Orval is the sort of beer spoken about with reverence. I like to think the same goes for North Bar.

It should have been me and my friend Tom sat there, dissecting Leeds United’s yo-yoing fortunes, laughing at the Howson Is Now blog and deliberating the creaminess of the Orval cheese whilst sat on the classroom chairs and the well leaned on tables.

But it’s my brother partnering this trip due to Tom’s tight schedule as a relatively new father, North being one place us siblings have a record of sharing together, along with a sense of adventure and an intuition for getting pissed. And brother Fletch is not going listen to me rabbit on about the brettanomyces qualities of the difference between yeast-in and yeast-out, or how the bitterness of this anti-quintessential Belgium beer cuts through the cheese (which it does) …

And so I’m drinking one of my favourite beers with a cheese I’d actually craved (made by the brewers) and I’m chatting about Leeds United’s yo-yoing fortunes, laughing at the Howson Is Now blog, and… generally forgetting about the beer and cheese North’s manager had so kindly put to one side for me because I couldn’t make Orval Day earlier in the month.

That North Bar had enough bottles of aged Orval to reserve some is very kind. That they could even get some of this coveted cheese let alone put some aside for me speaks of their customer service ethos. That I scribbled a hasty one liner on my smartphone as my only tasting note is just plain disrespectful to their efforts.

But here’s the thing. Sat in the dimly lit confines of North, veiled in conviviality and that twilight between sober and drunkenness, the yellow light of North illuminates a certain truth about beer.

So the two-year aged Orval tastes good, and is probably worth waiting to experience. So the cheese is rare and barely seen outside of Belgium. And not to mention the bread – so luxuriously soft and cleansing – which is to die for. So what? Is beer not meaningless if not enjoyed in a place that’s bright with conversation, buoyed with gesticulations, rich in the patchwork diversity of people, and splashed with beers of colours Yates or Lloyds or Scream could never imagine.

If an evening spent extolling the virtues of Ken Bates leadership of Leeds United could be improved in anyway, it’s surely by the creamy monastic cheese paired with the musty, peppery Orval and all its always-changing quirks of character. Does it matter that I thought the end of the bottle shared the same earthiness of the bottom of a well made mojito?

No, because it was a good night out with great beer. We saw the hygge, we tried aged Orval, we put the world to rights, and we liked it.

Cheese, beer, chat. Football optional.

Paul Jefferies comes from Burton on Trent and has family connections with the brewing industry going back many generations. He graduated with a degree in Biochemistry from Hull University and worked in Bass Research before joining Allied Breweries in 1988 at the Leeds Brewery as a Production Management Trainee.

Paul held a number of posts at Joshua Tetley (which was then producing in excess of 1m barrels of cask beer a year) before finally rising to Brewing Manager. During his time at Tetley, Paul qualified as a Diploma and then Master Brewer of the Institute of Brewing.

In 1997 he joined Brewery Group Denmark as Head Brewer of Robert Cain Brewery in Liverpool. Paul is now Production and Distribution Director of Hydes Brewery in Manchester and has recently set up his own micro brewing operation in Waunfawr, North Wales, which he runs in his spare time. Big Bog Brewing Company (Waunfawr translates as “Big Bog” from Welsh) is proving an exciting venture and along with his role at Hydes, allows him to do what he is passionate about – brew fantastic beer!”

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A month ago it looked like Leeds was going to lose one of it’s best independent retailers, and the world was about to lose one of it’s best beer shops.

Cue bearded beer expert Zak Avery and now beery business owner, who stepped in with a joint management buy out to rescue the famous Beer Ritz from the brink of limbo.

For those who thought they’d never get to go again, and those who thought they’d never have the privilege, rejoice, because Beer Ritz is open and we hope it’s back for good!

Sing it from the mountain tops, Beer Ritz is back!

Leeds Beer Festival 2011

Leeds Beer Festival starts tomorrow, below is the programme of beers. Directions can be found on the festival website http://www.leedsbeerfestival.co.uk/getting-here/

Mark and Sam will be there at various time but please comment, tweet or email us if you fancy meeting up for a pint!

Built in 1741 as a house for the timber merchant Edmund Maude, The Palace was first recorded as an inn in 1841 and is believed to have been named after one of the breweries whose ale it sold. In 1830 the Beerhouse Act was passed which allowed any householder who paid rates to apply for a two guinea excise licence to sell beer and brew it on their premises. This led to 46,000 new pubs being created within eight years.

In the ten years following the Beerhouse Act the number of pubs in Leeds rose from 270 to 545 and it is thought that The Palace may be one of those along with the Eagle Tavern on North Street. The licensing laws were changed in 1869 and this had the effect of tightening the rules to apply for a licence. Originally outwith the Leeds boundary, being located just outside the East Bar, (the marking stone for which can be found just slightly higher up Kirkgate towards the city centre set into the boundary wall of Leeds Parish Church) as Leeds expanded it became a city centre pub.

