Category: TravALEogues

Sipping in Salzburg

Posted on by Guest

Salzburg is in Austria, situated in a mountainous area close to the German border. The city centre is a UNESCO world heritage site with a rich history. It was the birthplace and residence of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and the river Salzach was used to export salt from the surrounding salt mines. More recently, the film The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews and Christpher Plummer was filmed at many locations in the salzburg area, and bus tours of these can be booked by enthusiasts.

I visited Salzburg for the third time with my husband James at the end of May 2025. We arrived in a drizzly city centre with one hour before checking into our apartment. We decided to head to nearby Zum Zirkelwirt. This is a lovely bar/restaurant serving traditional Austrian dishes and beers on Keg taps from the Hirter brewery. They have a Beer of the Month but this had sold out, so I opted for a Hirter weissbier (5.4%). This was very refreshing after travelling and had a soft taste. A great start to our trip.

On our first evening, I had booked Zwettler’s restaurant for dinner. Here, they serve beer from the Kaiser Karl brewery on draught. James had the Kaiser Karl dark beer (5%), which had a very malty taste and coffee aroma. My choice was the Zwickle unfiltered beer (5%), which had a refreshing and clean taste. Both beers went very well with our Austrian meal of beef soup with pancakes, Zwettler Schnitzel and mixed dumplings.

On day two, we visited Salzburg Zoo, which is a short bus ride from the city centre. Here, there is a bar serving meals, coffees and bottled beer from the Stiegl brewery. I chose the refreshing Stiegl-Hell lager (4.5%), which was very tasty and full bodied and great for a sunny day. James had the Steigl-Wiess beer (5.1%) This tastes malty, and has a beautiful golden colour and a banana aftertaste. We had the Stiegl-Weiss beer again later on in our trip, when we visited Hofwerfen fortress, which is a filming location for the film Where Eagles Dare, and also includes a falconry display, guided castle tour and an exhibition on witchcraft. Stiegl-Weiss beer is commonly served at tourist attractions.

On our second evening, we visited the central Coffee and Booze micropub, which serves a range of international beers. I tried Starobrno (5%) on draught. This is a Czech beer with a deep golden colour and toffee notes, James drink of choice here was Weizenbergal Shwartzbier, served in a bottle (4.8%), which was a tasty dark beer. Accompanied by a 1980s soundtrack, this bar brings a fun and relaxed vibe. Later on in the same bar, i tasted the Edelweiss Hofbrau (4.5%). This is a rust coloured beer with banana notes.

Day three saw a visit to the Celtic Spirit Irish Bar. Here, I tasted the Obertrumer zwickl beer (4.8%). This was the hoppiest beer I had so far. It was a pale colour and slightly fizzy with toffee notes. James had bottled die weiss dunkel here (5.4%). This was a smooth, malty beer with a banana taste.

My favourite drinking establishment in Salzburg is Augustiner Bräustübl. This is a monastry situated at the foot of the Montsberg hill, and is close to thecity centre. Here, there is only one choice of beer, Märzen Bier (4.6%) that is brewed on site by the resident monks. It is served on cask by the litre and half litre. You begin by buying a beer token for the size of beer you would like, collect a stein from the shelf, rinse your stein in the water fountain, then hand your token and stein to the bartender who will fill it up for you. The beer can then be enjoyed either in one of their beer halls or in the 1000 seat beer garden. The beer is very easy drinking and refreshing authentic Austrian taste. Soft drinks and snacks are also available from various stalls. We visited here on multiple nights of our trip.

Me and James had a great time visiting salzburg. It is an excellent destination for a city break, with opportunities to visit the mountains too. The majority of draught beer served here is brewed on site or close by. This, along with the beer culture, has made it a good choice for us. Goodbye Salzburg, until next time.

Diane Lymer

A trip on the X17

Posted on by Kevin Thompson

As part of our socials, we decided to include Matlock, and nearby Wirksworth in Derbyshire as part of our itinerary. 

Matlock is steeped in farming and mining history, before becoming a spa town, and a subsequent base for exploring the Peak District. The name is thought to translate to ” moot oak,” somewhat explaining the local Brewery’s name. In the late 17th century warm springs were discovered, leading to the construction of bathhouses, and its development as a spa town. Being situated on the River Derwent, textiles also became prominent with the water powering the Mills. Which also grew the economy locally. 

