CoffeeBeer >> Pint Pleasures >> Ripon 3
Once again last September, when my friend Mike and I visited Northumberland and Edinburgh, we then drove down to the city of Ripon to spend our final night. I had passed through Ripon once, and I spotted the outside of the cathedral. But that was all I saw of the city.
Located at the confluence of tributaries of the Rivers Ure, Laver, and Skell, the city of Ripon is probably most famous for its beautiful cathedral, as well as boasting a racecourse and being within an easy drive of Fountains Abbey. Originally called the nearly unpronounceable Inhrypum, Ripon was founded in the mid-7th century around a monastery established by Saint Wilfrid, and its cathedral houses the oldest crypt in England. A couple of hundred years later a nightly curfew called the Hornblower began. This involves a horn being sounded every night at 9pm in the market square to mark the setting of the watch. Over the next few centuries the current Cathedral was built, and Ripon became known as a centre for wool and cloth. By the 16th and 17th century it was famous for its production of spurs, and in 1836, following the Diocese of Ripon, it gained its city status. It is currently the third smallest city in England and the smallest in Yorkshire. So it was easily walkable for the two of us.
When we arrived early on a Friday evening, as soon as we had checked into our AirB&B, our first port-of-call naturally had to be somewhere for a pint. And within a very short walk, right in the city centre, we found the Portly Pig. This bottleshop and taproom consists of a small bar downstairs, with fridges full of cans, and more rooms upstairs. It was convivially crowded when we walked in, and the bar, where a couple of regulars were standing, seemed to reach out and pull us in.
After perusing the hand pumps and the keg list, I went for a pint of Static Kingdome (3.8% ABV, Wensleydale Brewery, Leyburn, North Yorkshire), which was a pleasant little hoppy cask pint, and a perfect choice for my first beer of our evening in the city. Mike went for a cask pint of Birdie (4.6% ABV, Copper Beech Brewing, Worcester, Worcestershire). Brewed with Simcoe hops, this offered a good grapefruity hoppy character. We took our pints upstairs into one of the three small lounges. All three were cosy and inviting, but we were drawn to one furthest from the noise so we could relax and unwind from the day’s long drive. We seated ourselves by the window where we could admire the gallery of framed portraits of famous and infamous porcines. I was a bit disappointed when I discovered the long shelf of LPs on the far wall were mostly disco collections. Apparently one can play these LPs; but I’m sort of happy nobody was at that moment. I mean, alternative, jazz, classical, or even country & western would have been fine with me, but not disco, please.
According to a sign in the middle room, the pub hosts an hour-long book club on Thursday evenings, and a sign described it as "a bus reader’s safe haven". It sounded quite inviting. They also host live music nights, quiz nights, and on Friday to Sunday nights they offer pork pies, Ploughman’s lunches, and cheese boards. So basically one can come here on the weekend, have a nice pint, and pig out.
Moving on, we walked north toward the Prison and Police Museum to the One-Eyed Rat. As we walked in, the place was very crowded with both people and dogs, which made me happy because I love animals. Once we got through the crowd and up to the bar, we found a good list of both cask and keg beers, as well as a very friendly barmaid. Mike ordered a pint of White Rat (4.0% ABV, Ossett Brewery, Ossett, West Yorkshire). Described as a hoppy session beer, this was just a nice drinkable pint of cask ale. I went for a pint of Serge Citra IPA (4.5% ABV, SALT Beer Factory, Shipton, West Yorkshire), which turned out to be actually quite wonderful.
Because of all the dogs, I was more than happy to go sit outside in the extensive beer garden which had quite a few four-legged patrons in attendance. We seated ourselves at a picnic bench located at the far end of the garden, where we could take in our surroundings. Toward the front there were patio chairs and glass tables, with a covered heated section just beyond that. Overall it felt quite warm and friendly.
Apparently the pub’s name comes not from a particular one-eyed rat, but from the sign which shows only one of the rat’s two eyes, like your average profile portrait does. I mean, if this were the general habit of naming pubs, we’d have a lot of One-Eyed Kings Heads, One-Eyed Red Lions, One-Eyed Duke of Yorks, etc.
I really liked this place, and I think if I lived in Ripon, for whatever reason, this could easily become my local. But actually I wouldn’t really choose to live in Ripon, because I’m a city person. It does have a nice spectacular cathedral, though.
Our final stop of the evening was another rat-inspired establishment, the Water Rat. Situated directly on the River Skell, this place was also really crowded. By this time we were hungry, but we were disappointed about what was currently on offer beerwise. We both ended up with pints of Jorvick Blonde (3.8% ABV, Rudgate Brewery, York, North Yorkshire), which is a very light ale, very lightly hopped so as not to offend anyone, I suppose.
We then took our pints out into the beer garden, where I mistakenly made a comment to a man sitting at the table behind us. Suddenly we found ourselves in a very short political argument, where we ended up "agreeing to differ", because the two gentlemen were on the other side of the political spectrum from me and Mike. But one of them was so interested in talking to us in general, especially with me as an American expate, that the evening ended up slipping away. When our food was finally served, my Portobello mushroom burger, although tasty, was impossible to eat because the brioche bun immediately disintegrated, and the two Portobello mushrooms insisted on slipping off of each other. In the end I finally sort of gave up, realising I should have gone for perhaps the smoked salmon starter instead.
In the end it was kind of a weird visit, and although I had been curious to go over and take a look at the river and see what the garden looked like in the daylight, we’d been distracted for too long and the night was already quite dark. Oh well, if I ever find myself in Ripon again, perhaps I’ll see.
Apparently the menu ingredients at the Water Rat are all locally sourced, and they have a Sunday carvery as well. The pub is within walking distance of the Cathedral and the Racecourse, and the calendar is quite full, with special evenings for the Real Ale Club, Thursday Burger Nights, Friday Fish & Chips nights, and a quiz on Sundays. So at least it’s serving the community well. It would have been nice if it had more interesting beers, though.
I couldn’t really find out why there are two pubs in Ripon named after rats. From what I’ve read, the names of Ripon’s pubs have changed frequently, and it’s probably just a coincidence. Still, as I said I like animals, and I did have a charming pet rat when I was young, I sort of wish there were more pubs around named after rats.
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