Ale
WHERE TO FIND GOOD ALE IN MOFFAT'S BEST PUBS
BLACK BULL HOTEL, CHURCHGATE
The Black Bull is an old Moffat inn that bristles with history, but unfortunately does not bristle with real ale. Robert Burns, it seems, scratched some words on a window pane (I'm beginning to think the man was a vandal). Graham of Claverhouse, or Bloody Clavers as he came to be known, used the hotel as headquarters between 1683 and 1685 when he 'held the King's Commission to suppress the Religious rebels of the south-west,' a task which he executed with no small amount of zeal. Inside it is lovely and snug with oodles of old dark wood and things on walls. Bit of a shame about the ale, but there you go.
The Black Bull is an old Moffat inn that bristles with history, but unfortunately does not bristle with real ale. Robert Burns, it seems, scratched some words on a window pane (I'm beginning to think the man was a vandal). Graham of Claverhouse, or Bloody Clavers as he came to be known, used the hotel as headquarters between 1683 and 1685 when he 'held the King's Commission to suppress the Religious rebels of the south-west,' a task which he executed with no small amount of zeal. Inside it is lovely and snug with oodles of old dark wood and things on walls. Bit of a shame about the ale, but there you go.
ANNANDALE ARMS HOTEL, HIGH STREET
It's very shiny in this hotel bar. Each morning someone must go around polishing the very air. I suppose I'm just a fuddy-duddy who likes old wood and who harbours an irrational aversion for anything that shines too much. Judging by the overall quality, I would suggest that the hotel rooms in the Annandale Arms Hotel will be excellent, and as such this may be a good place to stay when you're in the area. Although there is no old wood in the glittering bar, they do have real ale, and... wait for it... it's often fairly local - YIPPEE! The local real ale that they generally stock is from the Broughton Brewery, which sits a mere twenty miles away as the crow flies. You just cannot beat local food and drink: few food/drink miles, and a true flavour of the area in which you find yourself.
You know, something that constantly irks me is the choice of ale in some of Scotland's top-notch hotels. You can be talking five-star hotels that have won numerous awards and are in this guide and that guide, and yet wander into the hotel bar and in most cases you will be confronted by beers that range from pretty tasteless Scottish lagers to pretty tasteless foreign lagers. Why does this section of Scottish catering not get the same attention as all the other areas, like food? Tourists do not want to visit Scotland to drink foreign lager or poor Scottish lager. They want to taste Scotland, to taste and smell some locally-brewed product that is good. Is that so difficult? If your level of custom will not permit cask ales, then for goodness sake buy in some bottled Scottish ales. They have a longer shelf life. In a number of such hotels there is a token and almost ubiquitous bottled ale that somehow has the aroma of whisky. I don't want an ale to smell of whisky. If I want whisky I'll have whisky and if I want ale I'll have ale. I don't want a whisky-smelling ale. What a ridiculous idea. It really is time some of you folks in a position to do something about the licensed trade in this country's prime hotels pulled your finger out.
Anyway, perhaps the Annandale Arms Hotel can show the rest of the country the way. Well done.
It's very shiny in this hotel bar. Each morning someone must go around polishing the very air. I suppose I'm just a fuddy-duddy who likes old wood and who harbours an irrational aversion for anything that shines too much. Judging by the overall quality, I would suggest that the hotel rooms in the Annandale Arms Hotel will be excellent, and as such this may be a good place to stay when you're in the area. Although there is no old wood in the glittering bar, they do have real ale, and... wait for it... it's often fairly local - YIPPEE! The local real ale that they generally stock is from the Broughton Brewery, which sits a mere twenty miles away as the crow flies. You just cannot beat local food and drink: few food/drink miles, and a true flavour of the area in which you find yourself.
You know, something that constantly irks me is the choice of ale in some of Scotland's top-notch hotels. You can be talking five-star hotels that have won numerous awards and are in this guide and that guide, and yet wander into the hotel bar and in most cases you will be confronted by beers that range from pretty tasteless Scottish lagers to pretty tasteless foreign lagers. Why does this section of Scottish catering not get the same attention as all the other areas, like food? Tourists do not want to visit Scotland to drink foreign lager or poor Scottish lager. They want to taste Scotland, to taste and smell some locally-brewed product that is good. Is that so difficult? If your level of custom will not permit cask ales, then for goodness sake buy in some bottled Scottish ales. They have a longer shelf life. In a number of such hotels there is a token and almost ubiquitous bottled ale that somehow has the aroma of whisky. I don't want an ale to smell of whisky. If I want whisky I'll have whisky and if I want ale I'll have ale. I don't want a whisky-smelling ale. What a ridiculous idea. It really is time some of you folks in a position to do something about the licensed trade in this country's prime hotels pulled your finger out.
Anyway, perhaps the Annandale Arms Hotel can show the rest of the country the way. Well done.
RATING
Advertisements
.jpeg)