Coventry Part 2 - Bass, Batches and (Sky) Blues

A second post from sunny Coventry on the Beer & Pubs Forum big day out. 
We'd done the historic inns with wooden beams.  We'd drank Bass and been non-members in the members club.
Next up was a micro, followed by a walk out to a trio of pubs in Chapelfields.

There were also rumours that a rogue visit to the Sky Blue Tavern was on the cards.
Something that seemed a good idea, with it being eleven days until Coventry City would return to Premier League football - easing in with a gentle start away at Arsenal.

So here's how the rest of the rest of the day panned out...

Hops D'Amour (67 Corporation Street, Coventry, CV1 1GX)
This city centre micro opened in an old Singer's Sewing Machine store in 2021 and didn't take long to start picking up awards.  It's a single rectangular room; lots of light wood; lots of pictures filling the walls; sensible seating where your feet touch the floor.
A signed picture of London blues-rockers Dogs D'Amour confirmed my suspicions as to where the pub name had come from.

More micros named after late '80s hairy rock bands, please.  Surely there's a Motley Brew somewhere?

Hops D'Amour had lots of tempting options on both cask and keg...but who needs other options when you've got a chocolate brownie stout called 'Caked'.

This 5% sweet dark beer was brewed in Galgate, Lancashire by Lune Brew and proved to be a marvellous pick.
It may not be everyone's cup of tea after the trad surrounds of the Windmill, but I was pleased to revisit this friendly micro where the chap at the next table wasted no time in striking up a conversation with us.

We had the longest walk of the day ahead, back down Spon Street, through the underpass and into the western suburbs.
No-one stopped for Moira's wet fish.

Marching on through the residential streets to reach the hanging baskets and parasols of the Hearsall Inn.

Hearsall Inn (45 Craven Street, Coventry, CV5 8DS)
This is a cracking family-owned backstreet pub, the decorations and Tuesday evening music sessions a homage to the landlord's Irish roots.
You get flags on the ceiling, Guinness mirrors, pictures, toucans...TVs offering horse racing or summer footy transfer news and a good crowd of folk for a Wednesday afternoon.

Cask beers available were Tring 'Doctor ABC', Church End 'Goats Milk', or Bass.
A second Bass of the day for me here - on good form and going down a treat.

We joined Stafford Paul, who'd spent his time whilst we in the Fairfax Club and micro taking a leisurely stroll to the Hearsall, bagging the best table and the pork scratchings.

The soundtrack was Patrick Hernandez and Billy Ocean from the TV in the corner tuned into Now 70s Hits 76-79.

Changing into 101 Best Disco Ever, which would require me to stay until around 10pm to hear number one.  That would mean missing the recent addition to the Black Country Ales empire, and - perhaps more importantly - the train home.
So onward we walked, the Nursery Tavern less than 5-minutes around the corner...

Nursery Tavern (38-39 Lord Street, Coventry, CV5 8DA)
I have been to this mid-terrace Victorian pub previously, but it's changed a lot since I was last here.  Black Country Ales have installed some chequered cushioned bench seating, busy wallpaper, patterned carpets and TV screens listing the beers, which will come as no surprise.

The bar counter has moved creating an open-plan layout, although it's a pokey place with distinct different seating areas.
And an extensive cask choice...

I opted for the Fixed Wheel session IPA 'Through and Off', priced at £4.40 a pint.  In decent condition, light and easy to drink.
Looks like they've got the usual cobs on offer too - Burts crisps 'in' rather than at the side as controversial as whether these are cobs or batches when served in a Black Country Ales pub in Cov.

Mrs PropUptheBar wants to know where the shorts and T-shirt are.
"Didn't he look at the weather forecast?!"

Just one more pub on the original plan - a short hop to a bit of a classic...

Broomfield Tavern (14-16 Broomfield Place, Coventry, CV5 6GY)
The Broomfield is wonderfully ramshackle - a lovely pub which looks like it hasn't changed in years.  It dates back to the mid 1800's when the city was rapidly expanding and the pub would have refreshed the workers from the new factories that boomed in this area.

