Premier League
Sunday 19 May 2024
SUFC 2023/24 Game #71
The Ball Suppy's 2024
Ladies & Gentlemen. Welcome to the Carrier Bag Firm end-of-season review. The Ball Suppy’s 2024.
How else you gonna get yer kicks in the Premier League?
So. The Year In Beer. A Season With Saison. The Prem On The Piss. Here we go…
Pub In The Town 2024
Awarded to the best pubs and bars in the town where the game is actually being played.
🥉 Bronze
ORA Brewing Co.
Unit 16a, Rosebery Industrial Park, London N17 9SR
for Tottenham Hotspur, 16 September 2023, lost 2-1
Less than 20 mins on foot from the Away Turnstiles. Originally an Italian Microbrewery, they now brew in North London. A bit - DJ playing unnecessarily - noisy inside. Beer service was a bit slow, due to Civilians spending an age choosing, and then being dispensed, non beer products. Scores highly due to proximity to the ground and eight of their own on Keg.
🥈 Silver
Mean Eyed Cat
1 St Thomas' St, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4LE
for Newcastle United, 27 April 2024, lost 5-1
Great place. Quite close to the ground an’ all. Single room. But with a Beer Courtyard out the back. I counted five pukka craft Keg and five on Cask. Very efficient service at a busy time.
🥇 Gold
The Black Dog Beer House
17 Albany Rd, Brentford TW8 0NF
for Brentford, 13 April 2024, lost 2-0
Awarded Gold despite an odd exchange with the manager after he'd taken one of our beers off. Or maybe because of that (giggling here). The Black Dog is a superb place. I counted eleven pukka craft Keg and four on Cask. Convenient for the ground. Wins mainly on the great beer list, and the quality of the beers. Plus, it's just down the street from where I was detained for murder after the game in 1979!!!
The JC Door-To-Door Award for The Sensible Beer Bus Stop 2024
Awarded to the best pubs and bars in the unwitting towns and villages where the Sensible Beer Bus pulls up.
As seat reservations continue to fucking operate on the bus. And as I'm therefore forced to sit near the fucking back. Meaning I have to fucking fight my way past dozens of non-drinking Civilians to get to the pub in the first place. While the Ticket GangMaster lords it up the sharp end. And is often on his second fucking beer before I even get to the Pub. It's a miracle this category is being awarded this year…
🥉 Bronze
The Lower Angel
27 Buttermarket St, Warrington WA1 2LY
for Everton, 11 May 2024, lost 1-0
A lovely beer list made up by Liverpool Brewing Co. The pub has an authentic, rough n ready, proper pub feel. It was a bit of a Saturday Morning Mad House. But the manager and staff knew what they were doing.
One customer asked to speak to a female member of the Carrier Bag Firm.
“No. It's alright. You can stay there. I just wanted to tell you I've been Bra Shopping.”
(makes gesture of holding breasts up)
I don't think any of us expected it to unfold thus.
🥈 Silver
Northern Whisper Ramsbottom Tap Room
2 Market Pl, Ramsbottom, BL0 9HT
for Burnley, 2 December 2023, lost 5-0
Trust me. Northern Whisper are a great under the radar brewery. They've got great traditional Cask. They've got consistent straight ahead Keg. And they're not afraid to piss around at the edges. In their Ramsbottom Tap, there were four of their own on Cask. And eight on Keg.
🥇 Gold
Leviathan Brewing
Unit 4&5, 17 Reddicap Trading Estate, Sutton Coldfield B75 7BU
for Aston Villa, 22 December 2023, drew 1-1
Would also win anyone's award for the Most Unlikely Looking Bar In England. We knew it was there. We even saw their name on the list of units as we turned off the street. But, lights - there were none. Nameplates - there were none. Fuck Sake, it's easier to find out the name and details of the Shutter Company than the Brewery. But, anyway, they've used the universal (narrator - isn't universal, Phil) method of a cardboard sign propped up on a Keg. It was mobbed inside.
Eleven on Keg. Magnificent range of guests. Four of their own. Cask lines empty. “Amusing can fridge”. I did a quick beers v minutes calculation. Fuck it - I'm going through all the Leviathans.
Beer In The Ground 2024
This is awarded for beers served in the ground that the Carrier Bag Firm might plausibly select in a Pub. (Say, if there's nothing else on offer). Look. You ain't gonna get beers from smaller independent breweries in grounds anymore. But, this award is the antidote to John Smith’s & Heineken, and the other industrial lagers.
🥉 Bronze
Meantime Brewing Co, Anytime IPA on Keg at 4.7%
at Brentford, 13 April 2024, lost 2-0
🥈 Silver
Brixton Brewery, Reliance Pale Ale on Keg at 4.2%
at Luton Town, 10 February 2024, won 3-1
Reliance is a great footie beer. Sharp and zingy. Enough bitter in the finish to keep you interested.
🥇 Gold
SALT (Saltaire), Loom, Pale Ale on Keg at 4%
at Chesterfield, pre season friendly, 15 July 2023, won 2-0
Feel a little bit of a fraud including that. Coming, as it did, at a (then) non league game in pre season. But. Loom is simply the best footie beer out there. And we had it. So it's won. Luscious and inviting. Flavours nicely separated. Bursting out of it.
This is a good opportunity to remind ball suppers that Beavertown, Neck Oil is available in some stands at Beautiful Down Town Bramall Lane. No longer independent of course, But, a welcome addition to the other shit available.
(Caption: pictured v Everton, 2 September 2023, drew 2-2)
I’d love to hear from fellow fans about their Pub & Beer experiences this season. Comment, Feedback & Interact if you fancy.
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