Wantage Beer Festival and Pubs - a last weekend of normality?

The 10th Wantage Beer Festival, on Friday and Saturday 13th and 14th March, just managed to go ahead, creeping in before the current Covid-19 outbreak took a turn for the worse and even a visit to the local pub is being advised against.
Troubling times indeed.

Social Gathering.  Now frowned upon.

We received a warm welcome from the White Horse CAMRA representatives at the entrance to the Beacon Centre.
There were around a dozen members of the Oxford branch who'd make the trip here today, and it was a pleasure to get together and enjoy the ales, putting the doom and gloom of world news out of our minds for a while.

Wantage beer fest always manage to get a nice mix of local ales and a selection that you're less likely to see.
The 8% ABV Barley Wine from Corinium Ales proved to be a popular choice and was a fantastic tipple - albeit, just the third of a pint measure being advisable.
It's also been a while since I've seen anything by the Farringdon Brewery - their finely named 'Black as your Soul' being an enjoyable (very) dark mild.
Wiltshire was well represented, with Hop Kettle managing to throw in a contender for beer of the day, alongside a number of the counties breweries that I'm less familiar with.

Ready to serve.

Last time I wrote about this beer fest, we headed around the corner afterwards to the wonderful and highly recommended Royal Oak.
So this time I thought I'd cover a couple of other pubs that make a beer-drinking trip to Wantage well worth the effort...starting with this one:

The Shoulder of Mutton (38 Wallingford Street, Wantage, OX12 8AX - web)
I've always really liked this traditional Victorian street corner pub - full of character and reliable for a good pint of beer.
There's a left/right conundrum on the way in.  Heading to the right, service is from a small counter to the side of the bar, on the corridor leading to the rear yard and function room.

The lady behind the bar is not transparent in real life...

No idea how I managed that.

There's always been a robust choice of ales in the Shoulder of Mutton.  From the beer list below, I made a fine choice, picking the 'Heartbreak' stout, from Barefaced Brewing of Bournemouth.

Butt's Barbus tempting due to the artwork.

Between the two rooms of the pub is a great snug, with white wood panelling and cushioned seats around one large table.
We shared this with a trio of professional beer tickers, in their caps and t-shirts advertising Ealing Beer festival 1998 and such like, jotting down notes of the ales tried at the Beacon.
There's no music or distractions at the Shoulder of Mutton, just the gentle hum of conversation from contented ale drinkers.

Glasses emptied, we moved on, straight across the road to another of the town's Good Beer Guide pubs.

The Kings Arms (39 Wallingford Street, Wantage, OX12 8AU - web)

This used to be a neglected and run-down town boozer, but has been successfully resurrected in recent years.  With a make-over which just about manages to retain an historic feel, it was proving a popular spot this Saturday afternoon with a good crowd of customers.
There was a superb selection of beers on the bar on this visit.  A Dark Revolution session ale, 'Sonic', was my pick of the bunch, whilst I headed back a while later to try the murky, fruity, modern IPA from Elusive.

Leaving the pub, we walked up the road just in time to see an Oxford bus departing.
Which meant a 20-minute stop-off and an Arkells '3B' in the Bear.
We ALWAYS just miss a bus and end up in the Bear.

Back on the S8 a short while later, we pressed the stop button and jumped off in East Hanney.
There's a handy house locator for the villages of East and West Hanney, ideal for tragic people like me who can't use Google maps cause they've run out of phone battery uploading pump-clip pictures to Untappd.

We found a footpath, promising West Hanney was a half-mile away, and took a brisk stroll across the fields as dusk approached.  Ten minutes later, as the path took us through the churchyard, we could see the lights of The Plough Inn...

The Plough (Church Street, West Hanney, OX12 0LN)
This is one of nine community owned pubs across Oxfordshire, having been brought by a local group when Punch Taverns put it up for sale in 2015.
Dating back to the mid 17th century, The Plough is timber-framed with thatched roof and a great country-pub feel to it.
The furthest room looked to be set up for dining, although I didn't venture into it (half-arsed, pub explorer!).  The tables around the bar are on two levels, with cosy corners and a door through to a pleasant garden.

From four ales on the bar, I grabbed a 'Chapel Rock' by Skinners, which was in fine condition and an enjoyable pint.

A big thank you goes out to our friends Tim and Marta who unexpectedly came to pick us up from here, hence saving a stagger down the country lane in the dark.
And a big apology goes out to Tim and Marta for my subsequently falling asleep on their sofa.  I blame the Corinium barley wine!

I was gonna end this post with my jovial plans to get around all those remaining Oxfordshire Good Beer Guide pubs which have so far eluded me.
But due to the Perils of the Pandemic, it's questionable whether pubs can, or should, stay open.
We've an obligation to support our NHS by not acting in a way that assists the spread of the virus.  But on the other hand, I fear for the many businesses which, without significant government support, rely on our custom to survive.

Looking forward to a time when I can get back to planning nationwide pub crawling...
Take care.