On cask were four locals from Froth Blowers, Church End and A'J's, plus the Wiltshire interloper.

A Froth Blowers 'Riverside Stout' for me.
And whatever he's having...

The Broomfield offered proper snacks - good value rolls and pickled eggs.

A contender for my favourite pub of the day, although there were a few that we visited worthy of that title.
I've no idea if there was great background music or if we were debating the hot topics of the day in this pub.  I think I was too busy taking pictures of that dog.

We couldn't depart Coventry with just one curveball on our route. I think it was always a given that we were heading into the footy-themed Sky Blue Tavern on the way back to the station.

Sky Blue Tavern (Hertford Place, Coventry, CV1 3JZ)
There was once a Sky Blue Tavern on the corner of Thackall Street and Swan Lane - the football club renaming the former M&B Mercers Arms when they acquired it in 1994.  That's now long demolished and this version, looking out onto the dual carriageway ring-road, is less traditional.
It was opened by the local Dhillon's Brewery in June 2021. 

Somehow, I don't think Stafford Paul is going to be kicking himself that he'd left earlier to catch a train and missed this one.

It's keg only, with the most interesting beers being the Dhillon's 'Sky Blue Army' and 'Ghost Town Lager'.
Ghost Town for me...veering towards Coventry's music heritage rather than the football theme.

In this spacious bar you get table football, big screens, games machines, blokes in hi-vis, and a desi menu.
I'm a bit puzzled by the location - outside the centre in the opposite direction to the ground, but good luck to them.  And good luck to the Sky Blues in the Prem (except for two particular matches against East Midlands opposition).

My hapless thrashing at table football meant I had to hang my head in shame and declare it time to go home.
Great to see everyone - look forward to doing it all again in another location soon.  Probably in pouring rain.

The Coventry Beer & Pubs Day Out

I headed to Coventry on the 12th August, a day when the city was sweltering in 33° heat and the news was full of excitement about how many people would damage their eyesight looking directly at that evening's partial eclipse of the sun.

We were in Coventry for Life After Football's summer holiday curated West Midlands pub crawl (ably assisted by Retirement Martin's itinerary advisory service).
There would be Bass.  And there would be rogue diversions from the original plan.

After a delayed arrival on Cross Country (no, really...) I headed to the Golden Cross just before their 11:30 opening time.  Stafford Paul was banging on the door waiting patiently outside, having already made a first pub visit of the day prior to this.  The more professional bloggers than me were missing train connections in Derby or knocking back John Smiths Smooth in the Craft Union boozer.

The Golden Cross (8 Hay Lane, Coventry, CV1 5RF)
The Golden Cross certainly looks the part.  This classic timber-framed building with overhanging upper floors was constructed in 1583 and was officially documented as a pub in 1661.
Paul was pointing out the stained glass windows advertising NBC.  As they ceased brewing in 1974, having merged with Phipps 12 years prior to that, this is some pretty old glass.

We were first through the door, with a fair number of early customers following us within the next ten minutes, a healthy crowd of punters mid-week pre-noon.
Ales on offer were Ossett 'Silver King; Bath 'Gem', Titanic 'Plum Porter' plus a local golden ale from Warwickshire.

Deciding to drink local beer while I had the opportunity, I opted for the 'Lady Godiva', embracing Coventry's most famous legend.
We were soon joined by Life After Football, kitted out for the sunny weather with a National Lottery beanie (possibly a diplomatic blue hat option without the risk of antagonising the locals with Birmingham City headwear).
The Golden Cross made for a good start to the day, clinking our glasses together in a toast under the wooden beams.

Moving on, we took a moment to be tourists walking around the ruins of the old cathedral before making our way to the next pub of the day.
Here's a (very messy, arrow-heavy) map of the route ahead...

Sadly the Town Wall Tavern, which was on the original plan, had recently closed - hopefully to be resurrected in the not too distant future.
Stop number two (or No.1 or No.3 for some) was this superb red brick building at the top of Hill Street...

