Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Good Beer Guide

Oxford – Grapes Pub

As the weekend drew to a close, I had time for one final Good Beer Guide pub visit. Regarding the history, CAMRA notes:

“First built in 1820 and rebuilt in 1879, this is a rare Victorian pub in the city centre. There is a single narrow panelled room, with the bar on one side and seating on the other. The glazed timber screens have been removed to give more room. In the entrance there is some original tiling, mostly obscured. After being run by St Austell Brewery for a while the pub reopened under West Berkshire Brewery ownership in April 2019 but the brewery went into administration.”

There was an extensive and interesting selection of real ales which covered a range of beer styles, it actually felt curated. The service was slightly sluggish, but it was friendly and efficient, with the general environment being inviting and comfortable. Everything felt clean and tidy, with power outlets available for those who might need them.

There was also an excellent range of craft beers and if I had longer then I would have started to work my way down a couple of these, I had no idea that they would have 40 keg lines.

It wasn’t very busy, although there was some drama when the 15:00 national phone emergency testing alarm went off.

I went for half a pint of the Bliss Point from Thornbridge, which I haven’t had before. It was well-kept, light and had flavours of hedgerow (this isn’t an official term), pine and citrus. The price was towards the lower end of the scale for Oxford, although some of the decadent craft beers are of course more decadently priced.

Although I didn’t eat, there was food available and the only customer I saw order a meal came over to the bar to say how much they’d enjoyed it. The menu isn’t overly extensive, it contains small plates, traditional pub classics, burgers, pizzas and the like.

Some beermat decoration on the ceiling of the pub. There are also some vinyl records near to the door which I think can be played, with sports being shown on the TV. Neither of those latter two points particularly engage me, but it all adds to a rounded pub and I’d be happy just with the beer selection. The recent online reviews are very positive and I can imagine that this venue will soon get busier as its reputation spreads as it certainly surprised and delighted me.

This was the best pub that I visited in Oxford and I’m very grateful to the Good Beer Guide for pointing me towards it. The venue has won numerous CAMRA awards recently and shows what can happen when a large corporate doesn’t make it formulaic and drab. There are a few offers floating about, not least the current £3.50 for any pint of real ale on Mondays.

September 8, 2025
Oxford – The Royal Blenheim

This was an unexpected treat, being able to tick off two things at once, another Titanic pub and a Good Beer Guide pub. In terms of its history, it’s a Victorian pub which takes its name from one of the stagecoach services which used to serve Oxford.

What a lovely sight and the pub has won numerous CAMRA awards in recent years.

The keg section.

For the many and not the few.

The bar and there was a friendly welcome from the staff member. It’s always a delight to visit a Titanic pub and she was knowledgeable and engaging.

Clean and comfortable seating. The pub doesn’t serve food any more, instead focusing on its drinks trade and it clearly does that very well.

This is half a pint of the Idaho Pale, a Titanic beer that I haven’t had before. It’s 4.3% and was really rather lovely, hoppy, fluffy and rich in flavour.

My second half pint was also a first for me, the True Stout nitro, which the staff member told me is a long-standing Titanic beer, although I’ve not knowingly noticed it before. It was smooth, dark, creamy and again there was a depth of flavour. Titanic really are good at this brewing thing.

Well, indeed.

The online reviews are broadly very positive and this was one of the very few negative ones:

“Pretty unfriendly if you have kids. Great pub otherwise, but the unfriendly treatment spoiled it for me. I understand why the management might prefer to have a kids-free pub, but there are nicer ways to communicate it, even conceding this might be a tenable position to have in 2023.”

I don’t know how they communicated it, but I find it hard to believe they randomly turned on some kids that entered without them having caused a disturbance.

“There was live rugby on, but in the area we were sitting no one was watching and the sound was intrusive and distorted. Two customers, including the person I was with, asked if the sound could be turned off. The pub employee replied that it could not be turned off, and if people did not like it they should go elsewhere.”

This feels sub-optimal if true…..

Anyway, this was a pub that I thought absolutely deserved to be in the Good Beer Guide, a wide selection of real ales and keg beers, a friendly welcome, a quirky feel and something that didn’t feel formulaic. All really rather lovely.

