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Pub Review: The Nook, Victoria Square, Holmfirth
TAVERNER
IF YOU step out of the back door of the Nook, weave through the beer garden, turn left, duck under a big blue canvas, clamber across a wall, slither past wet whites on a washing line and balance on a precarious wooden ramp, you will see precisely why this great old pub has such a fantastic future.
On the footprint of an 18th-century brewhouse, a commanding structure in stately Yorkshire stone is taking shape. The Nook's new brewery matches its surroundings perfectly, and will be turning out the pub's first home brew in generations, just in time for its annual beer festival at August bank holiday.
The Nook is run by brother and sister Ian Roberts and Sheila Sutton and has been in the family since 1965. "We were both born and raised here,"
said Sheila, joining me for a drink at the bar.
The siblings are building on the proud traditions of a real ale house which has been a fixture in the Good Beer Guide for over 30 years.
Precious few can boast such a continuum of success.
Changing
Their father died in 2000, but his work goes on. "We're really carrying on what dad started," said Sheila, standing beside a bar which holds a permanent place for two Timothy Taylor beers – Best and Landlord – plus a changing range of guest ales, predominantly local brews.
Eccles from the Empire Brewery at Huddersfield and Greenfield Premier were among the fine choices which I eschewed because – and this is most likely where you'll think I've sold out, or lost my marbles, or had the column ghost written by a member of the sports department – I was drinking lager.
Not just any old lager, mind. This was Budvar Half and Half, a blend of the Czech brewer's famed premium lager and their newer, richer, maltier, Budvar Dark. It is dispensed through a special beer font which draws beers from the two casks simultaneously.
It's lovely too, adding some of Dark's stoutish richness to the refreshing but beautifully-rounded mellowness of the standard lager.
And though there are plenty of these special mixer fonts in the Czech Republic, there are only a handful in the UK, and the Nook's is the only one in the north, so far as I know.
Budvar is on the up.
Despite the interminable distraction of courtroom battles with US mega-giant Anheuser-Busch over the rights to the Budweiser name, production at the sprawling Bohemian (large "B") brewery continues to grow.
Long-time master brewer Josef Tolar greeted me like an old friend when I visited recently and was proud to show off the exponential expansion since I was last in town.
It had to happen. The brewery has clung to its principle of storing every drop of its beer for about three months before it gets within sniffing distance of a customer. And, given that production is now pushing a staggering 250 million pints of beer a year, the brewery has had to devise some innovative architectural and engineering solutions to stack up the acres of mind-bogglingly vast lagering tanks needed to mature all this ale for so long.
Joe has stepped aside now, and it might have been easier for his successor Adam Broz to reduce the need for all this polished steel by simply reducing the storage time, as compatriots Pilsner Urquell have done, but the new man is sticking to tradition, thankfully.
Ian and Sheila were visitors to the brewery too recently, part of a group of licensees treated to the grand tour. "We kept asking questions," said Sheila. "I think all the others were getting fed up of us, and were in a hurry to get to the free beer. But with us starting our own brewery there was lots we wanted to know."
They are maintaining the traditions of The Nook – or the Rose and Crown to give it its Sunday name – in much the same way as Adam is doing as the new keeper of the Budvar flame. And in re-connecting with the Nook's ancient tradition for home-brewed ale, they may well be re-invigorating a yet more compelling bloodline to the past.
"We found some old deeds in the attic," said Sheila. "They show the names of all the old landlords and brewers and some of them were Robertses, the same as us, from Kirkburton where my dad was from. We're looking into our family tree and it would be amazing if we could make that connection."
Some things have changed. "We've only done food for three years. This had always been a drinkers' pub and my dad felt that real ale should be the emphasis." So they serve sturdy, wholesome pub grub – sausages, pies, burgers, chicken, fish – as well as some more adventurous foody selections from their Carniceria restaurant next door.
A single central kitchen caters for both, the bare brickwork and missing plaster around its doorway evidence of a unfortunate recent mishap.
"We bought some new fridges, but when they arrived the door wasn't wide enough. We ended up having to take the whole frame out just to get them in."
But the focal point remains the bar, the most striking feature of which is a wrought iron chandelier, which has been adapted to store spirit bottles, optical measures readily primed. Striking in every sense. Any barman taller than about 5ft 6in risks whacking his head every time he moves.
The bar serves the pub's three main rooms, each with its own simple, basic character, untarnished by any suggestion of refurbishment. The missing plaster around that doorframe is not the only place in need of a little TLC.
Even so, perhaps even because it is so uncompromisingly rough at the edges, the Nook is a key part of life in the edge-of-the-Pennines town. Holmfirth's famous folk festival was begun by a group of regulars and the pub remains the hub of an annual event which draws thousands to the town.
Adventures
Still more, of course, are drawn by the town's Summer Wine connections – not that many of them pitch up at the Nook, which is just around the corner from Sid's Cafe, starting point for numerous geriatric adventures.
"They come here by the coachload," said Sheila, but they don't contribute much to Holmfirth. It's all packed lunches and flasks – I don't think they spend any money."
A more reliable source of trade are the poets, artists, musicians, pool players and real ale lovers who make up the Nook's eclectic, bohemian (small "b") clientele.
The smoking ban has enticed families over the threshold too, and the pub's outside drinking areas, at both front and back, are great in the sunshine.
Live music remains an important part of the mix, with a lively programme of local acts. Its one significant downside is that mum still lives upstairs.
"It would be better if she was in a bungalow, but she won't leave the place," said Sheila. "Anyway, when the live music's on, she just turns her telly up."
s.w.jenkins@ntlworld.com
FACTFILE
Hosts: Ian Roberts and Sheila Sutton
Type: Real ale paradise
Opening hours: 11.30am-11pm Mon-Sat; noon-11pm Sun
Beers: Timothy Taylor Best (2.50), Landlord (2.60) good choice of guest ales from 2.50. Budvar (3.05), Budvar Dark (3.15), Budvar Half and Half (3.10), Carlsberg (2.80), Carlsberg Export (2.95), Guinness (2.95), Dry Blackthorn (2.95)
Wine: Small selection
Food: Choices from pub grub menu, and restaurant menu from Carniceria restaurant next door, served noon-9pm daily. Sunday roast available noon-6pm.
Children: Welcomed
Entertainment: Live music, pool table, games machines – plus occasional special events
Disabled: Relatively easy access but slightly awkward inside Beer Garden: Yes, tables to the front and rear of the pub
Parking: On street and pay-and-display areas nearby
Telephone: 01484 683960
Website: www.thenookpublichouse.co.uk
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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