The Gatehouse Tavern (44-46 Hill Street, Coventry, CV1 4AN)
I do have a soft spot for the Gateway Tavern - a pub rebuilt by landlord Martin McKeown from the ruins of the gatehouse to what was once Leigh mills.
It debuted in the Good Beer Guide in 1996 and has been there ever since.
The single room consists a high beamed ceiling and stained glass windows with Six Nation rugby crests.  Proper pub seating; ski jumping pictures; a bit of breweriana on the ledges; and a cracking beer range are all features of this classic ale house.

Cask takes centre-stage, with local offerings from Twisted Tree and Church End, a North Cotswolds mild, Timothy Taylor 'Landlord', M&B 'Brew XI' and Bass.
🔺Bass please.
Along with a £10.50 plate of pub grub from a very trad menu which included faggots, pie of the day, sausage batches, and chips smothered in steak and gravy.
As the food took a fair while I popped back to the bar for the Brew XI which was on decent form. 

 

Plans were hatched to create a breakaway Brew XI faction from the Bass aficionados.

Retired Martin and Sir Quinno were already settled on a bench with pints in front of them in the Gatehouse when we arrived.  Sheffield Hatter followed a short while later, slightly out of breath having refused to let a delayed train deny him visits to the Golden Cross and Castle Grounds pubs.
Our half dozen Coventry pub researchers were now all present and correct..

It wasn't far to the medieval buildings of Spon Street, although everywhere felt far in the wicked afternoon heat.

Old Windmill (22-23 Spon Street, Coventry, CV1 3BA)
This is another great-looking ancient inn with walls that aren't quite straight, flagstone floors and wooden beams.
Entrance is via a corridor with a couple of characterful snug rooms leading off on each side, the bar counter towards the back of the pub.

Cask ales included beers from Nottingham Brewery, Thornbridge, Byatt's, Silhill and another Bass appearance, plus a whole board listing Lilleys cider varieties.

I picked the local Byatt's 'Hoplab Bitter V1.1' because I'm a sucker for anything with a version number in the name and can scoff with superiority when folks Untappd the wrong one.
The brewery plan to keep the same malt base but change the hops in each version:  Progress, East Kent Goldings and Fuggles in this one - a crisp, fruity brown bitter.
Although reports were that the Bass was on good form here, so I'm not sure I picked right.

Departing the Windmill, the striking frontage of the Fairfax Club caught our eye.  LAF, Martin and Will formed an advance party: myself and Quinno loitered outside to see if they'd be turfed out unceremoniously as non-members.
Just as we decided they weren't coming out (presumably due to being served rather than having befallen some terrible fate) a chap parked in his red Merc wound down his window and told us the club was open to all and worth a visit.

The Fairfax Club (182 Spon St, Coventry CV1 3BB)
I can find little information about this club, a Facebook page being under maintenance; one review on Pubs Galore and that was written by Will after our visit.
I did find this from Urbanary - Discover Your City...

There was little concern about exclusivity on a Wednesday afternoon, as five of us were served with a warm welcome and not a soul gave a second glance to our presence.
I'd be intrigued to see the criteria for selecting 'curated creative clientele'.

They did have cask ale available, one of two hand pumps serving a Greene King 'Abbot' for £4.30 a pint - all drinks lines handily adorned with post-it note prices.

No complaints about the Abbot - it may not be my favourite beer but it was in good condition.
Here are some of the curated clientele...

This was a great little additional stop - the kind of rogue venue that we hope - nay, demand - that Life After Football find.

I know long blog posts are all the rage these days, but I've realised waffling on about all the pubs we visited would make this a really long one.

So...more Bass, more grammatical errors, more Cov pubs & more reminding everyone that it was 33° and rising in the next post.

