what turned out to be a wonderful visit.
2007: Trip Featuring the Okells Brewery,
in Douglas, in the Isle of Man
This British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk) trip, which took place in February, 2007, was organised by the Guild Chairman, Tim Hampson, the author of Room at the Inn (CAMRA Books, 2003, ISBN 1852491841), and a contributor to numerous publications, including CAMRA's What's Brewing, The Guardian, The Independent and American Brewer. It took place in February, 2007. In addition to Tim, and yours truly, John White, the Guild members taking part in the trip were: Roger Protz (www.beer-pages.com), CAMRA Good Beer Guide editor and one of the Guild's Beer Writers of the Year and recipient of the Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award, see above; Adrian Tierney-Jones (www.beeralewhatever.com), freelance journalist and writer, his books include The Big Book of Beer (2005, CAMRA Books, ISBN 1-85249-212-0); Steve Hobman, of Rhino Public Relations (www.rhinopr.co.uk); Jeff Evans, another of the Guild's Beer Writers of the Year, and former editor of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide, and author of a number of books, including the CAMRA Good Bottled Beer Guide; and Chris Freer, freelance journalist and senior partner in freerbutler graphic design services, www.freerbutler-gds.co.uk, which provides publicity material for brewing companies and pubs.
The Isle of Man (IoM) (www.isleofman.com, www.gov.im) is in the British Isles, off the coast of England and Ireland. Note that it is not in the United Kingdom (UK), and is not in the European Union (EU); it is a Crown Dependency, along with the Channel Island Bailwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The UK's ruler, Queen Elizabeth II, is the island's Lord of Mann. With its most attractive scenery, it is a popular tourist destination. It famously has annual motorcycle races on public roads, that are closed for the occasion, the TT (Tourist Trophy) Races, www.iomtt.com.
Being based on the Isle of Man, the renowned Okell's Brewery (Okell and Son Limited), Kewaigue, IM2 1QG, GPS: 54.144083o N, 4.506472o W, www.okells.co.uk, is dubbed "The Manx Brewery". Kewaigue is on the outskirts of the island's capital, Douglas; it is on the A5 road to Castletown and the Island's Ronaldsway Airport (www.iom-airport.com). In Douglas, there are a good number of wonderful Okells pubs, as there are in the rest of the island.
In 1850, a surgeon from Cheshire, Dr William Okell, opened the first Okells Brewery, in Douglas. In 1874, Doctor Okell, moved to bigger premises in Douglas, the brewery being called the Falcon Brewery, a Falcon forming part of the brewery's logo, which has the wording "Pure Brewed" and "Brewed in harmony with unique Manx Purity Laws". These laws, which still prevail today, were introduced in 1874. The law outlaws the use of additives and adjuncts in beers brewed in the Isle of Man, c.f. the famous German Beer Purity Law, the Reinheitsgebot. Essentially, the Manx Beer Purity Law forbids the use of anything other than Water, Malt, Hops Yeast and Sugar in the production of beer, but, the Manx Parliament, the Tynwald (www.tynwald.org.im), the world's oldest Parliament, has agreed to modification over the years to allow the use of other ingredients, such as fruit and spices such as Coriander and the dried peel of Curaçao Oranges to produce Speciality/Specialty/Craft Beers, such as Wheat Beers and Fruit Beers. Note that without these allowed changes, the original 1874 wording of the law would probably have been simplified in any event, as it was as follows: "No brewer shall use in the brewing, making, mixing with, recovering or colouring, any beer, or any liquid made to resemble beer, or have in his possession any copperas, Coculus Indicus, nux vomica, grains of paradise, Guinea pepper or opium, or any article, ingredient, or preparation whatever, for, or as a substitute for, malt or sugar or hops."
As well as references to the Beer Purity Laws, bottle labels and pump clips, etc, also have the Isle of Man's "Three Legs of Man" symbol. The Isle of Man's Coat of Arms features the three legs and a Peregrine Falcon and a Raven.
