Liverpool 2019 - Sunday 13 January

Day 3 in Liverpool and a third (later) breakfast at the Lime Kiln with welcome free refills of coffee as provided by Wetherspoon pubs. Once again our CAMRA group took over the front area of the ground floor.

The distant building, in the photo above, is McCooley's, facing Concert Square.

The Ship & Mitre

After breakfast, a 15 minute walk led us to the Ship & Mitre in Dale Street, which opens at 10am on Sundays. The corner pub, opposite the Mersey Tunnel entrance, stands out with its art deco style and cream and blue colour scheme.

After posting a photo of the pub, once owned by Bent's Brewery, from my Twitter account some replies from beer writers followed (above) with an explanation that 'Bents' used to be part of the signage - between Ales and Stouts.

A group was leaving just as we arrived so we were able to secure the slightly raised area at the front corner of the Ship & Mitre. We liked the pub, service and beers so much that we would remain here for three hours!

As a change from my favoured pale ale style, a pint of Jar porter by Flagship Beer was an introduction to the Ship & Mitre's own beers which are cuckoo brewed on a 4 barrel kit. The 4.7% ABV Jar is brewed with spicy rye and roasted malts.

There was time for a chat with Tom Anderson on a subsequent visit to the bar and Tom posed with one of my last copies of West Berkshire CAMRA's Ullage magazine.

Tom mentioned that apart from his work at the pub he is also the brewer / owner of Tyton brewery based in Ainsdale, Southport. Tom knows Angus Morrison, now Head Brewer at Birkenhead's Glen Affric Brewery, from his brewing training. Tom is naming Tyton's beers after owls e.g. Tawny and Morepork.

My next beer was a half pint of Flagship Lupa, dry with citrus peel flavours, brewed with Syrian Wolf hops and costing £1.50.

It was also nice to meet Kurt Watson, the Ship & Mitre's manager. Kurt is originally from Basildon in Essex but liked Liverpool and its people so much while he was a student in the city that he stayed on.

Petra, on keg, from Flagship Beer was my third and favourite beer at the Ship & Mitre. The 4% ABV Citrus Hefe-Weiss cost £1.50 for 1/3 pint. The pub's beer menu lists 37 German bottled beers and other European keg and bottled beers are also available reflecting its claim to be the 'home of the largest drinks range in Liverpool'.

Home cooked food is available all day from the Galley including their famous Scouse.

Thanks must go to tankard for generously ordering a jug of Silhouett by Flagship Beer so that we could all taste it before moving on. Kurt delivered and poured the 4.5% ABV dry Irish stout for us. He was about to finish his shift at the pub and confided in us that his staff had been asking him if he was bipolar because he was being so nice to everyone! Evidence suggests that the Ship & Mitre's claim to be 'where you'll receive great service from friendly and knowledgeable staff' is fully borne out!

 Before leaving we explored other parts of the spacious pub and noted the blackboard with a diagram showing 'How is beer made?'.

The view from the other side of the partition wall with the blackboard reveals that the rear area is also raised and surrounded by brass rails.

The Excelsior

Leaving the pub at 2.45pm, it was less than a minute's walk west from the Ship & Mitre, past an office block, to the Excelsior also in Dale Street.

This was another deep and spacious pub but more plushly decorated with curtains and ornamental lamps. We found an area where we could sit together by the etched windows. The text on the wall is similar to the opening lines from Roger McGuinn's Liverpool Gals including

'And it's row, row

   bullies row

         Those Liverpool Judies

        have got us in tow'

My beer here was a favourite - Salopian Lemon Dream (£1.75 1/2 pint), a 4.5% ABV pale golden ale brewed using organic lemons. The Everton v Bournemouth football match was screened on a TV and the game would end with a 2-0 win for Everton, whose Goodison Road ground is 2 1/2 miles north.

Leaving the pub at 3.45pm we passed the impressive Liverpool City Council offices on our 3 minute walk further west down Dale Street to the Vernon Arms.

The Vernon Arms

On the corner with Vernon Street, the Vernon Arms only has a narrow frontage on Dale Street.

Our group occupied the round tables in main central area inside, opposite the long bar. The football match was also being screened here. Unusually there is a sloping floor.

A range of seven cask ales at the bar of the free house included Windmill Brewery Taonga, an 'Ultra Pale Ale'.

