Wenlock Arms
In for a session last night and confronted by ale not in good condition and no attempt to bring on fresh barrels as the evening wore on .Once the NBSS 1.5 Oakham Green Devil IPA was withdrawn,the choice was down to 4 ,with two very similar low strength beers (Thornbridge Astryd NBSS 3,Dark Star Hophead NBSS 2) and two very similar best bitters Mighty Oak Nirvana and North Brewing Seasons Reverse both NBSS 3.No sign of any dark beers and a lot of handpumps unused.
Maybe I was unlucky visiting on a Friday before a long bank holiday weekend,but it was noticeable that the pub was not that busy once the after work crowd moved off,and the customer base then was almost exclusively younger drinkers paying little attention to the real ale.
After reading Blue Scrumpy's most recent review I did wonder if the focus at this pub is now moving away from ale excellence.We pushed off to get a better drinking experience in the Old Foutain,another pub in this area which has slipped down the rankings over the years but which at least offered a decent pint of Oakham Citra..
Can anyone offer any salvation about the Wenlock ? Were we just unlucky ?