Author: lycee23

Turning back the clock to the early 1980s (1982 to be exact) was my first experience of going out to the pub for a pint.

Imagine the scenario:-Small mining town just inside the Nottinghamshire/Derbyshire border in the Nottinghamshire side.16 pubs all within an area of a few miles and each one selling just 3 choices (best bitter,mild and a lager) on the pump.Maybe 12 were Hardy Hanson and the others Shipstones and 1 Home Ales.16 pubs with only 9 choices of beer in total,the local miners absolutely loved them.

There was also the local night club,which was about a mile away down an unlit narrow pot holed lane,which served John Smiths (luxury). This place was a great place to drink and dance the night away,unfortunately the walk home was a little dangerous as in those days i really don’t think the drink drive law existed in peoples heads so it was very fraught.

Strangely i really enjoyed the best bitter on offer,probably because i hadn’t tasted anything else apart from the three or four different bitters on offer.Little did i know back then what a taste sensation the future held.

Hello all you ale lovers out there or non ale lovers for that matter.My passion for finding great tasting ales began way back in the early 1990s after sampling a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale by mistake really as my local pub had issues with the pumps and the best bitter was unavailable,the landlord persuaded me to try a Newky brown.Although not entirely convinced at the time it just gave me the push to maybe drink something different every now and then.I had stumbled across my love of great tasting beers.