Once in a while you stumble across a real hidden gem, and the Bridge Bier Huis is a polished diamond in the former mining and cotton mill town of Burnley, Lancashire.

The pub is off the beaten track on the fringe of a shopping centre crowded with a retinue of high street shops, Wetherspoons and many cask-unfriendly establishments. Even when you find it the unassuming sandstone exterior gives little away apart from some original etched windows heralding its heritage as the Bridge Inn.

Bridge Bier Huis, Burnley

But step over the mosaic threshold and you enter a congenial, contemporary bar blessed with an array of hand-pumps and draught dispensers. A fountain of foreign glassware framing the bar hints at what you can expect to find on closer inspection.

Hydes’ Original Bitter can always be procured on good form and is flanked by up to four other regularly rotating guest beers from all over the country. An ever-present cask cider has been added to this impressive tally in recent times too. A host of European-style lager taps adorn both ends of the long bar-front serving up a cacophony of Belgian beers, German or Czech pilsners, golden ales, dunkels, and the occasional American craft brew.

As if this selection wasn’t enticing enough already, it’s supplemented by an even wider array of bottled beers from all over the globe! A gander at a large blackboard in the far corner reveals just how extensive the collection is with over 40 different tipples available at any time.

Many Belgian classics such as Chimay, Orval, Kwak, Leffe and Duvel can be sampled, but there are plenty of other exceptional offerings. Just a few of the less common breeds lurking in the fridges have included Dragon Stout (Jamaica), Rauchbier (German smoked black lager), Goose Island 312 Wheat (USA) and Bush Trolls. There’s something to tickle any beer-lover’s taste buds.

And if you fancy a nibble with your beer of choice, bar snacks and main meals are served from lunch through to early evening. The ample menu offers a handsome collection of quality homemade fare at very reasonable prices. The only downside to this happy ensemble is that the pub is usually closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Although the Bridge is not the largest pub in the world, it’s open-plan layout and lofty ceilings grant an air of roominess. There’s an elevated section opposite the bar – used as a stage for the many excellent bands that regularly help pack in the crowds – and a quieter side-room for those who prefer a chinwag. Everywhere is very modern and tastefully decorated with open-brickwork and a low-key smattering Burnley F.C. memorabilia in evidence.

Bridge Bier Huis interior

Beer list at the Bridge

I was fortunate enough to bump into Pete “Man Walks Into A Pub” Brown at the Bier Huis during the summer (okay, I knew he was going to be there so I gatecrashed like a sycophantic groupie waiting for an autograph). We had chat and he seemed a very jovial fellow – no doubt assisted by the tiresome beer sampling he’d been forced to endure throughout the day. Catch his report of the visit at the British Beer Video Blog.

So if you find yourself at a loose end in Burnley head straight for the Bridge. It’s worth a trip in itself!

Since the dawn of my drinking days I’ve been a big fan of the dark side. Stouts, porters, milds or brown ales, I’ve always enjoyed savouring their brooding malty richness. And as autumn has arrived with a bang, it’s fitting that I happened across a couple of unusual and very worthy offerings from Wentworth on my travels last week. This South Yorkshire brewery is one step ahead of the game in the stout stakes this year and has concocted a delicious selection of flavoured fancies for their “2011 Stout Festival” (as advertised on the pump clips). So if you aren’t a fan of wacky adjuncts or prefer your beer plain and simple you may want to look away now….

My first find was at the Narrow Boat in Skipton, a fantastic backwater pub with a cracking reputation and repertoire of real ales and foreign beers. Nestled amongst a typically eclectic mix was Wentworth’s Medium Chilli & Chocolate Stout (4.8%). The dusky half pint certainly lived up to its billing. A rich coffee and chocolate aroma persisted after the initial sip oozing into a silky palate. With perfect punctuality a fiery crescendo kicked in and lingered through the finish; a great counterbalance to the soft cocoa foundation. An explosion of taste and just up my street!

The Narrow Boat Skipton by Bob W

A few days later I found myself in Bury for lunch. This good-sized town just north of Manchester is famous for its fish market, but it also has a peppering of top-notch real ale outlets if you know where to look. One such place is Malt Bar at The Met (which also plays host to the enticing Bury Beer Festival in November). Despite being quite a classy modern cafe bar it always serves a few cask beers, usually from Outstanding Brewery with occasional guests. This was my lucky day as they had another Wentworth special on tap: Vanilla & Almond Stout (4.8%). A faint whiff of vanilla guided me into a maelstrom of sour cherries, dark fruits and berries riding on an undercurrent of mild bitterness. I was just beginning to wonder where the almond was lurking when it caught me by surprise in a delectable marzipan finish. Well-crafted with a powerful yet nicely balanced punch. Mmmm….

Peculiar and flavourful craft brews are growing in popularity and are well worth sampling if you get a chance, if only to illustrate just how different quality real ales can be. I’ll certainly be on the lookout for more weird and wonderful stouts while the season lasts!

Wentworth Chilli and Chocolate Stout

Wentworth Vanilla and Almond

From Pendle Hill you’ve more chance of seeing Ian Holloway celebrating at Bloomfield Road than coming across any broomsticks or clandestine hurlyburly. And that’s on a cloudy day.

