"At that moment I would have given a kingdom, not for champagne or hock and soda, or hot coffee but for a glass of beer" Marquess Curzon of Kedlestone, Viceroy of India.
I have enjoyed Marston's Old Empire IPA on handpump if well kept (Boat Inn,Stoke Bruerne in volume) and the revival of Owd Rodger is decent.Ringwood Fortyniner is sessionable.Very sad about the dumbing down at Jennings.
I wouldn't shed any tears if Carlsberg were to close the Eagle Brewery Bedford,most of their output over many years has been awful IMHO.
"Good people drink good beer" Hunter S Thompson
As BF notes I'd be very happy to drink well kept Marstons Old Empire IPA and Ringwood Fortyniner but I've also thoroughly enjoyed Jennings Cockerhoop, usually far too much of it during tense footy matches.
Controversially, I quite enjoy Marstons version of Bass as well, as long as it's well kept, and find it improves over a session.
Quite a meagre return really over that number of breweries and that amount of production so the point is well made.
As for the Eagle Brewery, everything I've tried from there over many years has been at best rank and generally undrinkable so no tears shed if that one disappears.
"Beer is food." Morse, Colin Dexter
Just heard that the Keighley based brewery Naylor's has ceased trading, as of today. Another victim of Covid, unfortunately. TBH they were never my favourite beers, but it's very sad to hear of another business folding.
'And where he supped the past lived still. And where he sipped the glass brimmed full' John Barleycorn, Carol Ann Duffy.
West Berks
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b...tion-3nz722mwj
Beer quality nosedived a few years ago after the sale of the brewery to David Bruce (remember him??) to the extent that Good Old Boy - a real favourite of mine 10 years ago - was no longer purchased by me, and stopped appearing on local handpumps. Another good brewery ruined...
Sad news about the brewery. Unfortunately that link is to an article behind a paywall.
I'm not often in Berkshire, but I do remember having drunk Good Old Boy and, as I thought, they had a rebadged version at the Bell at Aldworth when I was there in 2019. It had extra hops added especially, which in hindsight might suggest that they thought the non-tweaked version had gone downhill as you say.
Come On You Hatters!