As well as Betty's, another interesting stop-off in York is the medieval hall which hides a secret pub called the House of the Trembling Madness. There is a sign on the downstairs shop window, but the place looks like a well-stocked off-licence and you have to walk through the shop to a set of stairs at the back.
At the top is a high ceilinged and beamed room as well as the tiny but creatively stocked bar. The oak beams are from ships that sailed over 800 years ago and the original building dates from 1180. There's a need for some ingenuity to get a seat in busy times, but its worth the jiggle to get snug and taste a beer or two and maybe one of the well-prepared dishes, which can include mushy peas and mash and perhaps some ghostly ingredients.
We stayed with the lower octane beers and under the counter scrumpy (although 5.5% was actually quite strong), but there's a range of Belgian monastery beers well into the 9% that would hasten me into the Confrerie van de Roze Olifant, were I to partake.
Beyond even that were a few ultra strong tipples like the 32% abv Tactical Nuclear Penguin which is probably best admired in the bottle.
5 comments:
It looks and sounds like a FANTASTIC place....Such History in the building, too....!
32%!!!!!!
Naomi : Indeed a very interesting place that can nowadays claim to be a proper medieval bar. It true British tradition it has also served a spell as a tea room.
Ellie Brewdog claim that 32% is the strongest beer on earth. After receiving complaints about an earlier 12% beer called Tokyo they created a low strength 1.1% beer called 'Nanny State'.
I forgot there was a Betty's in York. the Harrogate one is great, but the queues are so long you're over the need for refreshment by the time you get a table.
I thought I'd done well on pubs when I was in York, but I never found this one.
vladography Its right by the other (smaller) Betty's in York, but well concealed.
Post a Comment