Having purchased my Stagecoach Gold Dayrider, (£10.50) a ticket that allows unlimited day travel on their buses in Sheffield and Derbyshire (Even as far as Nottingham, although the train is a quicker option). I nipped in the Bankers for a swift half of Conwy – Rampart, a malty brown/English of 4.5%.

Glyn and I boarded the X17 at 11:05 in a warm, but dull Sheffield, being joined by Graham and Paul on Arundel Gate for the journey onwards. Fortunately, due to roadworks on Chesterfield Road Andrew was at his stop by the time it arrived at Meadowhead, otherwise he would have had to join half an hour later. The Journey then takes the Dronfield bypass to Chesterfield and beyond.

Red Lion Beer Festival in Matlock

Our first stop was the Red Lion at Matlock Green, overlooked in the distance by Riber Castle. A nice country pub with 3 ales on the bar, but boasting plenty more at the Bank Holiday Beer Festival in the back garden. First choice from the main bar was a nice Moot – Matlock Blonde of 4.1%, brewed behind the pub! Then on to the festival beers, which were well represented from the local area and beyond. Being a mild and stout fan I plumped for the Brampton – Mild, a hefty 4.9%, then a Blue Monkey – Cinder Toffee Stout at 5%. The X17 was 5 minutes away for our journey to Wirksworth, so we hastily departed. 

Wirksworth has a rich history from the Romans to the present. Even influencing George Eliot, the female author of Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss and Silas Marner. In the 12th century, it was a major centre for lead mining, before becoming prominent in quarrying. The town saw great growth and was the first cotton mill to use a steam engine at Arkwright’s Haarleem Mill. Another claim to fame is Dream Cave where wooly rhino bones were discovered. 

Feather Star, Wirksworth

The purpose of this visit was a visit to the quirky The Feather Star, a pub that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Tolkien novels. A good range of beers saw me partake in a Big Trip – Soak Up the Sun, a hazy IPA of 4.2%. Next as we waited for the hourly bus was another Moot – Illumination, a tasty EPA of 4.2%. Also of note here was a collection of vinyl records racked up and available to buy.

After a democratic vote, we boarded the bus to return to Matlock itself and Titanic’s Bod bar, nicely designed as a bar and eaterie in a somewhat Scandinavian style. This had a pale I had not sampled before in Titanic – Steerage, an EPA of only 3.8. Having ordered a Chilli Sausage roll, the beer helped temper my burning mouth. Tasty, but somewhat spicy. 

Newsroom, Matlock

The next sensible decision was the one to get the bus up to the The Newsroom and The Farmacy, the 2 micropubs overlooking the town. As expected from the name, The Newsroom was a former newsagents that simply had a decline trade and simply needed a change of direction. The bar itself was quite small, but had a nice choice of beers, of which Pentrich’s – Where’s My Elephent was my choice being a sweet milk of 5%.

Round the corner was The Farmacy, as run you may deduct a former pharmacy, this is a tap for Aldwarke Artisan Ales which is run by a farming family. Again a great good choice of beer in a bustling bar. I ordered my Pale Ale, GF and 3.9%. Seating was available outside and we grabbed a table to rest before the walk to where we alighted, for the X17 bus home. 

All-in-all, a very enjoyable trip in somewhere I haven’t drank before. Certainly a little tour you could do with a partner or friends for 6-7 hours. 

The Red Lion beer festival took place over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. Bus X17 runs from Sheffield to Matlock every 30 minutes during the daytime (hourly on Sundays) with one an hour extended to Wirksworth. It operates via Woodseats, Chesterfield, Matlock, Matlock Bath and Cromford. Sheffield & District CAMRA has a regular programme of socials for our members, check out the diary page for details.

Bristol Beer Trail

Posted on by Guest

Although I have lived in Sheffield since the late eighties, my formative drinking days were in Bristol, and I go back for family and friends fairly frequently.

As such I’ve followed the beer scene in Bristol along side that of Sheffield. Bristol is of a similar size to Sheffield, and has in common the loss of the breweries that I knew well from my younger days, Courage and Smiles in Bristol’s case, Wards and Stones here. The Bristol beer scene is however vibrant, and has a surprising number of breweries, so much so that there is a biannual East Bristol brewery trail weekend, encompassing 6 venues. The trail covers Little Martha, Moor, Good Chemistry, Left Handed Giant, Wiper and True, and Arbor, with it possible to walk the trail with a little planning (follow this order, or do in reverse!).


