Yes, I’ve been spring cleaning. And yes, this is an unreleased post from the retiredmartin vaults (quite a few drafts in there). But if Car Seat Headrest can revisit and improve stuff from 2011 then so can I.
This one is from the infamous Alcester trip from last Autumn.
Studley is a self-standing village on the edge of Redditch that seems to offer no more excitement than as the home of Freddie Starr,
Disappointingly, no hamster-themed beers at Weatheroak Tap House.
After last night’s debate on here, I had to have a conversation with my youngest son about the Facts of Life:-
“Small pubs come in two forms. Craft beer and bottle shops run by hipsters for the benefit of anyone with lots of money, and “micro pubs” run as a hobby by retired middle aged folk for middle-aged folk. And it’s probably shut.“.
I’m not quite sure where the Weatheroak fits in.
It’s definitely a brewery tap, but it’s straight from the Herne rulebook, and that’s reflected in the custom (says one of two middle-aged blokes who were visiting).
Not unpleasant, but the low stools and general “smallness” of the place don’t work for me. I prefer the traditional Midlands pubs nearby. Like this one.
The prices undercut even your keenest Wigan micro.
Everytime I read real ale is too cheap I think of places like this, or the Dove in Bury St Edmunds, knocking out decent beer at £2.70 a pint. And Redditch or Bury aren’t bargain basement drinking towns.
Anyway, here’s your classic Beer Guides, starting with my first one from ’94.
Followed by the legendary error-strewn ’99 edition, that famously only included pubs serving KP nuts and Carling. Roger Protz was flown in from St Albans to rescue the millennium edition.
Great fun can be had in a pub with a collection of old Beer Guides. And remember folk, if you see the 1975 edition lying about…
“Another micro”
I like how they’re saving money on their parking signs by neglecting to add an appropriate apostrophe. 😉
“Micro or Tap ?”
Absolutely no scientific reason for this but I opt for tap. 🙂
“The prices undercut even your keenest Wigan micro.”
No question, just a comment, but over here they don’t normally vary the price due to ABV.
“And remember folk, if you see the 1975 edition lying about…”
About as much chance of me finding one of those as winning the lotto, but… 🙂
Cheers
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You see quite sharp differences in price based on ABV here, as duty changes.
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I’ve not been to this one…but it doesn’t look like I need to rush there!
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I see the Weatheroak micro has ‘patrons parking’, which presumably is unusual for a micro. Does that qualify them for full pub status similar to lifeafterfootball’s separate male and female toilet qualifying rule?
‘One of two middle-aged blokes visiting’…
…presumably there was enough parking spaces for the two Honda Civics?
Of course it would alternatively accommodate 4 Smart cars or 8 mobility scooters…
😉
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…Or 1 Sherman tank.
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…probably a bit slow – but it would save time by enabling you to take the direct route to GBG pubs!!
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Why is the 1975 Good Beer Guide so desirable?
What about the ‘avoid like the plague’ version of the 1974 guide? Apparently there are a few copies in existence.
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The 1975 edition is the last one in which a symbol was used to indicate pubs with “Men-only” bars.
Alternatively, it seems that very few copies were printed and most GBG fanatics don’t have a copy. NB I throw all the old ones away, I’m no collector.
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No, the 1975 edition, nor the 1972 or ’74, did NOT have a symbol to indicate pubs with “Men-only” bars.
It had three for “Draught Beers”, four for “Methods of dispense” ( G H E W ) and nine others – Live music, Recorded music, Indoor room where children are allowed, Garden, Car park, Accommodation, Sandwiches and other snacks, PROPER meals, Good Food Guide. ,
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That’s a relief, Paul. I’d hate to think casual sexism was rife in CAMRA in the ’70s.
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No, and not rife in the breweries who had never dreamt of a Dizzy Blonde, Top Totty or Elsie Mo in the 1970s.
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