Beers, Boats and Boozers, No.55.

The reason we stopped in Sawley was to head home for a while. There was a beer festival I was helping ouit at and a trip down to London to see our daughter singing and then back home for 'stuff'.

We did manage a walk along the Humber at Stone Creek. It looks a little like a canal when there is a breech, but this happens tqice a day. Plenty of mud about, but no bikes, traffic cones etc etc.

When we arrived back at the marina disappointingly 'Holderness' had not quite had her blacking completed and needed to dry off a bit before launching so we agreed to spend the night on the blocks before launching the next day. The anodes were all good for another couple of years too.

The next day we were backed down the slip and dunked once again before we were on our way.

The extra night meant that we could wander up the road and sample another pub. We had been here before, but still worth a second visit. The pub was under exterior renovation so the best picture was from the side. The pub seems to date from the early 1800's and at one time had a bowling green attached. It was a tied house to Alton and Co Brewery of Derby. They started in 1788 and were registered in 1888. By 1903 they had been bought by Streeton's Derby Brewery following the death of the last Alton family member. The two breweries were run separately until 1922 when they were closed. The pub has open fires and serves wood fired pizzas too.

The Old Sawley Brweing Co was set up in 1013 by Jim and Claire Bryce who had bought and saved the pub from closure. They started brewing in the kitchen with a half barrel plant before moving it upstairs. Twelve months later they had opened a new 10bbl plant in the outbuildings behind the pub and had brought in Roo Stone as Head Brewer. Their plan seems to be to collaborate with micro pubs etc to brew special beers for them as well as their core beers.

With the White Lion being the brewery tap for Old Sawley beers it would have been churlish to try any other beers so I started with a pint of Jobber, designated an amber beer at 4.2%. It poured beautifully with a clean white head. The amber colour shone well in the glass, and one swallow was enough to realise that this was a lovely best bitter. It is made with with classic Fuggles and Golding hops and Crystal Malt. What else could it be than a great balanced bitter  with a real roundness in the mouth. A beautiful pint.

I then tries another Old Sawley brew, 'Plummeth the Hour'. It sounded as though it was pitched to battle Titanic's Plum Porter at 4.5% This beer has won a silver medal at the SIBA Midland (Society of Independent Brewers) Awards, and has one accolades at beer festivals too. However my experince was the best. It pulled from the hand pump with no head, and I like a nice head. However the clour was beautiful and black. There was a good sniff of plums as I brought the glass to the lips but I was disappointed after a swallow as despite there being a good taste of plums there was nothing else to back it up. It had a thin feel in the mouth and I wondered if I had the end of the barrel or something. Next time I see it I will try it again just to see, but Titanic is still THE plum porter for me.

I will definitely return to the White Lion as I didn't get to try the Tollbridge Porter, or several of their other acclaimed beers like the Little Jack pale ale. I will be back.