Away Stand Bar - Leeds United

This is a difficult one to be objective about - Elland Road is not one of my favourite places to visit, largely because many of the Leeds Utd fans seem to be comfortable with the amounts of racist and homophobic abuse given out by the vocal minority.

However, putting my football feelings aside, the bar in the away end is actually fairly pleasant for a football stadium. We're certainly not talking about comfort or family-friendly - this is a football stadium after all. On the whole - the experience is a positive one - there's a few televisions placed at unnatural heights to watch the early kick-offs, and the bar itself is well positioned and welcoming.
It's easy for football clubs to fall into the trap of understaffing on match days, and then charging over the odds for poor-standard lager - pleasingly Leeds buck the trend somewhat by actually getting the balance of servers & cashiers about right. The beer is fine (Carling or Strongbow), and acceptably priced at £3.60 a pint.

Overall, not as bad as expected, but quite happy that I only have to go once a season.

The Cross Keys - Water Lane

Now this is more like it. The Cross Keys is a little gem, tucked away on Water Lane which borders on one of the rougher areas in Leeds. However, you certainly wouldn't be aware of the unpleasant surroundings once you were inside - the pub itself is a stunning example of how to do the simple things right. From the minute you walk in, you are greeted by friendly and chatty staff, who were quick to recommend from a wide choice of beers (some of which are brewed on-site). I ordered food as well, which was outstanding (home made fish goujons, with fresh chips, wrapped in newspaper - perfect) and reasonably priced.

Atmosphere in the bar was excellent - decent music was played at an audible level, whilst people openly chatted to others like they were long-lost friends.

I get the feeling that the Cross Keys is very much a home-from-home for some people - the pub offers additional services like a parcel collection point (get your shopping delivered there, and pick it up on your way home after a pint !!) and regular events.

This is definitely a real success, and more people should be aware of it - I think some people are unfairly put off by the location, which is a real shame when the staff have done so much hard work to turn this into a fantastic venue.

However, as I was leaving, I had to walk past two prostitutes who were standing on the street touting for business - still, you can't have everything....

Veritas - Great George Street

I was genuinely looking forward to this one, Veritas is a reasonably new installation in a site that tends to have some decent pubs - in the years i've lived in Leeds, it's been a Hogshead, Waterhole Wine Bar (twice) and the Portland bar. They have also been rewarded with a spot in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, which is always a good sign.

At first glance, the bar itself is welcoming enough - huge windows allow the patrons to get a great view of the passers-by near the law courts, and the place is clean and tidy. However, once you get inside, it is immediately obvious that Veritas suffers from a similar problem to many other city centre bars - they are trying too hard to establish an 'identity'. Fair enough - i'm all for bars attempting something different, especially when chains such as Yates & Harvester are opening identical venues across the country, but the core purpose still has to be focused on those who wish to drink, otherwise you're just a restaurant who sells beer.

To prove my point with Veritas, before you get to the drinks bar, you have to bypass an ice-cream counter (pictured above) and a nacho station. When I reached the bar, the staff member asked me what I wanted to eat, and seemed put out when I told her I only wanted a pint. Later on, whilst I was sat at a high table, the barmaid came back over to try and 'tempt me' into buying some olives & nachos.

It might just be me, but i'm beginning to feel like the regular drinker is being sidelined for the food customers, which is fine if that's the business model you're aiming for. However, it's not what is expected for a CAMRA-approved pub, and results in the customers feeling disappointed.

Brewdog, White Cloth Hall

BrewDog are a fairly new chain of pubs originating out of Scotland - the newly opened Leeds venue is their 11th in the UK. They've certainly got an interesting public image - the brand is positioned as a controversial and rebellious choice, alienating themselves from CAMRA and the traditional cask-ale providers. All the promotional literature available online and in copious amounts in the actual venue itself shows BrewDog to be the 'outsiders' - sticking a middle finger up at commercially successful brands. Indeed, they have recently destroyed Tennants and Heineken bottles in shooting displays & ten-pin-bowling events - all carefully designed to show off their 'punk' side.

However, actually visiting the source of all this rebellion paints a slightly different story. The bar itself is in the historic White Cloth Gallery behind the Corn Exchange, attached to a Pizza Express, and is easily overlooked by people unaware of the location. When you enter the bar, the first thing you see is adverts for their own-brand ales being sold in supermarkets (more on this later), before being struck by the lack of atmosphere. Granted, I turned up just after work on a Tuesday, but there were only 3 people in the bar, all sitting on their own using iPads. The seating arrangement suggested a lack of conversation - rows of barstools all facing one way, not round in a circle. I get the feeling that a lot of the clientele are suited to this sort of arrangement, which is disappointing when I had such high hopes of finding a new exciting venue.

