25 Jun 18

Hot-pot and Pint Night

Monday’s are tough enough to deal with as it is without having to think of something to cook in the evening as well. You’ve got another week of drudgery and work ahead of you and the last thing you need is to worry about is whether you’ve got enough gone-off mushrooms to scrape together another bl**dy Jamie Oliver pasta bake. Let’s face it, with this level of depression and gloom you’re definitely going to need some kind of beer-based anaesthesia to get you through and a deathly dull bottle of Doom Bar from the Co-Op just isn’t going to cut it. What you need is the Sally to take all this pain away from you. What you need is a steaming hot bowl of a delicious, comforting stew all made with quality, local ingredients. What you need is a fresh, foaming pint of perfectly conditioned ale to sup your troubles away. What you need is the cheery company of others who can understand and alleviate your Monday blues. What you need is the gentle crackle of a log fire to warm and soothe your soul. What you need is the Sally Hot-Pot and Pint Night. Yep that’s right, every Monday night the Sally Hot-Pot and Pint Night will bring you a different hotpot, stew, casserole or chilli plus a pint for just £8 with food served between 5pm and 8pm. That’s Monday sorted, just got to get through Tuesdays now….!! . This weeks dish is Ribollita: Tuscan bean & vegetable stew served with crusty bread and butter.

27 Jun 18

The Sally Cheese Club

One of the few things that we love almost as much as beer and cider here at the Sally is cheese. Being based in Berkeley we are also steeped in cheese-making history with the town once famous for being the cheese capital of the county (Double Berkeley anyone?!). Given this, we’ve decided that we need to celebrate, nay worship, our favourite booze accompaniment on a monthly basis. Ladies and gentlemen, may we present to you The Sally Cheese Club! Our resident cheese connoisseur Jerry (no, not a cartoon mouse but actually a cheesemaker for the legendary Jonathan Crump) will take all you fans of fromage through a hand-picked selection of world cheeses that would make Wallace and Gromit wet themselves. Jerry will be pairing each cheese with a sample of perfectly paired beverages from some of the world’s finest beers and ciders and some alright wine as well. Sally Cheese Club will run on the last Thursday of every month starting at 7.30pm . Tickets are £14 each (available to book in advance now from the bar) and include a selection of and introduction to six different cheese and drink pairings from our man Jerry. This month, we will taste a diverse range of the best of British cheeses, plus one surprise Scandinavian guest! From crumbly, fresh and lactic, to rich, spicy and heady. With our pairings of French wines and top craft beers we will balance the type and strength of flavour. Experience this top selection using all your senses in a fun and informal tasting evening.

28 Jun 18

Stroud Morris and Mendip Morris Men

We’re big fans of morris dancing here at the Sally. There’s something beautifully barmy and British about seeing men and women leaping up and down, clattering sticks and waving hankies at each other outside the front of a pub. This time we have the Stroud Morris Dancers and the Mendip Morris Men to perform for us. There can be fewer more relaxing things than grabbing a pint of ale, kicking back on the bench out the front of the Sally and watching a morris team in full flow in the evening summer sun. Dancing starts at 8pm – just save me a seat on the bench!

01 Jul 18

The Sunday Sally Singalong

The late afternoon/early evening Sunday session in the Sally is one of our favourites. Sunday lunch is all washed up, you’ve kicked out the relatives, Saturday’s hangover is starting to clear and before you even start thinking about another working week, there is just one last treat to squeeze in. Time to get out of the house, have a brisk walk up to the Sally and sink a few relaxing pints with friends sat by the warm fire. Well, those Sunday evening sessions just got even better since we found hand-clapping, foot-stomping, ivory-tinkling, Elton John-eat-your-heart-out, piano playing legend “Mike The Piano” (OK we’re not sure what his surname is). Mike is the most gifted pianist and can it seems, pretty much play any number you ask guys for (“Do you know your monkey’s stolen my pint? “No but if you hum it…” etc etc). American Pie, Crocodile Rock, Hey Jude, you name it and he will play it (and we’ll probably butcher it trying to sing along). The Sunday Sally Singalong is brilliant way to round off your weekend and is well worth delaying Mondays for. Music starts at 6pm.

