Feels like a long time since I've had a proper natter on here

A beautiful bastard of a tin, found in Aldi.

A catch and release...

A discussion prompted by a conversation about the future of pubs.

Pubs Beyond the Pint: It's not just about the drink; it's about the shared experiences. From cheering on your team during the World Cup to pubs as potential catalysts for positive change, explore the untapped potential these spaces hold.

https://youtu.be/PpTWWrrnFfA?feature=shared

Pretty much as it says on the tin.

Where can I get some proper hearty pub grub around/ just outside of Croydon???

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Just saw this post on r/BritishSuccess about a young lad learning the importance of a proper local pub and thought of you all.

For me the Level Head glasses are the nicest I've had a pint served in for a long time.

Anyone else got any contenders?

When I was about 5 or 6 years old I rember getting home from school and putting the TV on and watching cartoons as kids do! I don't think I was back home anymore than an hour when I heard a noise from a neighbours house.and it wasn't long after I heard another noise outside someone was screaming I'd never heard anything like it.so I want to the window to see what was happening and my neighbour was holding her hands over her face! Now at the time she was an elderly lady.i ran to the door to open it and ask if she was ok but she didn't move her hands from her face until another neighbour ran out and through a towel over her face.she was screaming the whole time.i knew something was very wrong and that she was hurt but when my neighbour took the towel off her face was so badly burnt her skin had stuck to the towel.and she started screaming again and as she did her face started to fall off! I couldn't believe what I was seeing I thought that stuff only happened in horror films.when her husband got home my mother took him to the hospital and stayed there with him until my mother had to go home.the day after it happened my mother had gone to the hospital to see if they need anything like clothes and food.my mother done daily trips to the hospital to bring them things until she was discharged 2 months later. it was then that she told me mum and dad that she had an old chip pan on and it caught on fire and blew up and she was standing next to it when it did.i had nightmares for a long time after that happened. anyway thought I would share this story as I thought about it again the other day

Evening mates, how we all doing? Providing we all manage not to break our necks on the ice in the next week, who's venturing out to the pub for a couple to escape the family on the Christmas Day? Which locals are your go to for the day?

I love our boys but part of me things we are making it this year in Qatar. What do you think?

Bit wet out there mush.

And I don't know why

Weather's getting a bit colder now

The Gaurdian -

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/23/pubs-winter-energy-costs-soar?fbclid=IwAR2Ykt8M3Yq5S0GqlL2aWfwrl5WbkRkF7_WuK-l4jSlo87JDSAU-9v1DI4w

Hey guys, I'm a Londoner and a pub lover. Been using an app to find good ones, which is nice, and now I'm looking for some pub crawls you guys can recommend. Anywhere in London is good for me.

What‘s the general consensus here, I even saw a pub where they had a rope blocking 1/3 of it reserved for members. I ended up sitting in a corner stuck between two different tables looking at a wall for the entirety of my stay. Nobody was standing at the pub itself so that didn’t see like an option had to sit or maybe just roam outside by people sitting.

Second pub question if the bartenders come over to me to kinda casually chat can I wave money in their face US pubs and tell them I want another pint or do I have to get off my fat arse to talk to the staff at the bar itself and walk back to my seat.

How are ya doin?

Many moons ago I used to work away most days in the week, so it would mean I'd either have some time to kill before my train, or be stuck in a hotel somewhere.

So I'd usually frequent a boozer, sit on my laptop in the corner and have a few jars. Working through the e-mails I didn't get to sort out during the day, dotting the T's and crossing the I's and all that. It's been about 3/4 years since I last had to do that.

I feel like I'm not getting any work done from home anymore, I seem to just stare at my screen and not want to do anything. So I've nipped into my local, and done more work in the last hour than I've managed all day!

That's what the link to submit a story on here says, and I feel that because I am having a really good month I ought to set up a tab.

Name your tipple and tell me your happy/sad story and your (virtual) drink is on me!

I would post why I'm setting up a tab here but it might be construed as being a little full of myself. Maybe I should do it in a >!spoiler!< ?

• Jobs interviewed for: 4
• Jobs offered: 2
• Jobs turned down: 2
• Number of jobs working simultaneously this week: 2
• Number of jobs working simultaneously next week: 3
• Unexpected payments from jobs which have ended: 1
• Haircuts: 1
• Alcohol consumed: 1 small bottle of Peroni.

From a financial point of view Covid has been a good experience.

• Pay went up 50%
• didn't have to have London apartment due to remote working
• no commute
• remote working with large 4k screen is much better than any office environment
• remote working in garden/ parks etc is much better too.
• The only mistake I made was that if I'd been really clever I could have also been on furlough from my job that ended at the start of Covid and hauled home an extra 2k a month

Unfortunately my good contract came to an end, but I've managed to arrange a situation where I'm working full time and doing a second contract, shortly to be joined by a third. I just hope there are enough hours in the day to keep everyone happy!

Anyway, sorry if this is a bit of a humblebrag, I do realise that not everyone has had such a good experience. What's your work experience been like and how's it likely to change in the near future?

Last night came, and it went. It came and it went in a big, Guinness-drowned, blurry, mess. Do I regret it? Perhaps. Will I do it again? Definitely.

Guinness. Irish, 4.3%

This is the only surviving picture from yesterday. It wasn't the most perfect pint of Guinness that I've ever seen or tasted, but in that moment it was like meeting a long lost friend or relative, and tasted like liquid gold.

Cheers to everyone that has enjoyed the tin reviews so far - I'm fairly surprised that anyone would care, let alone follow any of my reviews! I will try to keep the beer reviews even though pubs are opening up.

