Hello all,
I was thinking the other day how much I miss the Tuns. It had a few average beers on but always at least one, sometimes two, excellent hoppy Blue Bee beers available at my starting strength, plus some great guest ales. The wine and gin was also very good. It occurred to me that it was ideally placed between work and transport home for a pint on the way there or a meeting place for a night out. The food and ale were excellent, the staff were brilliant and the atmosphere for the most part was fantastic.
On Monday Dr J announced he was popping down to see it under its "new custodianship". I was surprised, but also very pleased. I wondered if this had been just a soft launch but decided even if it was and it wasn't open, yesterday would be a great opportunity to pop down and check the place out for myself. After all, there is a certain excellent boozer five minutes walk away....
Arriving about 20.00 the pub lights were on and the doors and some windows open. Inside were Josh and Dave, although they were just moving on, along with about eight other people. It was actually refreshingly cool inside and the pub seemed very spick and span - no doubt a positive hangover from its previous stewardship.
I went to the bar to find three handpumps in use, selling Moonshine, Castle Rock Harvest Pale and Moorhouses Blonde. Being a more regular supper of Abbeydale I went for a pint of Moonshine, which was maybe a little pricey at £3.40 a pint ( ? ) and returned to sit at the back, having said goodbye to Josh and Dave. It was well kept and on decent form. No suggestion of mucky lines or rushing the beer on which I had admittedly been worried about. Its not a range that is going to see me in there every day but its decent real ale.
Bar snacks were 50p - its quite a limited range, probably just to clear the shelves, and its still in date - even so the guy offered me two packs of pretzels for 50p which is a bloody bargain. The gent running the pub appears to be a temporary manager. Obviously I wasn't brazen or sociologically developed enough to ask his name, which he will have one of, but he has short hair. I understand having heard a conversation in Shakespeares later that he has previously run the pub this century. So its definitely him.
A few people left just before I did and there was only one table occupied when I departed but its early days and its not been particularly well advertised. I will be popping back in, for the reasons at the beginning of the post about why it was such a cracking boozer. I don't really like Spoons so if this remains open it will make a nice change.
The interesting thing is that the pub reopening reminds me just how bloody good it was under Reet Ale Pub's management. The availability of Blue Bee was a boon but the pub employed some excellent staff such as Nate, Phil, Siobhan, Dave, Mc Miker G, Mark, Ethan and others. I will miss their service a hell of a lot and also the atmosphere that they brought with it. I would never have heard so much King gizzard and the lizard wizard without Nate's influence on the music, or persuaded anyone but Ethan to play me Cathedral's Forest of Equilibrium on a frankly wonderful Monday night. I wouldn't have written the song "Mark's got a name, Siobhan's got a nickname" without them being there and wouldn't have had to explain to so many of my younger friends who Mc Miker G was if he hadn't been there too.
In the long term I hope it can return to its comfortable, friendly, excellently aled inclusivity, attracting groups from all backgrounds and walks of life and persuasions to sit on its comfortable chairs and drink their beers and other potions. That is not a criticism of the current ownership. Its more a respectful lament for the way things were.
Welcome back old friend. You have changed. We are still however, friends.
Cheers.
Wee Beefy
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