[Official Site] Introducing Thornbridge...

Tangents are good, more the merrier! We spent a night in Den Haag and 2 in Utrecht (and got the train to Kasteel De Haar one day), so was just going to pick your brains for future places to visit that aren't the bog standard. We had a beer tour in Mechelen at Het Anker last year (brew Manneblusser and Gouden Carolus) and there were some Dutch people who recommended Hague and Utrecht. Was interesting to see how much Indonesian influence was in the food, particularly as I'd only found out about Rijstaffel last September in Indonesia.

 

I'm not a massive fan of Belgian beers but @Terry Nutkins put me on to Houblon Chouffe, which is absolutely marvellous.

 

I can recommend Nijmegen. I might be biased as I've lived there for about 10 years. But it's a city that feels like a town. It has lots of excellent pubs with loads of beer choice as well as a Brewery in the centre where they serve some lovely beers as well. If you go in the summer, the city will be full of outdoor seating as well. Squares full of open "beer gardens" of the adjoining pubs.

And it's got some other nice things as well with a river side boulevard, some nice parks, museums, restaurants, etc. Even though it was bombed in WW2, there's still plenty of history left.

We took some British friends there for a long weekend and they loved it.

They also have a professional football club (NEC), but obviously they're the devil as I grew up supporting De Graafschap, one of their local rivals.

 

If you happen to come across its brothers La Chouffe and Mc Chouffe, you might enjoy those as well!

 

God bless rivalries! Thanks for that, we'll have a look. Sadly our relentless gadding is being curtailed by a house extension (though i'm not sure we'll be able to show restraint for months on end!)

Really enjoyed the hague and Utrecht, must admit, I was pleasantly surprised. Beer, food, places to walk and wander, local neighbourhoods, architecture. parks and hardens ad we're well away!

I'll add Nijmegen to the list to have a look at. We seem to have been on a mission of late to add new countries to visit. Have a first trip to Copenhagen In December, a second trip to Poland (Wroclaw) in November, and Lithuania (Vilnius) in February. Think that takes us to 33 countries then. Still plenty to go!!! Thanks again, much appreciated.

 

The beer or the place ???
Both are great !!!

Only come across the beer in Sheffield train station - Sheffield Tap.
But it’s what I drink while I’m in there.
Relatively expensive but it’s a very nice beer.

 

No problem!

Copenhagen is on our to-do list as well. I've been to Denmark before, but that was when I was young. I think my counter is at 18, so not quite near your total!

 

Thornbridge beers are great (Kipling and Wild Swan in particular).

The brewery is owned by a guy called Jim Harrison. He’s the husband of Emma Harrison who set up and ran A4E; the big training provider that made millions “training” JSA claimants under the Work Programme.

You might remember that A4E was investigated for financial irregularities and ended up losing most of its Government contracts. At the time there were suggestions of systematic fraud.

About the same time that Emma Harrison stood down (pocketing millions of pounds of what had been public money) Thornbridge Brewery went on a buying spree - taking over a number of pubs in Sheffield and Derbyshire.

It’s almost like someone was trying to find a safe home for lots of cash...

 

I didn't know that. What a shame. I did a lot of consultancy work in and around Sheffield around that time and A4E were constantly encouraging me to call it training so they could push their "programmes of support" to clients. Or in other words, hand out free money, while taking a very big slice for doing something south of nothing. Knew plenty of people who knew her and they weren't complimentary. I think she'd bought a huge Hall in its own lands between Sheffield and Bakewell for millions. Not sure if she's still there. My opinion of Thornbridge has dipped somewhat. Cracking beer though, and at least they are having to make any new money with effort and in a proper trading environment.