2022 Hull Trip – Day 1 (Over the Humber and Into Brewdog Hull)

I like the Humber Bridge. Not in a fanboy kind of sense as I’m not that much of a fan of any road, but it is still exciting as it’s a gateway to another place. Obviously it’s not the Severn Bridge leading to a different country, although I suppose in reality Hull is effectively in Yorkshire and so that’s nearly the same thing.

Ryan Taylor climbed this a few years ago, I think it’s fair to say he’s somewhat braver than I am. At a push, I might be able to sit on the concrete bit on the left for a brief while. Not in terms of an environmental protest I’d better add there.

Very scenic. I quite like the idea of walking across this bridge, which I understand is allowed, although I have no idea why I’d be needing to be at either end of it.

There’s still social interaction required here at the Humber Bridge tolls. Not from me, that was Liam’s problem, but there’s a new system being rolled out in the future which might automate matters more.

Being an automobile expert I mentioned to Liam just how many white cars there were in Hull. Always fascinated by car related facts he spent some time counting them and I think that we agreed that my observation was accurate. The Boddingtons we each had were our welcome drinks at the Ibis Hull just in case anyone was confused why I had gone to Hull to drink that.

Back to one of my favourite shopping centres, Princes Quay, because it’s built on stilts. I’m easily pleased.

Then a quick visit to Brewdog, the first time that I’ve been to this one so that’s another ticked off my list.

I had my new Brewdog Plus account but then a team member said that they were having problems with it and they might not be accepting it all in the future. A manager came over who was personable and engaging, apologising for the issues and she decided to give me my drinks for free. I hadn’t asked for that, but I was very pleased with her suggestion and I agreed with it. I approve of this bar being card only as well, as it’s becoming more common, but there are a few angry reviewers who aren’t pleased at their decision.

It’s a large venue and I liked the ambience of the whole arrangement. I’ve never played Shuffleboard, despite being in many Brewdogs and other pubs where they have it, I’ll have to fix that at some point. I expect it’ll just annoy me, but best to be sure. The team members in the venue were friendly and engaging, it all seemed competently run.

I was delighted to see that there was a Funky Fluid beer, they’re from Warsaw and are one of my favourite breweries. This is their Splash Red, a delightful pomegranate and blackcurrant double fruited gose. I also went for Just Desserts brewed by Brewdog themselves, a very credible pastry stout.

The manager explained that the bar is one of a small franchise of four which are based around the Red’s BBQ restaurant theme, which is the food option here. They’ve got an on-site smoker (cooking apparatus I mean, not a troublesome chef) so they can smoke their own meats, it all sounds quite delicious and I’m sure I’ll eat here at some point in the future. The venue feels all suitably on-trend and that meant it was attracting a younger audience, although firmly of legal drinking age I’d better confirm there. Brewdog aren’t the cheapest of venues, but this seems to be a good iteration of its rollout programme.

I certainly left happy though, I had received two drinks for free, so I considered that to be a very positive visit. Liam and I had to leave at this point as I wanted to see if the health and safety version of him was still on the docks area.