BHA at the Double H

Hullabalo,

      recently, during my self isolation here at home, I have been doing some long needed clearing up. This has revealed quite a lot of interesting stuff, not least finding my old Panasonic digital camera (which stopped working in late 2016, but temporarily at least, has been revived). I also found a lot of beer festival beer lists - I have been saving them since my first festival in 1994, and to the best of my knowledge I have never thrown any away. Recently I came across one from thew Hillsborough Hotel, AKA The Double H.

It was the end of February this year that myself and Tash last went in the Double H, after our regular trip for cheap scran from Aldi. We have always popped in for a couple of drinks post shop (and of course with shopping), but as we often shopped on Tuesday or Wednesday the Double H was often not open so that has reduced our visits, and now they have stopped due to the Lockdown measures. I heard a statement on Facebook that the pub had closed, and also that it had been up for sale for some time. I recall chatting to Tom on my last few visits and I was aware that the business wasn't doing particularly well, no doubt suffering from being too far from town and Kelham Island and also not perhaps attracting the large crowds of drinkers situated in Hillsborough. Either way, am not sure of it's current status.

The list I found was for the Hillsborough Hotel Scottish Beer Festival which took place in January or early February three or four years ago. I only made it once, with Matty, and although the sheet I have states that some beers were available outside, I honestly can't recall if they had a bar in the conservatory or under the covering right next to it. I do remember my personal favourite, Williams Brothers Joker IPA, being on the bar on Handpump.  I also loved the Cromarty Kowabunga American Pale Ale at 4.6%, but as was often the case, am certain this is not my personal list of beers tried, since only one is marked as if tasted - am not a one beer festival trier I must admit.

Overall the range was good - I love Fyne Ales and am certain I had one of each of their two beers, am certain I tried the Loch Lomond Kessog Dark Ale at 5.2%, I now remember enjoying the Tempest Pale Armadillo , as its a cracking brew, and I hope I tried some from the Swannay, Fallen (am certain I did) and Pilot breweries.      

The festival featured an address to, stabbing and serving of, the haggis, hence am a little nearer the date it took place. There was still scran available after service from the initial address so myself and Matty both paid for a haggis neeps and tatties each, which given his notorious hunger, I have to admit was quite filling. And I love haggis, so that was a treat as well.

The main reason I am writing this though is that this was one of the last times I saw Badges Andrew, or Badge Hat Andrew. As you may have heard me say previously, after many years of glugging, talking loudly, enthusing, and, alas, producing spittle, he had taken a few years away from the pub scene but made a surprise comeback for a short while, before sadly passing away.

At the fest, he made a memorable impression by, am not sure if drunkenly, performing a dance to the bagpipes pre or during the cutting of the haggis. I think most people knew about his condition, and I have to add - whatever it was, mainly because I never actually asked - and after some initial amusement I think it was actually quite appreciated. I do however remember that he went shortly after that. Myself and Marty meanwhile, had about four pints each and enjoyed them all, and am assuming that in line with normality we finished off in the Shakespeares for a last couple before heading home.

Checking the Hillsborough Hotel Friendache page Here I notice that up until the beginning (the 4th) of May they continued supplying beer for collection - but after that point nothing else has been posted. I tried to find out if the pub and hotel had been sold, using my usual carefulness in looking at a maximum of ten websites, but sadly am still not sure.  

Lets hope that the horrendous delay in allowing pubs to reopen ends soon, and sees the Double H reopen, and people once again come through their doors in thirsty glee.

Cheers!

Wee Beefy

Miserable twat WLTM venue for quiet pint..

Hello,

     its with some mild shame that I confess that I went out for a mini pub crawl, by myself , ON A MONDAY. Yep, that's right, a blummin Monday. Less than 24 hours after the presumably libatious revelry of the weekend had dissipated, big lad was slaking in a public house like it was, erm, Tuesday or something.

