A Night in Charleston

I love going to Charleston in the summer time. I'd love to spend a week at a time, but sometimes my schedule just permits an overnight. I like to stay downtown or at the beach, but I really dislike spending a lot of money on a room. Fortunately, I discovered the Not So Hostel a couple of years ago. It is a European style hostel, with shared and private rooms. The hostel's annex, located on Cannon Street, has a number of private room with shared bathrooms. On this trip, we discovered that the Kendall Room has a private bath. This is a great location for getting around Charleston.

After a trip to Sullivan's Island where we drank a couple beers on the beach and did some people watching, we checked in to Not So Hostel. From the hostel, King Street is a short walk. We got on our bicycles and headed out for dinner and drinks. Jay has wanted to try Jestine's Kitchen the last few times we have been in Charleston. This trip, we timed it perfectly and had a delicious dinner of lowcountry fare in the small restaurant on the corner of Meeting and Wentworth Streets. People line up down the street for fried chicken or a seafood platter. It is a bit touristy, but good. 

After dinner, we bicycled down King Street to Battery Park. I love riding along the Battery, with the wind from the harbor blowing through my hair, admiring the architecture and the sailboats, and watching the fishermen cast their lines. We stopped by the Charleston Beer Exchange, one of my favorite shops to stop in while in Charleston. picked up a six pack of one of my favorite beer's, Anderson Valley's Summer Solstice. This beer is summer time. 

We decided to stop in the Blind Tiger Pub on Broad Street. I had to ask the bartender which ESB he had on tap, because I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. It was Fuller's ESB, an ale I have not had on draft outside of the UK. I enjoyed this tasty brew outside in their nice brick walled garden. 

For breakfast the next day, we bicycled over to Jack's Cafe. Jack's is a little greasy spoon with a hometown feel. After another bicycle around the streets of Charleston, we head to Isle of Palm County Park for a day on the beach. Since we were driving back the same day, we decided to park at the county facilities since they have bathrooms, outdoor showers, and changing rooms. The beach was crowded near the bath house, but it opened up with a quick walk down the beach.

Pint at Dunleavy's

For lunch, we hopped back on our bicycles and rode to Sullivan's Island. The tacos at Taco Mamacita were yummy. I had a Thai shrimp taco and a vegetarian jerk taco with their jalapeno corn slaw and a Negro Modelo on draft. We decided we needed another beer, so we stopped in Dunleavy's Pub.  Jay had a Guiness and I had a pint of the Holy City Brewery's Summer Ale. It is nice tasting, slightly smoky ale. Just when it occured to me that the beer could use some fruit, the bartender started slicing oranges. I'm not usually the person to put fruit in my beers, but the orange accented the smoky flavor in a delicious way.

Of course a day at the beach in the Charleston area has to be followed up with a trip to Bottle's and Trader Joe's. 

Pubs & Pints III

Colchester & Ipswich: Day 9 

The Purple Dog in Colchester

We spent a day in Colchester sightseeing with a little bit of shopping. We stopped in The Purple Dog for a pint and some lunch. I had a pint of Crouch Vale Brewer's Gold - a refreshing, slightly fruity, slightly hoppy ale - from Essex. I also had a delicious falafel sandwich. Great spot, located in the center of town.

Isaac's on the Quay

It's Friday night in Ipswich. After a pint of Adnams Explorer - a light pale ale, at the Kesgrave Social Club with the family, we head to Isaac's on the waterfront. It was built in 1636, as a merchants house, with warehouses at the rear opening directly on the dock front. Today, this pub has four bars and an outdoor courtyard with a view of the harbor. It was packed when we arrived. We started off outside at a picnic table, but as the warm day started to get a chill we moved inside. We ended up with a private room overlooking the courtyard. I drank a few pints of Adnams Southwold Bitter, one of my favorite Adnams.

 
London: Day 9

In the morning, we headed back to London. Jay and I boarded the train with a John Smith Extra Smooth in hand. It was a nice malty ale.

We arrived at Paddington Station ready for a pint. Fortunately for us, there were a number of pubs near our hotel. We stopped in the Sawyers Arms for one while we waited for my cousin to arrive. This pub became our home base for our final days in England.  The Sawyers Arms is a multilevel pub with tables out front. Since the weather was beautiful, we sat by the window drinking our pints and coveting a table. I had a pint of Greene King IPA and Jay had a Guinness.


