A big welcome to the new Good Beer Guide , shown here alongside an ideal companion publication in Foyles of Cambridge. The Praise First and foremost, the Guide is a tribute to Roger Protz’s expert editorial hand in his 24th and final year in the hallowed role. Mr Protz will be a tough act to follow.… Continue reading LEARNING TO LOVE THE NEW GOOD BEER GUIDE
EPIC JOURNEYS FROM ASDA TO CALVERLEY’S BREW TAP
Pint and Pubs, the definitive voice on Cambridge drinking, stuck his head above the parapet and did a Cambridge Top 10 the other week. Surprisingly uncontroversial, though perhaps the omission of The Ship would have been rectified if Mr Pubs had bothered to visit it earlier. Shamefully, there was one pub on the list I’d… Continue reading EPIC JOURNEYS FROM ASDA TO CALVERLEY’S BREW TAP
BEDFORD – BUNYAN, BREWHOUSE & KITCHEN
One of the big talking points about the new Beer Guide will no doubt be the growth in brand new pubs, and whether this points to a pub renaissance or a blip on the downward spiral. I’ve no doubt the continued expansion of the family dining estate (Marston’s particularly) will go unremarked, and it will be… Continue reading BEDFORD – BUNYAN, BREWHOUSE & KITCHEN
A CLASSIC STEVENAGE ESTATE PUB
I finally picked up a copy of Boak & Bailey’s 20th Century Pub in Heffers Cambridge on Sunday, displayed alongside another classic publication (which I can’t write about until the 14th). I’m a slow reader, so you may have to wait for anything approaching a review (see here and here for those). Already it’s… Continue reading A CLASSIC STEVENAGE ESTATE PUB
CAN’T FIGHT THE (OLD HARLOW) DAYLIGHT
There’s a good article waiting to be written on Harlow New Town’s estate pubs, but it’s not this one. Today I write about a “recommended pub” in Old Harlow, which I’d always thought was Churchgate Street, as that’s where the old pubs live. Let’s be honest. I don’t have a lot to say for Harlow,… Continue reading CAN’T FIGHT THE (OLD HARLOW) DAYLIGHT
CHEESY CHIPS IN HIGH HEELED SHOES
I know some people think that travelling round the country on rickety trains (and increasingly rickety legs) is daft, when there’s such exciting beer close to home, but I care little for the beer. If I didn’t follow the path of the Guide and locally “recommended” pubs, I’d never get to drink with real people… Continue reading CHEESY CHIPS IN HIGH HEELED SHOES
JAMIELAND
Regular readers will have guessed I’m a big fan of Jamie Oliver and his relentless attempts to improve our diet through his range of pizza restaurants. I know Pub Curmudgeon shares my admiration. Jamie was brought up in the badlands south of Saffron Walden where his parents ran a pub that failed to make the Beer Guide.… Continue reading JAMIELAND
TOO MANY HANDPUMPS – THE CAMBRIDGE EXCEPTIONS
One of the themes of my blog (along with “Avoid Maidenhead“) is that the explosion of choice is rarely beneficial to quality. One of the best pints I’ve had in recent weeks was in a tourist-driven Spoons that had a minimal, but quality, cask range. The argument for heading for pubs with many pumps seems to be… Continue reading TOO MANY HANDPUMPS – THE CAMBRIDGE EXCEPTIONS
WONSTON WINNERS
A few average beers and pubs of late, but I ended the life of GBG17, and completed Hampshire, on a high. Wonston’s eponymous pub is in the mysterious triangle (and virtual GBG desert) between Andover, Winchester and the “posh bits of Basingstoke“. At a push this is Watership Down country, but really it’s where… Continue reading WONSTON WINNERS
HOPPING BACK TO SALISBURY
The pub-ticking, gig-going life can be a bit repetitive. 3 trips to Bristol in a month, 2 to Salisbury in a week. Until the embargo lifts, I don’t even know if I’m visiting pubs not long for this Beer Guide world. Anyway, my last two ticks in Wiltshire’s GBG17 chapter were fairly typical of the… Continue reading HOPPING BACK TO SALISBURY
