Name: Oz and Hugh Raise the Bar
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2010-12-21
Cast: Hugh Dennis, Oz Clarke

South of England

Dec 21, 2010

Oz Clarke and Hugh Dennis are on a mission to revive the good old British pub. Their plan: to scour the British Isles for the best independent drinks, soak up pub culture, and then open a pub of their own, packed full of drinks from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. As they can't agree on what makes for the best of British and Irish booze, they will open two bars that will go head-to-head for one night only. Their search begins with a tour of England's south. They discover hidden gems, from the award-winning sparkling wines of Sussex to the offal- and jellyfish-flavoured beers of Cornwall, and from alcoholic ginger beer to sweet farmhouse cider. Rediscovering an ancient pub game, Oz enjoys a face full of beer while 'Dwile Flunking', and Hugh hoodwinks a cider and perry festival crowd with Babycham disguised as home-made perry. In London Oz and Hugh happen upon English lager, meet a specialist gin producer and take on a cocktail mixologist in a Caribbean rum shack.

1h

Scotland and Ireland

Dec 26, 2010

Oz Clarke and Hugh Dennis scour the British Isles for the best drinks with a view to opening a traditional pub of their own packed with tipples from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. When they fail to agree on what the best drinks are, they open two bars that go head to head for one night only. Their tour of Gaelic grog kicks off in Perthshire, where a visit that begins with wine tasting (the nonalcoholic fruit variety) ends with a bottle-smashing competition. To continue their research, they head for the Inner Hebrides and Easdale Island's popular, and only, pub. Next stop is Ireland - north and south - where Hugh's embarrassing confession to liking Irish Cream leads the pair to make their own version of the drink.

1h

North of England

Dec 27, 2010

Oz Clarke and Hugh Dennis are on a mission to revive the good old British pub. Their plan: to scour the British Isles for the best independent drinks, soak up pub culture, and then open a pub of their own, packed full of drinks from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. But as they can't agree on what makes for the best of British and Irish booze, they're going to open two bars that will go head to head for one night only. Oz and Hugh head to the north of England in their dodgy Dutch camper van. Things get lively when a Manchester real ale tasting gets out of hand. Oz takes orders from a cider-making Benedictine monk, and Hugh goes undercover dressed as a whoopee cushion for the famous Otley Run pub crawl. Oz and Hugh also learn how to make honey, taste the most Northern wine in the UK made in Morecambe Bay and compete to make the most popular flavoured beer in a Saltaire brewery.

1h

Wales

Jan 2, 2011

In the final furlong of Oz and Hugh's journey across the British Isles, their pub grand opening is looming. They head to Wales to feed beer to some boozing bovines, risk life and limb convincing local rugby lads to swap their lager for Welsh wine, and seek inspiration from one of the most bizarre pubs in the country - Leintwardine's Sun Inn. After a tour of a Wolverhampton pork scratching factory, Oz fries up an unusual part of the pig's anatomy to produce his own version of this pub essential. Armed with their drinks from across the nation, the journey ends with opening time at their very own pub for one night only. Will the locals prefer Oz or Hugh's drinks?

1h