God save the Pub.

THE TOUR OF POURS BEGINS! So the first thing I did when arriving at my parents house in England, was roll the family up and head over to the Cow and Calf. If I have any solid representation to show my growth of interest in pubs, this would be the place. The Cow and Calf is a pub that resides right next to my house, and to this day I am confident that the only reason we live here, is because my Dad wanted to live next door to a pub. This means that almost every other day, Lunch was at the Cow and Calf, and I purely hated every second of it.

The place is a very old fashioned pub. It was originally a farm house, so there are wooden beams everywhere, fireplaces instead of central air, no T.V, no pool table, just an old room, with benches and stools. As I grew up I would start appreciating things more and more about the place, and now, this is my favorite pub in the world. Why would anyone want to go to a bar with no pool, no music, no tv and no hot chicks? Well the main reason the locals come here is because the pints in the cow and calf are the cheapest one in the city (at a stunning £1.20). But the reason I keep coming back is just because of the lack of amenities. This is a place to drink beer, and talk, and that's chuffing lovely.

The beer served here is from of my favortie breweries, Samuel Smith. The factory is only 30 minutes from the pub. It is so close that Horses deliver it to the pub, straight up GANSTA! I always know that a new batch of beer is in when I walk to the pub and see tons of horse shit spewed across the street. Now normally, if beer is only $1.20(about 2 and a half dollars), it is a sign that it is going to be pure shite. This isn't the case though, the reason the price is so low is because the bar choose not to have any extra fees. Theres no gaming fee, no TV licensing fee, no cargo truck shipping fees. Nothing. With all those fees away, the bar can just charge beer for what it should be. And with no distractions in the place, the beer can be the best it can be.

Think of a bare bones DVD, a disc where the only thing on the dvd is the movie. It has no extra materials, no poorly put together behind the scenes documentaries, or poorly slapped audio commentaires. The only thing on there is the movie, the real reason for why you are buying the DVD in the first place. All the flashy stuff could be selling points, but at the end of the day, you like, and you want to watch the movie. Thats the same train of thought with this Pub, you come here for the beer, so you will get beer, and since its the only thing in the bar, you are going to get a really good quality of beer. The owners wont have to worry about getting money from anything else in the bar, Beer is the only thing, so beer is going to get the full attention of the staff.

Also, it allows the patron to converse. I still feel the reason people go to bars, is to be social. If you want to zone out and just veg, you can just get some beers and watch tv at home. The event of going to a bar is to meet with your friends, share a drink, and catch up, converse, talk about things. When you have a pub with no distractions, it makes it a lot easier to have fun conversations, because thats the only entertainment of the night. This also allows more chances to converse with strangers, rather than just stick to a group and huddle near a T.V

So the Cow and Calf, a place I used to hate going to, is now one of my favorite spots. It's dependable, I can recommend the beer there to anybody, and i know they will never go on an off night. The brand of the beer is one of the best out there. A nice pint of Pure Brewed Lager after a hard day of vacationing hits the spot like no other. But mostly, its great to know that i've been going here all my life, and I have a feeling that even though managers will change, and new clients will come in, as long as this pub is owned by Samuel Smith, I know there will always be a recluse to enjoy good company, and a good pint.