Oddbits: What makes a pub great, favorite pubs and about that Obama poster – oops
By William Brand
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 at 6:00 am in Craft Beer, General.
Oddbits…I wrote about the Urban Tavern yin the downtown San Francisco Hilton,esterday. It’s tavern without beer on tap …Last night I was leafing through “Beer,” the new quarterly magazine published by the Campaign For Real Ale in the UK. They had a great quote about what makes a good pub from Roger Protz, the beer writer-author and CAMRA activist:
“…great welcome, great beer, great food, flagstones, beams, open fires and a welcome for dogs…
Roger, by by the way, was talking about CAMRA”s National Pub of the Year, the Old Spot in Dursley, Gloucestershire.
One more quote from English beer writer Ben McFarland
A perfect pub is somewhere you don’t want to leave, a home from home where your troubles are barred. It makes you feel content as soon as you arrive. The only theme should be leisurely drinking. It should be free of bicycles on the ceiling, fruit machines, signs to Tipperary, plasmas (TV) on the wall and clowns behind the bar.
Snacks and food should be simple and play a cameo role, and there should not be nuts that require shelling – which requires a hand that could be clutching a pint.
The perfect pub should never be mistaken for a restaurant, be called gastro or be part of a chain. The beer choice must be varied and immaculately kept, yet not dictate conversation nor the the clientele; the perfect pub should have a sun-trapping garden and it helps if it has a dog – preferably a big one to keep avaricious pub company fools from changing things…
Ben McFarland says the Bell in Aldworth, Berkshire is that perfect pub.
I have several favorite pubs, Pacific Coast in Oakland, The Trappist in Oakland, E.J. Phair’s Alehouse & Brewery in Concord, 21st Amendment in San Francisco and about a half-dozen others tied for fifth.
Got a favorite pub or a top 5? Post it here or e-mail me at whatsontap@sbcglobal.net.
CORRECTION: I read the info too fast and didn’t catch on. The item I ran yesterday about the Obama poster and the Dale’s Pale Ale poster…kinda’ got it wrong. According to Marty Jones of Oskar Blues (maker of Dale’s Pale Ale), the Obama poster, below, was created by the Obama campaign. The beer poster is a Oskar Blues’ takeoff on the poster.
Oh hell, anyway…
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August 26th, 2008 at 8:12 am
McFarland could’ve been describing the old Lyon’s Brewery Depot in Sunol. Right down to the dog.
August 26th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Judy Ashworth, the great lady who made Lyon’s what it was, says she wants to open another small pub near her home. I don’t know if she’s sierous, but one can hope. For some background, check out “A Return Visit to The time Machine” under Pages at the top right of this blog.
August 26th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Here’s my top 5 (in no particular order), but they don’t exactly all qualify as pubs as defined above.
Hopmonk Tavern, Sebastpol, CA - more refined and like a restaurant, but for beer and a mellow atmosphere, it’s great.
Cornucopia, Eugene, OR - Feels like a corner store turned into a restaurant. Big bottled selection of beer and wine, quality taps and a nice patio for those few sunny Oregon days.
Black Rose Pub, Santa Rosa, CA - Dark, classic Irish Pub with a solid bottled selection to go with interesting tap selection and lots of whiskey.
Raleigh’s, Berkeley, CA - My favorite beer garden ever. Food kinda stinks.
Barclays, Oakland, CA - Great tap selection, and I love how it feels like you’re hiding out under College Ave.
August 26th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Mario: Love the imperial pints at Barclays.
August 26th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Just culled this great quote about pubs and people from Stonch’s beer blog. He’s an English publican and this quoteout comes at the end of his post on the decline of pub culture in the UK…
http://stonch.blogspot.com/2007/04/halt-decline-of-pub-culture.html
Never trust people who think beer subdivides into “lager”, “bitter” and “Guinness”. Never trust people who say they like chain bars because “they always know what they’re getting”. Never trust people who list “socialising” as an interest on their CV. Never trust people who can’t give a straightforward answer when you ask them where they’re from. Never trust people who invite you on skiing trips when you have never expressed any interest in the sport (or indeed their company). Never trust blokes who try and ban the c-word from conversation because their bird doesn’t like it (just say it more). Never trust people who “don’t like to lose control”. Finally and most importantly, never, ever trust people who don’t drink beer, unless they have a very good excuse - and for the avoidance of doubt, being an uptight, miserable sod is not a very good excuse.