Travels With Nate

The Mash Tun . Such an appropriate name for a craft beer establishment. They could have used “ Hop Store ” I suppose, but that gives the image of being rather cold. It’s situated on Charing Cross in Norwich and is in the building that was previously known as The Hog in Armour , a pub that I recall being awful. Luckily for us, The Mash Tun isn’t. In fact, The Mash Tun is rather good. When you walk in you’ll notice that the main room is incredibly long and narrow, and right in front of you is a large board displaying the names of breweries ( Weird Beard was spelt wrong ), the beers, ABV and prices. Oddly though, only the keg prices are listed. Not cask. You glance to the bar on the right and you’ll notice the unique keg taps which have a chamber above it, showing you the colour of the beer as well as beer menus on tables which give you a brief description of the beer. This can be incredibly helpful for customers in deciding what to drink based on their preference B...

The Georgian Townhouse is an iconic building, right at the top of Unthank Road in Norwich. It was previously a rather upmarket hotel, paired with RARE Steakhouse but closed maybe last year, I don’t know, I wasn’t really paying attention. Now it has been refurbished and reopened, not as a hotel but as a Restaurant/Craft Beer Bar, with private function rooms. I was first alerted to it on Twitter a couple of months ago, before it opened. They tweeted me a photo of Budvar Dark, saying they’ll have it on tap when they open and I remember thinking “oh, that’s nice”, not quite expecting the rest of the beer list, but more on that later! Walking into the car park, you get a real sense of scale when you look at the big, beautiful building. It really is a sight to behold. Although there are a few doors at the front, you have to walk to the furthest right to get in. You’re greeted by a host who asks if you’re dining, in which case they’ll show you to your seat, otherwise you’re ...

Today was an awesome day. I got to visit The Liberty Belle, a new Micro Pub in Ely. It was my first ever visit to a micro pub. I'd heard they exist, and other people seem to enjoy them but I hadn't experienced it... until today. Wow, what an experience it was. The Liberty Belle isn't like a regular pub. It's a shopfront that looks like an antique shop, and when you walk in, you feel like you're in somebody's living room... it's odd, but really cool. There are comfortable sofas and chairs with tables arranged nicely, antique lamps everywhere and all kinds of interesting things. To the right you have a blackboard with today's beers (I had Elgood's Black Eagle Imperial Stout & Tydd Steam Piston Bob. Jade just had a Fentiman's Victorian Lemonade as she was driving) and the prices. You walk through to the back and there's not even a proper bar, just what looks like some kind of counter with a guy casually sitting behind it. The counter...

It will come as no surprise to you that I like a good burger and beer. Beer and beef are two of my favourite things. I had drank at The Sir Garnet a few times. It’s a nice, welcoming pub with plenty of seating both inside and outside; nicely situated right next to Norwich market on one of the main shopping strips, Gentleman’s Walk. Image from: http://www.vintagenorwich.co.uk/2012/07/a-sneak-peek-at-the-new-sir-garnet/