Banbury – 6th April

Banbury – 6^th April

Kathy, Julian, Becky, Carl, Jane, Rob, Claire, Vicki

 

1). Ye Old Reindeer – Liked this place, oldie worldie and traditional. Hook Norton beers. Good setting and ambience but poor service. 8/10 (7/10)

2). Rose and Crown – Lovely country pub set in a sleepy village. I imagine it would be great in the winter with the real fire. Good range of beers but we were the only ones in. 7/10 (7/10)

3). Dun Cow – Very nice pub but more of a gastro one with posh beers and fine wines. Many of the groups favourite though but not mine. 6.5/10 (7/10)

4). Butchers Arms – Loved this pub! Very friendly staff and a cosy feel. It was like being in someone’s living room. Hook Norton beers again. Funny place. 7/10 (7/10)

5). George Dragon – Nice enough local pub. Served food and had a couple of ales on.  Not as special as the other pubs though very pleasant.7/10 (7/10)

6). White Horse – Considering this is known as a real ale pub it was a bit disappointing. It was a bit scruffy and the drinks were not that great. Perhaps it would have been better earlier in the day. 6/10 (6/10)

Thanks everyone it was an amazing day!

Brighton 30/03/2013

Brighton 30/03/2013

Pete. A sad day.

1). Brewery Tap. Small modern bar for craft ale enthusiasts. I am a fan of both cask and craft so loved it! 8/10.

2). Great Eastern. Second visit here and it was very enjoyable. Good choice of beers, friendly staff and a relaxed atmosphere. Quite studenty. 7/10.

3). Regency Tavern. The pink palace! I think when it was first decorated it might have been quite cool but now it is a bit jaded. Shepherd Neame pub. 5/10.

4). Hampton Arms. A few ales but didn’t really take to this place. 6/10.

5). The Victory Inn. Busy city centre pub with a good vibe and a few nice ales. Looks like an old building with Green and cream tiles. A bit dirty though. 6.5/10.

Highgate 23/03/2013

Highgate 23/03/2013

Rich, Jim, Warren.

1)      The Bull. Good beer pub which has a brewery on the premises. Lots of ales to chose from, a nice friendly pub. 7/10.

2)      The Rise and Sun. A few ales on draft and decent staff. Fine but nothing special. 6/10.

3)      The Gatehouse. For a Wetherspoons it scores highly. Good ale selection and quite an unusual building.  7/10.

4)      Angel. A modern pub but has a great selection of all drinks beers, lagers etc. Very enjoyable. 7/10.

5)      The Woodman. Didn’t really take to this place. It is a large pub with a few ales but not for me. 5.5/10.

London 22/3/2013

London  22/3/2013

Jane and Rob

1). Barley Mow. An interesting pub with cool booths and fine ales. It was nicely busy and had a good atmosphere. 7/10.

2). Prince Alfred.  An old beautiful pub which has etched glass and funny dividers. Dates back to the Victorian period.  Had a Meantime beer and thoroughly enjoyed it. The high score matches the lovely building and the high bar prices! 8/10.

3). The Warrington. A large 19^th Century pub with mosaic floors and attractive windows. It is quite roomy but still had a god atmosphere. A couple of unusual ales on so a good pub. 7/10.

4). The Clifton. Nice busy pub with a few ales and friendly staff. Quite modern and very enjoyable. 7.5/10.

5). The Parlour. Good selection of beers but not really ales. Good staff. Not sure why this scored so highly now but sure it was a good drink! 8/10.

6) The Alice House. More of a bar than a pub with lagers and loud music! 6/10.

Warwickshire Feb 2013

Warwickshire Feb 2013

Rie Visit.

1). Wild Boar. I love this pub. Always loads of ales on and pulls a nice pint too. The pub is pleasant and friendly and will be back. 7.5/10.

2). Coventry Arms. A bit of a risky decision but it was great! Recently renovated with new owners and had a good couple of ales on. Very good and we will definitely return! 7.5/10.

3). Clarendon. Also an old favourite. Had a nice pint of Butty.  6.5/10.

4). White Horse. Sometimes too busy but changes ales regularly so you don’t know what ale you might get. Today 6.5/10.