September 7, 2025
Oxford – St Aldate’s Tavern

The next Good Beer Guide listed venue on our little pub crawl was St Aldate’s Tavern, a Young’s pub which makes an attempt to have a couple of local beers. The history of the venue is complex and Young’s have shown no interest in the pub’s heritage, but it’s not the original St Aldate’s Tavern which was located further down the same road. CAMRA notes that there has been an inn here since 1397, although rebuilt on numerous occasions and in 1716 it was known as the New Inn. It was then renamed as the Bulldog in 1965 before being rebranded back to St. Aldate’s Tavern in 2005.

The beer selection was dreary, although there was an attempt at having a local beer which was the Prospect from Oxford Brewery. The service was friendly and engaging, although the prices were to the higher end of the scale.

The seating was odd, a sofa that really isn’t that suitable to sit at for those wanting to drink or eat, it all felt formulaic. The online reviews here are a little poor, although I like this one:

“I went to this pub and was enjoying My self with friends when we were told to be quite? I won’t be going back as we had to be quiet”

The pub replied:

“Good evening, we are sorry you are feeling this way about your visit today. Your group were raising your voices and cursing, including raising your voice towards one of our team. You were politely asked to keep the noise level down. To give an opportunity to all of our guests so they can equally enjoy their time in our venue.”

I’m with the pub, I like them a bit more now.

“After a show in Oxford we went in the pub and Callum said to us that they were showing the World Cup Final. Great we thought! Lets stay eat drink and enjoy the match. After the match, extra time, two meals and several drinks later it was time for a penalty shootout. Lots of people in the pub in a good mood. Took to France missing second penalty and calum decided to switch all the TVs off in a huff. Plus the upstairs projector.”

I quite like Callum 🙂

The DEYA is decent, there’s a slight effort to offer some craft beer options here.

I went for the Prospect as it was the local option and it’s named after the story of when the unfortunate prospective Balliol scholars were set upon by the College Fellows and carried to College Hall where they were forced to tell stories to entertain them. The beer is 3.7% and was hoppy, a slight taste of toffee and was well-kept. It was slightly challenging to battle off all the flies in the venue, a slightly sub-optimal situation.

It was dark when we left…. Although it’s an interesting venue historically, I thought it was all just a little soulless, corporate and formulaic, perhaps fortunate to be listed in the Good Beer Guide.

September 7, 2025
Oxford – The Bear

It was the Norfolk & Suffolk LDWA weekend in Oxford and although there were some walking elements, I thought I’d come to tick off some more Good Beer Guide pubs. Located down a small side street, the venue refers to themselves as being the oldest pub in Oxford, but this isn’t really the complete story. There was a Bear Inn which was in existence from 1241, but they knocked that building down in 1801. The building which was once the residential property of the Bear Inn’s ostler had been trading as the Jolly Trooper since 1774 and so, in 1801, they renamed that to the Bear.

This is a small venue, with only 24 seats inside and so it’s not the easiest to take photos in. Here’s an AI of what the interior looks like….. There is more space in the garden area, but more on that in a moment.

The truly eccentric detail of the whole arrangement is the collection of over 4,500 tie ends which are mounted behind glass. Its origins lie with a 1952 tradition started by the then landlord Alan Course which is that guests clipped the end of their ties in return for half a pint of beer. Now the walls and even ceiling are covered in bits of tie which represent clubs, schools, colleges and just about anything else which is tie related. It’s wonderfully odd.

The pub is operated by Fuller’s, so the beer selection is pretty much limited to their own beers. In many ways, it does feel a shame that this isn’t an independent venue, that would perhaps fit much better with its independent and quirky feel, an example is that the website makes no effort to engage about the venue’s history. There was a friendly welcome and the staff worked around a completely oblivious and rude group getting in the way of everyone to ensure that I was served promptly. This is quite an achievement, there’s not much space to work around anything in this small two room venue.

The venue is only really viable as there’s a large beer garden out of the back and an external facing kitchen area.

The garden area. The land on which the pub was built was once the churchyard of St. Edward’s Church (in situ between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries) and perhaps rather sub-optimally, they have found skeletons relating to that period of medieval usage. The archaeological report relating to three bodies were found recently is online and shows where the skeletons were found in the sump of the cellar and I’m not entirely sure that anyone could have predicted that when the bodies were buried.

