Ben Palmer

I grew up in neighbouring Dore Village and neglected these pubs in my formative beer drinking years.

Your posts have provided inspiration to revisit some of the local pubs when I visit my parents there next month.

My pal @fredcook.co.uk has been writing about darts boards in Bristol pubs.

There seem to be quite a few pubs with dart boards in Bristol serving draught Bass. Is this just a coincidence or are these somehow intertwined?

“The dartboard itself is a fairly old school Nodor Supabull 2. It had clearly been rotated a few times, but still had life left in it. That said, due to the chunky wires, staples and certain well-used patches, bounce outs were a theme of the night.”

Looks like an excellent day out!

It was nice to see Cameron Mason sending it on the first few laps too.

Amazing! How was the atmosphere? I looked out for you on Discovery+ coverage but no success.

I'm starting a series of pub dartboard reviews! First edition. The Bell:

fredcook.co.uk/2026/02/03/T...

Godspeed 🫡

I've had some decent veggie lunch at the Augustiner Keller, usually under a tenner too.

A picture of the inside of the G. Schneider & Sohn brewery restaurant. It's very busy. There's a man messing up pouring the beer from a bottle into his stoneware mug. The woman with him looks annoyed, while the man next to them at the table points at the mess he's making. The lonely man at the end of table looks like he just wants to eat his meal in silence. In the background, there's already a waitress coming with a towel while carrying another stoneware mug. On the next table, a woman is sat and allows a child to drink from her beer glass. Next to them, three middle-aged men are sat, looking serious, while one of them is holding up a bottle. Behind all of that, more people at sat, one elderly guy in traditional Dachauer Tracht clothing, another one in a suit, and a another one reading in a newspaper. Behind them, there's a bunch of men sat on the last table. One of them is shooting the cork of an overpressurised bottle on the head of someone else, while the others are laughing. Another waitress is carefully pouring a bottle of beer into a stoneware mug. Behind the counter, another waitress is taking down notes in a book. On the counter, 5 bottles are stood upright, with more bottles placed in a tray just below the counter. Source: https://stadtgeschichte-muenchen.de/bilder/d_bilder.php?id=2374

I found this hilarious picture of the old interior of Schneider Weißbierbrauerei, presumably from before the rebuild 1901-1903. There's so much going on!

This might be the brewer in me talking but my dream bathroom is made entirely from stainless steel.

Hear me out: you close the bathroom door and a spray ball emerges from the ceiling. CIP treatment, including caustic and sanitising. Highly automated, zero scrubbing required.

Some Berlin pub toilet highlights, inspired by @willhawkes.bsky.social

The treasury underneath the cathedral is quite fun and the NS-Dokumentationszentrum is also worth a visit.

I would definitely recommend walking up the windy stairs towards the spire of the cathedral on a clear day.

It's sad to see so many small, independent gastro businesses struggling.

It's such a shame, especially after several years of semi-regular Stammtisch at Foersters.

Foersters Feine Biere in Berlin is permanently closing on 1st February 2026, according to a post on their Instagram.

First Schneeeule, now this. Sad times for the Berlin beer scene.

www.instagram.com/p/DTIgjE9CLT...

Eisenhüttenstadt is a fun day trip from Berlin if you fancy some DDR charm.

bsky.app/profile/john...

Book cover of James by Percival Everett

5. James by Percival Everett, 2024.

This was a really nice combination of adventure, humour and emotion.

Book cover of Tokyo Express by Seichō Matsumoto

4. Tokyo Express by Seichō Matsumoto, 1958.

If you enjoy slow paced mystery and intricately studying train timetables, then this might be for you.

Book cover of I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin

3. I'm Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom by @jasonkpargin.bsky.social, 2025.

An excellent recommendation by @evanrail.bsky.social. Both funny and terrifying at the same time.

Book cover of Stasiland by Anna Funder

2. Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall by Anna Funder, 2002.

Fascinating stories of normal people encountering bizarre/scary situations in the GDR.

Book cover of Any Human Heart by William Boyd

1. Any Human Heart by William Boyd, 2002.

This character-driven tour of the 20th century was just excellent.

My StoryGraph Wrap-Up 2025

My @thestorygraph.com 2025 reading round-up. I read 57 books in 2025, which is the most I've ever read in a year by some margin.

Here are my top 5 books that I read last year, in no particular order:

🧵📚

I might have to add this to my list.

I appreciate the fact that Schreckenskammer are one of the few German beer brands who are transparent about their beer being contract brewed at another site.

Wow! I'm shattered after two races and plenty of Belgian Christmas beer.

Korrekt ⬆️

A 0,5 L bottle of Schreckenskammer Kölsch

This is my go-to train beer at the Rewe To Go in the Kölner Hauptbahnhof.

It's fine, I guess.

I'm also a big fan of Päffgen. The poor server was rushed off his feet at lunchtime today but he remained friendly and professional throughout.

I'm travelling with the brand new @deutschebahn.com ICE L train from Cologne to Berlin.

It was quite bizarre, but not completely unexpected, to see a České dráhy locomotive pulling the Deutsche Bahn train into the Köln Hauptbahnhof. 🚂🇨🇿🇩🇪

I would agree, Früh bis spät is convenient for a swift Kölsch when changing trains.

bsky.app/profile/john...

A 0,2 L glass of Päffgen Kölsch

The entrance to Brauerei Päffgen in Cologne

My Belgian #Crossmas trip may be coming to an end but not before a final stop at the Brauerei Päffgen for some Kölsch.

I may have factored in a 3-hour stopover in Cologne on my return train journey to Berlin.