5). The Bakers Arms. A good old fashioned country pub with quirky locals and a real fire. Had some nice local ales on too. 7/10.

London 26/01/2013

London 26/01/2013

Anna and Charlie.

1)      Windsor Castle. A local pub near Marylebone in which every available space is filled with some kind of chintz! Not the best ale selection but had a couple and also had some funny locals.  I thought it was a great very unusual but fun pub. 8/10.

2)      The Coach Makers. A modern open plan bar. It wasn’t on the pub map but we thought we would give it a go. Did have a couple of ales on which were nice. Enjoyed our pint but nothing special. 6.5/10.

3)      The Argyll Arms. Beautiful old pub in Soho. Kept many of the old features intact and had cool booths and lovely decor. A Nicholson pub so had an excellent selection of beers too. 7/10.

4)      The Coffee House. Very busy at the time so I couldn’t see all of the pub but it did have a great selection of Brodies beers. I would like to return when it wasn’t so busy. 7/10.

5)      The Guinea. A Youngs pub which dates back to 15^th Century. Famous for its restaurant. A nice pub but I wouldn’t rush back. 6.5/10.

6)      The Punchbowl. At the time it was Guy Richie’s pub which was far too posh for me. Did have a nice ale though and it is an old Georgian building . 6/10.

Birmingham 12/01/2013

Birmingham 12/01/2013

Hockley with Vicki

1)      Black Eagle. A famous ale pub which we had wanted to go to for some time. It had a number of ales that I had not tried before and my pint was lovely. The people were very friendly but the actual pub itself isn’t anything too special. Still a great ale pub. 7.5/10.

2)      Lord Clifton. More of a modern pub which was very busy with people eating. Has a number of ales on though so not bad. 6/10.

3)      The Rose Villa Tavern. A lovely old grade II listed building with cool tiles and pretty windows. It has recently had a revamp but keeps the old features. It has a number of good ales and a nice atmosphere. I look forward to returning here. 7.5/10.

4)      The Drop Forge. A large bar which has recently been renovated. It wasn’t very busy an had a standard ale selection. This place was fine but nothing special to me. 6/10.

London 11/01/2013

London 11/01/2013

Historic  Pub Crawl with Mum and Dad.

1). Princess Louise. One of my favourite pubs which never lets me down. It is a Sam Smiths pub so not the best beer the lovely building makes up for it. We all enjoyed our drinks and will be back again. 9/10.

2). The Jerusalem Tavern. The only St Peter’s Brewery pub. The decor is done in a manner which makes it look old but I doubt it is. A lovely fire and excellent beer selection. I had a grapefruit beer! Very enjoyable and a nice atmosphere. 7/10.

3). Viaduct Tavern. A Fullers pub near the City. Very old with beautiful wall murals. It once was a jail so we were delighted to have a tour of the cellar. A lovely touch. I found the pub too open to be cosy however so doesn’t score as highly as I thought. 7/10.

4). Jamaica Wine House. Another old pub which was London’s first coffee house. It was busy with the city workers but I enjoyed the atmosphere and the interesting building. Shepherd Neame Pub. 7.5/10.

5). East India Arms. A small friendly pub in the City. It was busy with City workers but had a nice atmosphere. This was a bit of a surprise really and we very much enjoyed it. Again another Shepherd Neame pub. 7.5/10.

Liverpool Local Areas 26/12/2012

Liverpool Local Areas 26/12/2012
Mum, Dad and Jackie.

1) Dovedale Towers. Ordinarily this would be an amazing pub for me lots of ales, good bottled beer selection and in an attractive old building. Being Boxing Day though they were down to one ale! Had a nice Belgium bottle instead. Quiet but I like this place. 8/10.

2) Empress. Apparently it is the pub on Ringo’s old street. From the outside it looked a bit dodgy but inside it was fine. Friendly people and unexpectedly busy. No ales at all and a bit scruffy but we all felt comfortable. 6/10.

3) The Edinburgh. Lovely little pub with a nice fire and pretty bar area. It had about  5 ales to chose from too. My pint was excellent and I would definitely return. 7/10.

4) Childwall Abbey. Large chainy type pub. Standard ale selection and more of a food place really. Lovely building from the outside but not so pretty on the inside.  5.5/10.

