The one thing that struck home whilst walking around Liverpool on Monday was how many quality pubs there are within a short walk. I did five pubs before dinner, then headed in the other direction after dinner and did two more. I'm a bit of a lightweight sadly as there are a number of other pubs the seasoned drinker should really have done.
There are a few jottings below of my experiences:
Pub one - The Dispensary; smart and clean; nice wood panelling; despire being owned by Cains only one of their beers on. I had Wentworth Black Zac which was very tasty and TSA Golden Thistle which was very bland.
Pub two Roscoe's Head; quaint little pub, nice snug, institution, untouchable by which I mean its place in the GBG may well be sacrosanct. My Jennings Bitter was a little vinegary.
Pub three The Fly In The Loaf; modern and almost trendy, good selection of foreign beers well chosen; four Fullers beers and only one from owners Okells. Why is that? I had Wild Walker Last Orders and Okells Bitter, both were bland.
Pub four The Pilgrim; Bohemian; great tables; cheap food; mostly students. My Phoenix White Tornado was hoppy and crisp.
Pub five Ye Cracke; tatty; interesting; doesn't need to smarten up; interesting guest beers. I had All Gates Mild At Heart and Hornbeam Winterlong Dark Bitter, both were decent enough if a little ordinary.
Pub six Thomas Rigbys; walked in just as someone appeared to be being ejected so a good start; good draught foreign beers, would have had the Aventinus Weizen Eisbock if I could guarantee I would keep it down. Instead I had Fullers Hock which was pretty nice.
Pub seven Ship & Mitre; big beer selection; intriguing beer board; fast service despite the pub being busy. I had Betwixt Storr Lager and Northern Two Tone Stout both good beers doing what they say on the tin.
I trugded home, unwittingly passing Dr Duncans where a quick glimpse through the windows revealed just Cains beers which at that time of the night didn't float my boat.
In summery a crawl around Liverpool is not hard on the shoe leather and is sure to result in a wide selection of interesting and old favourite beers. I'ev not been since 2000, I hope I'll be back before 2018.
