Puppy Wants A Takeaway!
Sep. 15th, 2015 10:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeFriday saw us go to our second beer festival in as many weeks, the Saltaire Beer Festival at Saltaire Brewery.
Unlike the Leeds International Beer Festival, the Saltaire one is a much smaller affair, opening for just the two days and having a rather meagre 40 real ales and some craft beer on tap. Of course, for one evening, this is perfectly fine as you can't really get through 40 beers anyway, although we did have a damn good try. Unlike the Leeds Festival, many of our friends were present but I had bought all the tickets, meaning they were waiting for me at Shipley station impatient for their ale. I had hoped to give them their tickets in Leeds but as all of them bailed, they had to wait in Shipley for me to arrive. Fortunately I could get out of work early and working from home meant we were there before 7pm (despite our late train), while we even got to sample a fish butty and a portion of chips from our local chippie, a place we hadn't yet been due to it being always closed when I get back from work. It was definitely a good purchase though and the people behind the counter were incredibly friendly, so we will definitely go there again I think.
The beer festival was fantastic and we spent a very happy three hours there, sampling a range of beers inside the marquee they had placed in their main courtyard. Fortunately it was not raining so others could stand outside while we frequently visited any one of the four different bars to try a number of tasty ales. We had 18 over the course of the night, with Wolfie and I sharing halves, and we also grabbed an excellent burger from one of the concessions. Ultimately though it was just a great evening with friends, chatting and pretending to be policemen over Telegram, as is often the way these days. As Patter couldn't turn up, we also got his glass and drink vouchers while their separate blue card system for the "international" craft beer (most of which was from Yorkshire) was initially confusing. It was great drinking in the brewery as it felt a lot more authentic, not to mention closer to the brewing process and we all left incredibly happy.
The plan was to check out the Fox in Shipley but with the Festival closing at 10pm, everyone else had the same idea. The place was rammed so we decided to head into Bradford, where we would sample a range of bars on the burgeoning North Parade, which is becoming a real haven of drinking in the city. Sadly, when our taxi arrived, it could not accommodate all of us so Taneli decided to stay in Shipley as he was aiming to catch his last bus anyway. However, Luna, Stray, Wolfie and I all headed into Bradford, where we first called in at The Record, where we sat and drank outside, having a friendly chat with the security guard. It was here that Stray left his bag outside before heading to The Beer House, a new bar which specialises in real ale and jelly beans. This was to be our penultimate bar of the evening as we ended the night in Plonk, a wine bar which had just opened across the street. Even though it was a wine bar, they did a few beers, and we enjoyed our final one chatting to the owner of the bar who was from Middlesbrough but had a range of ventures in Bradford and beyond. He was a nice guy and we ended up staying far beyond closing, with him encouraging me to finish my drinks. I did my best but with Wolfie starting to feel sick (he was very sick when we got home), he wasn't drinking so I had to try and complete the task myself. Alas it was a struggle and I failed, but it didn't put a dampener on the evening and soon we were heading back in a taxi, chatting to the exceptionally pleasant driver about a range of things including the sad collapse of the crane in Mecca which had killed 107 people.
We were feeling a little delicate on Saturday, particularly Wolfie, so it was a largely lazy day although plans fomented to meet up with Avon in Wakefield as Tanuki and Molly were coming to visit. Due to a bad back, it was decided we meet at Avon's house for a curry and an evening in, which suited us perfectly such is our current desire to save money for the attic extension. After going around to Mr and Mrs Wolfie's to get the former's passport, we rolled into Wakefield just after six, where we had a pleasant evening watching TV and YouTube videos interspersed with a rather excellent curry from Raj Poot. I had the Hyderabadi, a hot curry diluted by cream, and I have to say it was very nice, although the grilled cheese was somewhat stodgy. I guess this is what you get with deliveries, the journey often means the food sweats in the packaging and takes the taste and texture away from the food. Still, it was pretty nice, despite the poor cheese and soggy onion bajis.