This years first event was on Saturday and Sunday, May 3rd and 4th. My wife and I were down and on a surprisingly sunny day for a bank holiday weekend and arrived in Bristol Temple Meads railway station just after midday to start the trail.

Just round the corner from the station is Little Martha Brewing, their taproom situated in a converted railway arch. Originally primarily a bar, and less than four years old, the brewing operation has expanded to the point they could offer 12 beers on draft, all keg. In what would become a theme on a hot sunny day I chose a lighter option called “Halo Orbit”, a 4.8% session IPA, and my wife “Chasing Pulsars” their lager. Both lasted no time at all, always a good sign, and we set off too the next venue.

Moor brewery started in 2007, and has always been a favourite of mine. They pride themselves on unfined, unfiltered and unpasteurised beer in all dispense forms – cask, keg, can and bottle, which makes them more CAMRA friendly than most “craft” breweries. I can recommend Old Freddie Walker, a 7.4 % old strong ale, but that was too much for the early stages of the trail, so we tried the “Illumination” 4.3% English pale ale on cask, and “Kellerbier lager”. They take the lager seriously, such that the storage tanks for the “lager” stage are installed on their side to improve the process. It works, because we ended up having a second, so impressed were we. Worth noting that Moor taproom is a music venue too, with a strong emphasis on rock and punk in all forms, which we would have been happy to listen to, but hadn’t started in the early afternoon of our visit. Quick shout out to Stoked Mexican street eats, for some delicious loaded nachos.


Next a short walk to Good Chemistry brewing, the only taproom that is not frequently open. As was the case for most of the breweries there were cask options, and I tried the “Marmalade waves” 4% pale ale. Described as having “marmalade floral biscuit” flavours, this was exactly how it came across, and probably the most memorable beers I had on the trail. The orangey taste was spot on for a sunny afternoon.

Half way in, and on we went to Left Handed Giant. Now a larger brewery on the Bristol scene, with another large taproom in the city centre. At this stage it was apparent that the trail was a popular option, with a queue for beer, and no seating until people moved on. We had “Go On Then”, a 4.2% cask pale ale, and “Alpina” lager. Both perfectly pleasant, but the crowds and the first instance of the Bristol staple Drum and Bass through the sound system meant we just had the one. I will give them additional credit as the only taproom serving in glass, despite the large crowd.

Wiper and True surprised me, in that it was at a new large brewery location, not the smaller one I’d visited on the trail previously. They do brew some Stouts I love (Milk Shake, Hard Shake, Espresso Martini Shake), but none were on draft, so we had “Today” Munich Lager and “Kaleidoscope” a 4.2% Pale, mainly because they were on a smaller bar with much shorter queues than the main one. Call me old, but it made sense at the time!


So on to the final brewery, and another favourite of mine, Arbor. I choose “Mosaic” 4.0% pale to start followed by “Citrus Maxima” a 4.0% lemon and lime pale, and my wife “Helles” lager. All very drinkable on a sunny afternoon, and highly recommendable. Again it was now very busy, and the Drum and Bass was in full effect, but at that stage we didn’t care so much. I love a black IPA and “The Devil Made Me Brew it” is a great example, but it wasn’t on draft, so I bought a (pint) can of it, plus a can of “Rubber Dingy Rapids” 10% impy stout, not least for the Sheffield connection……


A short walk to the Laurence Hill station and back into town at the end of a highly enjoyable session.


I can’t say the trail is picturesque, think Attercliffe industrial units, but six breweries in close proximity is impressive, with a wide beer choice (there were options other than pales and lager!) and I recommend it if you are interested, with the next weekend trail on the 23rd and 24th August.

Cheers, Paul Rugg.

Student Union beer & cider festival

Posted on by Kevin Thompson

As far as an impromptu socials goes, you can’t beat a beer festival in the sunshine. 

I arrived to join others around 17:00, to an already packed terrace with no seats to be had. The band was warming up, the food was cooking and the beer flowing. 