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In 1994, there was a further relocation of the brewery. A modern, energy efficient brew house, with a brew length of sixty barrels was installed by SPR Stainless Steel Products Ltd., who were based in Ramsbottom, in Bury, near Manchester. Vessels from the old brewery were decoratively incorporated into the fabric of the new Okell's Falcon Brewery, as can be seen from the top of a Brew House vessels above the entrance, in the photo, above left, and, the one above the servery in the brewery's excellent Visitor Centre, featured in the photo to its right. The servery itself is made from one of the old brewery's fermenters. The photos were taken by John White, in February, 2007. On the right of the photo on the right are seated Harry Eastham, the Assistant Head Brewer, and Brian Young, the brewery's National Account Manager. Serving the beers for the tasting is Rochelle O'Toole, the Brand Marketing Manager at Heron & Brearley Limited (www.heronandbrearley.com), a Manx pub group that owns Okells. Rochelle did a marvellous job organising the visit, and put together the itinerary, which was presented in a superbly detailed handout. Also joining us on the trip were Steve Holt, the brewery's IoM Account Manager, and Ian Lennox, the Joint MD of Heron and Brearley.
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The new Brew House consists of a Mash Conversion Vessel, Lauter Tun, Copper and Whirlpool, alongside which are conventional, enclosed fermenters. The Copper is of unusual design as it has a Vapour Condenser to prevent the escape of steam and aromas, see the photo to the left, which was taken by John White, in February, 2007. Initially, the brewery produced both top-fermented Ales and bottom-fermented Lager, the latter for Labatt; the Lager was fermented in Cylindro-Conical Fermenters, and there were associated Maturation (Lagering) Vessels; these are now used as "Rough Beer Holding Tanks". The Manx Purity Law allows certain adjuncts to be used in the production of Bottom Fermenting Beers (Lagers), this, for example, allowed Okells to use Flaked Maize in the stuff they produced for Labatt from 1994 to 1998. |
Most of the Ale is sold cask-conditioned, i.e. as Real Ale. Beers available include: Okells Bitter (3.7%); Okells Mild (3.4%); Okell's Mac Lir (4.4%), a Wheat Beer; Doctor Okell's IPA (4.5%); Okells Aile (4.8%), a Smoked Porter (Aile is Manx Gaelic for Fire); Okell's Castletown Ale (4%); Okell's Autumn Dawn (4.2%); Okell's Summer Storm (4.2%), a Wheat Beer; Okell's Spring Ram (4.2%); Okell's Olde Skipper (4.5%); and Okell's St Nick (4.5%). As you may guess, some of these are seasonal beers. The Castletown Ale was originally brewed by the Castletown Brewery, which was taken over by Okells in 1986. On the brewery's website, all these beers are in a portfolio of Okells Celtic Ales. The brewery was the venue for a tutored tasting of its beers, conducted by Roger Protz, see above, which was attended by the Island's press. A number of Okells pubs on the island were visited, including: the Mines Tavern, Captains Hill, Laxey, IM4 7AA, GPS: 54.232728o N, 4.405622o W, (GBG 2005, GBG 2006 page 673); the Trafalgar Hotel, West Quay, Ramsey, IM8 1DW, GPS: 54.322167o N, 4.381713o W, (GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 674); The Raven, which is on the TT Course, at Main Road, Ballaugh, IM7 5ED, 54.309727o N, 4.540848o W; The Creek Inn, East Quay, Peel, IM5 1AP, GPS: 54.222367o N, 4.697443o W; Albert Hotel, 3 Chapel Row, Douglas, IM1 2BJ, GPS: 54.148232o N, 4.478513o W (GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 672); and The Railway, Banks Circus, Douglas, IM1 5AB. Further details of these places can be found below. In the individual write-ups, I don't mention beer quality or condition, as, quite simply, on both counts, they all truly excelled.
