Franconia Beer Message Board
Pech für Jason |
| Posted by barry on 2016-02-06 12:47:08 |
| Unfortunately, the high prices in the UK seem to be pretty universal, with the notable exception of the older family breweries, such as Sam Smith's and Holt's. I miss not knowing what beers are going to be on offer before you enter a pub. In the 'old days' (not always so good!), the vast majority of pubs were brewery owned or controlled, which meant that the exterior signs displayed the brewery name, so you knew what you were getting, for good or evil. Now, except in a few cases, you've absolutely no idea. For example, to the best of my knowledge, the only brewery owned pub in LLandudno is the (?) Links, which advertises itself as a J. W. Lees house. I suppose that most of the rest are owned by pub groups. Although many carry the 'cask marque' symbol, in my experience, this does not guarantee good quality beer. At a rough estimate, during our 6 day stay, we probably sampled around 20 beers from different breweries, mostly small outfits, of which only around half were, IMHO, of particularly decent quality or served well. Two pubs stand out in the area for me, neither of which are in Llandudno: the first is the Albion Ale House in Conwy, which is owned by a consortium of 4 local breweries, and the second is the Cob and Pen in Rhyl, which is a freehouse of some sort. Both were consistent in quality (the AAH has certainly improved from our first visit) and provide a pleasant drinking environment. As for the local Spoons, it's a beautiful place and is very reasonable in price but has the environment of your local McDonald's! |