Pub Of The Month - July 2011

:cheers:

My pub of the month is Smiths of Bourne in the town of Bourne.

This is a newish pub but very nice inside with a good choice of micro brewery beers on the bar.

Red River Inn at Gwithian, Cornwall. On the bus route 547 runs from St Ives, Hayle, along the coast past Gwithian and the Victory GBG pub at Towan Cross, through St Agnes to Newquay.

My nomination for July is The Grove, Huddersfield. Pretty much heaven on earth for serious beer drinkers.
Eighteen hand pumps, knowledgeable staff, passionate punters. Superb.

We only managed three pubs this month, but all in their way noteworthy. However,my nomination is the Fox Goes Free, at Charlton, West Sussex. By no means a cheap pub, in a prosperous corner of the Southeast, within sight of one of Goodwood's grandstands,it manages to be both a local and a destination pub. Good beer from Ballards, Arundel and , when we went, Otter, efficient and friendly staff, and decent grub...

My Pub of the Month is The Crooked Billet in Ware Herts which Mr Fastard and I took in during our visit last weekend.
Solid back street local and best pub in Ware for Ale and the Landlord makes the most of quite a small place by have two on sillage in the cellar complementing the three pumps on the bar.

I thought I might have another contender as I had the opportunity to visit the then top rated pub on the 'Dark side' thinking I must had missed some rural village gem. But it turned out to be a unremarkable village pub that had obviously been bigged up by the locals. I left a fair review, both here and on the dark side, and since then the trolls have piled in with undisclosed ratings and its no longer in the top 25..
Ah, lifes just so much better over here...

July was an excellent pub month for me,so this choice is a difficult one.Both The Wellington and The Anchor in Birmingham were great,The Bull and Bladder in Brierley Hill brought back happy memories and in any other month of the year The Plough in Worcester would have won hands down.But POTM just has to go to The Dragon Inn also in Worcester for the outstanding ale and the welcoming,drinking atmosphere.Not the most attractive building or interior but I have to defer to my more basic instincts.:drinkup::drinkup::drinkup::drinkup::dri nkup:

After much deliberation I've decided to award my pub of the month to Brigantes

An excellent, ever changing range of ales, great staff, top class food and a superb atmosphere every time we visit.

Other contenders were The Junction Brewhouse. A well refurbished pub brewing their own beer and a friendly welcome from hosts Paul & Gill.

And also Ye Olde Man & Scythe Inn. A cracking old pub that could well have won if they had a better ale selection.