It’s Fred’s fault.
“Please go to Papworth Brewery and its environs tomorrow, and then compose a picto-blog about it.”
OK, Fred. (Now you’re a yaga yaga).
I’d only been to Earith a year ago, one of our motorhome’s last excursions before Mrs RM replaced it with a sleeker model, a principle I hope she doesn’t apply elsewhere.
On that Good Friday we wild camped at the Sluice and completed the famous “Soft fruit shuffle“, a triangular walk round three Huntingdonshire villages famous for fruit farms and NOT being Willingham.
I never even knew there was a brewery there; perhaps there wasn’t in 2019.
But that’s the miracle of the internet. I tracked down Papworth’s finest to an industrial estate by the Hundred Foot Washes, sent them £18 for five litres (that’s ten half litres, Paul) of some malty beer, and had an hour to explore before sticking it in the boot.
Apparently, Earith is famous for it’s Bandy players.
You couldn’t make it up.
I spent ten minutes searching for the parish church. If I’d read my own blog I’d have known there wasn’t one. Dunno why I bother sometimes.
Empty streets, Curry House (great name), one pub that’s serves as the tap for Curry House, and a barber. What more do you need ?
Some impressive Georgian houses wind down to the Great Ouse,
and the Old Bedford River entertains us with its journey to nowhere (or Downham Market, which amounts to the same thing).
And that’s nearly it. Bit of thatch,
a lone ceramic horseshoe,
and the brewery.
It’s not like visiting the Hare & Hounds, is it ?
The nice man was filling my box from the fresh barrel as I arrived.
“You won’t get it fresher than that”
30 minutes later I had a glass full of lovely foamy BBB (reminiscent of Wolf or Cotleigh) in the sun. I reckon our garden could make GBG21, you know. I give CAMRA discount if it helps.
More importantly, Mrs RM had a pint in a Bass glass in her office.
I’ve decided it tastes best (NBSS 4.5) in Doom Bar glass, washing down crispy beef, spicy squid and Singapore rice.
But here’s the rub; we’ve already drunk about 3 pints each.
That would NEVER happen in a controlled drinking environment, and that’s why we need pubs back. Soon.
retiredmartin 
I brought 5 pints of an Oakham Ales brew back today (nobody needs to know which one. It’s pale and hoppy. They all are), and I’ve only had half a pint of it. Now that would definitely never happen in a controlled drinking environment…
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I’m sure I read that beer needs to be consumed within three minutes or it goes off. Green Devil might last four minutes.
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Thanks for the heads-up! If the worst comes to the worst we have many dry plant pots.
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Thanks for breaking your vow of “no beer at home” long enough to provide a blog post about it. I suppose you’re less likely to say negative things about the pub garden when it’s your own garden.
Analyzing your Twitter photo, I seem to see a wooden surface with greenery growing up between the cracks. I commend you for your devotion to not harming the local flora and fauna. This is my philosophy as well, which explains why I always put off mowing the lawn until it looks like a wheat field. 😉
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Ha. I have zero interest in the garden (don’t tell Mrs RM), though I have spent more time on that grass in the last month than in the previous 17 years put together (about 6 hours max). I mow the lawn when I get shouted at.
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I’m with you on gardening, RM. Gardening is futile. It never ends. There is never a time when you can say “I have finished the gardening.” People say it’s nice to sit in the garden with a beer. Yes it is, if someone else has done the gardening. The last place I want to sit after a hard day’s gardening is the sodding garden. I never want to see it again.
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Good points, Bill.
Beer is for pubs. I don’t mind walking round gardens; Kew and Bodnant are great, but why to recreate them at home ?
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“Empty streets, Curry House (great name), one pub that’s serves as the tap for Curry House, and a barber. What more do you need ?”
Well, speaking personally I’ve no need for a barber. So how about converting the now redundant barber shop into a micropub?
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Give it 6 months.
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I was going to comment that perhaps you’ve been a little harsh about Downham Market, but having read this review of the Cock Tavern https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/28063/, I’ll let sleeping dogs lie.
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It’s ok there, they lost that railway micro that won cider pub of the year but got a riotous Spoons 😉
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“It’s not like visiting the Hare & Hounds, is it ?”
No, it’s not. But at eighteen quid for five litres, you probably wouldn’t expect it to be. It is a rival for ‘Spoons at that price.
Another excellent blog composed from [nearly] nothing !
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