The Greene King IPA brewed in Bury St. Edmunds in the Westgate Brewery, which has been brewing cask ales since 1799. It is slightly hoppy with a malty flavor. English IPAs are never as hoppy as craft brewed IPAs in the US. In comparison, they have a taste of hop, which I grew to like after I change my expectations. 

We were finally successful in securing an outside table, so Jay bought a cuban cigar from the shop down the street and we wiled away a couple of hours people watching, drinking pints and waiting for my cousin to arrive. We met a lot of friendly people here - a couple who are retired pub managers and a group of pub crawlers to name a few.

From the ladies room in The Victoria

After Brian and Kevin arrived, we enjoyed another pint and made plans for the evening. We met up at The Victoria. The walls of this pub, built in 1838, were covered with photographs and memorabilia of Queen Victoria. It is rumored that it is thus named from a famed visit by the Queen herself. Another bit of trivia is that Charles Dickens spent time here. I had a pint of the Fuller's ESB - malty, caramel flavor, slightly hoppy, with a bitter finish. Yum!

O'Neill's

We followed this up with a taxi ride to Soho. We visited O'Neill's. O'Neill's is a multi-level chain pub with live music in one room, a dance floor on another level, and pub style seating on the ground floor. It was loud and packed. I had a couple of pints of Moorhouse's Black Cat - a ruby ale with a chocolately malty flavor. Moorhouse, in Lancaster, has been brewing ales since 1865. The beer was delicious and a fun evening was had, but the pub was not one of my favorite.


London: Day 10

After a late night we set up for some sight seeing on our last day in London. We stopped in The Crown in Covent Garden for a pint. It was a quaint little pub with seating with lots of windows with bar stools facing the street. We enjoyed pints of Wychwood Hobgoblin, which I had never had on tap. The ruby ales has a chocolatey malt flavor with a hint of bitterness. A nice place for a pint, but my lesson learned here -- don't ask the bar keeper for food recommendations.

The Two Brewers in London

My family had been telling Jay that he needed to eat a traditional English roast before he left. We wandered the streets looking for a suitable pub. I asked the bar keeper at The Crown if he could recommend a place. He referred us to The Two Brewers. With a little google research, I now realize that they are owned by the same company...  But we ordered a couple of pints - The Young's London Gold for me and a Guinness for Jay. The Young's London Gold was a little light for me, but with it's citrusy flavor and hints of fruit, it was refreshing after walking around London all morning.

We were famished, so we also ordered lunch. Jay ordered the Sunday roast. I had the Roasted Vegetable Suet Pie -- roasted Mediterranean vegetables bound in a tomato sauce, served with mashed potatoes, and mushy peas. If these items had been freshly prepared they probably would have been good, but the microwaved fare we received tasted like rubber.  This was definitely a pub food fail.  Skip it.

Our time in London was coming to a close, so we had our last pint in London at the Sawyers Arms. I had a Hawkshead Bitter and Jay had a Bass Mild. The pale, hoppy bitter was brewed in Staveley in the English Lakes District at the Hawkshead Brewery, a relatively new brewery founded in 2002. We sat in a little corner booth and reminisced about our trip. It was a great time. We will have to return, because there are so many more pubs to visit and beers to try.

Pubs & Pints Part II

From the train station in Ipswich, my cousin Brian picked us up. He lives in Kesgrave, a village between Woodbridge and Ipswich.  That evening, we met up with my family at The Farmhouse for pints.

Family at The Farmhouse

The Farmhouse is a large family-friendly pub. It has a large L-shaped bar, surrounded by four large rooms with dining tables. The pub has lots of windows that look out into the garden. My cousins brought their children and we had a nice family reunion. We occupied two high top tables with stools.

One thing that differs from drinking beer in a bar in the U.S. is that you do not purchase beers individually. If you are in a group, you should buy a round of drinks for everyone with you. A lot of rounds were purchased. I had the Abbott Ale. It is a slightly fruity, malty cask ale brewed in The Greene King Brewery, founded in 1799, in Bury St. Edmunds.We soon filled the tables with pints.


