Being up at 6am on a cold Saturday in January is not the ideal start to a weekend. Neither is a looming four and a half hour coach journey. But knowing that both these things would result in me and the girlfriend being in Leeds by midday for a weekend away made it all bearable. And the promise of some northern brews to warm us up helped as well!
After arriving in Leeds an hour later than planned thanks to a driver change where the driver taking over happened to still be in bed, we made our way to the hotel. In an ideal world, the first call would have then been the pub, but due to us being a bit late, it was straight to the train station to go and meet my sister in Huddersfield. Fortunately, my sister greeted us off the train with a pub already in mind! Must run in the blood...
First stop was The Warehouse where we settled in to catch the end of the Ireland v Italy 6 Nations match. For the life of me I cannot remember what I drank here, but after a couple of pints from their decent selection of local beers, we moved off to find dinner as the pub started to fill up for the football.
We decided to stop off on the way for food at a great little place called Vox. I enjoyed a Coyote American Pale Ale from Bob Cat Brewery here - well-hopped and malty, with a dark amber colour, and from just up the road! I could have happily sat and had another, or something else from their large range of UK and Belgian beers, but alas it was time for food. (I say that as if it's a bad thing!)
I won't bore you with what I ate at the well-known high street chicken restaurant, but suffice to say I was soon ready to wash it down (and cool of my mouth) with another brew. This time, we were led to a small door which without a Huddersfield-dweller we could have easily walked past. Up a flight of old metal stairs, we came across the delightful Bar Maroc. A cosy Moroccan-styled bar with plenty of sofas and corners to settle down in, this place felt like a secret retreat for the town's coolest, albeit a terribly kept secret, as it was already impossible to get a table by the time we got there.
When we did manage to grab ourselves the end of a table, it was my job to get the drinks in. I can't say I was expecting a lot in terms of beer, but I was nicely surprised at the bar where I found some decent local brews on draught and a fridge full of craft. Faced with a choice, I went back to my table clutching one of these beauties...
A Black Betty IPA from Beavertown Brewery. This black IPA clocks in at a nice 7% ABV, and has an earthy, piney smell to it. Not as heavy as other black IPAs, I enjoyed the roasted malts, chocolate and liquorice flavours, with subtle lemony hints coming through too. Really well-balanced on the hops and overall flavours, I will definitely be getting more of this when I can!
The evening was great, catching up with the sister and sampling some of Huddersfield's nicest places, but we had to say our goodbyes about 11pm to get on a train back to Leeds and our hotel. Sunday was just as nice, wandering the city and enjoying the sunny weather... who said it was grim up North?
On our wanderings, we chanced across a beer market down one of the arcades, called Tall Boys. Inside, there was a huge range of beers, like local ones from Leeds, York and Manchester plus more from great breweries including Magic Rock, Siren and Five Points. Plenty from across the pond in the US of A and from across the slightly smaller pond in Europe helped make the selection vast and mesmerising. They also have beers on tap for drinking in and a quirky gallery upstairs to enjoy. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't buy anything to take home, but knowing this place is there means it will be my first stop next time!
I could happily have stayed in the city longer and would not be complaining if I was still there now, but too soon it was time to go. My trip had been brief but fun. Leeds is a great city with a lot to do and, as much as I am enjoying London, I could genuinely see myself living there or somewhere similar in a few years.
Making my way home minus the girlfriend who was staying up there for work, I know I could have sampled a lot more from the local area, with breweries like Northern Monk and Kirkstall both a stone's throw from the centre. But I suppose it's all the more reason to go back!
Finally, after a long coach journey back to London finished with the obligatory bus-replacement train from Victoria to home, I walked in the front door and couldn't resist cracking open a Sunday-evening brew.
K*ntish Town Beard from Weird Beard is a delicious foggy copper American Wheat Ale, full of sweet berry and hop aromas, A zingy citrus taste, full-bodied and lightly spiced, with noticeable pine and hop flavours too. Finished with a sharp, bitter after-taste, this was the first Weird Beard brew I've had, and I can't complain at all. A wheat beer is always a nice change as I don't drink many, but sweet, citrus and spice make it irresistibly drinkable and, in a 500ml bottle rather than a 330ml, you get a bit more beer for your buck, which is never a bad thing!
Anyway, that is me done for another evening. If you've managed to stick with it for this unusually long post, thank you. You must have enjoyed to stay this long! I'm just cracking open the Partizan India Pale Ale, so I'm sure you'll get a review of that soon, or an Instagrammy picture here (@dangreen89).
Anyway, night!
This post was written to the sound of: Hannah Wants – Rhymes
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