There was a change from last year, and to be honest, not for the better. The cider tent was placed in a small corner, unlike the double-fronted location of last year. This caused a very congested stand this time around. Fortunately the ciders made up for it and they were proving popular, looking like they were in danger of selling-out the next day!

To begin, I started with a Thornbridge not sampled before, Black & Gold. A nice hoppy pale of a blonde/golden character. Lots of flavour in its 3.4% though, and an easy starter. 

Steve, Andy, Paul and Dan at the Student Union beer & cider festival

I joined Paul M, Bev, Dan, and Bev’s sister Teri and husband, Steve for a chat all things ale and beyond. Andy Morten of 50k+ beers fame joined the gathering, but wasn’t stopping too long. It wasn’t long before my friend Bleddyn made it there with his pint of Brew York’s Maris the Otter, a 3.9% bitter from this excellent brewery renowned for its stouts. 

Bev, Steve and Teri at the Student Union beer & cider festival

We were a bit jaded, so decided to get a seat, where we were joined my another friend Gordon. We soon felt peckish after the beer, so a Currywurst was purchased, and it was very tasty with fries, sauerkraut and mini-gherkins at £6.90.

The now seated Kevin, Bleddyn and Gordon at the Student Union beer & cider festival

Paul, Bev, Dan and Co bade their farewells, as they were continuing on more beer trails. 

Being a suckered for a flavoured stout, my eyes were drawn to the Neepsend Jasmin’s Jamaican Rum Cake Stout. Quite thin and only 4.8%, but the flavour didn’t disappoint. 

Now the problem is, sitting opposite the TV advertising beers. You’re always going to see one you have to sample. In this case it was an old favourite Thornbridge Baize, the legendary Mint Chocolate Stout. 5.5% like an After Eight in a glass, not cheap but worth it.  

Time for departure, and a walk through town and the West Street Strip to catch my last bus, after a swift last one in the Bankers Draft. We’ll be back next year, possibly attending the Friday evening, and the Saturday, football fixtures allowing?

the printed beer & cider list at the Student Union beer & cider festival

Three Bs Micropub

Posted on by Guest

 Three B’s Micropub was established in Bridlington in 2020. Since opening it has won many awards both from CAMRA and other bodies. Following on from its success the pub is moving to a new site within Bridlington this spring. The new location is 2, Wellington Road, YO15 2BG. The map below shows the new pub location. The new site will feature 5 handpulls (from 4 at the current site) plus craft keg taps and a large beer fridge. The biggest asset the new pub will have is a large beer garden with seating for around 50 people at maximum.

 It is hoped the new location will be open by around the end of April, in the meantime it will continue to trade at its current location on Marshall Avenue. Check out the pubs social media for updates.

Hillsborough Social

Posted on by Kevin Thompson

Our annual Hillsborough Social took place on Friday 21 Feb at The Pangolin on Middlewood Road. On arriving from town, after meeting an old St Luke’s friend, there was a healthy dozen or so drinkers ready to sample the delights the district has to offer. 

My drink of choice was Brid’s Cross, a brewery I was not familiar with, Ash and Elm, a pale with piney, malty notes. A very pleasant APA of 4.5%. 

Next was the short hop over the tram tracks to the excellent little Micropub, The Beekeeper. This bar always has 3 pumps on, one normally being a new Neepsend brew. To that end, I sampled their Muisca, a 5.5% American IPA. 

Heading to Hillsborough corner, we popped in the Northern Monkey who are making an effort to stock 2 cask, one of which was the nice Doctor Morten’s Duck Baffler, a simple American pale ale of 4.1% for easy quaffing. 

Across the traffic lights sits The Hillsborough Tap, always quite lively and has 5 cask pumps. Unfortunately, they had the SWFC match on, and it wasn’t going well, so after a quick half, we made our way to the Rawson Spring. 

This Wetherspoon establishment is set in the old swimming baths, and the spectator gallery is still visible. There is always a selection of 5-6 guest ales, and at a very good price with your CAMRA voucher. Mine was a pale, although being later in the night, I forgot to note it. 

Finally, to conclude the evening, we decamped to the Beer House S6. This larger ale bar has a regular 5 cask, a cider on handpump, then 4-5 keg. There always seems to be a Two by Two or a Big Trip on, so a safe pair of hands on choice. 