Ipswich: Day 4

Ipswich

We headed to Ipswich for a little shopping along the narrow streets lined with shops. For lunch, we stopped in Mannings for a pint.  

Mannings was first established in 1689 as a wine and spirit shop. The pub is long and narrow, with historic photographs covering the walls, a coal-burning, gas fireplace along the wall and a large round table next to the bar. Situated near the Town Hall within a Ipswich's shopping district, the pub serves a number of cask ales and lagers. I had a pint of Adnam's Broadside. Broadside, ruby red in color, with a slightly malty flavor with fruity overtones, is brewed to commemorate the Battle of Sole Bay fought against the Dutch Republic in 1672. For lunch, I had a jacket potato with beans and cheese. Jay and Brian both had steak pies. They both went with their standard pints - Guinness for Jay and Carling lager for Brian.

Adnam's Broadside at Mannings

Later that evening, we head back to The Farmhouse for a pint and dinner.  After the previous nights drinking, I stuck with Guinness. I had a leek and cheese veggie burger for dinner. It was okay, but the pub definitely favors value over quality.



Bicycling to Felixstowe: Day 5

After getting a bit turned around in Martlesham, we pedaled our way to Felixstowe. We arrived just after lunch time and we were hungry.  I got out my trusty Good Pub Guide, but there were no pubs with recommendations. Even more surprising was that there were only two pubs listed in the guide for Felixstowe. The Good Pub Guide (GPG) includes three different levels of pub listings. Red have GPG recommendations. Yellow have GPG user recommendations and blue are known pubs. The two pubs included in the guide were blue. We rode our bicycles in the proximity of the pubs. The first one we see is The Cork. I walk in the entrance on ground level and its not what I had in mind.  It is a modern looking bar (with no cask ales). So I opt for looking a bit more for a place to eat.

The Grosvenor

Guinness and a Southwold Bitter

We end up at The Grosvenor for lunch. It is a touristy pub, but the food was decent. Most importantly, the beer was good. I had Adnam's Southwold Bitter.  It is a nice coppery color with a nice hopped flavor. Adnam's brewery, founded in the 1870s, is located in Southwold in Suffolk.

The Cork - pub upstairs, bar downstairs

View from the balcony at The Cork

After wandering the streets of Felixstowe, looking in the hardware store and the bicycle shop, we head back down to the coast.  We walk along the seashore until we get the taste for another pint. Jay notices that there is another entrance to The Cork, so we give it a try.  We climb the steps to enter through the center of the building. Inside the doors, there is another flight of stairs.  The hall smells musty and a bit dank. The pub is a large open room with a bar in the corner.  I order a Bold Forester brewed by the Ringwood Brewery in the south of England. It's my least favorite beer that I have ordered so far. It tasted warm and a bit sour - altogether not quite right.  I don't know if it was the beer or the way it was served. But we sat out on the balcony overlooking the seashore. Despite the not so good beer, it was a lovely way to while away the afternoon.

Later we learn that our hotel, Brook Hotel also has a bar. After a meal of fish and chips on the beach and a walk around town, we stop in for a night cap. The bar is small and quaint, but has too many televisions for my taste (there were small televisions on the back of the beer taps). We each had a Tetley's Bitter, my late-granddad's favorite beer. The Tetley's has a full-bodied hoppy flavor and refreshing crispness.


Felixstowe to Orford: Day 6

The Shepherd & Dog at Hollesley

On our ride from Felixstowe to Orford, we passed a number of village pubs. We stopped in Hollesley at the Shepherd and Dog. I had a pint of Woodforde's Wherry, a crisp, refreshing ale with a slightly malty flavor and a citrusy hop finish. Woodforde's is a Norfolk brewery founded in 1981. We sat outside in the front garden and had a lunch of a egg and watercress sandwich (me), a sausage sandwich (Jay) and a side of onion rings (to share). My sandwich was more mayonnaise then egg, but otherwise it was a tasty meal. The bar keeper was very friendly (He checked whether the Butley Ferry was operating for us).

