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.

Challenge Accepted !

Bit of a sneaky one this, as I wasn't planning on starting til Monday. However, an unexpected trip into Leeds coupled with some rubbish shopping meant that I had time on my hands. So, to start off the challenge, I chose a pub that most people walk past without even noticing it is there. Tucked away down a small alley opposite HMV is The Ship Inn (http://www.theshipleeds.co.uk/), a tiny yet welcoming pub that caters for harassed shoppers & bored men. Once you go inside, there's some token effort to keep up with a maritime theme, and the menu looks like they offer some standard 'pub grub', yet the real selling point is the amount of ales & local brews on tap. Excellent selection for beer drinkers (although sadly only one cider....), with a good range of darks & light ales. I went for a pint of Golden Pippin (by Copper Dragon - 3.9%) which i'd never tried before, but definitely goes on my 'must revisit' list....

Overall, not a wasted journey, but I doubt I would make the effort to go back to The Ship - there just wasn't enough to warrant a repeat visit. Still - not a bad start to the challenge.