The Doctor MIA? No busy dealing with Twats

The busy stretch seems to have come to an end and fingers crossed I can get back to business as usual. I apologize again for being MIA and for my blog being a bit shithouse lately as well.

Firstly I have not stepped foot in a pub since I reported on the steak sandwich I had at The Queens Head a few weeks ago. I did make it to the beer garden of The Brook Green Hotel on one of the warmers days before the weather turned crap - but I opted for a couple of bottles of 'OIrish' style cider instead. I think this is excusable in warmer weather as is drinking copious amounts of lager. Oh and I have not been to the Gunmakers in over a month - it's a sad state of affairs (actually I might sneak out for a quick one this afternoon).

My fridge has played host to numerous bottles of Anchor Steam, SNPA and Punk IPA over the last couple of weeks and I spent £93 in Tesco sourcing a trolley full of these bottles. Basically I have been too lazy to stroll down to the pub for a pint and have been opting to drink in the flat with the Missus. Some CAMRA retards might think this is antisocial, but I think it shows common sense in these tough economic times, plus there is no barman to ever cut me off if I have one too many!

Last week I said I would have some kind of news announcement, well basically I don't have anything worth indulging yet - but fingers crossed I will have something soon. Also worth noting is that I placed an order with an asshole who runs a store called beerclearstore.co.uk. This fool refused to process my order due to some issue he has with PayPal and he was claiming he couldn't get the money I paid him. What a tool! Basically I ordered a few things through his website, chose to use his online checkout (which is with PayPal) and the order went smoothly. He gives me a call saying that he has received my order and it will be with me in 3-4 days. A week later and I haven't received anything so I give him a call;

"Oh, I am having some problems getting the money from PayPal. I'll look into it and call you back." I'm thinking fair enough - but he doesn't call me back. I call again and this tool is still claiming that PayPal are withholding funds. I tell him that his relationship with PayPal has nothing to do with me and to hurry up and process my order. He refuses to process my order - I've promoted this bloke from tool to twat at this stage. I then ring up PayPal and they indirectly tell me that this bloke twat can't access his funds because he has been stooging other customers. So I email the twat and ask for a refund which he claims that he can't provide. I then send him some emails telling him he has no idea about how to run a business and deal with customers etc. I received the expected email back saying that he not going to correspond with me any further. I then lodge a dispute with PayPal which is automatically escalated to a claim and I have my money refunded in a record 11 minutes! Basically PayPal asked this guy to respond to my complaint and he said that he can't do anything as PayPal have my money not him. Whatever.... But the moral of the story is DO NOT buy any thing from beerclearstore.co.uk as it's not worth the effort and you are not going to get the level of customer service which every consumer deserves. I should have picked up on this as he used two different surnames during the process of me trying to sort this stuff out. Anyhow I have reordered my items with another online vendor and should have them early next week. I will describe my purchases in an upcoming post, the items will almost certainly piss some people off. Let the good times roll.......

New Neighbours

I have new celebrity neighbours who I met yesterday morning as I shuffled out of the house on my way to the gym. I'm not one to name drop so I have made this a little cryptic. I have put a circle around a clue which can be found on the side of their car.

Another hint - the travel long distances on motorcycles!

Punch KO'ed by Fuller's

While travelling home on the tube after a session in "The Castle" yesterday evening, the London Lite informed me that Fuller's have acquired six pubs from dwindling pub giant Punch Taverns. Why does that interest me? Normally this news wouldn't, but in this case I frequent two of pubs mentioned. Yes the acquisitions include Ye Olde Mitre, off Hatton Garden (the closest pub to my office) and The Queens Head on Brook Green.
I welcome both these pubs entry into the Fuller's stable. I wonder how Scottles at Ye Olde Mitre will take the news?
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Other pubs involved in the £21.1 million acquisition are the Red Lion in Whitehall, The Swan on Bayswater Rd, The Scarsdale and The Hereford in Kensington. Apparently the deal on these pubs is some £4.5 million lower than their book value.

Rubbish pubs

Last Friday night I went out for a beer with a few colleagues. In terms of pubs, we are spoiled for choice in Clerkenwell but sometimes even a sure thing like finding a decent pub gets royally screwed up. I should have realised as soon as someone said we would be joining members of the Sales team. I say this as they (Sales types) usually frequent a rather unattractive dive near my office called "The King of Diamonds". This place (pictured left) is more of a drinking factory than a pub and ranks well down my list of options. But anyhow, my excitement was renewed when I learned we were going to a different pub, one called The Blue Anchor off Chancery Lane. Upon arrival the place was packed and way too many people for the tiny bar to cope with. I looked around and to my disappointment realised that it was basically the King of Diamonds in a different location - a real let down. I think I understand the situation. The sales team are mainly single girls in their late 20's, and the Chancery Lane area is teeming with young up and coming solicitors fired up after a day in the law courts. These girls are out looking for a rich bloke (preferably one that wears a wig to work) and will drink in shithouse venues to find him. Sad really.

