Mine's a Pint - Winter 2018

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The Royal Oak, Knowl Hill After that we split up to cover the two other remaining pubs in the village. Both are largely food-based but both are also happy for people to come in just for a drink. Those who visited the New Inn reported an unexceptional pint of Rebellion IPA while, further down the road, the Bird in Hand offered a range of Wadworth beers. The Bird in Hand, Knowl Hill Back on the bus, then, for another short hop to Ruscombe. Here we split up again, some having a quick drink in the Royal Oak (Buratta’s) – the bus arrived about 15 minutes before afternoon closing time! – while others went straight to Binghams Brewery. We’d phoned ahead and found there were a few spaces on the brewery tour that afternoon so we settled in. New Inn, Knowl Hill When the Bird in Hand was a family-owned free house it offered a wide selection of real ales from microbreweries and was a proper destination venue, being regularly in contention for our branch Pub of the Year award. Since being taken over by Wadworth a couple of years ago it’s been refurbished and seen major investment, but the beer range is now restricted to the owners’ products and there seems less of a reason to make a special journey to go there. The first beer we chose was off but it was replaced with a much better example and – after a brief bit of miscommunication between the bar staff – the first one appeared to be taken off sale. Mine’s A <strong>Pint</strong> 26 The Royal Oak, Ruscombe Chris Bingham was hosting the tour that day and he gave an entertaining talk about how he got into brewing as a student, the long and involved process of setting up his own brewery, the brewing process and the ingredients used in the recipes, alongside tasting several glasses of the beers. Stout, the brewery dog, even made an appearance at the end and of course received plenty of fuss. Beers from Binghams and their new craft label Ricochet (unfined, unfiltered and suitable for vegans) were available for purchase and the shop was doing a steady trade from locals while we were there. Look at binghams.co.uk for tour details and to book online.
The brewery was the end of our organised pub crawl as the buses only run in the daytime, but some of the group walked on into Twyford and had some very good quality beer at the Golden Cross before getting the train back to Reading. Others headed back to the Royal Oak once it reopened for the evening and had an excellent meal. It was a fine day out. If you’ve been inspired to check out the A4, visit courtneybuses.com for details of the 127 timetable and fares. Also, looking in the other direction, the Reading Buses (reading-buses. co.uk) Jet Black route no. 1 takes you west along the A4 from Reading to Newbury and is also a great way to visit a wide range of pubs. Both the pubs and the buses will be grateful for your custom and the two complement each other perfectly, so get planning your day out! Phil Gill Mine’s A <strong>Pint</strong> 27
Page 1: THE MAGAZINE FOR READING AND MID BE
Page 5 and 6: From The Editor A pub is for life,
Page 7 and 8: After five or more years of closure
Page 9 and 10: All images are courtesy of the brew
Page 11 and 12: ABV, with a rich maltiness, soft bi
Page 13 and 14: Mine’s A Pint 13 balances hints o
Page 15 and 16: In 2015 Michael was invited to chai
Page 17 and 18: The Grumpy Goat is Five All images
Page 19 and 20: Offering a wide range of real ale i
Page 21 and 22: sign of a good night!). We’d like
Page 23 and 24: Expect to find changes on each visi
Page 25: 127 Route Pub Crawl There’s a rov
Page 29 and 30: A Pub is for Life A pub is for life
Page 31 and 32: Merry Christmas and Happy New Beer!

Mine's a Pint - Winter 2018

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