HOME | LAST 100 POSTS | CONTACT ME

Tag: Good Beer Guide

  • Reading – The Alehouse

    Reading – The Alehouse

    The centre of Reading was returning to normal after the winds of yesterday had rearranged the litter quite comprehensively around the streets of the town. The wind had nearly entirely dissipated, back to the more usual pouring rain that I’m used to in this country. As a lunchtime trip beckoned, I opted for the generally well reviewed Alehouse, but it was a little difficult to know what to expect as their web-site is down and they haven’t been engaging with their social media accounts for some time. I accept there’s more to life than social media (such as crisps), but it is useful to know a little about a venue in advance.

    The bar was quite busy and so I didn’t get any photos of the arrangements there, but it had quite a unique charm with pump clips positively raining down from the ceiling. It was all friendly enough, another customer made conversation with me, so my little tick box of a welcoming vibe was on offer here. The pub is listed in the Good Beer Guide, which is what drew me there in the first place, and there were five or so different real ales available. The choices weren’t immediately obvious to me, but the member of bar staff was happy to engage and find me a suitable dark beer.

    As the front bar was full I decided to go and investigate the back rooms and these are full of charm, with several nooks and crannies.

    Now that’s quirky, I like it. Some interesting books on the shelf and some effort with the decoration on the ceiling in here as well. Absolutely no phone signal, but plenty of charm. The toilets at the back of the pub feel quite old-school and they require some slight manoeuvring around some beer barrels, but that all adds to the character.

    I went for half a pint of the Black Crow from Longdog Brewery which is a microbrewery located a short distance away in Basingstoke. This was well-kept and what I would call a session dark beer (I think that’s a thing, although others might disagree), even if it is 4.5%, although it lacked the richness and decadence that I’d ideally like.

    As a pub though, this is the sort of quirky and interesting venue that the Good Beer Guide is really very reliable at pointing me towards. A comfortable and authentically welcoming pub, although this is another location that I imagine is quite hard to find a table at even slightly busy times. I very much liked my little booth arrangement at the rear of the pub and I was undisturbed during my lunchtime visit, ploughing through another book on my phone. I don’t know much about Belgian beers, but there were several of these available, and indeed I’d say there was a suitably broad range of drinks for most customers. All told, I’d recommend this place, but bring a book as this is the sort of pub that just lends itself to reading and conversation.

  • Reading – Nag’s Head

    Reading – Nag’s Head

    This Good Beer Guide listed pub looks fairly ordinary from the outside, but I was moderately surprised on entering to note that it was nearly full on a Friday afternoon. It’s clearly a destination pub that serves a community beyond its immediate surroundings, with one of the best web-site arrangements that I’ve seen, giving every bit of information I can think any customer would need before a visit. I was also once again pleased to note that the beer options were listed on Untappd, which saved me some time on arrival.

    The bar, with an impressive selection of bar snacks just out of shot to the right. It’s certainly quite a colourful arrangement. The service was polite and friendly, it felt like an welcoming and inviting atmosphere. It’s not the largest of pubs either, but they make use of the space well, which I imagine is essential given they must be at capacity for a fair chunk of the week judging by the number of customers on a Friday afternoon. They’ve also made space for darts as well in one corner and there are numerous board games dotted around the place.

    The keg list is sitting by a table a little out of the way, but I decided to then sit at that table so it became very accessible to me. More as an observation than a complaint, but there’s not a great range of beer styles here, with a fair chunk of duplication. There are no dark beers and they only had one dark beer on cask, which was a decent one, but which I’ve had numerous times before. The beer choices were of course much wider than most pubs, but I couldn’t see a beer that I thought would be standout, although I checked the list when writing this and they’ve rolled out four beers (including darker options) overnight and those choices look really very intriguing and include Siren’s Dark & Perilous Nights. I nearly went back today just to have that, but I have a limited time left in Reading.

    There’s a snacks menu and they sell sausage rolls, which is something that in an ideal world every single pub would sell. They seem to acquire them from a local butcher I understand, so I imagine that the quality is high. I had already eaten so didn’t partake, although as usual I was quite tempted.

    I went for two halves, the Snow Cafe from Polly’s Brewing and the Silver Strand from Siren, both very acceptable beers and the prices were moderate. The atmosphere was comfortable (and the beers were nicely comforting) and I only slightly lost track of time reading a book on my phone.

