When I first had a date with the man who was to become the love of my life and my husband, I didn’t realise that down in Devon a similar momentous thing was happening. Up in Oldham, I was asked out (for a beer) went out (for a beer) and fell in love; twenty-five years and two children later we are still in love with beer and with each other. Down in Devon Otter brewery is still going from strength to strength!
David and Mary Ann McCraig established their brewery in 1990 in the Blackdown Hills near Taunton. Mary Ann’s family have been in the business for generations, and David has been in the industry for half a century. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the brewery is a very ‘green’ operation, for example using willow beds to filer and aerate waste water.
So tonight, at the best pub in the world, the Dolphin, drinking the best beer in the world Otter, we took part in and won the quiz! What could be better?! What could be better? It being St Patrick’s night and us coming home with silly hats – that’s better!
Lois Elsden 
Winner, winner, chicken, dinner!
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People can’t celebrate St.Patricks day let alone Christmas or New Year any more here in Canada as the drinking and driving laws make it impossible. To get to a bar with a band costs me 60 dollars in cab fare and my wife and I would drink 30 dollars so the math doesn’t add up. There are road blocks set up all over the city by police so you dare not drive and more than two pints.It must be the same there because on Google Maps all I see are for sale or lease signs on most of your pubs. Your lucky the Dolphin is so close that you can walk there. They want people to drink at home but the price at the beer store goes up monthly. I think we got most of our Draconian laws from England so I pity you guys.
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Yes the drink drive laws are strict over here – most people share driving and have one person who doesn’t drink. Bari and I take it in turns if we go out. Taxi fares aren’t too bad here – but I guess they would be for long distances. If we go up to Bristol we’d probably go by train then its no problem!
There are several reasons so many pubs are for sale, including the breweries closing down unprofitable ones, some pub landlords not making enough effort to draw in the punters, and cheap booze – so many people drink at home now. A lot of pubs serve food and have bands and nights like curry night or quiz night or karaoke night… The Dolphin work really hard to be popular – Monday is poker night (1st Monday of the month is folk night) Tuesday is quiz night and sometimes dates night, Thursday is curry night, Friday is a draw (lottery for prizes) Sunday is roast dinner… plus lots of other things like gigs and singers…
But yes, we are very lucky to have the Dolphin!
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