You Seem Pretty Sad for a Boy who's Almost Completed Berkshire

I was pretty sad, as I reached the final three pubs of the Berkshire chapter of the Good Beer Guide for 2026.
Mainly, because I was always going to be one short, The Swan at East Ilsley being closed since March of this year.
Perhaps also because I had to tackle the suburbs of Wokingham.

Catching a Waterloo-bound train from Reading, I hopped off after a couple of stops at Winnersh.  My second time here - pub ticking takes you to some exciting locations.

Meal deal in the bag from the superstore, I caught the 128 bus to whisk me a few miles up the road to Hurst.  Situated between Twyford and Wokingham, this spread-out sleepy village is home to just over 2,000 folks.
In the past I've been to the outlying St Nicolas Hurst to drink Wadworth 6X in the Wheelwright's Arms.  Followed a couple of years later with a trip a bit further up the A321 to the Jolly Farmer, which I thought would mark the end of my visits to this neck of the woods.  And now the Castle Inn finds itself in the Beer Guide and I ended up in Hurst two days on the trot.

I strolled into the pub through the open door and asked for a pint of 'Dark Star' only for the young chap cleaning a keg line to inform me that they weren't actually open.
Seriously?  The door's open, the lights are on, you're standing behind the bar...I could've been gone in 5-minutes if he'd only been prepared to sell me a quick half.
Being as they have an active Facebook page, their own website, and their hours on Google...all of which said 'open', I was pretty miffed.  

After that disappointment, how about a stroll up to The Green Man which CAMRA declared would be open.  Nope, well and truly closed and out of business.  No doubt it'll be resurrected, serve marvellous beer and I'll be back here in 2028.

The next 128 bus heading towards Wokingham arrived at just the right time and I cut my losses in Hurst and jumped aboard. 
First stop in Wokingham - a revisit to the local award winner, which I guessed rightly would serve we a cracking belated first pint of the day.

The Crispin (45 Denmark Street, Wokingham, RG40 2AY)
The Crispin looks the part as one of the oldest inns in town, the historic buildings originally being 15th century cottages.  By 1830 the central cottage was occupied by shoemaker James Green who diversified into selling beer, hence it later being named after the patron saint of cobblers.

There were four cask options to pick from: Rebellion 'Overthrow', Hogs Back 'T.E.A', Delphic 'Knee High to a Grasshopper' and Bluntrock 'Ambassador'.
I picked the only non-local - the Bluntrock beer coming all the way from Cornwall, a best bitter inspired by the Burton brewing tradition.

It really hit the spot.  A proper brown bitter served in great condition.
I sat in the corner of one of the two main rooms that make up the Crispin, next to the fireplace underneath ancient beams.

Music came from TVs tuned into Now Music Summer Anthems: 2,4,6,8 Motorway, Summer of '69, Go Your Own Way... with regular adverts for Butlins, Aldi and a whole host of life insurance providers.  They know their audience.

Moving on, I set out to look for the GBG tick.

When Wokingham last exercised its right to put an out-of-town pub in the Beer Guide (the Crooked Billet, 2021) I passed The White Horse on the walk to get there - if only I'd have popped in for a quick half back then.
Since making an appearance in this year's Guide, the White Horse has been sucker-punched by roadworks.  Easthampstead Road is closed beyond the railway crossing from April '26 until January '27 ("if you're lucky" cry the residents on Oxford's Botley Road).  I foolishly figured there would be a pedestrian way to bypass this...but no. 

On foot I followed diversion signs FOREVER under blazing sunshine, eventually hitting new distributor roads through fledgling housing estates.  Wokingham is rapidly expanding with 10,000 new homes planned which - on my first grumpy impressions - looked horrible.

The White Horse (Easthampstead Road, Wokingham Without, RG40 3AF)
The 2-mile diversion for residents of south Wokingham to make what would have been a 5-10 minute stroll to the White Horse has had such an impact on business that the tenants of 10-years have decided to call it quits.  Signs around the bar stated how difficult a decision this had been, thanking the loyal patrons.
Judging by the glasses hung over beer taps and depleted stock, I guess I visited just before the pub shut down (it was already marked as closed on the CAMRA website).
There was a Tim Taylor 'Landlord' pump, but this was declared as finished, leaving just three active keg lines to pick from.  A reluctant half of Thatchers 'Gold' for me.