Liverpool 22/12/2012 Tradition has it!

Liverpool 22/12/2012

Mum and Dad – The Traditional Christmas crawl.

1) The Philharmonic.  Very famous pub now owned by Nicholson. Still a great building with lots of different rooms and famous toilets! Had a nice barman who let my try out a few ales before settling on one. Nicely busy and enjoyed our drink. It will always be a winner for me. 8.5/10.

2) Ma Egertons. Theatre pub which has only recently reopened so had no ale on at the moment. Very busy but had a pleasant atmosphere and we still managed to get a seat. Very enjoyable and will be interesting to see if they get any ales on in the future. 7/10.

3) Lion Tavern. Fantastic ale selection but I wasn’t overly impressed with the Lion this visit. The staff were quite miserable and it lacked a good atmosphere. Still a good ale pub in an old building with interesting features. 6/10.

4) Ship and Mitre. Another good ale pub, lots of choice and the staff were very helpful in helping me make the best choice. The chips went down well but they were not the fat ones like last time! Very busy but a friendly festive bustling  atmosphere.  7/10.

London 14/12/2012

London 14/12/2012
Charlie, Anna and Tim.

1) Ye Old Mitre. A famous  old pub which I requested we went to as it is only open on week days. It was very busy though so difficult to get a true view of the place. I managed to fight my way around to have a look though. It had a good number of ales and the staff were efficient.  Scored lower than I would probably give it on a quieter day. 6.5/10

2) The Cittie of York. Large Samuel Smith pub which is split in two. Upstairs is wooden with booths and olde worldy decor. Downstairs where we were was a cellar bar. Still we got a seat and it was nicely busy. Very expensive for a Sam Smith. 6/10.

3) Old Nick. Badger pub so I knew I would get a good drink! More space than the last couple but still busy with Xmas parties. Nothing special about the place but we enjoyed it due to being able to move! 7/10.

4) Ship Tavern. Nice pub with lots of ale and lots of Christmas decorations so had a good feel to it. We all enjoyed our drinks and would return again. 8/10.

Birmingham 30/11/2012 Vicki.

Birmingham 30/11/2012.
Pre Christmas outing with Vicki.

1). The Wellington. Best ale selection in Birmingham but not the best building. A bit of a canteen type but the ales are amazing so is always nicely busy and a good enjoyable place.  Will return again and again. Had a good Christmas work dos in so good banter too. 7/10.

2). Briar Rose. Wetherspoons so busy, dirty and no excitements. Had a few Christmas beers and they were £1.50! Not the best Wethers I have been to. 4/10.

3). The Windsor. A pub that again we had never been. Did have a few ales and pleasant staff but nothing special. Again very cheap though! 5/10.

4). The Post Office. A new pub for us and had a great selection of ales, ciders (boo) and bottled mostly Belgium beers. Bar staff were very amiable although did automatically give us halves ! It meant we could try more though. A great atmosphere with Christmas parties but don’t expect a seat. Good bar. 8/10.

5). Shakespeare. A Nicholson pub and had some good Xmas ales, very busy.  Didn’t have a good look round but believe it is a pretty standard pub. Good chat though.  6.5/10.

Oxford 27/10/12

Oxford 27/10/12

Anna, Jase, Pete, Matt

1). Lamb and Flag. Quite a famous pub but has a good and unusual selection of ales. Not overly keen on the pub though.  Large and not that interesting! 6/10.

2). Rickety Press. In the student area but a lovely pub. Only one brand of ale but has something for everyone and is a very nice pub. Seems to have quite a posh restaurant too. Very enjoyable pintage. 7.5/10.

3). The Old Bookbinders. I was looking forward to going to this pub heard much about its ales and the pub itself. It certainly was a nice oldy worldy pub and quite quirky but the ales weren’t great. Still enjoyable. 7/10.

4). Gardeners Arms. A good pub, a couple of ales and a nice old pub building. Very friendly feel and enjoyable. Not quite as unique as others we had been to that day though.  6.5/10.

5). Far from the Madding Crowd.  Great staff and great selection of ales, one of the best you will find in oxford, also cheap but some of the group felt it was a bit wetherspoonsy! I quite like it though! 6/10.