April 2024. Crewe.
Yes, it’s back to Crewe for a penultimate GBG24 Cheshire tick. Not a difficult place to get to (40 minutes from Stockport), just an irritating one. Wednesday presented a 20:15 kick-off at the Etihad (WTF !); plenty of time for a detour to your favourite railway town and back.
Two out of every three announcements at Stockport station start “We are sorry to announce…“, and none of them seem that sorry.
Even more than Birmingham New Street, it takes ages to get out of Crewe station, and when you do, you meet lamp post stickers of Mickey Demetriou.
No, me neither.
20 minutes to the Earl of Chester,
one of the scruffiest 20 minute walks in the UK. Goodness knows what Crewe looks like after Storm Kathleen today.
I can’t say you pass classic pubs on the way, but the Express,
and the Imperial appeal, in their way,
and I feel a twang of sadness at the closure of the Park.
A few yards from the once famous Hop Pole, the Earl of Chester is one of the last remaining corner pubs for which Crewe was once famous (it says here),
and is yet another of those pubs you’re surprised to see in the GBG.
Public bar with proper seating to the right, music bar with high tables to the left.
I head left, mainly because that’s where the landlady and the handpumps are.
I sense it’s the sort of pub that would never make the Guide in Sheffield, let alone Cambridge, but then I remember the Earl of Beaconsfield and the pubs that have made the pub this year, and realise the Earl fits in perfectly.
The White Rat (£3.20) is crisp and tasty; perhaps a degree cooler would elevate it from NBSS 3+ to 3.5 and you’ll know what a giant step that is, like the first step on the moon (IF that happened).
The music is playing at a perfect volume;
the musical tat makes a change from Barclay Perkins breweriana,
and my only regret is that I didn’t have the Merlin Gold, the beer of choice.
And while I’m no fan of dogs, at least this one didn’t lick me (or worse). But that joy was still to come…
retiredmartin 
“Storm Kathleen”?
What next? “Storm Auntie Betty”?
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You’ve got Storm BRAPA in Cardiff today, I see.
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“or worse”?
No, please don’t enlighten me – not to mention other sensitive readers of your compelling blog – I really don’t want to know what is worse than being licked by a dog. And if it’s happened to you, please don’t tell us about it. (Apart from the name and location of the pub where it happened, of course )
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Being licked by a cat ?
It is Cheshire.
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You think pubs like this are getting into the GBG more now due to an infusion of younger people in CAMRA?
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Ha ha.
Oh, you’re serious ? It’s a mystery, and seems to be accompanied by the departure of a fair few micropubs, possibly because their tenure (and hours) are so volatile. For just one example, I would never have believed the Minster in ly would make the GBG with such a plain beer range (good as the beer was). Come to think of it, the Minster offers CAMRA 50p discount after it was extended from Wetherspoons; surely that can’t be a factor ?
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Isn’t that a motion at Dundee, pubs ineligible for the 2026 GBG ( 2025’s already decided ) unless they offer a CAMRA 50p discount ? And oversized lined glasses ?
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No regrets, have that pint.
You’re permitted to have two in a pub 😉
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Stafford Paul makes a good point about future GBG, if a requirement to offer a Camra discount is applied, then they are effectively paid for entries, and if that Crewe pub wasn’t good enough to get in the guide in a different part of the country, it shouldn’t really be in the guide at all.
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I don’t like the concept of discounts to CAMRA members. Regular customers shouldn’t pay more than occasional visitors.
The Earl of Chester certainly deserves a GBG place based on my pint.
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It’s an unassuming place but the quality of the beer means it just can’t be left out of the GBG (as a member of the local selection committee). Just a shame it doesn’t normally do a dark beer
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They can only put on beer that sells, I guess.
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I never claimed a CAMRA discount while a member. For two reasons, the one you state above Martin, and not wanting to be identified as a CAMRA member in a pub.
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