Mine's a Pint - Autumn 2018

Fullers have bought the BEL & THE
DRAGON chain. It’s made up of six properties
across Berkshire and Surrey including the bar
and restaurant in Gas Works Road, on the
Kennet. Presumably this will mean the local
breweries that have featured on the bar will
be replaced by Fullers brands, so expect to see
London Pride, Gales and Dark Star making an
appearance.
The LYNDHURST on Watlington Street has
been rebranded as a bar and kitchen, with a
more upmarket “casual fine dining” food offer
to try and compete with town centre chain
restaurants. It’s now only open Wednesday to
Sunday with a set lunch from noon to 6pm
and an a la carte evening offer. Sandwiches and
Ploughman’s boards will also be served during
the day. Landlord and chef Kris Dorward is
aiming to serve food that customers can’t make
at home. Local suppliers like the Grumpy
Goat (cheese), Dudman’s (fruit and veg) and
Tilehurst Village Butchers will feature.
The regular Autumn beer festival returns to
the CASTLE TAP on Castle Street. Opening at
6pm on Thursday 20 th September and running
till 11pm on Sunday 23 rd . Expect stillage and
a bar in the back room, interesting casks and
kegs plus extra cider. Also featuring a quiz,
live music and food, although possibly not all
at once. Other events coming up include the
Halloween party on Saturday 27 th October
– this year’s theme is Fur & Fangs – and the
Travelling Talesman will be telling stories of
werewolves and other things that go bite in the
night on Wednesday 31 st October.
The 3Bs is set to make a reappearance as part
of refurbishment works to the Town Hall.
We expect it to reopen with a new look this
autumn, although there are no details about
whether real ale – or even any ale at all – will
feature. The cafe bar closed in 2011 and has
been open only occasionally for special events
since, including in April 2016 when BBC
Radio Berkshire hosted an evening to celebrate
the local brewing family Simonds. Raymond
Simonds has compiled a fascinating archive of
information about the history and times of H.
& G. Simonds Ltd. Brewery, which you can see
if you visit simondsfamily.me.uk.
There’s an intriguing planning application
for the old Lloyds Bank building in Market
Place. The proposal is to change the use of the
ground floor to a food hall with bars, the first
and second floors to be a hotel and the third
floor to provide a rooftop bar. The application
describes it in more detail:
“The intention is to create a permanent internal
food market with a modern twist. The venue
will feature a permanent, artisanal bakery, café,
and pizza stall (all one stall), plus three further
stalls that will rotate regularly to allow an everchanging
range of Streetfood-style food offers
… There will be a main bar featuring a range
of independent cask and craft beers, a carefully
curated wine list, a wide range of premium
spirits and cocktails, and healthy smoothies
and juices. In addition, there will be a second
satellite bar that can be changed and which will
be focussed on a particular product (e.g. gin bar
or cocktail bar) … The rear of the ground floor
will see the former bank vault transformed into
a secret garden with a retractable roof, a small
Mine’s A Pint
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