I am going into this weekend with a stomach that feels as though something is running about in it, and a head full of heavy fog. Was it worth it? Ask me tomorrow. Was it good? Yes. Was you sick? No comment.

But more importantly, would I drink again? Ooooh yes. Pop into your local and give them a much needed boost. 10/10.

Apologies for the hiatus guys! In the middle of a move, so this can was MEANT to be a heavenly welcome to a fairly stressful few weeks. Was it? Dear. God. No.

The Amber's Adder. Irish, 5%

In what could be the last of my LIDL reviews, I find myself coming to an end of my biblical effort with a tin that has a reference to the good book right in the title. So what of this? A heavenly sign off? Well the design looks OK, with claims of a toffee taste, so I'm prepped for good things. The crack of the can is as crisp as a vicar's dog collar and... Well that's it. It's a bit flat and the "toffee" tastes more like licking burnt sugar off a rusty spoon. Adam and Eve fell for the snakes offering, and I fell for this. Looks as though I'll be banished from my place and have to find refuge somewhere else. Somewhere public. Somewhere that serves a decent pint... Just as long as it doesn't taste like a soaked beer mat come last orders. Would I drink again? No. Drink 5 bloody (hail) Mary's instead and get to your local. 4/10.

Notes: Pubs with outside amenity space, not necessarily all suitable for COVID boozing, but best for summer/post work grogs Included: Public Houses, Gastropubs, quasi bar / pubs,

Not included: Nightclubs, restaurants / cafes, Hotel Bar, upmarket wine bar

Legend List

Any enclosed terrace with seating, located to side or rear of venue = Beer Garden

Located along side a canal, may or may not have designated seating but good summer venue = Canal

Non-conventional outside amenity space which cant be bucketed (e.g. front and side wrap around beer gardens/terraces) = Hybrid

Pub on mews (private or public), unlikely to have designated seating but good spill over space = Mews

Not formal seating, but provides pedestrianised area suitable for loitering with jars and darting = Pedestrian/spill

Pub on river, most with designated seating, but some just with loitering/darting space = River

Designated seating space at the front of pub, not enclosed = Space at Front

Elevated outside terrace (typically on flat roofs) - top level elite = Upstairs Terraces

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=16c9h8wprSkyXf5g7pynU_ryuywlagztZ&usp=sharing

Like that holiday fling, this tin smells great, looks good in the sun and will have you trying to look it up about 10 years later. The reality is much different. It's a bit...well... Shit. Oh well. There's always next year!

Plunged Orange Pale Ale. British, 6%

Lidl bloody love a citrus-y ales don't they? The place is riddled with them. This one is slightly on the stronger side and looks pretty bog-standard; and hopes go up as this one opens with a healthy fizz. First swig is smooth and packs a bit of a punch - reminds me of sangria, actually. Bit of a wine aftertaste to it which has me experiencing flashbacks of the Faxe 10%. Blimey. Smells good though. In the blazing sun, this tin would fit in as a bit of fun - a one off to explore with your pals before tipping half of it away and going back to your Corona. Would I drink again? Worth a go, but no. Plus, I'm not a huge fan of sangria. 5/10.

“It’s dangerous to go alone, take this!”

Steam Brew. German, 4.9%

Looking like something an under-aged Link would drink to take the edge off a hard days slaying, this can is a plucky little treat. It isn't exactly something that leaps off the shelf as it's got so much going on; a pirate type Mad Max girl on the front, award logos, multi languages, icons, drawings and sketches of a brewery from the mind of Terry Pratchett. The crack has a nice healthy fizz to it and is very smooth to drink. Although it has a hint of fruit to it, this is incredibly easy to drink and not too gassy. A good transition if you don't normally drink pale ales, which is light and hasn't got that horrific aftertaste that some German drops do. Really good, shame about the Monster energy drink type design. Would I drink again? It's worth every Rupee. A solid 7.5/10

The "special relationship". No, not the one you have with that person at work, but the US and UK... Cheers, y'all!

Twisted Knots American IPA. British, 5.5%.

The USA and UK have given us many great things - Dolly Parton, Scones, Levi's, cottage pie, McDonald's... Spray on cheese. Rarely do they combine with each other though, because when they do, the results can be fucking disasterous. Bush/Blair. Harry/Meghan. Piers Morgan/Nigel Farage/Donald Trump. This tin is "American influenced" and brewed in the UK. Hmm. This tin is a pleasant surprise. It's a bit small (very British) and has a nice orange flavour that feels more of a gimmick than adding anything else (very American). No real fizz to it and easy to drink, it's not too bad. It must be said though that it's not exactly refreshing, despite being in the fridge 24 hours. Would I drink again? Yeah why not - yippee ki-yay, my good sir. 6.5/10

TOP TIP: If you squint into a light breeze, stroke your chin and tilt your head slightly... You too can look super windswept and interesting when the pubs and bars open up in the trendy part of where you live!

Lunar Lager. Irish, 4.6%

It's small and it's Poundland friendly at 99p a tin. Will it be a welcome return to lovely lager or a complete disaster? The can screams of "craft", which means woollen beanie hats, buttoned up collars, turned up skinny jeans and tan brogues with no socks. Proper Shoreditch. The crack on opening is minimal but my word... this isn't half bad. Maybe I have the super strength shite taste still in the mouth, but this is a really decent tasting drop. A bit gassy but the taste is really good - not too light and little aftertaste. These could quite easily be a danger drink at a BBQ because they are small enough to trundle through and easy to drink. Not sure it would be be a regular in the fridge, and a pint of the stuff could be a sup too far but still; I'm off to get a jean jacket, get vaping and maybe ponce a pinch of gear. Would I drink again? Yes. 7/10.