The expedition for the day on Saturday was with friends Roy and Jen to a number of country pubs. There is a logic for choosing these pubs that Roy has, but I’ll leave that to another post to explain. I was surprised and delighted at their proposed list as there were so many pubs that I hadn’t been to.
This is a hugely challenging time for country pubs, so it’s really good to make an effort to come and see different venues. This one also had the advantage that it’s listed in the Good Beer Guide, indeed for the ninth year running, so that’s another one ticked off for me.
This has been a licensed premises since at least the 1840s and it became a Steward & Patterson free house, before being taken over by Watney Mann and later it became part of Punch Taverns. Fortunately, it’s now free of Pubco interference and is free of tie.
In 1909, the landlord Frederick George Thompson had the indignity of finding himself in the Norwich Argus with the headline of “an unsuccessful publican” which feels a little harsh. He had found himself in financial difficulty and invested in a horse to cart his beer about. Anyway, that went wrong and in court his representative mentioned “it was a pony that was a very poor beast and took two hours to go a mile and a half” to which the newspaper reported that there was laughter….. He left the pub the following year.
There was a good choice of real ales, including Old Speckled Hen, Woodforde’s Wherry and Best Bitter from Black Sheep, although there are usually five different real ales. The keg options were a little Hawkstone heavy for me, but each to their own.
I’ll note now that I was on half pints at every pub during the day, Roy went for pints, but he’s always been tough like that. This is the Best Bitter from Black Sheep, it was well-kept although served very cold, although that’s hardly surprising given the outside temperature of our visit. It was bitter and inoffensive, it’s not the most exciting beer in my mind, but it’s a decent sessionable offering.
Their pie weekend sounds really quite decadent, they have a huge choice of pies during the weekend and it’s become something of a thing in the local community’s calendar.
We arrived shortly after opening and were the first in, but there was another customer who came in soon after us and it had a welcoming community feel. Down the other end of the pub is a games area with a pool table. Incidentally, I’m a fan of carpets in pubs and like that they give it an element of warmth.
They serve food and there’s an extensive dining room area. There is also a fire and I won’t mention in public about burningchildschristmascardgate…..
And another one of the pub’s achievements. On this note, I’d suggest that this is a great shout for being in the Good Beer Guide, there was a friendly welcome, clean environment and a choice of well kept real ales. The prices were moderate and it had a proper community feel.