Belvoir Brewery On Tour

As a reward for all of our hard work over the last few months Colin (Owner, MD, and Master Brewer) decided we all deserved a night out and a few (hopefully) decent pints, so he raided the petty cash and organised a whistle stop tour of some local pubs we deliver to.

The Belvoir Brewery on Tour commenced next door at the Belvoir Alehouse (obviously), but instead of a pint of our own beer, Colin had lined up a tasting session with all the bottles of beer he could find laying around the brewery. There was an interesting selection with no clear winner, but needless to say they didn’t last long. Already behind schedule it was time to move on…but not before we spent a few minutes moving some yeast out of the tour bus!

The first port of call was the Crown & Plough in Long Clawson and spirits were high. There was a choice of four ales on the pumps and it didn’t take long for the team to settle down, in particular gentleman George, who gave us all a glimpse of the future as he settled down by the fire. Danny also seemed at home and showed the first signs of his pub sports prowess. However, time waits for no man, and still behind schedule we supped up and moved on to the second venue in Hose.

We were greeted at the Rose and Crown by a limited but good selection of beers. The Oakham Ales 4.2% Citra was tempting, although it was clear straightaway that everybody bar one had their (by now slightly glazed) eyes on the award winning Titantic Plum Porter. The barman duly obliged, and the merriment continued as the beer went down in double quick time before it was time to head back onto the fun bus and onto the third pub in Cropwell Bishop.

We made a special detour to the Wheatsheaf to see one of our colleagues Steve Smith who has been off work recently. There was a different selection of beers to try and the Pedigree received positive feedback, but more notably brewery assistant George finally became a man as he had his first ever pint of Guinness! At this point brewers Sean & Pat (seen here on the right in the next pub) decided to up the drinking tempo, and so the younger members of the team started to focus their attention to power drinking, and left the old guard to keep it steady.

After a quick exit it wasn’t long before we arrived at the fourth venue, the Anchor in Plungar, and the smile on Colin’s face grew even wider when he saw that our own brew Rundle Star was on. Obviously no decision was required as Colin ordered the beers, and thankfully he’d planned this tour like a true professional and had pre-ordered a big vat of cottage pie, chips and salad for all. With the beers flowing, food was a crucial requirement and it didn’t take long for the team to polish off everything whilst enjoying a cracking pint (or two for the younger generation).

The food was great and enjoyed by all, and thanks to Sean and Andrea for their serving skills as it could have got messy had it been left for everybody to fend for themselves. A big thanks also to the Anchor for putting on such a great spread which was essential for the survival of the group! However, the team were falling further and further behind Colin’s tight schedule, so as soon as the last fork had hit the plate it was up and off to the next watering hole in Stathern.

The Plough had got it spot on and supplied most of the team with our own Star, although a couple of people did try the Belhaven 80 Shilling and seemed to be reasonable satisfied. It was here that Danny started to show off his pub sports expertise as him and Sean cleared up on the pool table, and Sean himself will tell you that it was Danny who did most of the damage with the cue.

With the younger members of the team busy exchanging insults on the table, Ian had the right idea as he sat back and watched the drama unfold…

Pints finished it was onwards to the Geese & Fountain in Croxton Kerrial who had a great selection of beer on including Dancing Duck, Oldershaw, Oakham Ales, Shiny Brewing, Nobby’s, and of course ours…plus a great selection of bottles. We really were spoilt for choice.

There was also a dart board, so out came the arrows and it was left once again to Danny to show his skills as he went round the board and hit the bull in about 30 darts. It was great to watch, and he was so quick we couldn’t get a photo…but we did get one of George, who wasn’t quite as impressive.

With people starting to flag we quickly supped up and made our way to the final destination…the Nags Head in Saltby. It was great to see two of our beers on, and the Shipstone’s Goldstar was enjoyed by all, especially whilst listening to pub landlord John’s tales from yesteryear. He then treated us all to a shot of some interesting looking concoctions which went down a treat, and helped bring an entertaining night to a close.

With that, the mildly inebriated team went their separate ways to try and get a good nights sleep ready for work the next day!

A big thanks to Colin for organising (and paying!) for the evening, and thanks to the two Dave’s for being the designated drivers. Roll on the next one…

Cheers