The rest of the evening was taken up with chatting and watching television, with Wolfie and I both staying sober due to our need to drive back (plus when I have curry, I tend to find drink significantly contributes to the bloatedness I feel). Avon and Tanuki spent a lot of time crafting and trying cocktails, with secrets flowing forthwith, while we just enjoyed the discussion with two close friends. We watched the pilot episode of Breaking Bad, a show I had never seen before. The first episode wasn't as gripping as I thought it would be, but it does look like a good series and I may follow this up if I have time - I just struggle to find time for US series such is their length. Molly was being her usual licky self and was very friendly, with such a fantastic temperament too. She spent a lot of the time lying on her back showing me her fortune cookie, which was disturbing, but then she was in hear I guess. We also ruined Avon's YouTube search by searching for vagina.
Sunday was a very quiet day, with little going on and Wolfie needing to mend the exhaust on his car. We also decided to avoid going out in the evening due to our recent alcohol consumption and the need to save money. I went to the gym during the day to account for missing a session mid-week while Wolfie and I had some playtime in the evening. We also had one of our last BBQs of the year, always a sad occurrence, but yet again Sainsbury's Taste the Difference sausages proved to be of poor quality, dripping fat and this halving their size, not to mention two splitting open on the BBQ. We also had some grilled halloumi, which was also nice, but with the sun setting earlier and earlier, it did feel something of a death knell for summer. Hopefully we can get a couple more BBQs in by the end of the year - perhaps with a new BBQ we are intending to buy (they are so cheap at this time of year) - but I don't hold much hope considering how poor this summer has been. You can live in hope though.
Unlike the Leeds International Beer Festival, the Saltaire one is a much smaller affair, opening for just the two days and having a rather meagre 40 real ales and some craft beer on tap. Of course, for one evening, this is perfectly fine as you can't really get through 40 beers anyway, although we did have a damn good try. Unlike the Leeds Festival, many of our friends were present but I had bought all the tickets, meaning they were waiting for me at Shipley station impatient for their ale. I had hoped to give them their tickets in Leeds but as all of them bailed, they had to wait in Shipley for me to arrive. Fortunately I could get out of work early and working from home meant we were there before 7pm (despite our late train), while we even got to sample a fish butty and a portion of chips from our local chippie, a place we hadn't yet been due to it being always closed when I get back from work. It was definitely a good purchase though and the people behind the counter were incredibly friendly, so we will definitely go there again I think.
The beer festival was fantastic and we spent a very happy three hours there, sampling a range of beers inside the marquee they had placed in their main courtyard. Fortunately it was not raining so others could stand outside while we frequently visited any one of the four different bars to try a number of tasty ales. We had 18 over the course of the night, with Wolfie and I sharing halves, and we also grabbed an excellent burger from one of the concessions. Ultimately though it was just a great evening with friends, chatting and pretending to be policemen over Telegram, as is often the way these days. As Patter couldn't turn up, we also got his glass and drink vouchers while their separate blue card system for the "international" craft beer (most of which was from Yorkshire) was initially confusing. It was great drinking in the brewery as it felt a lot more authentic, not to mention closer to the brewing process and we all left incredibly happy.
The plan was to check out the Fox in Shipley but with the Festival closing at 10pm, everyone else had the same idea. The place was rammed so we decided to head into Bradford, where we would sample a range of bars on the burgeoning North Parade, which is becoming a real haven of drinking in the city. Sadly, when our taxi arrived, it could not accommodate all of us so Taneli decided to stay in Shipley as he was aiming to catch his last bus anyway. However, Luna, Stray, Wolfie and I all headed into Bradford, where we first called in at The Record, where we sat and drank outside, having a friendly chat with the security guard. It was here that Stray left his bag outside before heading to The Beer House, a new bar which specialises in real ale and jelly beans. This was to be our penultimate bar of the evening as we ended the night in Plonk, a wine bar which had just opened across the street. Even though it was a wine bar, they did a few beers, and we enjoyed our final one chatting to the owner of the bar who was from Middlesbrough but had a range of ventures in Bradford and beyond. He was a nice guy and we ended up staying far beyond closing, with him encouraging me to finish my drinks. I did my best but with Wolfie starting to feel sick (he was very sick when we got home), he wasn't drinking so I had to try and complete the task myself. Alas it was a struggle and I failed, but it didn't put a dampener on the evening and soon we were heading back in a taxi, chatting to the exceptionally pleasant driver about a range of things including the sad collapse of the crane in Mecca which had killed 107 people.