There is a framed plan of Liverpool and Birkenhead docks on an end wall, under a clock. Framed Édouard Manet prints on other walls include Olympia, Luncheon on the Grass and Un Bar aux Folies Bergère (with its bottles of Bass identified by the red triangle trademark).

Leaving the pub at 4.45pm, we passed the Royal Insurance Building, now the Aloft hotel. The illuminated frieze, designed by C. J. Allen, depicts themes relating to insurance.

We also passed Thomas Rigby's on Dale Street before turning north into Hackins Hey and passing the Lady of Mann just before entering Ye Hole In Ye Wall.

Ye Hole In Ye Wall

Proceeding to the bar of Ye Hole In Ye Wall, known as Liverpool's oldest pub, there is evidence of stained and leaded glass panels.

With a choice of six cask ales, I opted for Red Star Brewery Formby IPA. 

The 4% ABV session IPA with a hint of elderflower is hopped with Cascade and New Zealand hops. 

Once again, our group was able to find a convenient place to sit together in an area with upholstered seats and wood panelling above. 

As GBG pub bloggers like Martin Taylor and Simon Everitt sometimes include photos of unusual signs for toilet facilities, I couldn't resist taking a photo of the elegant sign used for the Gents at Ye Hole In Ye Wall. At 5.45pm there was a consensus that we should find somewhere for a meal. We were turned away at the first place we tried 'not enough room' and I joined a splinter group that would head for Peter Kavanagh's while most would continue the search for a restaurant in the Moorfields area.

With Liverpudlian Tony in my small group, we headed via pedestrian Mathew Street in the Cavern Quarter to the Elliot Street bus stop, opposite the The Richard John Blackler (Wetherspoon). 

Peter Kavanagh's

An 86 bus took us uphill to Catharine Street for £2.30 and then it was only three minutes walk to Peter Kavanagh's on a corner of Egerton Street. The bar is festooned with unusual objects and there are hand pumps for three cask ales - Black Sheep Resolution,  The Mobberley Brewhouse Boom Juice and Hook Norton Cold Turkey on our visit. Payment is by cash only.

We took our drinks into one of the bar areas near where a variety of radios were suspended from the ceiling. Another splinter group, that included Rachel, was already here so we joined them until they departed. A ukulele group was playing and one of the songs performed was Homeward Bound. Tony mentioned that Paul Simon wrote this song while waiting for a train back to London station at Widnes station after a performance in Liverpool. 

Decor in another area of the pub includes a bicycle and a poster for the Liverpool Overhead Railway.
My plan was to call in at the Grapes where jazz music is played on a Sunday night but Tony's route did not allow for this so we arrived instead at the Head of Steam in Hanover Street at 8.45pm.

The Head of Steam

My first beer at the Head of Steam was Fab Four a 4.4% ABV 'Liverpool IPA' brewed by Rock the Boat Brewery. The four 'sensational UK hops' used are Admiral, Flyer, Cascade and Target.

More from our group joined us later bringing our numbers up from three to ten.

My last cask beer of the day was Sanctuary by Camerons Brewery of Hartlepool. (Camerons owns the 15 strong Head of Steam chain of pubs).

Sanctuary is a permanent ale from Cameron's Anchor brand and is a 3.8% ABV pale ale dry hopped with Citra hops. After four days of exploring the pubs of the Liverpool area it was finally time to say goodbye to my CAMRA friends and head back to the nearby hotel. Cheers!

Liverpool 2019 - Thursday 10 January

After a train journey from Newbury, with the weather turning misty from Birmingham, it was no surprise to find that the top of Liverpool's Radio City Tower (138 metres) was barely visible.

The Crown Hotel

After checking into my hotel on Hanover Street, opposite BBC Radio Merseyside, and buying a pair of gloves and a beanie hat to compensate for inadequate preparation, I returned to the Lime Street Station area to met up with Mark Geeson and friends at the Crown Hotel.

'Bod' and Mark at the Crown Hotel

Mark and the 'Farnham Travel' group had arrived earlier after spending two days visiting pubs and breweries in Burton upon Trent. The Coopers Tavern and the Tower Brewery were highlights of their trip.
The group had enjoyed good value lunches at the Crown before my arrival and were also happy with the beer quality. I enjoyed Hobsons Town Crier, from Shropshire, here.