The Jolly Sailor at Orford

In Orford, we visited two (both with red recommendations by the GPG) of the three village pubs. We stopped in the Jolly Sailor, located along Quay Street toward the Orford quay, or wharf. The 16th century pub is rumored to have been built from wrecked ship's timbers. We ordered pints, Adnam's Ghost Ship, a slightly malty pale ale, for me and Bass Mild for Jay, and headed out to the garden. The garden, lined with picnic tables, provides beautiful views of the marshes and saltings, located along the river Ore. I followed this up with a Bass Mild, since I was envious of Jay's. The Bass Mild is dark mahogany in color, with a smooth, creamy, malty, slightly sweet flavor. 

The garden at the Jolly Sailor

The Jolly Sailor, has accommodations upstairs, and can be considered a gastropub, with their emphasis on fresh quality, locally-sourced food. I had a delicious meal of linguine with a Gruyere cream sauce, fresh wild mushrooms, crouquette (or zucchini) and rocket greens (which remind me of arugula). Jay had a sirloin steak with onion sauce and chips. It was delicious meal in the quaint main room with walls covered with sea-faring lore.

The King's Head at Orford

We stayed in The King's Head, a 13th century pub with accommodation, located in the town center directly in front of the St. Bartholomew church. When we arrived in the afternoon, the doors were locked. The pubs closed from 3 til 6 PM in Orford (which differed from all of the pubs we had visited thus far). There is a local craft shop next door to the pub. The shop keeper let us into our room which was on the second floor at the back of the pub.  It was a nice room, with sloping floors and views of the town center from the window. 

Our room at The King's Head

We stopped in for a pint after our dinner at the Jolly Sailor. The pub had a L-shaped bar along the back wall, and tables and chairs lined the wall. I had a half pint of the Adnam's Sole Star and Jay had a Guinness.  The Sole Star was a tasty amber beer. We sat at a table and flipped through the books of photography and history that lined the shelf in the pub.



Woodbridge: Day 7

The King's Head at Woodbridge

After a good English breakfast at The King's Head in Orford, we set off on our bicycles toward Woodbridge. In Woodbridge, we stopped in The King's Head for a pint. It is located in the center of Woodbridge on Market Hill. The small bar is set in the corner with a fireplace in the center of the room a number of tables out front and a garden out back.

We sat out front and drank our pints.  Jay had a Guinness and I had Adnam's Diamond Ale in honor of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. 2012 marks 60 years of Queen Elizabeth's reign. The ale was refreshing - malty with a crisp bitterness. 

Next stop, Kesgrave for more family time.

Pubs & Pints Part I

When I think of England, I think of pubs. This is probably biased by the fact that my Nana and Granddad ran the Boyton Bell when I was growing up. Over the years, I have visited many types of English pubs, ranging from the traditional village to the tourist pub. Today, the traditional family run, village pubs are closing their doors. Yet at the same time, like in the U.S., craft beer is making a come back. On our recent visit, we visited at least one pub a day and I attempted to sample as many beers as possible.

Craft beer in England can be looked at in two different ways. One is like in the U.S., craft beer and home brewing is on the rise. The other is the resurgence of traditional brewing methods - cask ales.  It was the latter that I was particularly interested.

On tap in most pubs are a range of beers including lagers, ales and stouts. The difference between beers is based on the brewing and serving process. Cask ales (or real ales) are brewed from traditional ingredients and allowed to mature naturally. The unfiltered, unpasteurized beer contains live yeast, which continues conditioning the beer in the cask. This process creates a natural CO2 carbonation and allows malt and hop flavors to develop, resulting in a richer taste with more character than standard keg beers. Cask ales are served without extraneous gas, usually by manually pulling it up from the cellar with a hand pump. Britain is the only place where cask-conditioned beer is still commonly available.

Day 1: London

Young's Bitter and a Guinness at the Mulberry Bush

jacket potato with beans & cheese

On the Friday we arrived in London, we went over to the South Bank. We had a snack and a pint at the Mulberry Bush. I had a Young's Bitter. It was my first cask ale of the trip and it was crisp and refreshing. The Mulberry Bush had tasty pub food (I had a jacket potato with beans and cheese - yum! Jay tried the pork and chicken and leek pies). The front is open to the street for good people watching and a relaxed atmosphere.

hanging out on the street at the Jerusalem Tavern

In the evening, we visited two pubs, the Jerusalem Tavern and Ye Olde Mitre in The City. These pubs were highly recommended in the Good Pub Guide (I recommend this guide as a phone app). They were not open on the weekend, so I knew we had to go on our only weekday in London. The tavern is the St Peters brewery pub. You know, that beer in the oval bottles from East Anglia. The pub is tiny with three room with the bar in the center room.  People were packed inside and filled the street. I had the Best Bitter and Jay had their stout (there is a theme here). This pub on Britton Street in Clerkenwell (near the Faddington underground station) is definitely a place to stop.

