The Village Inn, Nailsworth

We used to live nearby and were excited when we heard about the brewery and pub, but unfortunately we moved away just before the pub opened. It's taken more than 5 years to pay our first visit, which was a brief pint on Boxing Day evening.

This place is much larger than it looks from the outside, and was cosy and welcoming. Between us we tried a couple of different Nailsworth brews, which were both excellent.

My only criticism is that the atmosphere was spoiled by piped music (techno of some description), a peculiar style of music for a pub and far too loud for around 6pm - we had to raise our voices to speak. In my opinion the pub would be greatly improved by getting rid of it altogether.

Having said that, we shall definitely return and I hope to arrange for a proper session with friends that live in the area.

28 Dec 2011 17:40

The Prince Alfred, Upper Hale

Recently bought out from Punch by Mark & Fiona. They plan to add more bar areas and significantly increase the number of ales on offer.

Currently 5 ales of consistently good quality, with 2 from Banks & Taylor on gravity.

2 Jan 2010 10:50

The Ball and Wicket, Heath End

The recent reviews all mention a fantastic improvement in beer quality, and I'm pleased to confirm it. Apparently Gary (the landlord) has taken over the brewing himself, and he's doing a fine job. I think one or two of the recipes are still in development, but in our last few visits everything has been extremely drinkable. For at least one visit the William Cobbett was a dark ale, somewhere between a dark mild and porter in character and of a similar strength, but more recently it was a light, hoppy session beer. Both were great. The Bishop Sumner and Mike Hawthorn are similar to the original recipes, but no longer have the strange toasty/smokey flavour that the previous brewer seemed to think was necessary.

Speaking of the previous brewer, I never saw him drink his own product - lager was his tipple. Then again, I've only ever seen Gary drink lager, but if his brewing continues as it is then I can't criticise him for that.

13 Feb 2008 09:14