Ian, the friendly landlord, explained to us that the award winning Siren Craft Brew Broken Dream breakfast stout had been specially obtained to cater for a CAMRA meeting at the pub later in the evening. Copies of MerseyAle, the magazine of Liverpool & District CAMRA, are available from the pub.

The Crown Hotel is spacious and has a comfortable feel with many interesting features.

From here we walked south east along Renshaw Street. Looking up, at the junction with Ranelagh Street, Sir Jacob Epstein's 1956 sculpture 'Liverpool Resurgent' on Lewis's (closed) store stands out on a prow. Known by locals as Dickie Lewis, the statue stands above a meeting place referenced in a song 'In My Liverpool Home' by Peter McGovern:
   "We speak with an accent exceedingly rare, 
    Meet under a statue exceedingly bare"

The Dispensary

We soon reached The Dispensary, at the junction with Oldham Street.

After a strong recommendation from a local at the bar, most people ordered White Rat from the Rat microbrewery which is situated under the Rat & Ratchet pub in Huddersfield.

I indulged in a favourite beer - Titanic Plum Porter served with a thick creamy head.

I also enjoyed the very pale White Rat as my second beer in the pleasant surroundings of the Dispensary which includes a variety of old enamel signs including 'Liverpool - Drive With Care' passed on the way to the Gents toilets.

The enamel signs even continue into the Gents!

The Roscoe Head

On leaving the pub we continued along Renshaw Street until the junction at St Luke's bombed out church where we turned left into Leece Street and found the Roscoe Head just around the corner into Roscoe Street.

The Roscoe Head is renowned as one of only five pubs that have appeared in every edition of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide since it was first published in 1974. It's a cosy traditional pub with four rooms. Six cask ales are listed on the blackboard by the bar. My choice was American 5 Hop pale ale from Sheffield's Blue Bee Brewery.

The Fly in the Loaf

Although only 50 metres further east along Leece Street, our next destination would be very different. Derived from the 'No flies in the loaf' slogan once used by Kirklands Bakery, The Fly in the Loaf is a bar offering craft and cask beers as well as bread based food like pizza.

The bar space is lit by globe shape lights over the bar counter and concealed lighting in the mirror backed shelves of spirits behind the bar.

While some ordered food, I would soon head elsewhere for a meal, after enjoying a glass of Rooster's Brewing Co High Tea, a hazy jasmine green tea IPA.

Taking the scenic route to my alternative dining spot involved turning left (north) into Hope Street, passing the Philharmonic Dining Rooms and then the Everyman Theatre.

At the adjacent annexe of the Everyman, I stopped to get a photo of the entrance to the Pen Factory. Serving cask ale and small plates of food at basement level it is described as the reincarnation of the Everyman Bistro.

The distinctive form of (RC) Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral lies just north of the Everyman.
Returning to rejoin my friends after a meal and passing The Grapes in Roscoe Street I called in to ask if there would be any live music there and was advised that there would be jazz on Sunday evening.

Ye Cracke

By 8.45pm, Mark and friends had decamped to Ye Cracke, 13 Rice Street. An old illuminated sign topped by a red triangle bears the wording Bass in ornate red lettering with Ye Cracke in smaller black letters at the base. An unlit old Boddington sign is high above a doorway approached by steps.

Once inside, I ordered a pint of Billabong by Big Bog Brewing a Liverpool microbrewery.

Portraits of the individual Beatles are positioned high above the back of the bar.

Our group had a table in the main room where a large frame includes John Lennon memorabilia.

The pub was frequented by Liverpool College of Art students - John Lennon, his first girlfriend Thelma Pickles and The Dissenters (Bill Harry, John Lennon, Stuart Sutcliffe & Rod Murray) whose association is commemorated with a plaque.

Looking back towards the bar and side entrance a colourful panel depicting a battle in pop art style caught my eye. Research reveals the subject is Wellington greeting Marshal Blücher at the Battle of Waterloo.

There is a jukebox at Ye Cracke and during the evening some good tunes were played including Spanish Caravan (The Doors), Lola (The Kinks) and I'm Going Home (Ten Years After).

Around 10pm we called it a night and walked along Duke Street back to our hotel passing near the gateway to Chinatown on the way.