The Ned Ludd

A nineteenth century engraving of 'Ned Ludd' 

When I ask Tom Bird if he is a beer snob he replies “a little bit!” Having worked in pub kitchens from the age of fourteen, progressing to function venues and beer management, it’s no surprise that he has a deep understanding of beer, and especially how to look after it. He has been the bar manager at the Ned Ludd on Friar Lane since February 2014. Tom dropped out of University where he was studying Forensic Science; primarily the effects that drugs and alcohol have on the body. Maybe it’s not such a large step from analysing the effects of beer to professional brewing and beer management…

“As a student I drank lager and pilsner, but as I started working in pubs and trying the real ale, my tastes changed.” Tom prefers the high quality beers to the mass produced lagers that dominate many of the high street pubs. “They have a more chemical taste, some of them are very cheap and use lower quality ingredients. They just don’t have the flavour. Fine if you just want to get drunk; but real ale and craft beers have been made with love.” He also uses the word love to describe how much you have to care about how you keep beer, “Real Ale is a live product, the yeast is live. The temperature is crucial. You can’t use any bleach in the cellars either. Beer reacts to its environment.”

Drinking in the Ned Ludd isn’t all about getting, ahem, ‘hammered’ then? ‘No. We have a mixed clientele. The people who come in are young professionals, older people from The Park, people on a night out, groups of friends, people who are going out of their way to seek out new or different beers.”

You don’t have to down pints either, you can enjoy thirds, halves, and two thirds of a pint. This is great if you want to try several different ales, but don’t want to drink too much of one thing. Tom’s enthusiasm is infectious, “I’m having fun with beer now. It’s brilliant to meet different brewers and offer so many varieties. We like to make people feel welcome, and we offer table service. It can be intimidating to see such a large range of pumps, so we have drinks menus. These are updated every time we add new ones.  The menus give details of the flavours, colour and alcohol content.” Speaking of which, there are some pretty strong ales out there. Dark IPAs (if that isn’t a contradiction in terms) and ales that boast 5.5% and higher.

"I'll have three thirds, please". Trying saying that after a few of these.

“Affligem, a blond beer, has been brewed on the same site for centuries. It’s a Belgian Abbey Beer, like the monks used to brew. That’s 6.5%. One beer we had from Sierra Nevada brewery was called ‘The Hoptimum’ and that was 10.2%!” The stronger the beer, the higher the taxes, so consequently that makes these beers more pricey. “We had an 8% Stout from Harvestoun in Scotland. That was about £4 for a 3^rd of a pint. It was infused with twelve-year-old malt whisky.”

The Ned Ludd also prides itself on championing local beers and food. Navigation Brewery, from West Bridgford, is moving to new premises due to its success. They recently brewed the Daniel Diggle beer for the Ned Ludd.  Daniel Diggle was a Luddite. He was the only one to be executed in Nottingham for frame-breaking. He was hanged from gallows on the steps at the Shire Hall (now the Galleries of Justice Museum). The beer named after him was launched at the newly renovated Framework Knitters’ Museum in Ruddington. “The link with local history is strong. There’s a specially commissioned portrait of Ned Ludd near the bar, based on an original cartoon of the Leader of the Luddites.” The food is inspired by history as well. You can sample The General’s Wotsits (croquettes made with local cheese), The 16 Oz General double burger, and Ludd Pie. Plus, 50p is donated to the Framework Knitters’ Museum with every fish pie purchased.

For English Tourism Week, the general manager, Martin Vickers, created a Bramley Apple Martini adding to the extensive cocktail menu. The Ned Ludd also has the revived Shipstone’s ale. Many people remember it for all the wrong reasons. “The original Shipstone’s Brewery was in Basford. They didn’t have the health and safety regulations back in those days [about forty years ago] and in the pubs, the overflows from the pumps would drain back into the barrel! Needless to say, that does not happen anymore.”

Tom Bird. photo: Christy Fearn

The science of brewing and keeping beer really appeals to Tom. He explains how the various beers need different kegs or barrels and gas to propel it from the cellar to the pumps. “CO2, carbon dioxide, is used for every beer except stout and creamflow and the beers on the taps. They have to have a mix of 30% / 70% - CO2 and nitrogen. Cask ale has to be hand pulled, craft beers can be in bottles or kegs. Some of them are ‘key kegs’ – eco-friendly disposable kegs with a pressurised plastic ball inside.” It sounds like rocket science to me!

“There are lots of micro-breweries producing ales and craft beers. There is competition between craft beers and real ale. Craft won’t wipe out real ale, though. There’s enough room for both.” The Ned Ludd sources ales and beers from all over the place. Freedom Brewery organic beer and Thornbridge in the UK (“Thornbridge are guys with serious heads on them for beer!” says Tom) and from as far away as the Czech Republic: Krusovice is a dark lager with a spicy flavour and amber colour. It’s approved by Czech Royalty! “The King liked it so much he gave it his patronage.”

Tom’s gearing up for the Ned Ludd’s first anniversary in October, and then the Nottingham Beer Festival. “We’ll be doing our own version: offering something a little bit different.” A tall order when there are hundreds of ales to sample, but in such a friendly setting, with the added attractions of British artisan food and live music, Ned Ludd will definitely gain plenty of new followers…

The Ned Ludd first anniversary is on Saturday 4 October 2014. Nottingham Beer Festival takes place at Nottingham Castle between Thursday 9 and Saturday 11 October 2014. 

The Ned Ludd website
Framework Knitters Museum