Our tour guide round the island was Tony Temple, the brewery's Sales Manager. Tony provided a marvellous commentary on the Isle of Man, in general, as well as on the brewery and its outlets. He spoke in what was, for me, a Liverpudlian (Scouser) accent, but he assured us he was from Douglas, and his was a typical Douglas accent! The brewery visit was conducted by Head Brewer, Dr Mike Cowbourne, who is justifiably proud of the wonderful beers he brews, and who gave a wonderful insight into how they are brewed, and the ingredients used to produce such a faultless portfolio of characterful beers.
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The above photos of the outside and inside the Mines Tavern, in Laxey, were taken by John White, in February, 2007. The handpumped beers available in The Mines Tavern, on our visit, were Okells Bitter at £2.19; Okell's Captain's Pride; and Bushy's Bitter at £2.10. The Captain's Pride was not badged Okell's on its pump clip, but the "Pure Brewed" slogan gave the game away, although the Laxey Wheels on it, initially gave the impression that it might be brewed by the Old Laxey Brewery.
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The above photos were taken outside and inside The Trafalgar Hotel, in Ramsey, by John White, in February, 2007. From left to right in the photo on the right, are Roger Protz, Steve Hobman, and the Trafalgar's landlord, Jimmy Kneen (James Alfred Kneen above the door). The wonderful pancakes on the table, which were prepared by Jimmy's partner, Jilly, attest to the fact that the visit was on Shrove Tuesday. The Real Ales available on our visit were: Okells Bitter and Cains Bitter, both at £1.85; Black Cat Mild at £1.80; and Okells Trafalgar Ale (4.2%) (Traf-Ale-Gar) at £1.95. We were lucky to be able to sample the latter, as it is not brewed that often; it is dry hopped with local hops, which were possibly Fuggles. The Trafalgar is wonderfully situated, across from Ramsey's harbour. Beers from the Liverpool, Merseyside, England ("Across") brewers, Cains, are quite common in the Isle of Man, no doubt because of the fact that from Liverpool one can get to the Isle of Man by boat, but could it also be because Steve Holt, who now works for Okells once worked for Cains? The Black Cat Mild from Moorhouse's Brewery, in Burnley, Lancashire, is also available in a number of other places in the IoM.
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The above photos were taken outside and inside The Raven, near Ballaugh Bridge, by John White, in February, 2007. The bridge, where TT riders take to the air, can be seen in the background on the right, in the photo, above left. The set of sketches on the wall, in the photo to its right, is one of two in the place; they are labelled "T.T. Characters from the Past". Real Ales available on the visit were: Okells Bitter and Okell's Raven's Claw, both at £2.21. The Raven's Claw is a variant of the "Normal" Bitter, with some Caramel and dry hopping. I put the "Normal" in quotes, since Okells Bitter is anything but normal; it is a wonderful beer with a pronounced hop character.
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The above photos were taken outside and inside The Creek inn, Peel, in February, 2007, by John White. As you can see, as well as Okells Bitter on handpump, there was also Cains Double Bock Beer (8%), a truly superb beer which is available on draught and in bottle. It was introduced in 2007 to mark the 800th anniversary of the city of Liverpool's founding charter, www.liverpool2007.org.uk. Food is very good in The Creek Inn. There is a permanent card with items such as: Manx Kippers at £6; Smoked Cod and Smoked Haddock, both at £8.50; Jacket Potatoes, Sandwiches, Baguettes and Tortilla Wraps. On the day of our visit, the blackboard specials included: Local Manx Queenies Mornay, with Rice at £8.95; Cumberland Sausages with Mash Potato & Onion Gravy at £7.95; and Home Made Spinach & Ricotta Lasagna at £7.95. The menus are dominated by Fish, but as you can see, there are Meat and Vegetarian options.
