Author: Shawn Collier

St. Helens by Chris Greenwood
I was up in Lancashire again to visit my father, Dennis and catch up with my sister Gill. I found a St. Helens CAMRA Ale Trail map on the internet, which my friend Richard kindly printed for me. I visited most of the pubs on it that Saturday.

The Glasshouse has an attractive brick frontage a modern, comfortable interior with a large semi-circular bar. There were five locales as guests. The Phoenix Haywood Pale was a decent balance of malt and hops, with a long lasting bitter tingle on the tongue.

Next up was the Royal Alfred, an imposing edifice, with a nice mosaic floor at the entrance. The really pleasant and helpful young woman behind the bar gave me a taster from the five available cask ales. The Ossett White Rat was biscuity and fruity, with a slightly bitter finish.

It didn’t take long to get to the Tipsy Tap, an L shaped bar, with exposed brickwork and quite a few regulars. The four beers didn’t excite me and I took my first choice back. The friendly landlady kindly replaced it with Hobgoblin Gold, which was a little thin, with some hops and malt and a hint of bitterness at the end.

The Lamb Inn has an attractive, partly historic exterior and a few original features in the two room layout. There were plenty of locals drinking here. The welcoming young woman behind the bar gave me two tasters from the choice of six. I plumped for the Black Sheep Respire, a quaffable “IPA”, with a decent mix of hops and malt, some fruity notes and a tiny bitter tingle on the tongue.

The Sefton had another eye catching facade, but, was a modern, large rambling place, with lots of television screens. There were five beers on offer, I had the Ossett Silver King and found a little corner, with a pleasant ceiling to drink it. The beer had a fruity nose, with a fair amount of American hops in the mouthfeel and finish.



On the edge of the centre is the award winning and very popular Cricketers Arms, it was virtually full at two pm. There’s fourteen real ales on offer here and it was the first pub so far that had a large number of people drinking cask. I started with their in house brewery Howzat Light Meter, which had a spiky, hoppy mouthfeel, with plenty of Pacific Gem hops and a dry, bitter ending. Secret by Small World was lovely, full of Vic Secret and Chinook, with grapefruit notes, a mouth full of hops and a pleasing citrus, hoppy finish.

It took a bit of navigating and help from a friendly local to arrive at the Turk’s Head, my favourite pub of the day. It’s a beautiful building, with sandstone stonework, a round tower and black and white mock Tudor sections. There’s a real fire, some stained glass inside the two room boozer and fourteen real ales. The ladies behind the bar were really friendly and knowledgable. I had a really pleasant chat with two of them. One lived in Skelmersdale, where I partly grew up. There was a good atmosphere and most of the people in my room were drinking real ale. The Pictish Green Bullet was generously hopped, with a very dry, bitter mouthfeel and ending. The Moorhouses Off Grid had a sweet start, with some hops coming through after a while and citrus notes in the finish. The Vocation Victorian Porter was in very good condition, a dark, rich ale, with dark chocolate and coffee, with a dry, bitter finish and chocolate malt notes. The Moorhouses Black Cat was an easy drinking Mild, with a sweet start, some coffee notes and some hints of licourice at the end.

On the same road is the Cowley Vaults, yet another impressive facade, although covered in scaffolding at the time. It’s a basic, L shaped locals establishment, with a real fire and a colourful floor. From the five wickets, I had the Fyne Jarl, with a fruity nose, Citra hops and a gentle, bitter finish.

My final establishment was The George. The pub had another impressive red brick exterior, with two basic rooms. It was a bustling locals place with three real ales. I drank the two Wigan Brewhouse beers, Slider and Dry Bones, both in good condition. The Slider was very dry and astringent, with hoppy notes and a bitter finish. The Dry Bones was also dry and bitter, but had some lemon notes and a citrus finish.

The end to another enjoyable adventure. Cheers.