The pub has one rectangular room divided by pillars, a stage area in one window bay, and outdoor seating front and back.  Belinda Carlisle played in the background, a half dozen locals stood around the bar, a tiny dog raced around like it was on the canine equivalent of catnip.

A miserable pub visit through no fault of their own.

Oh well...I guess when those big new estates get built there will potentially be a massive new customer base when the White Horse can no longer be called an out-of-towner. 

45-minutes slog along the same dull pathways.
Back in the town centre, hot and sweaty and hoping for a decent ale.
Let's try The Rose...

The Rose Inn (30 Market Place, Wokingham, RG40 1AP)
The original Rose Inn was located on the northern side of the market place, prior to the landlord relocating to two 15th century houses on the current site, due to them offering better stabling.  In the not so distant past it was a Café Rouge, returning to life as a pub in 2018.
A fairly smart one with bookshelves, armchairs, and a rear section which is 100% restaurant.  Beers were from Hertfordshire brewery McMullens, which I don't come across very often.
The IPA for me, £5.70 for a pint of the 4.8% mild, malty trad brew.

The Rose was a big place whose average customers probably don't come out at 3pm on a weekday afternoon.  There were a few folks sat by the bar and some in the sunshine in the back garden.  But I had the wooden beams and panelling to myself, just content to be sat down with an ale in front of me after much more treading the pavements than I'd anticipated.

IPA finished, I wanted to visit somewhere else that was new to me in Wokingham, so decided to head up the Reading Road to Emmbrook.  Another Wokingham walk to an unheralded pub - I really am a sucker for punishment.

The pub sign has seen better days... 

But the pub itself was open and inviting, a number of young folk in polo shirts advertising local contractors sat under the significant awnings covering the front garden.

The Rifle Volunteer (141 Reading Rd, Wokingham RG41 1HD)
It dates back to the 19th century but has been much modernised within, creating an open-plan layout with TV screens initially used to play Heart FM, then switched to cricket during my visit.
Here's the beer choice... 

I paid £7.20 for a pint of Vale 'Brill Gold' and spicy Cheeze-Its.  Either the beer or the snacks were ambitiously priced for a local boozer a mile out of town.
I needed those cheesy snacks to disguise the taste of a dubious Brill Gold - a thin head dissolving to form little islands on top of the beer.  Not enjoyable, but I wasn't convinced it'd be exchanged enthusiastically.

Next evening - a bit begrudgingly - I returned to the Castle at Hurst.

The Castle Inn (Church Hill, Hurst, RG10 0SJ)
Situated at the southern edge of the village, this ancient pub is owned by the splendid-looking church on the other side of the road.
I found the place in full swing, every table outside in the sunshine occupied by locals enjoying happy hour drinks.
Less uptake for the indoor seating.

Cask options were 'London Pride', 'Dark Star' or Rebellion 'Roasted Nuts'.  My least favourite of the local Rebellion beers, so I stuck with Dark Star.
Served in good condition.  Half of it sipped outside propped on a barrel with a view of the adjacent bowling green, the rest finished sat in the corner of a good trad country bar.

After visiting the Castle, I found my way to my final Berkshire Good Beer Guide '26 tick, the Duke of Edinburgh at Winkfield...

Primarily a dining pub, with the bar to the left of the entrance the only bit without knives and forks on the tables and waiting staff ready to pounce on you.
I grabbed an Arkells '3B' ('Pile Driver IPA' the alternative Arkells brew) raising a quiet toast to Berkshire and it's beer guide pubs done for another year.

I appreciate that Berkshire is one of the less challenging counties to complete when it comes to GBG ticking but I'm an amateur at this game and am taking some satisfaction from this achievement.
How am I doing with Buckingham?  No comment.