Crazy Pandas on Tour – Gothenburg 12-20/10/14

Well this was a bit of a change of scenery!  With a workshop lined up at the Swedish NMR Centre, MJ started the trip the way all good trips should start – with a few beers!  After a quick lunch of pork pie at the Old Windmill washed down with Potbelly Brewery’s Captain Pigwash (a dark and chocolatey dry porter) for MJ and Leeds Brewery’s Leeds Pale (a slightly hoppy but very fresh pale ale) for AR, MJ then headed off to the airport in search of more beer to get him through his flight on what would be one of the smallest planes he’d ever seen.  Disappointed that the landside Wetherspoons had turned into an All Bar One, MJ insisted he didn’t need table service for a quick pint and ordered himself a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which had its usual hoppy and fresh flavour, but as with a lot of keg beers seemed to be too cold for MJ to fully appreciate the flavour.  After this it was time to check in and go through security, after which MJ found that the airside Wetherspoons (simply called Wetherspoon) was still open!  Here he managed to get a sneak peak of the upcoming ale festival with a pint of Abbaye Blonde, brewed by Val-Dieu in conjunction with Shepheard Neame.  This beer was deceptively smooth, and its malty taste hid its 6% strength well!  Fortified for his flight, MJ then departed the ‘Spoons and indeed the country in search of a completely different drinking experience (as well as getting some work done, of course).

Unfortunately, throughout the week MJ found little time to explore the city’s pubs due to his work commitments.  However he did manage to get to one of the state-owned off licenses and stock up on several different beers to try in his hostel room (as well as some lower strength beers from the supermarkets), including:

• Falcon Bayerskt Extra – This beer is now brewed by Carlsberg, and was a fairly flavourful dark lager with malty sweetness.
• St Eriks Oktober – A fruity dark lager with good hop and very full flavour.
• Bellman – Thick with malty taste and light hop without harsh alcohol taste despite being 6%.
• Grebbestad Bryggeri Ostronporter – Oyster stout with a creamy chocolatey sweetness.  Very nice.
• Three Towns Independant Brewers Arboga – Very strong (10.2%) beer with barley wine taste covering most other flavour.
• Eriksberg – Slightly sharp with dry taste and low hop.
• Lindenbrauerei Grafenwalder Pils – This German beer is made exclusively for Lidl, and had a malty caramel taste and fresh palette.
• Wychwood Hobgoblin – The 3.5% export strength version of this classic beer tasted more like a dark mild than the regular ruby ale, but it was still very drinkable.

However, there were a couple of occasions where MJ managed to escape his workshop early and seek out a pub for some food, which is how he ended up at one of the John Scott’s pubs in the town (the one near to the central station).  This pub was a Swedish take on traditional English, and was decorated very nicely, with maybe just a few too many pieces of Royal memorabilia to be accurate, but in all a good effort.  The food was lovely; MJ enjoyed a standard burger that came juicy and well seasoned, however the chips were slightly overdone.  As far as drinks are concerned the burger came with a pint of Sofiero Original, which was a crisp and malty lager, for 125 SEK, which is one of the cheapest meals MJ managed to have, with food and drink in Sweden being typically expensive by British standards when eating out.  To prove the point, MJ followed up by having a Fullers Black Cab Stout, which he’d surprisingly never seen in the UK, and cost 62 SEK (just over £6) for a 400 mL glass.  This was worth the cost, however, as it had a lovely dry chocolate bitterness, yet was surprisingly smooth.  The barman told MJ that this was his favourite of the Fullers range on sale in the pub, and MJ can see why!

