Beer Moose

  Welcome to the Sunday Session, a relaxed Sunday pub walk. I’d spent the weekend in Bedford with Dan and John. John hadn’t been to some of the places on Bedford high street before, with most being close together and the weather being so bad, we decided they were the places to go! After a Harvester breakfast, which was actually not that bad, we walked towards The Wellington, which isn’t on the high street. The Wellington has easily the best cask selection in Bedford. Pints of Heart Of Darkness and Broadside went down a treat. Next we headed to the high street to visit a sort of new venue. Bedford used to have a Brewhouse and Kitchen, which for quite a while was decent. However bad management led to its closure. From the ashes rises High Street Tap Social. Annoyingly, I didn’t take a photo here. It’s a no thrills, drinks only pub. Large inside, with screens advertising drink deals and reminding people not to do coke in the toilets. A pint of ale, pint of Guinness and a juice came to...

  Friend of the blog, Dan, decided to have a birthday. Since he had a birthday last year and was now over thirty, I was a bit confused as to why he wanted and needed another one. Nevertheless, I missed out on a windy game in Northampton to join his birthday event.  Train from Cambridge to London included a rail replacement bus, which I didn’t fancy, so an 8am bus to Bedford was a necessary evil. A couple of us were staying at Veal Hotel (Dan’s house), which made the early start slightly more bearable. Onto the main event! We headed to Aldgate Boom Battle Bar, which may as well have been staffed by robots. Staff here had a level of enthusiasm so low, it was probably a minus number.  I’d never done axe throwing before, but would totally do it again! It takes a while to get the hang of it, but once you do it’s great fun! Sadly, I lost form at the end and threw away my chance of winning. Happily, I had the chance to redeem myself at crazy golf. The mini golf course was decent...

  The Cambridgeshire Derby games are first fixtures I look out for on fixture release day. I love nothing more than beating our arch enemies. Nicknamed the Posh, for reasons only they must understand, they’ve been a thorn in our side for decades. Despite being wanted by neither Cambridgeshire or Northamptonshire, they have seen some success in recently years. Their major claim to fame is getting promoted and then failing to stay in the Championship. Cambridge, of course, managed to stay in the Championship for many years, and got close to being a founding member of the Premier League.  Fast forward to 2005 and Cambridge are penniless and trying to survive in the non league. I remember the dark days of non league well. I longed to watch a Cambridgeshire derby and in the 2022/23 season I got my wish. We don’t need to talk about the game at London Road, but the return leg at The Abbey is one of my all time favourite games! A deserved 2-0 win for The U’s! Last season, while I was ...

  It’s back! The Guinness challenge is back! It feels like ages since I’ve written one of these, but I’m so glad to be doing this again. This edition features some central Cambridge pubs, which you’ve probably heard of! I finally decided to bite the bullet and tick off the two McMullen’s pubs. Long time readers will know that I despise McMullen’s beer, so I wonder how they serve a Guinness. A pint of Ireland’s finest is often a rescue buoy in a sea of undesirable beer.  Let’s kick things off in The Cambridge Tap.  My expectations were low and for good reason. This was an abysmal. 0.5/5 Guinness. Horrid, acidic and nasty muck. Another great job by McMullen’s.  Town and Gown was next.  A much nicer place compared to the tap. But that’s hardly a compliment. 1.5/5 Guinness. At least the taste of this one distantly resembled a Guinness, but it was stale, acidic and not enjoyable. Thankfully that’s the two McMullen’s pubs done and now I never have to go back.  On...

  The FA Cup is back! Cambridge’s kicked their campaign off with a first round tie away to Woking. It was a first visit to Woking since a 3-0 league win back in the 2013/14 promotion season. I have fond memories of that game! Woking’s ground is the only ground I’ve seen Cambridge win at multiple times!  Despite Klopp, Guardiola and Arteta’s best efforts, The FA Cup remains a favourite amongst real football fans. I could rant for days about the disgraceful decision to scrap replays… But let’s not do that right now. Arriving in Woking, we headed to find a beer. En route we walked past a Woking ultras pub and made the wise decision not to venture in. A local in the Crown and Anchor told us that we chose wisely. The Guinness was very decent!  We then headed to the ground.  2013/2014 2024/25 I think it’s fair to say that Woking were not prepared for so many Cambridge fans. 650ish advanced ticket sold and a total of 720ish in the away end on the day. Food options were limi...