Ye Olde Mitre

A few streets away is the Ye Olde Mitre, a quaint, bustling pub. Situated in the small alleyway of Ely Court, it is somewhat difficult to find. This old fashioned, wood paneled pub, built in 1546, is straight out of Elizabethan times. Downstairs there is a small room at the front and a larger room at the rear. In the middle is a small bar that serves both rooms. There is also an upstairs bar called the ‘Bishops Room’. Unbeknown to us, May was Mild Month. Once classified as an 'endangered beer style', milds are black to dark brown in color, with a roasty, malty and slightly sweet flavor. We both had a Millwright Mild. It was flavorful and delicious and suited Jay's taste for Guinness. Ye Olde Mitre is located near the Holborn underground station.


Day 2: Bicycling the eastern Thames

The Angel

pints of Samuel Smith

view from The Angel

On our second day in London, we set off on a bicycle ride around the eastern parts of the Thames. On the way, we stopped at The Angel. This pub has great views of the water from its multiple levels. On tap, they draw beers by Samuel Smith. The Old Brewery Bitter tasted all the better for the pedaling.

Later in the afternoon, we stopped at The Prospect of Whitby for a late lunch and a pint. The atmosphere in the old pub is nice and it claims a colorful history and has a great location on the Thames, but the food was mediocre. We opted for fish and chips. It tasted like frozen, pre-packaged fish. This pub was a disappointment.


Day 3.  The train to Ipswich

We set off on the train to East Anglia. We lugged our bicycles through the underground and boarded a train at Liverpool Station. I bought a bottle of London Porter and a prawn and watercress sandwich for the ride. I should have bought two bottles of this malty porter.

Next stop, Ipswich.

Things I learned about cycling in England

1. Give yourself a day to get over the jet lag (especially if you plan to cycle around London). Take some time to get used to the traffic patterns and get rested up from your travels.

2. Have multiple maps even if your guide book says the paths are well-marked. They are. But you might want to veer off the path. If the roads aren't labeled on your map, it can be difficult to find your way back to the bicycle route.

3. England has great bicycle routes. They are a part of the National Cycle Network, a network of cycle paths passing throughout the United Kingdom. The routes are also organized regionally. We bicycled in Suffolk and the route wound through small villages, on and off road, on dual walking/cycling paths as well as busy roads. So, keep an eye out for the signs.

bicycles on the train: locating storage car - fail

an example of bicycle stowage

4.  If you are planning to hire bicycles in England, really think about your plans. We hired bicycles in London and traveled with them on trains and in the underground. This is doable, but it can be a challenge. You will have to carry your bicycle up and down flights of stairs. The underground can be crowded (no matter what time of day or day of week) and it is not that much fun taking up space on the car with a bicycle. Most trains have bicycle storage, but our challenge was figuring out what end of the train the storage car will be.

Also think about where you will store your bicycle at your hotel/hostel. You don't want to leave your bicycle locked on the street, because it is likely to be stolen. When we arrived we stayed at the Hilton in Trafalgar Square. The storage room was super small. They were kind enough to store the bicycles for us, but it was an inconvenience.

London Bicycle Tour Company at Gabriel's Wharf

Barclay's Cycle Hire

London has a lot of rental options. The London Bicycle Tour Company offers tours and rents bicycles by the hour, day or week.  Barclay's Cycle Hire is another way to go if you plan to bicycle around London.  You can pick up a bicycle at almost any underground station (and other locations), ride around town and drop it off in another location. These bicycles aren't the nicest, lightest bicycles, so you would want to weigh the pros and cons. In hindsight, I might have hired the Barclays bicycles in London and then hired bicycles for a week in Ipswich.

5. Check out your bicycle before setting off. The gears and brakes may be on different sides of the handlebars than your bicycle at home. This can be particularly dangerous if you are riding in the busy streets of London.

6. Bicycling is a great way to see a new place. I can't wait for our next bicycle getaway.