Where does the time go. It only seems like six months ago when I was sitting in the North Bar having purposely ‘missed’ my bus and was enjoying a pint of ale called Prototype which I had just noticed on the bar and being told that it was brewed by the newly opened North Brewing Company.
I grant you that it might not have been on the first day that the brewery was set up but it can’t have been long after. Whenever it was it has been the cause of my sitting in the North Bar and watching several No.36 buses go gliding past whilst I had yet another one for the road. To be fair, the A61 is a long road so needs a few ‘ones’.
Saturday 16th November, 2019 saw the North Brewing Co celebrate its 4th Birthday at the place where it produces its range of beers, i.e. Taverner’s Walk just off the bottom of North Street. Not a bad address for a brewery, so I had to pop along to wish them felicitations and have a couple of my favourite craft beer of theirs, Sputnik, and to see what was shaking.
I love the atmosphere at the brewery, which is open for drinks on Fridays from 4.00pm until 10.00pm and Saturdays from noon to 10.00pm. so, having ordered my pint of Sputnik and had a chat with the amazing staff here, I ordered a Parmo Plate from the street food vendor outside, took a seat and waited for my little electronic gizmo to sound off to let me know that lunch was ready. Every home should have one.
The Parmo Plate is a fried chicken fillet smothered in bechamel sauce and cheddar cheese served with fries and slaw. Delicious goes nowhere near describing it and I found it just enough for lunchtime, being filling enough to help counteract the effects of the beer but not so much as to make standing up a challenge.
It is weird to sit drinking a beer while you are looking at the vessels in which it was brewed, but I have done weird before. Just as a matter of interest, on a normal Friday and Saturday session when there is no food vendor in operation they are well up for you ringing a takeaway and having your calories of choice delivered to consume over a pint or two. That is designed to take food envy to a whole new level. ‘Who ordered the Fortnum and Mason hamper?’
The place was decked out with suitable bunting which set the tone for the day and there were several photographs on display marking milestones on the road so far. It made the utilitarian industrial unit positively festive.
As my carer gets concerned if I am not home by dark I didn’t stay for the DJs although a great range of tracks was being played by the ladies behind the bar.
I would like to thank the people of North Brewery Co for their hospitality and company today, not to mention brewing a stonking range of ales, including the Boysenberry Gose especially for the occasion.
Happy Birthday North Bar and may there be many more to come.
Tyke It To The Limit 