Newark was scuppered by its own illustrious brewing past, having been home to two substantial regional breweries: Holes and Warwick & Richardson. They had owned the vast majority of pubs in and around the town. And, in my youth, both had fallen into the hands of Courage. Holes still brewed, but only bright beer, no cask.
The beers of Home were incredibly reliable, if unspectacular. Good drinking beers, but nothing special. Shipstones, on the other hand, were really good. Or did I just think that because they were more effort to find? I don't think so.
Mablethorpe, where we had a caravan and spent most weekends in the summer, also had a couple of Home pubs. One, the Fulbeck was literally identical to the Cardinal's Hat, one of their pubs in Newark. But no Shipstones pub. For that, you had to travel to the metropolis of Skegness.
But what about the beer itself? From what I recall, it had more depth of flavour than Home Mild. More body and a little sweeter. Though that wasn't difficult as Home Mild, like their Bitter, had a high degree of attenuation.
Drinking Shipstones was a treat every time I visited Nottingham. And you didn't have to go far to sample it. The Queens Hotel was right opposite the station. A two-roomed traditional boozer which was later shamefully allowed to run down under Greenall Whitley ownership. It's now offices.
Speaking of which, after they bought Shipstone they couldn't help but fiddle with the Bitter, dialling back the bitterness. But they left the Mild alone, thankfully. Until, inevitably, they closed the brewery. Bastards.
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12 comments:
I wonder what sort of beer you would call Sullivans red if blind taste tested Ron?
Oscar
Shipstones it seems still exists https://www.shipstones.com/product-tag/mild/.
Oscar
There was also Mansfield Brewery but i seem to recall it never getting as far as the lincolnshire coast.
Oscar, we just started getting this in the US, I really like the Gold in cans, red is real good on tap. It's >$14 for 4pak cans though, wild to me.
Modern reincarnation by a company that has bought the trademark. Other examples from around the country include Vaux Double Maxim, Barnsley Bitter and so on.
bigLurch Habercom,
I can't remember any pubs around Newark or in Nottingham that sold Mansfield Brewery beer. Not that I would have drunk in them, as they brewed no cask at the time.
Bottles are better than cans due to the extra 60ml which fills a pint glass.
Oscar
Bribie so Phoenix brewing.
Oscar
I remember seeing it mainly in the miners welfare clubs around north nottinghamshire and south yorkshire. The sort of place where keg ruled.
I remember a pint of mixed in Sherwood.
Oscar
I do remember a wmc in long Eaton having Mansfield on keg and old Bailey on cask.
Shipstones has been resurrected and Original (3.8%) is brewed in Bulwell. A truly lovely pint and they own a few pubs in Nottingham and villages around. Mansfield Breweries took over The Hull Brewery Company from Northern Daries in 1972 and stole their "Old Bailey" recipe to produce a real ale style bitter for sale in their tied houses and at 4.9% using just Fuggles and Goldings it tasted great (I'm told). The landlord of my local in Farnsfield still remembers it. Unfortunately Mansfield bitter has just gone thanks to the takeover of Marstons by Carlsberg but the Mild, now called Dark, is still produced but without the hard water quality of Mansfield water. Still tastes great though.
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