Cheese and Beers

The Fork 50 - are they the best?

Given the chance, would you add any restaurants to the "Fork 50", a list of the top restaurants in the South West which was published in June or July this year?  Interestingly, the list doesn't include any restaurants in Cornwall, though Devon is represented; this means that none of Rick Stein's seafood emporia are on it. Also, the River Cottage Canteen in on the list, but not the main restaurant - and there's nothing in Dorset. hm, interesting.

Any thoughts on this in the comments or on twitter please.

3 beers, 3 pubs.

Brew Dog are known for pushing the limits, both in terms of flavour and of good sense. Their range is chocablock with beers with silly strength, such as the 18% Tokyo Stout, the 32% Tactical Nuclear Penguin, and the ridiculous 41% Sink the Bismarck. 
Thankfully, all of these are rare to the point of unobtainable, and the brew Dog beers available to us on draft are, like the Edge I had at the Victoria on Tuesday, a much more sensible strength, in this case, 3.8%. This is a dark, nutty, Mild style beer, with a beautiful flavour and a full malty finish. Recommended!

I followed that with a Doombar at the Alma Tavern Theatre pub. The pub is nice, but I'm afraid to say that their beer range is not to my taste. I found the Doombar, which is often found in the pubs of Bristol, to be cloying, sickly, and, to my taste, just a little too sweet. I won't be having that again.

When I finally made it to the Kings Arms at the top of Blackboy Hill, I was ready for another pint.  I was treating this visit as a dry run for the #Bristweetdrinks next week, and wanted to check on their ale selection. I had a pint of Otter, from the Ottery St Mary Brewery, which was well kept and pleasant. I'm not particularly a fan of the best-bitter style, but this was ok.

Jolly Jack 15 Hop @ The Three Tuns.

Last night was the opening of the Three Tun in Hotwells under the management of Ned and Arbor Ales, and I went down there to sample the ales with Andy. I got there at about quarter past six, by which point the only free beer left was the Plain Ales Innocent, a pale brown, fairly hoppy, pint which went down well.  I was a little disappointed to have missed the Brew Dog 5 am Saint, but it was an opportunity to try a new beer. While I drank that, I was intrigued by some novel equipment I could see: a vertical tube, filled with hops was positioned at the end of the bar. It turned out that Arbor's Jolly Jack 15 Hop was given it's final kick by being drawn through this tube. This made tasting the beer a must. Another mid brown ale, to say that it was hoppy would be an understatement.  While I like a hoppy beer, and enjoyed the flavour of this one, I would recommend drinking only a half of such richly hopped brews; not because of the alcoholic strength, but because of the richness of flavour. More than twelve hours later, the hops are still repeating on me. Andy had a Saltaire Hazelnut Porter, a lovely pint that tasted of chocolate and nuts. We followed those with a bitter whose name I forget.
The pub consists of large room at the front and a smaller area to one side of the bar; I'm not sure whether there is a garden, as I couldn't get through the crowds. If the range of beers available last night, the number of people in the pub, and the speed of service are anything to go by, Ned is on to a winner in the new pub, and I wish him all the best for the awards season in the spring.