    The pub is well reviewed online, with the only real negative being a worrying one since it’s about the sausage rolls:

    “Don’t order the sausage roll, it’s just a joke. The size was like 10cm sausage roll. If you are starving it’s not the better place to eat. The most important…£4.. they actually went to coop, got the left over of the day and sold it to me.. absolutely ridiculous! When I mentioned this to one of the waitress, she laughed and said ahah oOK, and left.. service is also a big joke”

    I suspect that might be something of an exaggeration, although they did upset an American who had sat there for twenty minutes without buying a drink. Some reviews note how good the pies are in the pub as well, although they seem to have stopped selling them.

    Anyway, a perfectly decent pub, and although it was quite hard to see what they sold when standing at the bar, I’ll forgive that as it’s all clearly listed on Untappd. The choices veer across ciders, real ales and keg beers, although I’d definitely have preferred rather more dark beer options in an ideal world (although, to be fair, that ideal world appears to have arrived today), but at least there were numerous other interesting selections to opt for. This is another pub which is on-trend, but solely because it has a modern and well curated choice of beers, not because it’s trying to be formulaic or pretend to be something that it’s not.

  • Reading – The Retreat

    Reading – The Retreat

    On my little tour of Good Beer Guide listed pubs in Reading (and any others recommended to me en route) I popped into The Retreat after dodging the flying wheelie bins in the area. I had been stopped a few minutes before by a woman who told me that a chunk of a tree had fallen off in the gales, although I’m not sure what she expected me to do about it. She asked me if she could have this lump of wood, but I didn’t feel that it was really my place to decide that either way. I couldn’t work out whether she wanted half a tree for some purpose at her house or whether she was worried that it would fly off and hit a car or pedestrian. Anyway, she walked off looking happy with her tree acquisition, but I’m not sure that I aided much.

    As is evident from my never ending posts about pubs, I nearly always decide that the service in them is friendly and welcoming, and that was indeed the case here. But, it’s much more rarely that I decide that a pub goes further and that the customers are also keen to engage with anyone coming in. I’m always heartened when this happens, as it’s apparent to me that if someone had just moved into the area and come in here, then they’d be made to feel comfortable and keen to become a local. As is likely evident from where I’m going here, this is true of this pub. Indeed, it reminded me of the welcome offered by the Hop & Vine in Hull a few years ago, which has seen me divert to the city on numerous occasions to go back.

    This pub is not just listed in this year’s Good Beer Guide, it was first listed in the book in 1974, showing some considerable beer heritage. And, as another one of my flights of fancy, I noted the owners have made the effort to write a comprehensive history of the pub, something which I always think is a delight and done far too infrequently. Pubs so often have a long heritage and so often there is nothing mentioned by the owners about their history. Anyway, I digress.

    I went for half a pint of Harvest Pale from Castle Rock Brewery, which was well-kept and tasted as it should do. There were several real ales available, all reasonably priced. I didn’t opt for Woodforde’s Wherry, although it reminded me of my visit to their brewery a few months ago. I needed to eat elsewhere, but I was tempted by the bar snacks here, but that’s often the case.

    The recommendations of pubs that I asked for from a nearby customer transpired to be excellent suggestions, although I’ve still got a few more to go. Thanks to one of the pub’s customers, I’ve also discovered how to get rid of pigeons, although I won’t go into that too much. I very much liked the inviting atmosphere that they had going on here and if I had more time I would have likely lingered for hours.

    Doing some work on mental health for another organisation, I’m reminded by pubs such as this just how much they serve the communities in which they are based. I am convinced that anyone lonely, unsure or in need of company would be made entirely welcome here, and that’s the best praise I think that I can give The Retreat. So very lovely and an outstanding pub that I suspect I’ll be diverting back to come and visit again, perhaps on the day of the Pickled Onion Contest…..

  • Reading – Greyfriar of Reading

    Reading – Greyfriar of Reading

    Cask (eight options) and keg (fourteen options) meet here, a Good Beer Guide listed pub which is also an Untappd verified venue (wooooo – another venue badge…..) and is well reviewed on-line. I’m not sure that the quality of the experience is evident from the exterior, but I had high hopes after reading about it. The advantage of having beer options listed on Untappd is that I’m excited before entering, or at least my expectations have been moderated if the choices aren’t very decadent.

    It was quite dark inside, so I struggled to get a clear photo, so this will have to do. There are plenty of cask and keg options, with the service being efficient and polite, with the far wall off to the right being covered in pump clips to add a little decoration to the arrangement. This pub seemed to have a bit of everything in terms of customer demographic, young and old, male and female, quiet and loud, all fitting together well, so I’d suggest that this is very much a pub at ease with itself.

