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.