The sandstone plateau does have a slightly spooky aura about it though. Standing proud from the undulating hillside you can imagine a cackling coven of witches peering over the landscape and plotting the demise of their rivals. Especially if you visit during thunder and lightning…

Moorhouse’s Pendle Witches Brew is inherently charming. Perhaps it’s the verve for local legend – not only are the witches still much talked about but the brewery itself has had a somewhat rollercoaster existence – that makes this beer so appealing at the bar and in the local supermarket.

For something conjured up in the cauldrons of witches, Pendle Witches Brew is surprisingly fresh. Citrus fruits and uncooked dough illuminate the nose, and reappear in the washing-up liquid backbone.

Too cold from the fridge initially, it warms and fruity flavours gently emerge – lemon, oranges and caramel; Fuggles hops and Crystal malt (we assume) make it entirely English. It’s pleasantly bitter-sweet, finishing dry in the mouth with a slightly medicinal bitterness, more alkaline than acidic.

I can’t think of a better beer to refresh the body after an excursion atop Pendle Hill. In the comfort of a local pub that caters for weary legs, there’s nothing more appropriate or becoming of the moment. You can call it a type of occasion terroir.

Which sounds like the perfect end to a Sunday summit with friends. You might even see Blackpool Tower on a good day.

Moorhouse

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Day Zero. I see my Dad get off the train at Leeds station, a sore thumb amongst the suits and skirts that rushed from the Cross County carriages. We bundled onto the connecting line and stuffed our rucksacks in the ample overhead shelves (funny how local trains have better storage than the national ones).

Not our B&B

After a Gregg’s pasty and a short walk through Keighley we got on the tiny bus to Stanbury, a Smart-car sized village near Haworth. Jimmy the bus driver steered us deep into Bronté country, stopping for the school kids to get sweets from the corner shop and saying goodbye to them by name as he dropped them at their front doors (well, front lanes). I expected Nick Berry to overtake us at any moment.

Day One. After a hearty breakfast made considerably more entertaining by an Anglo-Swiss double act who were also picking up the Pennine Way that morning, the hard work began and we set off north from the B&B, leaving behind home comforts and the original Hockney’s on the dining room wall.

Tom Cording was walking from Lands End to John O'Groats

Before long we’d bumped into the breakfast duo again, squabbling over a rock that may or not have contained a fossil and the Latin origins of a particular Yorkshire dialect. We marched onwards swiftly – avoiding the Barghest of Troller’s Gill – as we had a 1pm date with a pub plus one of my Dad’s friends, with no intention of being late.

At 12.30 we crossed into what could have technically been Lancashire and descended upon the Hare & Hound at Lothersdale. Two pints of Landlord in great condition were sunk before our company arrived and two more were sunk before we left. A Ploughman’s lunch soaked some of our sins but the afternoon walk quickly became more casual than the morning leg. A good bit of story telling was shared and more toilet breaks than expected took place.

John is not impressed with the Red Lion

The farmland that we’d ploughed through all day gave way to heathland which only let up as we hit double figures in miles and approached our first checkpoint, the indecisive town of Earby. Not quite sure whether it’s in Yorkshire or Lancashire, Earby’s architecture is a strange mix of Cotswold cottages and northern terraces, with obsolete concrete offices at the centre and a feeling of neglect eminating from the soulless brickwork of long-declined industry.

The Red Lion was recommended but the landlady didn’t have the time of day for us (literally), losing our custom within our first exchange. One pint of Wainwright (which I’dve swapped for a cool bottle instead) was swiftly sunk and we sought out the White Lion. There they couldn’t do enough to ensure we left imbibed and lubricated and that we did. The Red Lion was on the way home but we opted to save our pennies for the next day and crashed out at the Youth Hostel that we shared with no other guests.

Me atop a triangulation point near Lothersdale

A couple of miles into our first day on our second leg of the Pennine Way, we bumped into Tom Cording. Tom was only a day or two away from the half way point of his Lands End to John O’Groats walk and inspired both my Dad and I (whilst making us feel pretty lame for only doing 4 days walking as opposed to two months!). Tom is raising money for his local hospice, starting on the 25th April and hoping to finish by the World Cup final. You can donate a few pennies to his good cause here: http://www.justgiving.com/tom-cording

On Sunday a bunch of friends in Leeds are having Christmas dinner. We’ll all be going our separate ways for the festive period so it’s a chance to catch up, eat and drink together, play some board games and enjoying finally admitting that we’re adults with houses now and not students still.

I’m in charge of beer and cheese, after picking some fancy samples at Lincoln Christmas Market earlier this month.

So I’m basically just looking for suggestions, as tomorrow I’m off to Beer Ritz to purchase the beers and on the way back stopping at Leeds Markets for the cheese.

Cheeses I have so far:

White Stilton Strawberries and cream – I’m thinking a strawberry Belgian beer

Yorkshire Black - a local Yorkshire beer?

Maplewood Smoked (just like Applewood smoked really) – a smoky porter or Rauchbier

Lancashire Apple, Raisin and Cinnamon – I’m stumped on this one!

I also have a bottle of aged Orval, but I’m greedily undecided as to whether I’m willing to share this with anyone!

Cheese selection at Lincoln Christmas Market. The difficult bit will be finding beers to accompany all of these!