    The Inner-City Sumo from the formidable Turning Point Brewing Company, memorable for me as they brew the Yellow Matter Custard beer. This beer was delightful, a heap of passionfruit and orange and aroma to mach. It’s actually also got guava, but I have no idea what that tastes like, as I’m not a fruit expert. It’s a shame that more beers aren’t designed to taste like crisps or chocolate bars, as I could add an element of knowledge to my comments there…..

    The Night Lapse, also from Turning Point, which was perhaps a bit too roasty (as they put it) for me, but a well kept cask beer which had a depth of flavour and no shortage of coffee notes.

    I very much liked this pub and am pleased that it has reached the Good Beer Guide, although I assume that’s primarily because of the quality of their real ales. I liked the keg options, I liked the environment and I suspect this will be one of the best pubs that I visit in Reading. How lovely.

  • Reading – Allied Arms

    Reading – Allied Arms

    There are more Good Beer Guide listed pubs in Reading than I had expected, over ten in the centre (or within easy walking distance of it) and I’ll try to get to as many as possible. This is the Allied Arms, one of the few pubs that doesn’t serve food (other than bar snacks) and it has some history to it, which I might as well quote from their web-site:

    “The Allied Arms has been a pub since 1828 but the building dates back to the 16th Century. Over the years it has been used as a butchers and brewery as well as a pub. The inside decor is warm and cosy and includes old beams which likely came from the ruins of Reading Abbey after the dissolution by Henry VIII.”

    I liked a building with some heritage to it and it’d be good to think that the old beams theory is true.

    Unfortunately, the stout I ordered ran out as it was being poured, so I switched to the Loddon Hullabaloo which was adequate and at the appropriate temperature. I had hoped for something darker and the pub will usually have that offer available, I was just slightly unfortunate today that the barrel ran out. Nonetheless, there were a range of beer styles, and although nothing exceptional, it was entirely adequate. Pricing here, which I knew about in advance from reviews, is a little expensive and I suspect that might cost them some custom, although it’s not unreasonable.

    The interior of the pub, all bright and feeling historic. There’s a front and back room, both served by the same bar, as well as a large outdoors garden. I can imagine that on most weekends the seating gets taken quickly, so the extensive external area must be quite handy.

    The Loddon Hullabaloo, which is the pub’s house ale, produced by the Loddon Brewery who are based on Dunsden in Oxfordshire (I thought that sounded quite a long way away, but I’ve realised how near Reading us to the border of Berkshire and Oxfordshire).

    It’s a nice enough little pub, with the staff member being friendly and welcoming, so there was an inviting and quite cosy atmosphere. They’re still requiring masks to be worn, which I’m happy with that their being choice and I had one ready, so all was well. Given the building’s heritage and the range of real ales, I can see why it’s in the Good Beer Guide.

  • Luton – The White House

    Luton – The White House

    I wasn’t in Luton for very long today, but I had chance to pop to the JD Wetherspoon outlet as it’s listed in the Good Beer Guide. The company did have two pubs in the town, with the London Hatter being open between 2011 and 2016, but it couldn’t have done well for them given the short amount of time that it was open. The venue is still closed, clearly it doesn’t tempt any other operator either.

    But back to the White House, which I think is a marvellous name for a pub given my surname (I’m easily pleased). It’s a cavernous venue with two different bars, both of which were staffed when I visited just before lunchtime. As for the reason for the pub name, this is what the company say:

    “In the late 19th century, the Crown & Anchor Brewery stood on the site of this Wetherspoon pub, a short walk from the site of Luton’s first brewery. Founded by Thomas Burr, in 1780, it stood next to his family home, known as The White House.”

    The brewery isn’t noted on this map from the late nineteenth century, the pub is located just above where the PH is indicated on the map, so it’s nice that the site is still used by a beer selling venue.

    This is an odd JD Wetherspoon insomuch that the toilets aren’t upstairs, as they’re usually tucked away in the furthest corner of the pub. Despite being a modern building, there’s been some effort with decorative features and I liked the number of power sockets that were available. Plenty of books on the shelves upstairs as well, they add character to pubs and I approve.

    I went for a half a pint of the Devon Darkness from Hanlons Brewery who are based in Exeter, the same place that Tim Martin lives (I mean the city, not that the owner of the company lives in a brewery). The beer was well kept and at the appropriate temperature, and keenly priced at £1 for a half so there’s nothing much to complain about there. There was nothing of particular note about the beer, but it was an acceptable enough dry stout.

