Quote Originally Posted by sheffield hatter View Post
Just got back from the Gardeners Rest. Only three cask ales on, and two of them "blonde" or "gold", which is code for bland in my book, but the third was Empire West Coast Pale 4.3%, which could have been awful, but turned out to have a nice bitter finish and I had three pints. It's good to be back.

On checking times, it appears I drank three pints in a little short of three hours, but that must be quite a bit quicker than I've been drinking at home, as I'm not used to feeling quite this pissed (and that includes what I consumed yesterday - for anaesthetic purposes - during & after Luton Town's shocking performance against Reading, if performance is the right word).
Today I called in at the Crow Inn soon after 4pm opening (it'll be 12 noon from Thursday). Fairly quiet, with several staff members adding to the atmosphere rather than working. Lovely beer though.

Atom Retrogade Motion 6% on cask – so good I had it twice – and Wander Beyond Dark Drift Barrel Aged (is that even a name?) 9.7% on keg at just £8.70 a pint (a third was enough for me). It was absolutely gorgeous – like mixing the dregs of red wine and Guinness the morning after a student party, but in a good way. It was good to be back.