Another occasion MJ managed to find a pub during the week was when he headed to Wiser’s, which bills itself as a Canadian bar, on Friday evening.  Finding himself there on buffet night, MJ enjoyed a range of meat and pasta with plenty of garlic bread on the side, washed down with a Moosehead Pale Ale, a slightly thick Canadian beer with strong malty aftertaste.  The staff at the bar were very friendly, and MJ spotted that they were planning to introduce a weekend brunch the next morning, which he just had to return to try, this time with AR in tow as she arrived late Friday night to join MJ for a weekend of exploring the city.  Both Pandas opted for the hot brunch, which consisted of smoked sausage, bacon and egg with ham and cheese on the side, plus fresh bread and croissants and bottomless orange juice and coffee.  At just under £10 equivalent, this meal gets the official Panda Seal of Approval, and we would recommend it to anyone looking for a weekend brunch in Gothenburg.  No alcohol was consumed at this visit (shockingly), but the Pandas did return later in the weekend and shared a Masterson’s Wheat whiskey; a very smooth and easy to drink spirit which AR declared as her new favourite whiskey ever!

With AR now in tow, the Pandas continued exploring the city, including wandering around the Botanic Gardens and adjacent nature reserve as well as seeing examples of native wild animals in Slottsskogen Park Zoo and wandering the streets in the town centre.  This of course meant ample opportunity for pubbing over the duration of the weekend, with calls at:

• Karlson’s Garage – A well decorated pub with a nice collection of brewerania, serving absolutely lovely fried mackerel with mash and lingonberries (which both Pandas enjoyed immensely).  Although the handpumps on the bar are actually keg taps in disguise, there was a wide range of beers available both on draught and in bottles.  Between them, the Pandas tried both Sleepy Bulldog (biscuity and malty pale ale with mild hop) and Brutal Bulldog (very hoppy and thick with strong floral notes managing to cover its 8.4% alcohol content) by the local Gotlands Bryggeri, as well as Oktoberfest by Ocean, which was malty and thick, reminiscent of a traditional ruby ale.
• The Dubliner – An Irish bar with friendly staff serving Guinness as well as Kilkenny, which was a malty smooth bitter made for the export market by Smithwick’s Brewery.   Also did the best chips in Gothenburg!
• Villa Belparc – A lovely cafe bar in Slottsskogen park near one of the lakes.  Here the Pandas enjoyed that traditional combination of cake and beer!  The cakes were delicious, with the apple crumble and cream being especially tasty.  Beer on draught was Norrlands Guld, a fresh lagery beer with quite a strong taste of alcohol.  The bar also had a very well stocked fridge, and so while AR tried the wine on offer (simply labelled as ‘White’ on the bar tap), MJ had another Gotlands beer; Wisby Weisse, which while tasting like a traditional wheat beer was surprisingly clear.

With the end of the weekend came the end of the Panda’s trip, and so after a morning at the amazing Universeum museum (containing an artificial rainforest over 5 floors with free roaming monkeys), the Pandas headed back to the airport where they enjoyed a final drink on Swedish soil at the O’Learys bar there.  This sports bar had quite a range of drinks on offer, and while AR had a Somersby Pear cider (which was very clear, almost colourless, yet intensely fruity), MJ had a final Eriksberg Karaktär, which was a dark lager with dry malty flavour and decent hop balance.  Having finished their drinks it was homeward bound (including a mid-air beer and wine), stopping once again at the All Bar One at Birmingham airport for a burger and Sierra Nevada/white wine (while the burger was lovely, the service at this outlet was incredibly slow – MJ did well to refuse table service on his previous visit else he might have missed his flight!)

All in all a good time was had, but if you are planning to visit Sweden be aware that the prices in restaurants and bars are quite high compared to British venues, but cheap meals can be found if you look around.  Things are generally a lot cheaper in supermarkets, while System Bolaget (the official off license chain) does also stock drinks for a range of budgets.

Varsity & The Signal Box, 5/9/14

On their way to Coventry City FC’s first match at their home stadium in over a year, the Pandas decided that they needed to stop at a pub or two to mark the occasion, and so they headed straight for  Varsity as they left work for a quick drink.  AR went for Victorious by Wood Farm Brewery, which was a nice malty beer with slight biscuity character, while MJ opted for Pure Shores by Thwaites, a pale ale with a hint of citrus and good refreshing hop flavour.  After finishing their first round it was off to the other side of the city for the match, calling at The Signal Box on the way.  This Hungry Horse pub only recently opened, and after loving the food and drink selection at The Unicorn a couple of months ago, the Pandas were looking forward to a good meal here too!

