IT’S ACE AT MOONFACE

My third Charnwood pub of the day had the best beer and is the hardest to write about. Yes, it’s a brewery tap.

Not quite on an industrial estate, tucked away in the southern half of Loughborough, well clear of studentz in the sort of location enjoyed by the Falstaff or the Free Trade.

I setd my crack team of blog title writers a poser;

come up with a title based on “Loughborough”. As you see from my reaction, they failed.

Anyhow, Moonface has loads of naff possibilities.

And it’s easy to find. If you reach the inspirational mural commemorating Johnnie Johnson you’ve gone too far.

At the entrance to Moonface you’re faced with a barrier to entry and a wall full of instructions to “Sign in”, “Stay alert” and “Drink Burton Extra”, all Covid requirements.

The Guvnor shouts something at me from the bar which after a second attempt turns out to be “Takeaway or coming in”.

I take the last table in the single room packed with folk across the ages, and eavesdrop on what appears to be a meeting of Nanpantan & Quorn Sub-branch of CAMRA, one of whom is recalling their 5 pints of Everards Old Original at the White Hart after joining the Campaign in 1979 (the year punk broke, Simon).

It’s easy to forget that once upon a time people joined CAMRA because they liked drinking large quantities of real ale.

The real ale here was wonderful, and you know my take on homebrew. Cool, chewy, a lasting taste that seemed familiar but I couldn’t place it (NBSS 4, beer of the month).

Whether really great beer is enough to tempt you to sit on a beer barrel is a matter of personal choice.

I’d have nipped back to the county town on the train to finish Leicestershire’s GBG entries in Queen’s Road, but I reckoned I’d have just overdone it in that Ale Wagon place where I always come to grief, so let’s save it, eh ?

Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

18 thoughts on “IT’S ACE AT MOONFACE”

  1. Great little read, Martin, thanks.

    Mrs. E and I have just come from a leafy beer garden in Pontcanna which displayed the following sign:

    PLEASE CAN PARENTS SUPERVISE THEIR CHILDREN AT ALL TIMES.

    —————————————————–

    ANY PERON FOUND PLAYING WITH THE GRAVEL, CLIMBING ON THE FURNITURE, RIDING BIKES OR SCOOTERS, PLAYING WITH BALLS OR IN THE FLOWER BEDS WILL BE ASKED TO LEAVE THE PREMISES.

    THANK YOU.

    It’s no dogs too, and is a very nice pub with the most genial staff.

    I’ve never had a better pint of Brain’s bitter, and they do seem very much to care that their customers’ enjoyment is not spoilt in any way at all.

    The odd comical notice isn’t much of a detraction if you ask me.

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    1. There is much to commend about those notices, including the use of “children” rather than the loathsome “kids” (or “kid’s” in Barnsley), but the presence of Eva Peron in the garden is surely the highlight.

      My comment about the Moonface Tap is more an observation of how far we are from “normal” at the moment, and how difficult it is for old folk like me to negotiate the entry systems wearing a mask.

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      1. Sorry Martin, the “Peron” instead of “person” was my typo not theirs.

        The key thing that they have grasped is that you can’t reasonably expect small humans to be controlled, if you allow non-humans greater freedom to be pests though.

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  2. Is the Queen’s Road Tap the new entry?

    I only live 5 mins away – let us know on Twitter when you are coming and I’ll organise a welcome party.

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  3. Looks like a nice place on the inside, but I must say that exterior is perhaps the most unpromising of any establishment I’ve ever seen on your blog. The tiny glass-block windows remind me of dark little American dive-bars I’d be a little nervous to go inside. 😉 Only the sign above the door reassures that you’re about to enter a place where they’re going to have an ale called Old Burton Extra.

    And yes, a beer barrel looks like a seating experience I don’t want to partake in for more than a couple of minutes!

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    1. It’s (largely) just a jolly little tap for a small brewery’s beer, open 5 evenings a week, and I’ve no problem with places like that in the Good Beer Guide as the beer was very good. There was also a fair bit of chat and a mix of folk. Like you, I know what I like when it comes to seating !

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    2. No padding on the empty casks suggests that it’s “back to basics” for “random furniture” in micropubs.
      That’s not for me.

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      1. Well, yes, Paul you never know quite what you are going to get, from the easy chairs of the Brecon Tap – in which to lie semi-supine – or a row of racing bike seats on scaffold poles to bring the tears to the eyes.

        That said, I think that they’re generally worth a look and plenty are fine.

        Mrs. E often asks “why do you want to go to a pub when we go somewhere new? What’s wrong with a nice coffee shop for a change?” Now – apart from the fact that I don’t drink coffee and coffee shops don’t sell beer – it is the chance of a decent sit-down in an ordinary pub which generally swings it for me, after being on your feet for some time.

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      2. I’m too old for “you never know quite what you are going to get”.
        As for coffee shops I might as well be in one of Tim’s venues.

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