I’m in a group called Friends Of Highgate Brewery. We like to jump on a coach and visit other breweries. Normally we take the Dave Grohl approach to these visits “done, done and I’m onto the next one” but with Hydes it was different. They really liked us. At the end of our first visit they said “please come again next year”. So we did. And we’ve been every year since. Yesterdsay was our 25th visit.

Our first few visits were to the Victorian “Queens Brewery” in Moss Side. My favourite memory of this site was after a few hours drinking we all piled back onto the coach, said vehicle roared into life and headed to the gateway just as the first float from the Moss Side Carnival passed. The bossman of Hydes Paul Jeffries beckoned us back off the coach saying “this may take a while to pass. Come back in and I’ll reopen the bar”. We then had a very pleasant 45 minutes with beers watching the procession.

In 2012 Hydes moved from Moss Side to their present site The Beer Studio, Media City in Salford and that is where we headed to yesterday.

The plan was to get up early and head to Wetherspoons for breakfast, especially as they now have eggs back on the menu, but after a week of going into work an hour early every day I was knackered and lay in bed instead. I eventually got up in time just to head to McDonalds albeit cutting it a bit fine.

Yet again a lady approached the counter when my number was called out. Shortly after she got her order which was just a hot drink. No wonder she was so keen on mine, which also consisted of a drink but with the additional nutritional goodness of a hash brown and double sausage and egg McMuffin.

I made the coach on time but was the last to arrive. Standard. As I made my way up the coach the top lad Ernie Harris told me off for being late and said I’d get detention and lines. I politely pointed out that I arrived bang on 9.30, but as I sat down I noticed that the digital clock at the front said 10.15. Going by that I was horrendously late. I will write out “I must not go to McDonalds when I have a coach to catch” 1000 times as soon as I get the time. So never then.

We hit the M6 and soon enough were pulling into Sandbach Services. Whilst we were heading to Salford, 100’s of my fellow Walsall FC fans were on the same road going to our match at Tranmere. I bumped into some mates in the toilets. Stewart, Sam, Dan and Kev Paddock. Me and Kev had a quick chat and a hug. I’ve never had a hug in a service station toilet before but what a top lad to have the first one with.

At Hydes we were all patiently waiting outside, then the automatic shutter door rose up majestically. It was like we were being let into Willy Wonka’s factory. Up in the bar there were 6 cask ales on, 2 keg and another 2 keg ones downstairs that we could just go and help our selves too. It was ace. As well as providing booze they also put on a cracking buffet. I’ve kind of lost my way a bit of late with sausage rolls but the ones here were thick and bloody tasty.

Hydes support the Manchester Children’s Hospice as their charity and as per usual Bob put a tin on the bar for us to put donations in. This raised £480 which was a nice total although when I stored this in notes I input it it as £4.80 which wouldn’t have been quite as good.

On the way back to Walsall we stopped at The Holy Inadequate pub in Stoke. A cracking pub and very much Good Beer Guide recognised. Unfortunately the toilets only have 3 urinals and 1 cubicle so when a coach full of people with several hours drinking under their belts descends then there was an initial decent queue to empty the bladders. I got to urinal no 1 (I always prefer number 2 but couldn’t wait for that to become free), mid flow and a bloke came barging out of the cubicle. Obviously eager to get to the bar after a wait in the queue but on passing he gave me a right kick to the left foot. I tell you what it doesn’t half break your concentration. Not quite in the style of Pulp Fiction but still. However despite this I still didn’t miss aim and I was soon up the bar myself ordering an Inadequate Citra. Despite the brewery name there was nothing inadequate about it.

Odd incident of the day was when a man came into the pub with a lit torch. After a couple of minutes he turned and I got a couple of full beams to the face. Sue on the opposite table thought I was going to be interrogated. “Ok, I confess. It was me who farted in the MD’s office at work yesterday”. He switched the beam to flashing for the last minute before turning it off.

Back in Walsall I popped into the Black Country Arms. There was a beer I’d not had before from Shiny Brewery called Rocky on pull no 1. I had that and it was ace but a beer called Rocky IMO should have been on pull no 4 as a nod to one of the best films of the 1980’s. I also had a cheese and black pudding cob which was devine.

Back home it was straight on with the Radio X Indie Night and this is where song of the day occurred. We Are Scientists “Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt” was the first song on and what a delight it is. Within 20 minutes I was in bed with a mossiv mug of tea listening to Nick Abbott on LBC.

Superb day. Thanks to Bob for organising and to Hydes for the excellent hospitality.