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The above photos were taken in February, 2007, by John White. The one on the left is The Railway, in Douglas. It is superbly situated at the head of North Quay, opposite the Custom House (former Town Hall). Close by, and, like the Quay, visible through the side windows (at the front of the photo), is an impressive stone building, complete with stone chimney, the former Clinch's Brewery, which today houses Clinch's Marina Tavern (a Wine Bar) and Clinch's Celtic Tavern, Clinch's Courtyard, North Quay, IM1 4LE, www.clinchs.com, see the photo, above right. The Clinch's Ale (3.8%) is supplied by Bushy's, see below. Close by, just a little way down the quay, The Bridge on The Quay, 8-9 North Quay, IM1 4LQ, is a rare example of a pub with a tiled exterior; it is an atmospheric Okells house.
Real Ales available in the Railway at the time of our visit were: Okells Bitter at £2.30; and Okell's Elixir at £2.40. There is a small selection of "World Bottled Beers", examples being: Duvel and Orval from Belgium, which are both £3; and Lammsbräu Organic Pilsner, from Germany, at £2.80. Food includes: "Wraps and Torpedos at £5.95; Spuds (Jacket Potatoes) at£4.75; and Handmade Pies at £6.95.
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The above photos, taken outside and inside The Albert Hotel, in Douglas, were taken by John White, in February, 2007. The Albert, a wonderfully atmospheric, locals' pub, has Okells Mild and Bitter on handpump, along with a house beer, brewed by Okells: Jough Manx Ale; Jough is Manx Gaelic for Beer.
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The island's total population is 79,805 (2001 Census). You would expect that one brewery would suffice for such a small population, but there are two more: Old Laxey; and Bushy's (www.bushys.com). During the visit, we managed to get to a Bushy's pubs, The Rover's Return, 11 Church Street, Douglas, IM1 2AG (GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 673). Formerly called The Albion, The Rover's Return has a room dedicated to a football team from Lancashire, in England: Blackburn Rovers. Blackburn is home to Thwaites Brewery, the source of the yeast used by Okells. The above photos, taken outside and inside The Rover's Return, in Douglas, were taken by John White, in February, 2007. Coming out of the Rover's is Okells's Steve Holt. As you can see, the handpumps are most unusual, in the Rover's, since they are made from the nozzles from fire hoses.
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The above photo of a bilingual street sign in Douglas, was taken by John White, in February, 2006. It is on the side of The Albert Hotel, which is on the corner of Chapel Street and Chapel Row, the latter being in Manx Gaelic (Yn Ghaelg / Y Ghailck) a Celtic language, as can be seen from the sign, Strane Ny Cabbal.
The Isle of Man Real Ale scene is covered by the Isle of Man CAMRA's website, www.isleofmancamra.org. The Mines Tavern, is by the Laxey station of the Manx Electric Railway, where one can get an electric tram to/from Douglas; click here for more details.
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There are some Okells "Manx Cat Inns" pubs in England and Wales: Thomas Rigby's, 23-25 Dale Street, Liverpool, L2 2EZ (GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 344); The Fly in the Loaf, 35 Hardman Street, Liverpool, L1 9AS (GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 343); the Bear and Billet, 94 Lower Bridge Street, Chester, CH1 1RU (GBG 2007 page 66); Dr Okell's (initially called the Baroque), 159 The Headrow (corner of East Parade), Leeds, LS1 5RG (GBG 2006, GBG 2007 page 563); and The Academy (Y Academi) (former St Pauls Chapel), 52 Great Darkgate Street, Aberystwyth, SY23 1DW (West Wales (Ceredigion)), this only having keg and bottled beers. The Okells pubs in Liverpool are covered in a White Beer Travels Web page, which can be reached by clicking here. |
On a visit to Dr Okell's, in Leeds, in February, 2007, Okells Bitter, at £2.10, and Okell's Elixir, at £2.30, were both magnificent. The photo of the exterior of Dr Okell's was taken by John White, in February, 2007. Clearly, this Leeds pub is named after the brewery's founder. Dr Okell's is housed in Pearl Chambers, which was designed by William Bakewell, in the Neo-Baroque style, for the Pearl Assurance Company, in 1911.
John White (1945-), 
, December, 2006, updated in June, 2007.
