WE’M NOT DRINKING WELL

October 2023. Wem. Shropshire.

A Pub Man would rather visit six different pubs of variable quality in an interesting town than six different good pints in a town hall or museum.

So I didn’t mind the odd disappointment on a generally good day in Wem the other week, as the Dickin Arms had other charms.

In fact, “the Dickin Arms has other charms” could be its motto. Incidentally, just noticed there’s a big white sticker over the Cask Marque plaque; draw your own conclusions.

But a Wilsons lamp ? Surely a guarantee of quality.

And Chris Reid himself has signed off the quality of the Bombardier.

Another typical town pub, there’s a fair few blokes at the bar at 13:45 on a Thursday, but the Magners glasses suggest we’ll clearly be the first cask drinkers.

Sir Quinno talks of a sixth sense allowing him to judge when a half rather than a pint is the wiser course, and I shout “half Bombardier please, Will” and bag the nice table with a view of the bar.

It isn’t very good (though interesting I wrote down NBSS 2 which CAMRA says is average) I know NOTHING about beer (and am proud to own it) but those are bubbles, aren’t they ?

No, YOU take it back. I’m going to write to Chris Reid.

Beer apart, it’s quite pubby, quite a likeable local boozer.

Is that Bowie on the wall ? It is.

Shame the soundtrack in the Dickin is more, er, cerebral…

See, Paul. I did use your title (“we’m” is colloquial for we are).

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.

6 thoughts on “WE’M NOT DRINKING WELL”

  1. I was pondering the issue of cask beer and it’s sad decline recently* and it suddenly dawned on me that the category’s single biggest problem is the half pint measure. It’s a ‘fact’ that I’ve never had a bad 330ml or 50cl (or indeed 250ml) pour, all guarantees of fresh and tasty beer, and with the bonus of a free bottle thrown in. Half pints? Absolute lottery!…

    (*I wasn’t)

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    1. I was discussing this with Simon (BRAPA) this week* and said I thought that beer this year was better than ever. It can’t be coincidental that I’ve pretty much switched to pints since completing the GBG a year ago. Mrs RM also couldn’t believe the difference between a half and pint of Abbott poured at the same time in Brigg recently.

      (*I was)

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  2. Seeing water drawn through the line indicated a new cask and the bubbles and slight haze indicated that it hadn’t finished conditioning.
    I thought it wasn’t right, wasn’t the Bombardier I’m used to and only the next day realised we had been imbibing Bombardier Gold.

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    1. Not sure about that, Paul. The colour in Martin’s photo (and in my memory) was the normal colour for original Bombardier, but there seemed to me to be a couple of faults with it. I’m sticking with my diagnosis that they’re not cleaning the pipes properly. Putting some water through from time to time doesn’t do it.

      Anyway, it doesn’t matter because I’ll not be going to that pub again. Unless Martin tells me it’s selling perfect Doom Bar, of course.

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      1. Will,
        We’ve not got a photo of the pumpclip, which if we had could be wrong, and I can’t find marketing photos of both Bombardiers for comparison.
        Anyway, I think we can agree that it was our worst beer of the day and that we were drinking well in the other five pubs.
        ( I’ve done five Rugeley pubs this lunchtime )

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