Bike storage in the middle of the beer garden. There’s quite an extensive food menu which is priced towards the higher end of the scale, but customers are inevitably paying a little extra for being in such a well known pub. We were fortunate to get a table, thanks to Helen for getting there a little early and securing that.

I went for half a pint of the HSB which was well-kept, clean tasting, malty and fruity.

It’s an interesting and fascinating pub, quite rightly in the Good Beer Guide because of the historical interest, the range of beers and how well they’re kept. The Good Beer Guide is really just about beer quality, but, realistically, it seems to have become a little more wide reaching depending on the local group. The online reviews are generally positive, although some of the food reviews are quite scathing. Perhaps better suited for tie spotters and history lovers rather than groups and craft beer drinkers, it did feel clean and organised. As I mentioned, I would rather like that this was an independent arrangement offering something a little less corporate, but it was all functional and interesting.

September 7, 2025
Reading – Three Guineas

This is the only Good Beer Guide pub in Reading that I haven’t been to, as I had a rather comprehensive stay in the town a few years ago. There’s plenty of history in this Grade-II listed building, which was constructed to be the main entrance and booking hall to what was then known as Reading General Station. It was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel between 1865 and 1867, but the station was reconfigured in 1989 with a new entrance and this building was turned into the Three Guineas.

The real ale selection was extensive although it’s all quite mainstream and it didn’t seem entirely well curated as they’re missing some beer styles here with some heavy duplication. The welcome was immediate and friendly, with the venue being relatively busy with mostly mainly weary looking commuters just arriving back from London.

I went for the Lavender Hill from Sambrook’s Brewery which I hadn’t realised I’d had before a few years ago, but it was well-kept, clean tasting with a floral and sweet flavour to it. The pricing was towards the higher end of the scale, but not unreasonable.

I wasn’t looking to eat here, but there’s a relatively extensive food menu and there’s an open kitchen which always gives me a feeling of some confidence.

This is the main room of the station’s former ticket office, but it’s not that spacious although there are plenty of external seats available. The pub wasn’t that clean, the team members were ignoring the fine array of empty glasses on tables, surfaces were sticky and it didn’t feel that loved. The venue was reconfigured and redesigned in 2017, although it feels just a little tired now.

The history of the pub name.

I rather suspect that this venue is clinging onto its place in the Good Beer Guide given the choice that there is in the town, but the beer was well-kept and the surroundings were comfortable. I like the heritage of the building, although that’s perhaps a little understated and I’m pleased to have visited, I’m fairly confident that they were doing some construction work when I last came to Reading and that’s why I didn’t visit.

September 4, 2025
Redhill – Garibaldi (Good Beer Guide)

The Garibaldi is a Good Beer Guide listed community pub located on Mill Street in Redhill, with a bit of a walk up a hill required to get there.

What’s on at the pub and a few copies of the Good Beer Guides. This is a small Victorian pub and it was nearly demolished a few years ago, but the community took it on and have been running it on a not-for-profit basis. They have a large garden area which has views over the local area, which also gives them something of a boost in terms of the seating numbers given that they don’t have a vast number inside. The pub likely takes its name from Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian revolutionary who came to the UK on a few occasions and seems to have inspired quite a few people to name pubs after him.

There were four real ales available, mainly local options. The service was warm and friendly, with the pub being moderately busy when I visited albeit with one quite raucous group in.

There were also a few craft keg beer options.

I stuck with the real ale and my first half was the Surrey session bitter from Pilgrim Brewery, a well-kept, light, clean and rounded beer with a slight biscuit taste.

My second half was the Shere Drop from Surrey Hills Brewery, which was clean, light and had a slight fruit edge.

This is a well-reviewed pub online and it does have a rather welcoming community feel to it, something perhaps evident by their meat raffle. Since 2017, it has been run as a community project on a lease from the amenable owner, but they’re now trying to buy the freehold to ensure the venue’s long-term viability and the MP, Rebecca Paul, mentioned the purchase of the pub in the House of Commons. It might not be the most central of pubs in the town, but it’s worth a walk up the hill to visit.

August 18, 2025
Halifax – Vocation & Co Taproom

I’m a big fan of Vocation brewery and I was pleased to see that their flagship new taproom has opened in Halifax since I last visited the town. I also noticed that one of the two JD Wetherspoon outlets has gone, but this more than made up for that as this venue is listed in the Good Beer Guide so that’s another one ticked off.

