I’m slowly catching up with the blog! Away day weekends equal pub creds, we all know that and Reading had lots waiting for us! I had been to Reading before, years ago. On that trip I ticked off two spoons and a couple of other pubs, not that I remember anything about those or Reading. Let’s get started!
The squad were arriving at slightly different times for this one. The Cambridge crew arrived first, and headed straight for the The Ale House:
Fun fact! You can see four coffee shops, from that little front garden! This is a decent pub. It’s got a classic interior and a good selection of beers.
I opted for the Muntjac, and it was very nice!
After The Alehouse, the last member of the Friday night squad arrived. Taxi obtained, it was straight to Siren Craft and Elusive. I think I’ll save those for another blog. Let’s keep going with Reading.
After Siren, Nathan and I slipped off this station pub, owned by Fullers.
I channeled my inner BRAPA Simon, and went for an ESB. It was a very good pint, and I would have stayed for another, but bed was calling.
We now jump to after the Reading v Cambridge game. Desperate for a beer, we headed to Phantom Brewing.
I fancied something light and refreshing. Denim, a pale ale, was just the job.
Always have to get a shot in front of the brewing equipment! I could have stayed at Phantom longer, but we had an extensive beer-genda to complete. After a quick pit stop at the hotel, we headed to the pub I was most excited to visit.
The S is the star that leads you to good beer! Always follow the S!
The pub was packed and felt like a sauna. I grabbed a pint of SnapBack lager, from Siren of course, and headed for the large beer garden!
We turned to the Good Beer Guide for our next few pubs. This proved to be a mistake. The Butler was next, and the second worst pub we visited in Reading.
Look at the state of that glass. The beer was average, and that’s probably being polite. We made a hasty exit. The Castle Tap was up next. In my opinion, the people who run a pub either make it or break it. The person who served us, at this pub, was the most unnecessarily sarcastic person of all time. I guess I can’t blame the GBG for that! I have no idea why she was like it. My best theory is that she was trying to be funny, but completely missed the mark. Nevertheless, the Bostin’ Bitter by Green Duck was decent.
Not wishing to experience anymore pointless sarcasm, we headed to the Allied Arms.
I’d heard great things about this place. It lived up to none of them.
Firstly, another dirty glass. Reading pubs love serving beer in dirty glasses. Secondly, the beer tasted terrible. We sampled each ale between us and all were poor. So poor in fact, we left.
While researching for this trip I stumbled across The Hop Leaf, a Hop Back pub.
A proper back street locals pub, I think they were surprised to see some non locals arrive! The Summer Lightning and other Hop Back beers were served in excellent condition. This was a strong contender for pub of the trip!
We had time for one more pub. The Greyfriar.
I like to finish on a Guinness, but only Just Stout by Stardust was available here. It didn’t hit the spot, and to be honest neither did Reading. I can’t say that I’d rush back to Reading, although Siren are opening a brand new bar here. There’s a couple of decent beer places, but a lot of poor and average ones.
Thanks for reading. Siren blog coming soon!
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