12 Jul 18

The Great Sally Alley Quiz

Yes that’s right Ladies and Gentlemen, roll-up roll-up roll-up your sleeves, its time to start swotting, sweating and rubbing those brain cells together for The Great Sally Alley Quiz!

“What’s so great about it?” we hear you cry. Well, it’s at the Sally of course!

“We thought you said you’d never do a quiz – running out of ideas are we?” Aah sod off!

Enough with the awkward questions, here’s how it works; on the second Thursday of every month we’re inviting a different Berkeley charity to set the questions, act as quizmaster and trouser all the entry fees. Adding to the fun, each quiz will be sponsored by one of our favourite local breweries who will be donating a case of bottled beer as the prize. There will be six rounds of different topics chosen by the charity, including one specific to their own cause. They ask you questions, you try and answer them. The team with the most correct answers wins beer. We’re allowing teams of up to six people and entry fee is £4 per person. Register your team for 7.45pm and the great quizzing commences at 8pm. It’s going to be great…I don’t know why we didn’t think of this before?!?!?

This month’s quizmasters are the good folks from Dr Jenner’s House and Museum – a brilliant museum which tells the incredible story of Berkeley’s own Dr Jenner and his discovering of the vaccination for small pox. All proceeds from the entry fees will be going to supporting the museum and helping to pay for the ongoing operational costs.

14 Jul 18

Billy in the Lowground – Live at the Sally

We’re very excited to be hosting this very special band here in the Sally. With a line-up consisting of drums, bass, lead guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo and vocals, Billy In The Lowground have a huge sound that ranges from Irish folk, Americana to country and rock. Formed in 1991 the band have headlined gigs up and down the country including multiple festival appearances and supported the likes of Shane MacGowan, John Otway, Norma Waterson & Martin Carthy, Oysterband and Fairport Convention. Despite comparisons with the Waterboys and the Levellers, ‘Billy….’ play all original material and have a sound which is uniquely their own. Packing such a big band into the Sally is going to be a bit of a challenge but this really is going to be one night you cannot afford to miss!

19 Jul 18

Folk Night

The Sally house band (Sally and the Hamonites) will be playing in the front bar of the Sally on the third Thursday of every month. Expect screaming fiddles, rattling banjos and heaving accordions with some traditional Irish jigs and reels! As Shane MacGowan once described it, it’s “heart, b*lls and feet music”!! Music usually starts about 7.30pm.

20 Jul 18

Homegrown Ham Egg and Chips Weekend – Swine from Swanley – Round 2

Our homegrown ham is back! This time however the pigs haven’t been raised in our Walled Garden in Ham but in our chef’s orchard in Swanley, less than two miles away from the Sally. Whilst this may not be Ham from Ham, this Swine From Swanley is going to taste just as good. Our chef Jo and her husband Simon have been raising this small batch of Gloucestershire Old Spots on a diet of sow nuts and apples from their orchard since autumn last year. The pigs were born in Berkeley, again less than two miles from the Sally, so they really are about as local as you can get. It is very fitting that these pigs were raised in Swanley as the hamlet was historically known as ‘Swinely’ because of its association pig rearing. The hams have been traditionally dry-cured and are now ready to be served up in our ham, egg and chips. A number (but not all) of the eggs will also be from our own Sally hens and the chips are made from hand-cut Gloucestershire grown potatoes from just a few miles up the road. We’ll have approximately 15 portions of homegrown ham, egg and chips available each day of the weekend, starting Friday lunchtime and finishing Sunday. Food is served from noon until 2pm each day and as ever it’s first come first serve so make sure you don’t miss it!