It’s a decent space and they have additional floors and space, along with a rooftop terrace. It’s all very on-trend and seems to be attracting a younger demographic. And me. They serve pizzas, which are a little punchy in terms of the price, but it all looks of a high quality.

I very much like the darker beers that Vocation brew, although there was nothing new available to me in that regard, so I went for some different beer styles. This is an excellent range of beers though and covers numerous beer styles. I didn’t have any cask options, as I tried them before, but they have keg and cask available to choose from. The beer list is also on Untappd which is handy, along with their wide range of cans which they have available.

This is the Spring Zing from the brewery, a balanced sour which wasn’t overly sour but had lots of rhubarb and was suitably agreeable.

And my second beer, both of which were just thirds, was the Afterglow from the brewery which was punchy and zesty. Coming in at 8% ABV it had a heap of stone fruit, lots of hops and a feeling of complexity around it.

I liked this venue, it was clean, comfortable and felt welcoming. The prices were towards the higher end of the scale, but there’s clearly been some considerable money invested here and I’ve a lot of time for what they’re trying to achieve. I’m not sure when I’ll next be back in Halifax, but I’ll likely quickly pop in here when I am as it feels like the equivalent of a friend who always has biscuits in the cupboard, somewhere worth dropping in whilst passing.

June 5, 2025
Coventry – Hops D’Amour Micropub

Richard and I had time for one more Coventry pub and so it seemed sensible to visit another venue, a micro-pub no less, listed in the Good Beer Guide, in my never ending quest to try and visit every pub in the book. Hops D’Amour was the first micro-pub in Coventry having been opened in May 2021 by a local couple, Gregg and Vyx Spencer.

The beer list at Hops D’Amour and this had a range of beer styles and types, with a mix of cask and keg alongside a fair number of ciders. I was eyeing up the Birthday Cake from Vocation, but that had just run out when they were serving the previous customer. The pub has won numerous CAMRA awards over the last couple of years, including being the local cider pub of the year.

The back bar and they were very apologetic when my replacement choice of Banoffee Pie from Yonder Brewing ran out. Not that they needed to apologise, especially when it was clear there was enough left of the beer for me to at least try. The team members were polite and helpful, having an excellent beer knowledge and I felt that the recommendations were appropriate.

And there’s what they had left, with the beer being punchy in its banoffee flavours. There was a taste of caramel, banana and a fair chunk of biscuit as well, decent.

I told Richard that he kept looking miserable in the photos, so he looked more cheerful in this one. His diet seems to have given him a resting angry face, but I didn’t tell him that as I only want to encourage people. The beer from Yonder was the Peanut Butter and Jelly and it had a jam tasting finish, being sweet with plenty of chocolate and jelly flavours, although not much peanut butter.

The interior of the venue which remained busy throughout our visit. The Singer (of sewing machine fame) sign on the wall is a throwback to the previous occupant of this shop, with Singer having had a long presence here over the last couple of decades. There’s also an external area, which seemed to be primarily used by smokers, which was also busy during the time that we were there. There was no music playing and no television screens, which is exactly the ambience that I would have expected from a micro-pub.

Some of the previous pump clips were being used as decoration and there are some decent brewers there, not least Castle Rock, DEYA, Thornbridge and Yonder.

The pub is open every day of the week, but they don’t go for late closing hours and that seems a very sensible decision, there’s inevitably always a challenge from late night drinkers and this isn’t the sort of venue that needs that trade. I very much liked it here, the atmosphere was welcoming, there was an excellent beer choice, the service was friendly, the prices were reasonable and so another excellent recommendation from the Good Beer Guide.

April 28, 2025
Coventry – Gatehouse Tavern

After an NEC evening meal, my friend Richard demanded that we go to a pub in Coventry city centre and so I decided I would be helpful in accompanying them. The Gatehouse Tavern is a Good Beer Guide listed pub and has appeared regularly in the book. The building was formerly the gate house to the Leigh Mills, a worsted and cotton manufacturer (or whatever the right word is there) and it was turned into a pub in the 1980s, although with some significant modifications.

A map from the 1870s, the pub is just about the second ‘T’ on Hill Street.

The beer selection with around seven real ales available. The service was friendly and warm, it felt a welcoming pub to visit.