So, another one over, and again a good turnout to support this thriving little beer community. 

UPCOMING PUB TRIP SOCIALS:

  • 19 April – Doncaster by train
  • 24 May – Matlock by bus
  • 6 June – Fuggle Bunny Brewery tap
  • 21 June – Huddersfield by train
  • July – Peak District by bus (details TBC)
  • 30 August – New Mills by train including Torrside brewery tap

Stockport on Valentines Day

Posted on by Kevin Thompson

Stockport was once described by Friedrich Engels as “the duskiest, smokiest hole.” However, when I arrived at the station, it was bathed in sunshine and was a few degrees warmer than the Sheffield I had left 40 minutes ago. Having no romantic interest on the day, I consoled myself with beer.

The town has a history for hatting, but was also one of the first centres of the Industrial Revolution with the River’s Goyt and Tame merging to form the Mersey for transportation. 

Walking down into town, my first establishment was the White Lion on Gt Underbank. A nice ornate pub serving 3 cask ales. Mine being a Weetwood Chesire Cat, a blonde/Golden 4%. 

On exiting I tackled the short, steep cobbled hill to the Market Place.  A 12th century feature, which contains the Angel Inn. A small bar selling 3 cask of which the Beartown Best Bitter 3.7% session strength, was partaken, as I had not tried this one before. It was here I met Stephen Oakes and his Cockapoo, Boo. Who was very friendly, and recommended a few establishments some of which were on my GBG list. 

Armed with this info, I set off up the town and over a colourful bridge to reach the Petersgate Tap, a micro bar which was busy with locals. The bar has capacity for 6 cask and I had the Horwich-based Blackedge Blonde at 4.5%. Followed by a Small World Beers Barncliffe Bitter, again sessionable at 3.7%. 

I was OK for time, and decided on the longer walk towards the A6 Manchester Road to The Magnet on Wellington Rd. This pub is atop the incline and is overshadowed by the railway’s arches. Inside is a treasure trove of cask and keg, displayed on a TV screen. I had my first stout of the day, Riverhead’s Winter Stout. A lovely dark-roast brew, thinner than usual but a reasonable 4.8%. Enjoying this pub I twisted my own arm to have a Mallinsons Nectaron, a pleasant 4.1% pale. 

A walk back down to the towns Frenchgate Centre, saw me at the Swan With Two Necks, a Roninsons pub on Princes St selling Unicorn, a 4.2% Bitter which is pleasantly hopped. I had a great conversation with an older couple who had similar tastes in music, and who travelled Europe extensively on their motorcycle. 

It was time to climb the cobbled hill again, to Bakers Vaults in Market Place, a spacious venue with a good choice of cask. Among these was the Staggeringly Good Forward to the Past, an American IPA, a tasty 5.2%. With around 75 minutes remaining, I had the walk back towards the station to Ye Olde Vic, a very traditional pub with an older charm. It boasted 3-4 ales and I plumped for the 4Ts S.P.A. at 3.8%. 

A short hop, up and down to the station saw a prompt train return me to Sheffield, with time for a couple of halves (a Derby Rheingold, 3.8% and a Prime Pacific, 4.2%) in the Two and Six Micropub to end the enjoyable day. 

Berlin

Posted on by Dave Pickersgill

A recent birthday celebration saw a few days in Berlin. Travel was via Ryanair from Manchester: a full plane including a very well-behaved school party. The S9 S-bahn then took us to our base at the Premier Inn Alexanderplatz. This central location allowed us to walk to most of the key sites, the exercise providing the excuse for the occasional rest-stop.

Bars visited included Brauhaus Georgbrau (Spreeufer 4, 10178). Established in 1992, this large riverside old-style brewery and bar provided traditional favourites, Hells and Dunkel (both 5%).

Close by, Weihenstephaner Berlin (Neue Promenade 5, Hackescher Markt), the main Berlin outlet of the Bavarian State Brewery of Weihenstephan (Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan), provided a full range of German-style beers, all served by waiters wearing Lederhosen. The Tradition Bayerlisch Dunkel (5.2%) was sampled. Established in 1040 and owned by the Free State of Bavaria, this brewery claims to be the oldest in the world.