    The pub has about the same review score as the average JD Wetherspoon outlet, so it seems to be running as efficiently as most others, and I felt that the staff were friendly enough. There was a good choice of real ales, seven different ones across a variety of beer styles, all keenly priced. There’s nothing exceptional that I can note, but the pub seemed to be well managed and I can see why it’s been listed in the Good Beer Guide.

  • London – Hounslow (Borough of) – Tabard Pub

    London – Hounslow (Borough of) – Tabard Pub

    This is a Greene King pub, so I obviously didn’t come here for the beer, but instead because it’s listed in the Good Beer Guide and it was designed by Norman Shaw. There’s also the bonus that this was a building that Nikolaus Pevsner thought was “especially attractive”, so what could Greene King possibly mess up? Firstly, they make no effort to mention the history on the pub’s page on the Greene King web-site, the usual lack of effort they make in so many ways.

    There’s a corridor type entrance, with doors to the left and right. Food is served throughout the day and there’s a menu board visible on entry, next to the rather nice pillars. CAMRA have some information about the pub’s history on their Historic Interiors pages.

    That’s the other side of the door that’s on the left in the previous photo. There’s a Wikipedia page about the pub at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tabard,_Chiswick#Pub.

    And the same door, but my phone’s wide angle makes it look much wider. The central bar is visible at the rear, just behind my well travelled bag. The atmosphere was a bit excitable for my liking with staff members singing away, but there’s nothing wrong with that as this is a pub which is keen on its music.

    The beer was half a pint of the XX Mild from Greene King, which was served too warm, I think because of the temperature of the glass. The beer was adequate, about as good as Greene King manage to churn out. The service was verging on rude at first with staff members just standing about talking, but the staff member who served me was friendly and helpful enough.

    This building is exceptionally interesting and there’s even a theatre on the first floor. I can understand why it’s in the Good Beer Guide as it’s an historic pub and that makes it worth visiting in itself. There were five different real ales available, mostly generic and none that particularly interested me. However, it’s nice to see a mild, so I’ll credit that with being the most exciting option that they had.

    The reviews of the pub on-line are a little below average, mostly about unfriendly staff and food that didn’t surprise and delight. That probably seems to fairly sum the pub up, but they do respond professionally to all reviews that I’ve seen, so it’s positive that they’re keen to engage. I can’t help but feel that this pub would be lifted if it wasn’t operated by Greene King though, this is something that Fullers or Nicholsons would handle a lot better, but ideally it could perhaps do with an independent operator.

  • Royal Leamington Spa – Benjamin Satchwell Pub

    Royal Leamington Spa – Benjamin Satchwell Pub

    I don’t bother writing any many of my visits to JD Wetherspoon outlets as that would get repetitive (even more so than I usually am), but this one is listed in the Good Beer Guide and so I’ll write about it for completeness. It is named after the man who is effectively the father of Royal Leamington Spa, who in 1784 discovered natural spring water that wasn’t controlled by the Lord of the Manor. That mean a spa town which soon received royal interest and it grew from a small village into the substantial town that it is today.

    The pub was busy and it was difficult to get many photos without people in, so here’s one of the photos that I took for Untappd and that’ll have to do. The beer selection was above average, six different real ale options and these were well balanced across the various beer styles. I went for half a pint of Novus Dry Hopped Porter and half a pint of Xk Strong, both from Byatt’s Brewery of Coventry. The pub is made up of two former shops and it goes back a long way, with a lengthy bar to one side.

    This is the Xk Strong and both beers were very drinkable, well kept and at the appropriate temperature. They also cost the ridiculous sum of £1 each, so I was entirely happy with the value that I received. Especially since I used Wetherspoon’s electricity to charge my devices up and there were plenty of plugs dotted around.

    The pub was relatively clean and tidy throughout, so it felt comfortable enough. The staff were friendly and everything felt competently managed and run. There’s nothing here for me to complain about with this beer selection, beer pricing and beer quality. However, I went to look for reviews on-line to see what other people were complaining about….

    The reviews are about average for a JD Wetherspoon outlet, which is mostly positive with a smattering of constant whinging and moaning. I like reviews such as:

    “Staff were very ignorant.”

    As that tells me all that I need to know about the reviewer. I also liked the 1/5 review which noted:

    “Never again will I eat in a green king discussing..”

    Assuming that meant Greene King and disgusting, that seems a bit harsh, although Greene King venues are usually, well, not ideal. But this isn’t even one of their pubs…..