The interior is atmospheric and comfortable. I didn’t investigate, but there’s also a large beer garden and judging by the on-line reviews they seem to do keenly priced food at lunchtimes.

Stuff that’s on in the next few weeks, there’s regular live music here.

The first beer, the Waves from Twisted Barrel which was a lemony and sessionable pale ale, pleasant but a little thin. Incidentally, Richard was happier than the photo suggests.

The second beer, the Mild from Silhill Brewery which had roasted flavours and a slight creaminess to it. Both beers were well-kept, at the appropriate temperature and the glasses were clean.

This is a rather lovely pub and it’s another one of those venues that I might have walked by if it wasn’t listed in the Good Beer Guide, but I’m glad to have visited.

April 28, 2025
Maldon – Rose and Crown Pub (JD Wetherspoon)

As Liam and I were coming back from London we did our usual thing of visiting a pub from the JD Wetherspoon chain which I haven’t visited before. The Rose and Crown, located on the town’s main road of the High Street has the bonus of being a Good Beer Guide listed pub to add to my little collection.

The pub was operated by Punch Taverns until 2013, but was taken over by JD Wetherspoon in 2014 (opening in June 2015 after they had spent £1.6 million on the redevelopment) and they did an extensive amount of archaeological work and they’ve put a lot of that on-line, once again one of the few pub companies that takes the heritage of their venues very seriously. The structural heart of the building is from the sixteenth century, but it was extensively remodelled in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It has been a licensed premises since around the 1780s, although there’s not a vast amount of information I can find about its history over recent decades.

Part of the beer selection, there were a choice of six different ales when I visited, although there were no darker beers. I liked they must have got bored when putting the little jars with colour samples of the beer in front of the taps.

The rest of the bar and advertising that from this week they’re selling 1664 and Poretti, although it’s unlikely I could taste these riveting lagers from each other. Anyway, there’s something for everyone….

A taster of the Midnight Bell beer from Leeds Brewery which I’ve had before a few times, a dark and malty ale which is rather agreeable.

Half a pint of the Copper Cascade from Stewart Brewing, which I haven’t had before, but was clean, malty, refreshing and it had a slight taste of toffee.

The side of the pub and there’s a beer garden at the rear. The staircase to the toilets is quite narrow and relatively steep, I suspect they must have found it quite a challenge to insert that sensitively into the historic building and there are numerous low ceilings dotted around the place that taller customers need to be careful of.

Since this is a JD Wetherspoon venue, I thought I’d see if there were any reviews that would surprise and delight me. The pub is rated towards the higher end of the spectrum for pubs in the chain and I got a positive vibe about the arrangements. It wasn’t spotlessly clean, but the team members were friendly and engaging.

“Used to be good, I do believe it’s a case of which manager is on, my order was taken correctly then on two occasions it’s came out wrong , had to watch my friends eat , 25 mins later mine comes out. I didn’t eat it as i felt awkward and stressed because of service. No refund given, shame”

I wouldn’t have felt awkward….

“the pub not very comfortable Atmospheric should really be sold on to a freeholders that runs a grate pub with brilliant food and can attract the best out of people not the worst catal grid experience roll on new owners good bye nice but dim tim the present owner”

Hmmmm.

“Staff are dreadful. One of them is a complete liar & behaves inappropiateley. Dreadful place.”

I wish people would give more information when they post reviews like this, a bit of drama is always exciting.

“Rubbish beer, rubbish service by surly children. There are far better pubs in Maldon, spend a bit more and enjoy those instead of this place.”

Rubbish beer? Hmmmm.

“I had to take the seal of the source”

I don’t know how some people manage to be so brave.

“Full of men”

Occasionally this happens in any pub….

“Didn’t go there”

Very helpful.

“My partner food had aluminium foil stuck on the bottom of it, do your staff know how dangerous Ingestion of aluminium foil is !!!!!!! Perhaps Tim Martin would like to reply”

Tim Martin didn’t reply and there was a photo of the foil which was an absolutely tiny piece. And it’s not dangerous at all, it’s non-toxic.

Anyway, I digress once again. I liked this pub, it had a sense of history to it, the team members were friendly and the beers were well-kept. We didn’t have a need to eat on this occasion, but the food coming out look well presented and everything felt well managed.

April 13, 2025