Our favourite outlet was Brauerei Lemke Berlin (founded 1999), under the railway arches at Hackeschen Markt. Here, Die Bierprobe provided six 0.1 L tasters: Bohemia Pilsner (5.0%), Original (5.4%), Wizen (5.5%), 030 Pale (5.0%), India Pale Ale (6.5%) and Budike Weisse (3.4%). The Budike had a gentle sourness while the IPA was sound to the style. These were the best beers tasted during our short stay.

Other beers encountered included: Berliner Pranke, Echt Mild Bier (6%), a pale lager from the local Berliner-Kindl-Schultheiss-Brauerei and Stark-Bier (7.5%), a Doppelbock from Störtebeker Braumanufaktur (1827), based in Stralsund, on the Baltic Sea. This brewery is named after Klaus, a late C14th pirate, who was executed in 1401.

We also visited many other well-known spots, including the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust Memorial, Potsdam, Neue NationalGallerie and Tiergarten.

In short, an excellent break, lots of culture and some interesting beers!

Boys’ Bridlington Beano

Posted on by Kevin Thompson

After a good night watching an Oasis tribute in the local WMC, but with no real ale. We were looking forward to our Bridlington trip to seek out some GBG establishments. It was nice to see since my last visit to see The Stone Eoses, the place has received a bit of a spruce up, and pubs have embraced real ale.

A timely train got into the station at 12:05, just 25 minutes before the Owls lunchtime KO. Heading into town, many of the pubs were only showing the Man City game. Until we happened on the Three Brass Monkeys on Prince Street. 

The bar is spacious and long with multiple screens showing 3-4 games. A decent choice of 3 ales, White Rat, Old Peculiar and Black Sheep Bitter. My friend started on the Old Peculiar, a dark, fruity beer packing a 5.6% ABV. I chose Ossett’s White Rat, a triple hopped pale at a more sensible 4%. As we watched the game, which to be honest wasn’t going great, we decided to have another pint and see it out. Both of us plumped for the Black Sheep Bitter, a nicely hopped, Amber beer of 3.8%. 

Despite a last minute winner for the opposition, we weren’t dispirited and set out to the well respected Three Bs on Marshall Avenue. Easy to find in a quite compact town centre, the pub has a distinctive red frontage. 

On entry, there was a warm welcome from the owner, Mark. The choice of 3 handpumps had us choose  Shiny’s Disco Balls, an American IPA, one of the nicest hazy pales I’ve had and weighing in at 5.3%. The bar is very similar to our favourite Sheffield micro pubs, decked out with old photos of Bridlinton, beermats of the now 978, and counting, beers since opening and beer posters. The conversation with Mark and different customers was friendly, informative and useful. Mark has plans to move shortly, to a venue round the corner in town. The pub will be slightly larger, but not have the small seated lounge currently available upstairs. So if visiting, keep an eye on where he is.

Armed with a couple of recommendations, we set off again. This is when we discovered The Brunswick Hotel, Manor St, a nicely decorated, warm pub which had 4 pumps, although only 3 were on. The two we tried were both Wold Top, a local Driffileld brewery. A Wold Gold, a nice blonde, almost wheat style beer with Golding and Syrian hops in at 4.8%. We followed this with a Scarborough Fair IPA, British style and quite citrusy, full bodied at 6% too. 

Hunger was now taking hold, so we went in search of a chippy. We found a decent one a few minutes away, and here is where a contentious issue arises. We in Sheffield class a fishcake as 2 slices of potato with fish in the middle, and deeply fried, not Bridlington! I ordered one in a butty and was deeply disappointed to find it was a rissole. Yes, the mashed potato and fish version in breadcrumbs. Now I know it is in the East Riding of Yorkshire, but oi Bridlington, noooo!

Right, rant over, we then had little time for the trip up to The Board, Pack Horse or Old Ship Inn.  The train is cheap enough for a summer/autumn month trip, we will definitely go again to this vastly improved seaside destination, starting at the above venues around 25 minutes from the station and working back to town. 

Shame it’s outside our regional social event time restraints at 2hrs, but for individuals and friends, it’s an ideal day/overnight trip with a good choice of ales and chippy teas.  

Northern operate regular train services from Sheffield to Scarborough via Hull that call at Bridlington, there are often cheaper tickets available if you buy in advance to travel at a set time – see northernrailway.co.uk.

