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The Mortal Hound…


Town End Farmer Giles said:
To be fair if I'm not impressed by the beer I'll say so, similarly if I like it I'm happy enough to praise it.
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He's been posting the same message about the beer being shit across multiple threads for ages when he hasn't even tried it and it turns out that it's not even the same people brewing it.
 
Provider said:
He's been posting the same message about the beer being shit across multiple threads for ages when he hasn't even tried it and it turns out that it's not even the same people brewing it.
Click to expand...

No idea if he's tried it or not but I also did think it was One More Than Two rebadged, but turns out they've just bought their kit and installed a new head brewer. Happy to see where it goes.

FWIW I've tried one of their beers a while ago and was pleasantly surprised as I'm not usually impressed by the cask in Chaplins. Nowt amazing but a solid enough cask pale.
 
Blockyard said:
Hi, i work with Blockyard Brew co and also with Mortal Hound.

Thought id pop by and say hello and try to clear up any questions you may have about the new bar that has opened in Sunderland.

The brewery has nothing to do with 1 more than 2 brew, we aquired the equipment last year, and Chris the brewer came down for a short period to set up the brewery ready for it being taken over by a new team.
Aside from now owning the equipment we have no affilliation with the old brewery.

The bar is a Micro Pub more than a Taproom. although we do have a few Blockyard beers on its not our main focus and this will vary depending on what beers we would like to see on the bar each week, we aim to make a welcoming bar with a line up of changing beers.

As this was our first weekend, we were focused on trialing what hours suit the area best and making sure the setup for the cellar/bar/sound system and such is right for going forward.

We only had a small selection of craft ales available for our opening as we tested the waters, we will begin stocking more beers as we progress including bottles, cans, cask, and keg, from various local and not so local breweries.

Once we are settled in with our open schedule, we will begin work on opening the kitchen space for making light bites, bar snacks and various other treats for people to enjoy.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask and i will do my best to answer them for you.

Thanks.
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Firstly, good luck and great effort getting the place off the ground!

My biggest advice is don't try to be all things to everyone.
  • I spotted you had live music on, but also had the cricket on above the lad playing; choose one at a time, most musicians rightly won't put up with something like that, and it just is a bit weird.
  • Ditch the weird slogans/phrases written on the wall, it's too live, laugh love and literally the opposite of the clientele I imagine you're trying to appeal to.
  • On the selection of booze, I get having a lager on - and something like CruzCampo makes sense - but Fosters are really just bottom of the barrel. Guinness, fair enough... If you want multiple lagers, why not try and get a lager from a local brewery?
  • Beavertown... Again, I get it, but what differentiates you from every other place that now stocks Beavertown, including Diego's which has the exact same taps as you? Maybe do a Neck Oil (your safe bet) and then go for kegs from somewhere like Full Circle - a Repeater would be perfect.
  • Your social media presence/general marketing needs a ton of work. Feels like at the moment it's someone's personal account rather than a business account that actually communicates opening times, beers, upcoming events in a timely manner (i.e. not the day before)
  • First impressions count - if you weren't ready to open, I wouldn't have rushed it.
Sorry to be harsh, but I really want you to be a success.
 
Super Hodge said:
Firstly, good luck and great effort getting the place off the ground!

My biggest advice is don't try to be all things to everyone.
  • I spotted you had live music on, but also had the cricket on above the lad playing; choose one at a time, most musicians rightly won't put up with something like that, and it just is a bit weird.
  • Ditch the weird slogans/phrases written on the wall, it's too live, laugh love and literally the opposite of the clientele I imagine you're trying to appeal to.
  • On the selection of booze, I get having a lager on - and something like CruzCampo makes sense - but Fosters are really just bottom of the barrel. Guinness, fair enough... If you want multiple lagers, why not try and get a lager from a local brewery?
  • Beavertown... Again, I get it, but what differentiates you from every other place that now stocks Beavertown, including Diego's which has the exact same taps as you? Maybe do a Neck Oil (your safe bet) and then go for kegs from somewhere like Full Circle - a Repeater would be perfect.
  • Your social media presence/general marketing needs a ton of work. Feels like at the moment it's someone's personal account rather than a business account that actually communicates opening times, beers, upcoming events in a timely manner (i.e. not the day before)
  • First impressions count - if you weren't ready to open, I wouldn't have rushed it.
Sorry to be harsh, but I really want you to be a success.
Click to expand...
I agree with a lot of this, I was having a pint under a picture of one of the Gallaghers, reading a "funny quote" by one of the Gallagher's while some lad played oasis songs on the guitar. Think the owner likes oasis, let's hope his customers do.
 