    “Didn’t manage to get a drink, too many people crammed around the bar and not enough staff?”

    I have sympathy here, there can be a pub that’s quiet and about 50 people standing at the bar blocking it. Fortunately, I avoid such things with the app, but some pubs still haven’t mastered how to deal with this problem.

    Anyway, I’m digressing again and reading reviews from years ago, so I’ve probably reached the end of what I need to write here. I’m content that this is a perfectly decent entry into the Good Beer Guide, with friendly staff, plenty of decent beers and a cleanish environment. All quite lovely.

  • Warwick – The Wild Boar

    Warwick – The Wild Boar

    This is another of those pubs that I probably wouldn’t think to visit if it wasn’t listed in the Good Beer Guide, even though it’s only about a two minute walk from Warwick railway station.

    There’s a large blackboard near the entrance (not the one in the above photo as that’s their bar snacks and wi-fi board) which has the cask and keg options listed on it. I hadn’t realised at the time, but this pub is also the home of the Slaughterhouse Brewery and they had a few beers on that they’d produced. The descriptions on the board for the keg options were minimal, which gave me a slight problem in knowing what to order as I was going to resort to the tactic that my friend Liam has of picking the one with the most interesting name. I mentioned to the staff member that I’d have half a pint of the Wet Leg, even though I wasn’t sure what it was. She was polite, but she didn’t tell me anything more about it, but I like the jeopardy element sometimes so all was well.

    It transpired that the beer wasn’t listed on Untappd, although it is now since I listed it (apologies to the brewery if they now need to edit what I have typed in). It was a perfectly good hazy session IPA, quite citrusy and very drinkable. The member of staff mentioned that I had been the only customer in so far, and since it was nearly 14:00 and I had only ordered half a pint, I’m sure that they didn’t find this ideal. It’s hard to judge the atmosphere of a pub when I’m the only customer, but I liked it at the staff members were friendly and engaging, it felt a warm and inviting place. My often talked about measure of “would someone new to the area feel welcome here and meet people?” would be met here I think, it’s a very decent pub.

    The reviews of the pub are positive, which isn’t really surprising, there was an air of competence about the venue. One happy soul complained that “Got 1 beer and 1 wine £13. Will never go again” but that really needs a little more, such as what beer and wine had they ordered? Yes, that’s a rip off if they got half a pint of IPA and a Blue Nun (not that I’m suggesting that they sell Blue Nun here), but if it’s a pint of decadent beer then they’d have got themselves a bargain.

    Anyway, another pub that I was very pleased with and absolutely rightly in the Good Beer Guide. Very nice.

     

  • Warwick – The Old Post Office

    Warwick – The Old Post Office

    There are four pubs in Warwick that are listed in the current Good Beer Guide and this former Post Office (there’s a clue in the pub’s name about that) is one of them. CAMRA refer to this as an ale house, but I’m going to call it a micropub as I think that’s more appropriate in terms of defining its concept as well as its size.

    What a rather lovely little bar arrangement. Service was personable and very friendly, this is one of those pubs that I talk about which I am confident would warmly greet someone new to the area so they felt welcome and part of the community. More than anything, that’s what I think a pub should try and have at its heart, and the atmosphere here seemed to be just right. The pub accepts cards and cash, but mentions that they they prefer cash.

    I took a seat near to the bar, looking towards the front of the pub.

    There’s another room at the rear of the pub, all homely and nicely decorated.

    Next to a stack of Good Beer Guide books, this is the Light Bulb from Verdant Brewing. Clean tasting with a citrus edge, this was a nice keg beer, a suitable starter for my visit.

    For the main course, I opted for a cask option, the Ghost of Dwarfmas Yet to Come from Fownes Brewing Company. I had noticed on-line that the pub had only just put this on, it hadn’t been lingering about since Christmas. Although on that note, the staff succumbed to Covid over the new year period, so unfortunately had to close, not really the start of 2022 they wanted. This was a better beer than I had expected, rich with roasty flavours, a nice coffee edge to it. It was also well kept and at the appropriate temperature, so all was well there.

    As a pub, this was a charming venue and it seems entirely right to me that this has been listed in the Good Beer Guide. The pub is well reviewed other than for the spiteful “awful place. No seating and limited drinks” which is a ridiculous thing to say about a micropub in my view, but there we go. Friendly and welcoming, with an interesting selection of beers, and its location relatively near to Warwick Castle must make it a popular option for visitors to the town. Incidentally, I didn’t press the bell to get beer…..