Revisiting Istanbul

Posted on by Guest

In December I visited friends in Istanbul with my wife. We’d lived there from 2020-23 for work and it’s always good to visit again – on this trip we stayed in the same apartment block we’d lived in, in Şişli.

I was fortunate enough to live nearby what you might consider Turkey’s home of ‘craft’ beer. Bomontiada was built in the late 1800s as a brewery by Swiss brewers the Bomonti brothers. Bomonti brewery was bought by Turkey’s Anadolu Efes macro-brewer in the 1990s and still exists as a spin-off ‘craft’ label – their Bomonti Filtresis (unfiltered lager, 4.8%) is widely available in both bottles and on taps in many restaurants and pubs in the city, and is my go-to when not in a craft beer bar.

Bomontiada is now home to several bars and restaurants, including Populist, my first stop on this trip – Populist is a chain of currently two brewpubs which, due to peculiarities of Turkish law meaning that a brewery cannot sell its beer direct to the public, serves exclusively beer from Torch Brewery.

Torch and Populist are legally distinct businesses, but all beer served in Populist is Torch. It’s a large space with a huge capacity, and serves what I’d describe as Turkish fusion pub food. Burgers, but also flatbread topped with kokoreç – chopped and spiced lamb intestines.

They brew a range of pale ales and IPAs which usually lean towards a more old school English or west coast IPA rather than the currently popular New England variety. They often have more than one variety of lager on (their 4.9% Kölsch is my go-to on a hot day), usually a nitro stout (5.8%) or occasionally an imperial stout (>8%). For their 1000th brew in 2022 they made a berry vanilla imperial stout at 8.6%. On this visit I had the 5.8% IPA on keg — 330ml for 265TL, or £6. Craft beer in Turkey is fairly expensive due to the various taxes and duties involved, and the cost of ingredients.

On my second day I visited another of Istanbul’s ‘brewery taps’ — SOMX’s Taproomx, in a very central location just off Istiklal. They’re a cuckoo brewery whose beer is brewed in 3 Kafadar’s brewery in Istanbul. I tried a single hop Idaho7 Pale (4.6%), then their Kent Caramel (5%), a brown ale with East Kent Goldings hops! I finished up with their new Nectarlicious NEIPA (6%) — hopped with Nectaron, of course. We then moved on to a local excellent Georgian restaurant, Galaktion.

On the third day (and again on the fourth to meet friends) I ended up in what should be any beer fan’s target when in Istanbul — Sanayi 1-A. They now have two branches and I began in their newer Nişantasi branch, which I hadn’t visited before. I had an Aşne Vişne by 3 Kafadar (5%) which is a sour cherry beer — I believe all its sourness comes from the fruit rather than the brew method.

Later that afternoon I visited the original Sanayi 1-A bar in Maslak, in an area called Atatürk Oto Sanayi. It’s an area full of car garages (oto sanayi means ‘auto industry’) and anyone who’s spent time wandering around industrial estates looking for a taproom will feel at home here. These bars are probably the only independent wholly craft beer bars in the country — many bars in busy areas will have occasional taps of craft beer or bottles in their fridges, but Sanayi is all craft (except for a few token Belfast lager bottles in their fridge).

The Maslak branch has 24 taps, which you’ll usually find occupied by at least 15 beers — all of them are fully engaged for special events. Every beer available is brewed by one of the 10+ breweries in Turkey.  I started my visit with an English Gold (a 5% bitter), by 3 Kafadar, who are probably my favourite Turkish brewer.

It also has cats — lots of them lurking, often behind the bar, sometimes getting into little brawls. You can’t go anywhere in Turkey without running into cats, and Sanayi is no exception.

Sanayi 1-A doesn’t offer food other than crisps and nuts, but doesn’t at all mind if you pick up some food from the nearby food truck offering köfte and chips, or order from one of the many food delivery services.

On the following day I visited the Maslak Sanayi 1-A  again to meet friends (current and former Sanayi staff) and finished the afternoon with a bottle share of two different years of Efes annual Grape Ale (8%). It’s particularly good, especially considering it’s from a macro brewer.

All in all a great trip, returning to my favourite spots in the city and finding time to ride a few ferries and visit excellent coffee shops, while catching up with friends.

Dan Rowe