KELPIE on the Staffs and Worcester

[haggis]

After a dull chilly day yesterday, today was lovely and sunny. Quite a strong wind but not cold.

I had forgotten how  twisty and turny this canal is in places and it made me keep my eye on the ball when I was steering.

There is a tree across the canal at bridge 83 near Penkridge but we squeezed past. Reported it but C& RT had already had a call about it. 

Moored in Penkridge conveniently near the Cross Keys which is one of the few canal side pubs I haven't visited in my 40 years of canal boating 😄

[cuthound]

56 minutes ago, haggis said:

After a dull chilly day yesterday, today was lovely and sunny. Quite a strong wind but not cold.

I had forgotten how  twisty and turny this canal is in places and it made me keep my eye on the ball when I was steering.

There is a tree across the canal at bridge 83 near Penkridge but we squeezed past. Reported it but C& RT had already had a call about it. 

Moored in Penkridge conveniently near the Cross Keys which is one of the few canal side pubs I haven't visited in my 40 years of canal boating 😄

 

The Cross Keys has remained relatively unchanged over the years.

[haggis]

33 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

The Cross Keys has remained relatively unchanged over the years.

They do fairly basic food from 6-8 so we'll give it a go . Escaping from cooking is one of  the attractions of canal boating 😄. 

 

[MPR]

19 minutes ago, haggis said:

They do fairly basic food from 6-8 so we'll give it a go . Escaping from cooking is one of  the attractions of canal boating 😄. 

 

 

19 minutes ago, haggis said:

They do fairly basic food from 6-8 so we'll give it a go . Escaping from cooking is one of  the attractions of canal boating 😄. 

 

Never eaten there but enjoyed several pints.  Would be interested to know how you get on

[Iain_S]

Ann liked the steak and kidely pie. I had the scampi, although was tempted by the ham and eggs. Good pub grub, not gastropub. Much amusement by a possibly lost patron who eventually found the loos, but didn’t reappear. There are two routes, and he exited by the second one.

 

stuck to the Hobgoblin, would maybe have had a Bass; other option on pump was Doombar.

Edited April 29 by Iain_S

[Mac of Cygnet]

"; other option on pump was Doombar."

 

That beer is a case of nominative determinism.  Don't blame you for not sampling it.

[MPR]

Would have much preferred Bass

[TheShipsCat]

4 hours ago, Mac of Cygnet said:

"; other option on pump was Doombar."

 

That beer is a case of nominative determinism.  Don't blame you for not sampling it.

Now, I've oft enjoyed a Doombar.  Are you saying that the product is inconsistent?

[Mac of Cygnet]

6 hours ago, TheShipsCat said:

Now, I've oft enjoyed a Doombar.  Are you saying that the product is inconsistent?

No, I'm saying that any bar stocking it is doomed (in my eyes!).  Totally undistiguished cooking beer.

[Victor Vectis]

6 hours ago, TheShipsCat said:

Now, I've oft enjoyed a Doombar.  Are you saying that the product is inconsistent?

Well, it is consistent.

Consistently dull and boring.

9 hours ago, MPR said:

Would have much preferred Bass

Bass is brewed by Marston these days.

I have to say I've been impressed with it on the odd occasion I've come across the beer.

[Tonka]

6 hours ago, TheShipsCat said:

Now, I've oft enjoyed a Doombar.  Are you saying that the product is inconsistent?

Yes it is.

But then you expect it to be as the bottled Doombar is brewed at a totally different area of the country to the draught Doombar

[Victor Vectis]

Not any more.

 

Doom Bar Brewery Closure

[GUMPY]

Doombar is foul 💩

One pint and I get really bad stomach cramps, I don't know what causes it but it's the same with all the St Austell beers.

Something in their process I guess.

 

 

 

Edited April 30 by GUMPY
Spooling

[Lady M]

Might be something in the water.  We thought that Doom Bar was never the same once the brewery was taken over.

[MPR]

1 hour ago, Victor Vectis said:

.

Bass is brewed by Marston these days.

I have to say I've been impressed with it on the odd occasion I've come across the beer.

Or Carlsberg Britvic even

I think my first pint of Bass was at the now defunct Bass Museum in Burton sadly now defunct as it was fascinating.

[IanD]

2 hours ago, Mac of Cygnet said:

No, I'm saying that any bar stocking it is doomed (in my eyes!).  Totally undistiguished cooking beer.

BBBB (Boring Brown British Bitter)

[cuthound]

15 hours ago, Mac of Cygnet said:

"; other option on pump was Doombar."

 

That beer is a case of nominative determinism.  Don't blame you for not sampling it.

 

When I visited the late, lamented brewing museum in Burton upon Trent, the tour guide said it is l*ger coloured with caramel, which coincided with my view of the one pint of it I have ever tasted.

[dogless]

What a terrific place to visit the museum was ... so pleased we managed it before it shut down 👍🏻

 

Rog

[cuthound]

Yes, a sad loss when Coors-Molson closed it down.

 

The tour guides were ex-brewery workers and very knowledgeable, as well as being very entertaining.

 

I used to be heavily into home brewing and the guide was amazed that I knew what the fish that he held up was used for. (Its swim bladder was used to make isinglass, which is I used as finings to remove the yeast from the beer after fermentation).

 

Apparently he had been doing this for years and no one had been able to answer the question.

 

I went several times, once we moved to Staffordshire, taking friends and relatives there. 

 

The model railway showing Burton as it used to be with trains sharing the roads was amazing.

[dogless]

Yes it was a great tour.

 

Jane particularly loved the horses and tack.

 

Rog

[cuthound]

8 minutes ago, dogless said:

Yes it was a great tour.

 

Jane particularly loved the horses and tack.

 

Rog

 

Yes. I liked the selection of historic brewery vehicles. I wonder where they are now?

[Ronaldo47]

We visited it on a canal holiday during the late Queen's last jubilee week. It was about the only attraction open, and well worth the visit. My mother came with us, helping to babysit our young children. Amongst the photos on display was one of a horse-drawn dray taken in East London in the 1920's, and mum recognised the driver as one of her uncles. 

 

When  a student in Cardiff in the 1960's, our engineering sociery used to organise frequent  educational visits to the numerous local small breweries, many of which only  used to supply beer to working men's clubs, and good stuff it was too. One admitted off the record that the only difference beteween the varieties was the amount of caramel colouring they added. 

[ditchcrawler]

On 30/04/2026 at 08:17, Tonka said:

Yes it is.

But then you expect it to be as the bottled Doombar is brewed at a totally different area of the country to the draught Doombar

And the wife has just come back with 6 bottles 

[Stroudwater1]

30 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

And the wife has just come back with 6 bottles 

That’s good, what did she get for you though? 

[Tonka]

12 minutes ago, Stroudwater1 said:

That’s good, what did she get for you though? 

An excuse for him to go to the pub