Provider said:
He's been posting the same message about the beer being shit across multiple threads for ages when he hasn't even tried it and it turns out that it's not even the same people brewing it.
Click to expand...
I count 5 posts in total but it's obviously rattled you.

Happy to stand corrected after the above post from Blockyard.

I've sampled a few of their beers and am not impressed, but everyone's tastes are different. Someone will like them.

I'll keep my opinions on this matter to myself in future so that you don't lose any more sleep.
 
I was in Friday and enjoyed it it, staff friendly and were explaining the different beers. Think they mentioned accepting Camra cards for us beer drinkers. It’s gonna be hard keeping everyone happy in that location, but if they can keep us owld farts happy before 11 and the young’uns happy in the early hours they’ll do ok
 
Can someone with a foursquare account or @Blockyard themselves add the venue on there, so it appears on untappd?

Some of us are craft beer wa*kers and proud of it . I'm also coming down Thursday with a mate after having to postpone last week.
 
MiddleAgedMan said:
Can someone with a foursquare account or @Blockyard themselves add the venue on there, so it appears on untappd?

Some of us are craft beer wa*kers and proud of it . I'm also coming down Thursday with a mate after having to postpone last week.
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ill look at getting the new venue registered on untapped ready for your visit on Thursday!

Super Hodge said:
Firstly, good luck and great effort getting the place off the ground!

My biggest advice is don't try to be all things to everyone.
  • I spotted you had live music on, but also had the cricket on above the lad playing; choose one at a time, most musicians rightly won't put up with something like that, and it just is a bit weird.
  • Ditch the weird slogans/phrases written on the wall, it's too live, laugh love and literally the opposite of the clientele I imagine you're trying to appeal to.
  • On the selection of booze, I get having a lager on - and something like CruzCampo makes sense - but Fosters are really just bottom of the barrel. Guinness, fair enough... If you want multiple lagers, why not try and get a lager from a local brewery?
  • Beavertown... Again, I get it, but what differentiates you from every other place that now stocks Beavertown, including Diego's which has the exact same taps as you? Maybe do a Neck Oil (your safe bet) and then go for kegs from somewhere like Full Circle - a Repeater would be perfect.
  • Your social media presence/general marketing needs a ton of work. Feels like at the moment it's someone's personal account rather than a business account that actually communicates opening times, beers, upcoming events in a timely manner (i.e. not the day before)
  • First impressions count - if you weren't ready to open, I wouldn't have rushed it.
Sorry to be harsh, but I really want you to be a success.
Click to expand...
We are looking into local lagers currently, we were stuck with the unholy blue badge due to some behind the scenes stuff, but its off the bar now and will not be returning.

Currently working on our new orders for the coming weeks to include some more local brews including Full Circle, Anarchy, North, Darwin, Maxim, Play Brew and a few other places as we begin reaching out for ordering.

As for the social media, we have been working hard to get our place open and unfortunately some of the posts have been last minute due to the constant changes in schedules and plans. the social posts will become more structured now we have been setting our plans in place on beer rotations, opening hours and music events.

we have Beavertown as its popular and people know the brand so its a decision that was made as part of appealing to a wider audience as we are new, and we need to find a balance between doing craft beer and having names people recognise, the area is a tricky one to judge so we took a safe bet whilst we find our feet. we toyed with the idea of all craft with some standard larger, but its a huge gamble to take in a new area, for a new business, and is something that we will be actively monitoring as we go forward.
Gabbiagreeni said:
I was in Friday and enjoyed it it, staff friendly and were explaining the different beers. Think they mentioned accepting Camra cards for us beer drinkers. It’s gonna be hard keeping everyone happy in that location, but if they can keep us owld farts happy before 11 and the young’uns happy in the early hours they’ll do ok
Click to expand...
we are currently working with camra to become apart of their what pub and camra member system. we had one of the lads down on Friday with some flyers and booklets that can also be found on the bar.

FReaK said:
I count 5 posts in total but it's obviously rattled you.

Happy to stand corrected after the above post from Blockyard.

I've sampled a few of their beers and am not impressed, but everyone's tastes are different. Someone will like them.