Unfortunately, that was not to be, and things went wrong right from the off.  Firstly, when MJ tried to order a pint of Old Speckled Hen he returned with it to the table to find that it was incredibly sour – in his opinion it must have been tasting bad for at least a day to get to this level of undrinkable, and yet no-one had noticed.  Returning it straight away and explaining the situation he then opted for a pint of Abbot Ale, which while nowhere near as bad as the Old Speckled Hen still had a definite tang to it, which was a shame as both of these beers are normally ones that MJ enjoys.  As there was no other choice (unlike at The Unicorn that had a wide range of beers, not just the standard Greene King ones) he settled for this passable pint and hoped that the taste would improve when partnered with his curry (which in itself was another source of disappointment as there was only chicken tikka available, despite the blanket menu online for Hungry Horse pubs boasting a range of curries).  While the food arrived quickly, it was perhaps too quick for AR whose hot Philadelphia and pepper salad had been headed enough to melt some of the cheese but nowhere near enough to cook the peppers it had been stuffed into.  This was disappointing as she had the same dish previously at The Unicorn and enjoyed it massively.  In all this was a disappointing visit, and the Pandas are now intrigued as to whether this was a particularly bad example of a Hungry Horse pub or indeed whether The Unicorn is an above average one?  Only a tie-breaker visit to a third pub in this chain will tell!  However, one thing that is worth noticing is that The Signal Box is positioned at the side of a main road, whereas The Unicorn is in a residential area, so maybe the difference in clientele has given rise to different priorities, with those frequenting The Signal Box requiring speedy food as they break their journey while The Unicorn takes more time to provide better quality food and drinks to keep the local residents coming back for more…

Anyway, after this it was on to the match, and while FA rules state that alcohol can’t be consumed within site of the pitch, there was enough time for MJ to have a quick Guinness before the Pandas found their seats and changed from CrazyPandaPubs to CrazyPandaPUSBs while they watched CCFC’s thrilling 1-0 victory! Play Up Sky Blues =D

The King’s Head, Wellesbourne, 26/5/14

To finish off our bank holiday weekend the Crazy Pandas went to the Wellesbourne Market, which we were planning on doing anyway as part of our aborted camping trip.  Getting to the market nice and early we managed to have a bit of time browsing before the crowds descended and the heavens opened, and so we retreated to a pub we have reviewed previously – The King’s Head.  Getting there before food service began at 12 pm, we indulged in a late morning beer, with both of us opting for Sharps Doombar.  Despite the beer being sold off for a very agreeable amount of £2 a pint due to short shelf life, it tasted absolutely fine, with possibly a slight tang of bitterness at the back of the after-taste.  For a rainy bank holiday Monday, however, it was fantastic, and set us up nicely for a good lunch.  We happened to have a voucher with us for joining the pubs mailing list, entitling us to 2 main courses and 2 drinks, both from a restricted menu, for £20.  Unfortunately ale was not included in the options, so MJ had a Guinness and AR had a red wine.  We both went for the home cooked sausages and mash which arrived rather promptly and were absolutely lovely – the sausages were peppery and meaty while the mash was creamy, our only complaint was that more gravy was needed, but we can overlook that.  It was a lovely meal made even better by the £7 saving we made in total, and again we would heartily recommend this pub for its food.  The beers have been well kept both times we have visited, although they only had the same selection of Doombar, 6X and UBU both times we’ve been.  However, there are several pump clips from as far afield as Leeds decorating the back of the bar, so hopefully they will have some more interesting beers next time we go… (although not too interesting as MJ does have to drive!)

MJ