Yes ! It’s a Heritage pub !
Just in case any of you are starting to feel sorry for me, fear not. I was loving this tour of dodgy cask pubs.
The next one up is beautifully located an hour up narrow roads from Llandeilo Station.
The Cennen Arms looks like a rural Welsh gem, a bit like the similarly isolated Goose & Cuckoo at Llanover.
It takes about 10 seconds to realise this is a little classic.
Normally it only takes 1 second after entering to be asked “What you having, mate ?“,well before you’ve had time to survey the bar.
Here I have a full minute to take in the glazed screen while the landlady takes lunch orders from the only other customers. Slowly.
I don’t like choice, which is just as well.
My purchase of a half is a dull transaction, and to be honest I’m a bit distracted by the pub.
I might have stayed for lunch, the reviews aren’t bad, but it was just too quiet. It needed someone playing the piano, or putting Dire Straits on the jukebox.
But it was worth £1.70 just to sit on the bench seats for ten minutes. Just a shame the Joules was totally undrinkable. No, you take it back.
Not for the first time, the Gents came to my rescue.
retiredmartin 
I have grown to love Joule’s pubs over the last week (yes, I know this isn’t one), but have sadly not grown to love their beers anywhere near as much. The Pale Ale seems to be the pick of the bunch, bit like Bass in one of their Wem pubs. Everything else I’ve tried tastes authentically war-ration brewed, even the far too thin Stout when you can find it. Shame, the pubs have been uniformly excellent so far…
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I haven’t been in one of their pubs for quite a while, no new GBG entries, but the Pale and Monk were consistently good so I reckon lack of sales are the issue
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Mark,
I’m the opposite.
I like their beer but not their pubs.
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But I guess you don’t come across their beer much in the free trade?
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First time I had a chance to try the whole range was at the then current GBG staple in Droitwich. Couldn’t find one that I’d travel for, which was a great shame as I’d travelled for. When a stout has less flavour and body than most decent milds, you know it’s been brewed very cheaply. And of course because their houses tend to not feature guest beers (not neccesarily a bad thing), I’m stuck with the Joules range I’m underwhelmed by. I’ll persevere with the Pale Ale though, it was pretty decent in the Castle in Wem
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Mark,
I’ve not had their Stout but thought their Old No 6 winter warmer was very good.
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How do you keep getting away with taking your beer to the bog??
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There’s never anyone about. That’s why the beer’s so dull 😉
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😉
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Back to the perennial question of how these places get in the GBG, as it’s somewhat unlikely that your experience is unique.
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I think Martin’s speculated on here before that local CAMRA hire a minibus and go round pubs on Friday or Saturday nights when they’re busy and the beer is flowing. Gives a different perspective to rocking up on a quiet Tuesday lunchtime.
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“The next one up is beautifully located an hour up narrow roads from Llandeilo Station.”
See! You’re rambling. 🙂
“Watch for manic drivers”
I thought manic drivers was only on Mondays.*
* – song ref
“Red bench seating”
Well, they really like they’re red (and green) in Wales.
“or putting Dire Straits on the jukebox.”
Does it have a jukebox?
“Just a shame the Joules was totally undrinkable.”
Come for the beer; stay for the potted plant (and/or urinals)?
“Not for the first time, the Gents came to my rescue.”
You could’ve tried to use that large vase on the main counter. 😉
Cheers
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Ah yes, no one would have noticed if I’d poured it in that vase.
Do these blogs make you want to visit, Russ. I’d hate to put you off.
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Never fear. Meeting you (lot) is on my to do list, just not in the immediate future.*
* Meaning, when my better half embarks on a new business venture that doesn’t require my services. 😏
Cheers! 🍻
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West Wales always gets a relatively large allocation that the beer quality generally struggles to justify in my view. There are lots of old and characterful pubs though some have problematic opening hours. Because we are mostly doing only the new entries we don’t often report on the regulars that have consistently high beer quality. West Wales might be an exception to that as some of these you are writing about have been long standing Guide entries. Know it won’t deter you!
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That’s spot on.
I’d personally be disappointed if Wales, Scotland and e.g. Lincs lost their allocation as the travel and the pubs themselves are often wonderful.
It’s not the fault of the basic Carling pub catering to lager drinkers that they’re put in the GBG, as they rarely profess to be specialist ale houses.
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Yes indeed, and allocations are much as they were forty years ago no matter that, for example, nearly all Aberystwyth pubs had real ale then but few of them do now – that being because students once went for Real Ale but now it’s nothing or craft keg.
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Good point re allocations being largely unchanged though imagine significant changes would cause ructions in branches!
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Aberystwyth has two good Guide pubs, at least one of which you’ll know. I expect that’s the right number for the town. The Spoons is filthy.
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Having looked at my 2019 GBG for about the third time I see that Aberystwyth has three entries all of which I know quite well and one of which I’ve stayed in twice.
The Glengower and Ship & Castle deserve to be in but that’s it for the town.
Tim’s far from “excellent” Hen Orsaf is just filling up the allocation.
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This is quite jolly –
https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/alcohol/craft-beer-drinker-experiencing-pretentious-hangover-20190607186357
The rest of the Mash is fairly entertaining today too. Incidentally, where’s PP-T? I thought that he was looking forward to Peterborough? I wonder how his well-stocked evening went?
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Peterborough is always good pub crawl material.
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Perhaps the good Professor has been drowning his sorrows.
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Bloxwich? If only there was a Joules in Blocko.
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I was obviously thinking it reminded me of Tinky’s (the Turf), Neil 😉
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Still never been in there 😔
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Had you heard of it though, Neil?
I presume it’s in one of those Welsh Heritage pub guides.
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– it’d never be as good as Tinky’s
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Tinky’s. Oh yeah, it’s almost mythical around these parts. I believe it still opens for a couple of hours a week but nobody knows when.
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Oh sorry when I see comments on old posts I don’t see the conversations. Thought you meant Trapp!
Yes, Tinky’s must be a bit unreliable now!
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