A shift in portfolio now means that I get the opportunity to go to the AGU meeting every December. In 2012 Avril accompanied me and we tried to get some pubs done while we were there, which we did. The exhibition did not start until the Tuesday, so after a lunchtime meeting on the Monday of the conference, I met up with Avril and we sloped off to the Salt House which was a splendid but extremely expensive and trendy pub in a trendily edgy part of town. The Salt House is in a large unit that was probably a warehouse, and has a very high ceiling and wood floors and tables and quite a Spartan interior. The bar area is quite nice and they had a very good but absurdly expensive selection. We had a very small number of prawns as a bar snack for a very big price. One to use the expense account for although for some reason I didn't.

In the evening we decided to go for a walk down the hill towards Columbus Avenue and decided to go into the Rogue brewery pub because, from the outside, this looked exactly like the sort of place that we would enjoy. After all, it was done out like an English pub and had a huge selection of ales. Unfortunately, as is common on the other side of the Atlantic, the brewers had gone completely over the top with the flavourings and strength, and we had Maple Bacon Ale or Pumpkin Ale which was so strong that it was rank and all their good ideas had backfired which was a huge shame. We sat outside trying to finish our pints, but could not complete the task.

Vesuvio is on the main part of Columbus. It is a classic beatnik bar, with lots of trendy art and a gallery, rather like the Victoria in Jericho, which allows you to look down to the lower floor. It was quite nice when we visited, but the barman was a bit surly and the range of beer was poor. Cocktails are the drink of choice in there. Over the road is Specs which is a much more traditional bar, which also did a bit of beer. I don't remember much about it as it was late, but I do recall the bar was fairly quiet and not particularly big. The bar area itself is very extensive.

The following day we went a block down the road to Tratoria Contadina. This is really a very good Italian restaurant, but they do have a small bar serving area, and we did have a couple of nice drinks here, so I added it to the list. Busy, small, with white tablecloths. For some reason there is a rail at architrave level which looks like a gallery, but unless you are a cat, I don't think it's of any use.

The Wednesday involved an evening editorial meeting at the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway. This is a very run-of-the-mill hotel bar, which was very quiet when we visited. Pleasingly the editors were in a bit of a beer drinking mood and slipped a few in, and they had some acceptable choices on draft. Also of note was the waitress, a bit like the short bar lady from Cheers, who must have been pissed when we visited.

The Thursday was the last full day of the exhibition and another lunch meeting again at the Mission Grille at the Marriott. I had been here already, but on this occasion I had some beer and was able to rate it. Again a standard offering, especially as we were eating in the restaurant part, but pleasant enough for food. I will be back here for more meetings in 2013. The evening saw an Elsevier excursion to the Anchor and Hope. This is really another trendy restaurant, themed on fish, in a similar mould as the Salt House but perhaps not quite as expensive. Having just checked the website, they seem to have used the same template so perhaps I should not be surprised at this similarity. Again a good selection of beer, and they even had a proper hand-pulled dispenser, which I felt obliged to sample. And very good it was too.

The last day of the conference was also Avril's birthday and after an extended lunch meeting, I met up with Avril in the Epic Roast House (upper level) for their happy hour, which was pretty good value, and we took such advantage of it that we stayed for a number of rounds. This is a very well sited place to spend some time but of course on account of its location and being a Friday evening, it got very busy. Fortunately we had secured a table early so could see the place filling up. One of the drinkers seemed to be in an altercation with his friend and created a right drunken fracas before 'deciding' to leave. Eventually we decided to leave and headed back to Columbus Avenue and a very famous bar called Tosca which a variety of celebrities drink at. Unfortunately, the pub is well up its own arse. This is a shame because it is kitted out in a very authentic way, with a long bar that has comfortable stools against it, and lines of Irish coffees set up. Not sure whether or not these were for display purposes, but they were constructed by a couple of bar men in what can only be described as lab coats. The large area at the back has some very majestic looking leather upholstered booths. Unfortunately, the attitude of the bar men was decidedly surly, and the service was very slow even though it was almost empty, and they didn't seem interested in serving or being paid, so we left, almost without paying, and definitely without leaving a tip!

We had read that the Magnolia pub in Haight-Ashbury was something from the Gods and these reviews were not wrong. This is what the Americans should aspire to when they are creating a pub, especially with regards to the quality, taste and temperature of the ales. True, the website is a little bit trendy for my liking, but the rating is based on factors within the pub itself, and we actually recorded a record score! Beers rotate very frequently, but there were numerous examples on, mostly in recognised English styles, such as a magnificent mild and an impressive porter, rather than some of the over-flavoured abominations that places like Rogue and the US in general seems to like to serve up. Most of these places are too clever for their own good and suffer for it, but Magnolia managed to get its subtlety and simplicity spot on. Beers were served at the correct temperature too, and out of hand-pull pumps rather than pissflow. Atmosphere was also very good and we sat at the bar and had a very good chat with the bar lady, but pleasant booths existed too, and the toilets are rather interesting also. Atmosphere was complimented by some excellent music, especially to Avril's taste, such as 'Beast of Burden' by the Rolling Stones, 'Your Time is Gonna Come' by Led Zeppelin, 'People are Strange' by the Doors, 'Shine on you Crazy Diamond' by Pink Floyd, as well as a nice dose of INXS. Even though we had an early start the following day, we stayed on until the end and are determined to come back in 2013. There's not really anywhere in the US that gets close.