I'll keep my opinions on this matter to myself in future so that you don't lose any more sleep.
Click to expand...
Its fair if you don't like the beers, we are constantly working to bring better beers to the market, and hopefully you come down and try them when we release our new drinks and find something you like. what styles of ale do you tend to go for?


-----------

Any feedback we can get from people who enjoy craft beer is always a good thing for us, it will help us to make the place something special. we are new, we are passionate, and any support and feedback is always appreciated.
 
Blockyard said:
ill look at getting the new venue registered on untapped ready for your visit on Thursday!


We are looking into local lagers currently, we were stuck with the unholy blue badge due to some behind the scenes stuff, but its off the bar now and will not be returning.

Currently working on our new orders for the coming weeks to include some more local brews including Full Circle, Anarchy, North, Darwin, Maxim, Play Brew and a few other places as we begin reaching out for ordering.

As for the social media, we have been working hard to get our place open and unfortunately some of the posts have been last minute due to the constant changes in schedules and plans. the social posts will become more structured now we have been setting our plans in place on beer rotations, opening hours and music events.

we have Beavertown as its popular and people know the brand so its a decision that was made as part of appealing to a wider audience as we are new, and we need to find a balance between doing craft beer and having names people recognise, the area is a tricky one to judge so we took a safe bet whilst we find our feet. we toyed with the idea of all craft with some standard larger, but its a huge gamble to take in a new area, for a new business, and is something that we will be actively monitoring as we go forward.

we are currently working with camra to become apart of their what pub and camra member system. we had one of the lads down on Friday with some flyers and booklets that can also be found on the bar.


Its fair if you don't like the beers, we are constantly working to bring better beers to the market, and hopefully you come down and try them when we release our new drinks and find something you like. what styles of ale do you tend to go for?


-----------

Any feedback we can get from people who enjoy craft beer is always a good thing for us, it will help us to make the place something special. we are new, we are passionate, and any support and feedback is always appreciated.
Click to expand...
Very good of you to respond to all the posts good and bad. I don't expect you to fork out for being verified on untappd, I understand that isn't cheap and if you are just finding your feet. I believe they get their venues of all kinds (beaches, swimming pools, pubs and everything else) from Foursquare and someone needs to make your bar exist on that platform (free).

Recommendations of beers you've named a few of the best. Two by two are consistently excellent and well regarded in the region, definitely look to get them in. Almasty also a good shout.
 
Blockyard said:
Hi, i work with Blockyard Brew co and also with Mortal Hound.

Thought id pop by and say hello and try to clear up any questions you may have about the new bar that has opened in Sunderland.

The brewery has nothing to do with 1 more than 2 brew, we aquired the equipment last year, and Chris the brewer came down for a short period to set up the brewery ready for it being taken over by a new team.
Aside from now owning the equipment we have no affilliation with the old brewery.

The bar is a Micro Pub more than a Taproom. although we do have a few Blockyard beers on its not our main focus and this will vary depending on what beers we would like to see on the bar each week, we aim to make a welcoming bar with a line up of changing beers.

As this was our first weekend, we were focused on trialing what hours suit the area best and making sure the setup for the cellar/bar/sound system and such is right for going forward.

We only had a small selection of craft ales available for our opening as we tested the waters, we will begin stocking more beers as we progress including bottles, cans, cask, and keg, from various local and not so local breweries.

Once we are settled in with our open schedule, we will begin work on opening the kitchen space for making light bites, bar snacks and various other treats for people to enjoy.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask and i will do my best to answer them for you.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Do you sell beers out of your brewery? I'm just round the corner and far more likely to try them that way. Rarely drink at that end of town but will try and have a dodge some time.


@GTG turns out they aren't connected to the other brewery after all.
 
Blockyard said:
We are looking into local lagers currently, we were stuck with the unholy blue badge due to some behind the scenes stuff, but its off the bar now and will not be returning.

Currently working on our new orders for the coming weeks to include some more local brews including Full Circle, Anarchy, North, Darwin, Maxim, Play Brew and a few other places as we begin reaching out for ordering.

