Fame at last

Well sort of.

Just had a freelance piece on how pubs can use Twitter to promote themselves published by the Publican magazine - take a look if you're interested.

Is Twitter just another distraction that will tempt people away from interacting with each other in the pub? Not at all, argues Arun Marsh, a freelance journalist The Publican met on Twitter – harnessed correctly, it can help you connect with your local community...

The Black Boy, Caernarfon

A trip to Snowdonia National Park and, on the discovery that our hotel was keg beer only, the rather desperate search for a decent pub.

Despite the encroaching darkness I could tell Caernafon was a lovely place, even if my other half was put off by the semi clad teenagers hanging around between KFC and the off license.

With the castle, town walls and square It reminded me of Ludlow, somewhere I'm far more familiar with.

Without a clue about where to go (I'd forgotten my good beer guide!) and in danger of giving up and heading back to our hotel for a Tetley's 'Extra Cold' (bueergh!) I saw the sign for the Black Boy Inn.

It was promising and on entering the first bar (lounge) I saw a couple of hand pumps, after some umming and ahhing we headed to the public bar where there were two more pumps on our side and a further two around the corner.

I ordered a pint from the excellent Purple Moose Brewery at the recommendation of the barman - I'm not sure if it was the Snowdonia Ale or the Glaslyn Ale - it was a lovely uncomprimisingly hoppy beer, full of flavour - it certainly tasted like it had the 4.2% of the Glaslyn rather than the 3.6% of the Snowdonia.

My second pint was definitely the Snowdonia as the barmaid named it as such as she passed it over. It tasted similar, but not the same, to my first pint (hence the confusion over which beer I was drinking). It had the same flavour but not quite as much of it - this could be simply because it was the second pint, of course.

Alas for my third, which I finished along side a delicious meal of herby battered salmon and chips, I simply ordered a purple moose and although this was more like my original pint than the second, it is still possible they were all the Snowdonia Ale!

Overall excellent pub, beer and food, full of real locals - English was definitely a second language - but no sign of trouble.

On offer but untested were draught Bass and Brains The Rev James.