Cotswolds and Severn Review 1


No real ale --- Not preferred taste	DEMOTED LIST	Pump clip reversals --- Rather sell meals

If you like a pint of Bass, Tetley, John Courage or something similar then these are the pubs for you.
They are definitely not to our taste and have been demoted from the main webguide.

Obviously, visits to these pubs are rare and therefore it cannot be said whether they are offering better ales. If you are aware of any changes in the right direction then please feel free to use the contact page and let us know.

BUMBLE BEE Quedgeley, Gloucester	A pub restaurant that has a couple of real ales (Bass, Tetley), but would rather sell you a meal.
CAFE RENE Gloucester	Making a return from its nadir. A couple of acceptable ales surrounded by the 'younger ones' and their music!
CLOTHIER'S ARMS Stroud	A very popular local, hence empty tables are at a premium and the garden views of industrial chimneys didn't quite work for us.
CORNER CUPBOARD Winchcombe	On the night there might be IPA & session bitters or there could be something more attractive, but we tended to have too many of the former nights.
CROSS HANDS Brockworth, Gloucester	If you like to take a pint in the busy commercialism of a Toby Carvery then a St.Austell's Tribute is a fair reward, but that's the only good point!
CROWN OF CRUCIS Ampney Crucis	A nice enough place but the ale is a very bland affair, but there again, food reigns supreme.
FARMERS ARMS Guiting Power	Wonderful village with a quaint local pub, but with Donnington's only served here, there are other venues where you can get the same fare but a fresher pint.
FARMERS ARMS Lower Apperley	Henry IPA and 6X. Demoted after a couple of sessions with the 6X barely on the right side of acceptability.
FOUR MILE HOUSE Brookethorpe	Call at the right time and real ale is available. Question - when is the right time? Our experience is of reversed clips on the good stuff and only IPA left.
GLOUCESTER OLD SPOT Elms Piff, Cheltenham	What you see is what you get and that is normally enough for a walkout. Good brews have occasionally been seen but it is a rarity.
GREEN DRAGON Cockleford	More of a restaurant than a pub, serving an abundance of John Courage type ales to boot. Two reasons for the real ale fan to look elsewhere.
HORSE AND JOCKEY Gosditch, Ashton Keynes	A nice enough pub but just doesn't serve the ales that we prefer. A new landlord has jettisoned the Bass and Courage but now offers 6X only!
KING'S HEAD Upton St.Leonards	A community pub rather than village local with an allegiance to Greene King!
MILL INN Withington	A complete and utter tragedy. A scenic and ancient inn full of olde worlde wonder that offers dreaded keg beers rather than the more fitting, traditional cask ales!
OLD FLEECE Rooksmoor, Woodchester	With so much competition for our custom in the area, it's not such a hard decision to go elsewhere when dining is the real focus and an Abbot Ale the main attraction!
OLD NEIGHBOURHOOD INN Chalford Hill	Never a local for exceptional beer but had its moments. Now that the restaurant side has been dismantled, the aura is of a very down market urban pub!
OLD WHITE LION Winchcombe	A one time favourite, demoted after a refurbishment of the bar when the ale selection diminished but more importantly the quality of our pints diminished too!
PILOT INN Hardwicke, Gloucester	So many owners but never an acceptable pint for our tastes. Things could be looking up with Doom Bar and Otter Ale when we last looked in. One to keep an eye on.
RED LION Arlingham	A bit of a long journey therefore you want the ales on offer to make it worthwhile. That is where it can go wrong for us sometimes, so we prefer to save our petrol.
RISING SUN INN Hartpury	A good enough rural pub BUT doesn't serve real ales.
SEVEN SPRINGS INN Seven Springs	A "Hungry Horse" pub. From a full range of Greene King ales, they decided to jettison Abbot, Ruddles and Old Speckled Hen and keep the IPA. Well THEY can keep it!
STAR INN Whitesill	A very small but well used local pub. The locals want the session beers (IPA etc.) so we leave the locals to enjoy them.
THAMES HEAD INN Cirencester	We gave up on this one as Arkell's 2B or 3B were served only, never the premiums or seasonals. It may be back in contention as Moonlight was present on a one off check.
TOBY Over	Forever the Dog at Over to Gloucestrians, despite the PR hype. We understand there is St. Austell's Tribute available now but really a carvery and not a pub.
TRAVELLER'S REST Malswick, Newent	From a real ale oasis to a complete lack of ale appreciation. A tragedy really considering the guests that appeared here not so long ago.
VILLAGE INN Twyning	Not quite sure what the purpose of this pub is. No interest in providing decent beer; that is if they have any beer at all. Reversed clips come with the territory.
VILLAGE PUB Barnsley, Cirencester	When they had guest ales, we used to call in for an expensive pint of Archers Golden or Spitfire, but we're not keen on an expensive pint of Hooky Bitter or 6X.
VINE TREE Randwick, Stroud	Never gets past the 'locals only' stage. The Greene King dominance doesn't help its cause, especially when the pump clips aren't always turned your way.
WHITE HART INN Maisemore	A decent pint of Cat's Whiskers or Bombardier when the pump clips weren't reversed. Relied on Greene King IPA type ales as the only back-up when this occurred.
WHITE LION INN Cambridge	A pub of one beer - one beer acceptable to us anyway. If the Broadside was incapacitated then the IPA best bitter types were not enough to persuade us to stay.

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