As for the social media, we have been working hard to get our place open and unfortunately some of the posts have been last minute due to the constant changes in schedules and plans. the social posts will become more structured now we have been setting our plans in place on beer rotations, opening hours and music events.

we have Beavertown as its popular and people know the brand so its a decision that was made as part of appealing to a wider audience as we are new, and we need to find a balance between doing craft beer and having names people recognise, the area is a tricky one to judge so we took a safe bet whilst we find our feet. we toyed with the idea of all craft with some standard larger, but its a huge gamble to take in a new area, for a new business, and is something that we will be actively monitoring as we go forward.
Click to expand...

Fair play marra, like I said before, I really hope it's a success. Not sure if it's something you've started doing yet but mebbes find a way to start collecting email addresses of customers so you can market the events etc to them. Maybe offer a loyalty card/stamp but they have to provide an email address in return?

Get where you're coming from on Beavertown. Have you been in touch with the likes of Ivy, Dun Cow, Ship Isis, Diego's etc? Maybe together you could create a 'craft route' around town / some kind of Sunderland craft beer event once or twice a year between you all.
Twisted said:
Do you sell beers out of your brewery? I'm just round the corner and far more likely to try them that way. Rarely drink at that end of town but will try and have a dodge some time.


@GTG turns out they aren't connected to the other brewery after all.
Click to expand...
Also interested in this - hardly ever go to the city centre really
 
Super Hodge said:
Fair play marra, like I said before, I really hope it's a success. Not sure if it's something you've started doing yet but mebbes find a way to start collecting email addresses of customers so you can market the events etc to them. Maybe offer a loyalty card/stamp but they have to provide an email address in return?

Get where you're coming from on Beavertown. Have you been in touch with the likes of Ivy, Dun Cow, Ship Isis, Diego's etc? Maybe together you could create a 'craft route' around town / some kind of Sunderland craft beer event once or twice a year between you all.

Also interested in this - hardly ever go to the city centre really
Click to expand...

That sounds fun like. Generally if ive got to isis im not leaving but could be fun i guess if there was some reason to go to other pubs that arent as good (no offense, but isis is just flat out the best pub in the world)
 
It's a fine balancing act to please everyone as some of the beers that appeal to craft ale wankers like myself might be too pricey for others, Verdant, Cloudwater etc. Good reasonably priced cask may keep some happy, with a bit of more pricey keg stuff for us hazy fans

In Newcastle last week the Tap seemed ridiculously pricey, dunno if they're trying to shaft the stag parties. £11.20 for a pint of a 6.5% Sureshot IPA is ludicrous.

Locally I'd also suggest Two by Two, Vaux, Wylam, further afield Pollys are consistently good.

If I don't get down before I'll almost certainly be in before or after the Mallorca game.
 
Town End Farmer Giles said:
It's a fine balancing act to please everyone as some of the beers that appeal to craft ale wankers like myself might be too pricey for others, Verdant, Cloudwater etc. Good reasonably priced cask may keep some happy, with a bit of more pricey keg stuff for us hazy fans

In Newcastle last week the Tap seemed ridiculously pricey, dunno if they're trying to shaft the stag parties. £11.20 for a pint of a 6.5% Sureshot IPA is ludicrous.

Locally I'd also suggest Two by Two, Vaux, Wylam, further afield Pollys are consistently good.

If I don't get down before I'll almost certainly be in before or after the Mallorca game.
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Not been to newcastle tap in a while as checking untappd in advance their offering is average but prices premium.
 
Twisted said:
That sounds fun like. Generally if ive got to isis im not leaving but could be fun i guess if there was some reason to go to other pubs that arent as good (no offense, but isis is just flat out the best pub in the world)
Click to expand...

Start at Ship Isis -> Dun Cow -> Mortal Hound -> Ivy House -> Diego's -> End at Vaux.

Each place has guest/taster beers on for the craft crawl, if they all market it then you could make a proper thing out of it. Have a food vendor at VAUX for the finish line.

Logon or register to see this image


Edit: I had to use The Emporium as an example in Google Maps, you need to add Mortal Hound to Google Maps @Blockyard
 
Super Hodge said:
Start at Ship Isis -> Dun Cow -> Mortal Hound -> Ivy House -> Diego's -> End at Vaux.

Each place has guest/taster beers on for the craft crawl, if they all market it then you could make a proper thing out of it. Have a food vendor at VAUX for the finish line.

Logon or register to see this image


Edit: I had to use The Emporium as an example in Google Maps, you need to add Mortal Hound to Google Maps @Blockyard
Click to expand...
I’d just Uber between them.
 
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