The Palace and Leeds Parish Church

Seen better days? The bar at The Palace

Vintage pub livery at The Palace, Leeds

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A book, a beer and some me time

Monday night, November. It’s wet, but mild. It’s one of the first really dark evenings, nature’s signal that the beautiful bit of autumn is over and that the trees are preparing for the onset of winter.

As the clock strikes 9.30pm there’s a forgotten errand to run and unexpectedly an opportunity presents itself. An opportunity for ‘me time‘.

My better half receives an overestimate on the ETA for the errand. It’s some ill luck on the way home – a queue at the self serve or some faulty traffic lights. Leeds is littered with road works, they even made the news. Gas repairs on Armley gyratory? Perfect, save for later.

Errand completed in double quick time and oh look, is that a pub? The real ale festival is on? It’d be rude not too… and in I slip.* Read the rest of this entry »

The girl with the pink boa is shrieking loud enough to pierce the wine glass hanging precariously from her hand. Encouraged by a half-cut punter – whose mates have dropped their shoulders towards the bar, wishing their chum would pack it in – she’s asking for photos, removing a thong that’s external to her outerwear (not that you’d notice, it’s fairly intimate outerwear) and decorating shouty-bloke’s less enthusiastic friend with a further feathery pink article and splitting her ample sides with annoyingly gregarious laughter. Her drawling accent cuts through the equally energetic shouts of her girlfriends and the ominous din of 5pm at Wetherspoons in the train station. Read the rest of this entry »

My long pour skills left a bit to be desired. Not to mention my baseball cap.

In the middle of the hustle and bustle of Leeds Waterfront Festival, tucked away in the corner of Brewery Wharf, something drew our merry group towards the oversized Havana Club banners. Even if we’d had to pay for the privilege I’d have jumped at the chance to make cocktails on a lazy Saturday afternoon. The fact it was free and we’d sunk a couple of cold Coors Lights meant we wasted no time in reserving a session at the stall.

Our lovely Scottish cocktail expert introduced us to the strange implements laid out like a surgeon’s table – the graters, knives and Hawthorn strainers – and forced a shot of Havana Club down our necks to ensure we could ‘appreciate’ the taste of the rum on it’s own.

We donned our uniform of pinnys (and for some reason baseball caps) and proceeded to create rum-based cocktails such as El Presidenté and the very Cuban La Bodequito del Medio Mojito. Fresh limes, mint (stalk ‘n all) and orange zest were thrown together in vigorous concoctions along with sparkling water, sugar, ice and various incarnations of Havana Club, from the standard Blanco and 3 year aged versions to the Añejo 7 Años, a darker more luxurious spirit with characteristics similar to oak aged beers, wines or whiskies –  a touch of vanilla and fruit in amongst the pang of the alcohol to make it slightly more bearable.

Havana Club cocktail making at Leeds Waterfront Festival

We were half-cut, drenched in sunshine and giddy enough to shake our stuff creating daiquiris all afternoon. We finished up with an inter-group competition to serve our delightful host with the perfect El Presidenté. I came second, ousted by a dubiously large amount of orange zest applied to the winning drink.

I’ve no idea why Havana Club chose to take a stall at Leeds Waterfront festival, or why they chose to give away free cocktail making sessions to the happy revellers. I’m glad they did though, as it turned out to be one of the highlights of the day, and we left with sunny and well lubricated dispositions just as the drizzle started to break up the al fresco party.

The merry band of cocktail makers

Another ‘whoop’ for Loiners this weekend as Friday and Saturday sees not just one beer festival in Leeds but two!

Rothwell Beer Festival 2010

Rothwell, home of the charming Rosebud and our very own Copper Dragon loving R’Sam, is holding a beer festival. 40 cask beers, plus bottles, cider, perry and food will all be available in aid of two local charities.

The organising committee have been working their socks off since January and the fruits of their labour (with some help from Wakefield CAMRA and Clark’s Brewery) will hopefully lead to another addition to West Yorkshire’s beer scene.

“We’re raising money for the local church roof which was stripped of lead just before the bad weather” says Paul Mann of the organising committee. “Additionally half the proceeds will got to Rothwell Lions who go a great amount of work in the local community”.

“The beer list is changing right up until the last minute but we’re hoping for a good crowd”.

The Leeds and Wakefield areas are spoilt for choice this weekend, with both Rothwell Beer Festival and LS6 Beer Festival so now it looks like a beer before and after this Saturday’s football.

For more details visits www.rothwellbeerfestival.co.uk

There’s nothing like a spot of good news, and a new beer festival in Leeds can only be a good addition of the cities beer scene.

A day of bands, beer and sunshine (the latter not guaranteed) in Leeds’ eclectic Hyde Park is on paper, a bloomin’ brilliant idea. Take local musicians, regional breweries and pop them down into a stunning brand new arts centre within the former St Margaret of Antioch Church, and voilá!  On top of that potential the festival aims to raise money for West Yorkshire charity Village to Village, helping development projects in Africa.

I’ll be nipping by before and/or after the crunch match with MK Dons at Elland Rd. I’ll stick to Bovril at half time to save myself for some samples of these beers (which may or may not include a gallon-sized taster* of St Petersburg, mmmmmm). Read the rest of this entry »