All that aside, the drink itself is excellent. I had the PunkIPA, which was beautifully fruity and strong, but there were other options that I definitely would like to try. Unusually for bars like this, there was a comprehensive drinks menu available, which showed the strength and taste of all their own-brand products - a real help for a relative novice like me. One major criticism though - the drink was served in a warm glass, which immediately causes the beer to become lukewarm - i'd have thought a company such as BrewDog would have been well aware of this.

Later that day, I sent a message via twitter to the bar, asking where I could buy the Punk IPA - the response came back as 'you'll find it in most big supermarkets'. This was probably more indicative of BrewDog's brand than any of the sweary literature & controversial marketing - the fact is, they're a hugely successful company who benefit from tie-ins with large corporate bodies, not some back-street ale-house who genuinely try something different. A true 'outsider' company would have promoted the availability in local beer sellers such as BeerRitz or Gerry's Spirits (as another twitter user thankfully mentioned), or even that they sold 'take-home' products themselves ! But no - they'd rather promote Asda and Tesco, which is disappointing but not altogether unexpected.

So, the visit was a definite success, as I've found some new beers I want to try. Thankfully, they have pointed me towards the supermakets, which means I won't have to bother going to this 'style over substance' fun vaccuum ever again...

North Bar - New Briggate

After a few mediocre bars, this challenge was needing a bit of a kick-start. What better way to inject some energy than to try out one of the most popular (and CAMRA-listed) bars in Leeds.
Surprisingly, despite having lived in Leeds for 10+ years, i'd never set foot in North Bar - I think I am naturally adverse to places that people keep telling me are great. Might just be pure stubbornness, but I prefer to make my own judgments...
..which is annoying really. As always, i'm the victim of my own ridiculous ideas - North Bar is fantastic, and is definitely a new favourite of mine.

Truly a beer-lover's dream, North Bar offers a variety of ales & lagers from around the world - the day I visited, there seemed to be an American event taking place - yet it's to the credit of the owners that this didn't overpower the atmosphere. I counted at least 20 different choices on tap, which had competition from one of the widest varieties of bottled beers i'd ever seen. I chose a pint of Jever (a German pilsner), which was served in an authentic stein. The bar itself was clean and welcoming, and the staff were as friendly as the reputation suggested.

Unfortunately, North Bar has the reputation of a 'student favourite', which may put some people off visiting - this would be a mistake. I'll even forgive the slightly higher prices (£3.60 for my pint, some were £5+), although this would make any more than a couple of drinks be an expensive session.

Without doubt, this was the highlight of my challenge so far, and I look forward to showing it off to others when they come to visit.

The West Riding - Wellington Street

The West Riding on Wellington Street is overshadowed by a 'gentlemen's club' next door - you know the ones, inexplicably named after a colour & an animal (blue leopard, red panther, yellow armadillo..), yet deserves to stand alone as a decent venue in it's own right.

The pub itself is compact, with a confusing array of table and chair heights - barstools are positioned alongside cosy lounge chairs, making conversation awkward in a larger group. Despite this, there was a good number of office workers taking advantage of their lunchtime break to enjoy a pint and a read (there are plenty of newspapers available for all to read).

For a pub of this type, I expected to be greeted with a large selection of local ales, yet sadly there was only one guest brew available (Golden Pippin again...).

In a strange twist, the barmaid was telling me that the pub is reputedly haunted, and recently they held a series of seances to try and understand the unusual noises & unexplainable occurrences that have happened over the years. Sadly, that is by far the most interesting fact about a pub that has gone through numerous name changes (Bar 36, Bar Work), yet has failed to capitalise on it's prime location.

Absolutely fine, yet nothing to convince any punter to return.

The Town Hall Tavern

Today was a rare occurrence, where I was able to get out of the office for an hour to have a relaxing lunch with a friend.  Fancying something nice to eat, we went to the newly renovated Town Hall Tavern on the Headrow. To be brutally honest, the Town Hall Tavern used to be known for being a rough place - where people due for a court hearing over the road used to come for a last drink of freedom.  It's taken a long time to turn this reputation around, but the new owners have done wonders in making the Tavern a pleasant little gastro-pub in the centre of the financial district.
The interior is welcoming and clean, with plenty of seating inside. There is a good selection of Timothy Taylor ales, and a tasty solitary cider (Stowford Press), but the real treat was the food. All cooked on-site, the meals are filling & perfectly prepared. We both had the Scampi, but there were 4 or 5 other choices that we could have easily chosen.
Overall, a beautiful little pub that deserves real recognition in an ever-changing marketplace.