The thing is though, irrespective of my own guzzling patterns, Monday isn't exactly a daft choice for a beer and a wind down is it? Its a school night, granted, but I'm not talking about a raucous descent into crapulence here, just a refreshing pint or three and a bit of banter.

A chap standing at the bar next to me ordered two pints - one was for his friend who was arriving shortly as it turned out, before knowing which it was suggested that this was reckless Monday behaviour. As he pointed out though, Monday is by far the most depressing and unpleasant day of the week. And he's right. Back to the grind, into your work attire or uniform (possibly out of a uniform, I'm not here to judge), away with the careless slouching and on with the tense frustrating pressure of another day on the treadmill. Its enough to drive anyone to drink.

To be honest though, this post serves not as a defence of Monday drinking, nor really an exploration of what drives us to it, instead its intention is only to illustrate how far I am willing to go to drink somewhere quiet, what I did whilst doing so, and ultimately, the failure of my recipe for uninterrupted contemplation.

Its a fact well known to the staff at DAda that I really am not a busy pub kind of drinker. Even if I am with a friend, or two or three, I can't really be arsed shouting to make myself heard through the shimmering fart cloud of badinage and high spirits. And if I am alone, this desire to keep myself all to myself, or at the very least to have exclusive ear bending rights over the bar staff is all the more overwhelming. Nothing disappoints me more than a throng. Does this make me a miserable twat? Well, that depends on whether I share my solitude willingly, and I don't think I'm best placed to comment on my sociability....

Anyway, to avoid unnecessary annoyance, I have found myself at least two regular haunts that have a bit of a reputation for being quiet and one which is sufficiently large to be quiet in places, midweek. I have then homed in on Tuesdays as an ideal retail blind spot, and following recent disruptions to my plan, I have moved to Mondays.

Despite the above justification of why people drink on Mondays, I would still be amazed and somewhat despairing of large groups of people choosing to drink on a Monday. So cue their being an event on at utopia of solitude number one on Monday night. Gah!

What must I do to avoid these mass inundations! Can I now only go out at the end of January, through the first third and last week in February, the first and last of March depending on when Easter falls, the third week in May, the last week in June, not at all in July and August, the first week in September, the middle of October, the end of November and beginning of December?

Well, I hope not, because the above list features far too many times of the month when the reason everyone else isn't going out is the same reason I wouldn't be - lack of cash!

In the end of course, my Benedictine inspired search for silence is rather absurd and is no more likely to be enjoyable if I find it, as demonstrated by the fact that on Monday, having been frightened off my bar perch by incomers, I also went to the Sheffield Tap, which I don't think I've ever found quiet at 8.30 PM.

And for the record, heres the important factual bit : in DAda (for it is they) I had a fantastic couple of pints of Dark Star Espresso plus a half of Bear State on Keg, and at the Tap, from an unrivalled range I sampled a half of the Art Brew Green Bullet on cask, a half of Magic Rock 8Ball on keykeg, a half of Cromarty Brewing Brewed Awakening, which I tried on cask previously and is fabulous by either method of dispense, and a fantastic Tapped Ale from the Pivovar Taps in house "Tapped" brewery.

This was the real reason for going I concede, not so I could tick the bugger off on some damned list you understand, but just so I could put paid to my anticipation and also review it, after a fashion. My notes, which I recorded laboriously and inconveniently in a text message,  read "orangey with pleasing dry hoppy bitterness and lemony edge". It sort of does it justice, but a far better description would have been - excellent.

And that's good, because so often you wait ages for a new brewery to start producing and everything is a bit last minute and not quite how it should be. Well ironically, the brewery that hit the ground running when it launched, Magic Rock, provided the most disappointing beer of the night, whilst the Tapped and the not quite as new Cromarty were outstanding highlights.

So I'll leave you now, as I'm off to build a pub in my cellar, in the search for ultimate exclusivity, which should be one of its obvious features - given that I don't have a cellar.....

Now wheres that trowel?

Wee beefy