I did manage to get one pint of Pride in before beating a hasty retreat home where I smashed a bottle of Shepherds Neame Christmas Ale and a Leffe Bruin. Then I went for some Thai at the Parr's Head where I had some more London Pride. I felt suitably redeemed after this, but I will not be venturing out drinking with the sales team again.

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In other news, the snow has eased and I am back at work. Here is a snowman that is currently residing on Brook Green. He is strategically positioned between the Brook Green Hotel and The Queens Head. It is a pity he can't walk to either!

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Take Away

On Sunday I was well and truly back on the drinking wagon after giving my liver a two week reprieve. I met up with some friends at my local Young's pub - The Brook Green Hotel to enjoy a typical Sunday meal. I made mine a Burger, and I upscaled and payed the extra pound for bacon and cheese - a worthy investment in my book.

After smashing down three or four pints of Young's brilliant Winter Warmer I needed to relieve myself. I will spare you the details of how I wrestled the massive serpentine that is my manhood and fill you in on the poster I observed at eye level. Now normally in pubs they will display the newspaper (sometimes page 3) or their guest ale list. Not at the Brook Green! Here they advertise their new take away beer service.... That's correct - you can now take your favourite draught ales home with you in a sturdy 2 pint beer hopper. This looks like an over sized milk carton (pictured top left), I spied this specimen on the bar. Anyhow I am intrigued to see whether this concept takes off, especially as there is a giant Tesco supermarket located directly behind the pub which is bound to have a greater selection of ales at cheaper prices.
By the way, I only managed to get one or two strange looks as I took the photo of the poster (which is below). It did not occur to me until a little while later that it must be a strange sight seeing a guy taking photos in the gents - one hand on the camera phone, one hand on his wang.

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Young's Winter Warmer

After Jay finally recovered a little bit, I took him to the Cabinet War rooms and the Churchill Museum and then a chaotic stroll along Regent Street. It was getting cold and late so we decide to head back west and grab a bite to eat at my former local - The Brook Green Hotel.

This is a Young's tied house that went upper class during a refurb after the smoking ban was introduced last year. Since then I have avoided the place, but I found myself in there last Saturday.

Jay was not drinking, but I got stuck into the Young's Winter Warmer (5.0% abv), the winter seasonal from Young's.

I really rate this beer - it is really nothing more than a dark special bitter but it tends to take on the character of a brown porter which I suppose suits the season well. Hopefully this is just a stepping stone in my so far unsuccessful hunt for Fullers London Porter! (Website)

Young's Bitter 2

Whilst revisiting the Brook Green hotel I also got into a pint of Young's Ordinary, just to see if they have improved their cask handling practices. I have to report that they have indeed improved things, although this pint was certainly still not at its best.

Does anybody think that its a fair call that Young's Ordinary is better now that they have moved the brewery from Wandsworth out to the Well's site? It just seems to be fresher these days with more hop flavour where before it was so bland it could have been nitrokeg John Smith's being served up on pump. Anyhow, you can read my past thoughts here.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout

As I have stated a few times recently, my parents have been in town visiting. After eating in nearly all the restaurants and pubs near us I took them down to my old local - The Brook Green hotel. Now its not that I have anything against the Brook green, its just that since the renovations after the smoking ban the place has become a bit pretentious. OK not just a bit pretentious, very pretentious! First of all, they insist on table service... It's a Young's tied pub for crying out loud! They have also become quite expensive and the ale is usually not kept very well.

Anyhow rant over - I opted for a Double Chocolate stout (5.2% abv), a bottled ale (so it will be in OK condition) and a fair whack cheaper than a pint of draught (£2.60 as opposed to £3.40).

The beer delivers what Meantime Chocolate attempts - and fails to do. A strong intense chocolate flavour and aroma, chocolaty bitterness and a smooth mellow lingering bitter aftertaste. The beer is also quite thick and oily, which I am assuming comes from the chocolate used in brewing. For some reason, I think Young's may have discontinued this beer - and my thoughts were suspiciously confirmed when I failed to find any mention of the beer on the Young's website.