We were feeling a little delicate on Saturday, particularly Wolfie, so it was a largely lazy day although plans fomented to meet up with Avon in Wakefield as Tanuki and Molly were coming to visit. Due to a bad back, it was decided we meet at Avon's house for a curry and an evening in, which suited us perfectly such is our current desire to save money for the attic extension. After going around to Mr and Mrs Wolfie's to get the former's passport, we rolled into Wakefield just after six, where we had a pleasant evening watching TV and YouTube videos interspersed with a rather excellent curry from Raj Poot. I had the Hyderabadi, a hot curry diluted by cream, and I have to say it was very nice, although the grilled cheese was somewhat stodgy. I guess this is what you get with deliveries, the journey often means the food sweats in the packaging and takes the taste and texture away from the food. Still, it was pretty nice, despite the poor cheese and soggy onion bajis.
The rest of the evening was taken up with chatting and watching television, with Wolfie and I both staying sober due to our need to drive back (plus when I have curry, I tend to find drink significantly contributes to the bloatedness I feel). Avon and Tanuki spent a lot of time crafting and trying cocktails, with secrets flowing forthwith, while we just enjoyed the discussion with two close friends. We watched the pilot episode of Breaking Bad, a show I had never seen before. The first episode wasn't as gripping as I thought it would be, but it does look like a good series and I may follow this up if I have time - I just struggle to find time for US series such is their length. Molly was being her usual licky self and was very friendly, with such a fantastic temperament too. She spent a lot of the time lying on her back showing me her fortune cookie, which was disturbing, but then she was in hear I guess. We also ruined Avon's YouTube search by searching for vagina.
Sunday was a very quiet day, with little going on and Wolfie needing to mend the exhaust on his car. We also decided to avoid going out in the evening due to our recent alcohol consumption and the need to save money. I went to the gym during the day to account for missing a session mid-week while Wolfie and I had some playtime in the evening. We also had one of our last BBQs of the year, always a sad occurrence, but yet again Sainsbury's Taste the Difference sausages proved to be of poor quality, dripping fat and this halving their size, not to mention two splitting open on the BBQ. We also had some grilled halloumi, which was also nice, but with the sun setting earlier and earlier, it did feel something of a death knell for summer. Hopefully we can get a couple more BBQs in by the end of the year - perhaps with a new BBQ we are intending to buy (they are so cheap at this time of year) - but I don't hold much hope considering how poor this summer has been. You can live in hope though.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2015-09-15 09:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-09-18 09:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-09-20 03:15 pm (UTC)Just go with halves. ^_^ One time at GBBF, I believe I hit about 20 pints, although I admit to not keeping perfect track later on. =:) Of course, that was spread over the course of a day - from about 1-4pm, then a wander around near the NHM, and back in for 6-10pm.
the "international" craft beer (most of which was from Yorkshire)
Eep! Will I need to bring my passport to visit? =:)
I've seen the odd bit of Breaking Bad - I can certainly accept it looks good, but ultimately, the characters seem so utterly unlikeable that it just doesn't really resonate with me. Plus, I have a terrible time just sitting down and watching TV, versus something like LJ, where I can be actively nattering with friends - it's not a passive activity by any means.
Consequently, even shows I do want to catch up with, I'll take forever doing so - I've only just started on season 2 of Orange is the New Black, f'rex.
I've not tried many of TtD sausages, but the few I have haven't been memorable. On the other paw, they had those (name) & (name) sausages down to £2 a pack recently, and those were quite pleasant. The Black Farmer's pulled port variety are rather nice, with that characteristic sweet smokiness. Waitrose do quite a few very good ones, usually two packs for £5, making them the same as Sainsbury, with the pork, mustard, and buttered onions being absolutely gorgeous, and the chicken & pesto are very nommy too, and low in fat. They did have a BOGOF on the pork & black pepper (decent) and pork & apple (very pleasant, with a nice apple-y sweetness), but I think that's finished now.
no subject
Date: 2015-10-23 08:43 pm (UTC)I struggle with watching TV, or indeed doing anything. I don't know where people find the time. One of the reasons I have never watched a box set from start to end is that I just don't have the time or patience to stick with it.
I do like a good sausage, I really should increase my sausage tasting experiences.