Brewery News 9

orders for 10L, 20L and firkins for bigger events. The shop is open on Fridays from 1130 – 1300 and 1400 – 1730 and on Saturdays from 1200 – 1600.

Will Fry

OAKHAM ALES

www.oakhamales.com

ROCKET ALES

www.rocket-ales.com

Rocket Ales are brewing back at full capacity again, and had beers at the recent “Booze On The Ouse” Beer Festival in St Neots.

Don Rudd

TYDD STEAM

www.tyddsteam.co.uk

XTREME ALES

www.xtremeales.com

The Xtreme Ales team have had a busy 2021 so far. The brewery has expanded to have a larger cold store and they are offering online ordering of beers for collection and delivery across a selection of 10+ bottled beers. A new bespoke bottle label service is also available for birthdays and events (even Christmas) if you require something different!

Mark Wroe

Train Trip to Reading

Saturday 8th February 2020

The Moderation

Fox and Hounds Mick had originally planned a trip to Worcester on this date; however, due to a problem with train tickets, a trip to Reading was arranged instead. Fifteen of us met up at the station for the 8:54 train to King’s Cross; from there it was a tube to Paddington and then a 25-minute train journey to Reading.

The first pub of the day was The Greyfriar, a corner street building just west of the station. Eight ales were on offer here, and I had the Refractions Session IPA. Shortly after our arrival at 11.30, several other groups came in, presumably doing the 19th Reading & Mid-Berkshire Ale Trail which was launched that day. With Reading FC playing at home plus the Six Nations on TV, it looked like it was going to be a busy day in the pubs!

Heading north, the next stop was The Moderation, a light and airy pub/restaurant run by Thais, with some interesting decor and artwork on display. Beers here were Landlord, Doom Bar and Marston’s Angels With Dirty Faces (always good to find a beer that shares its name with a hit single, in this case Sham 69).

After a walk over the Thames into Caversham, a northern suburb of Reading, pub three was the local CAMRA award-winning Fox and Hounds. There were six real ales and seven craft keg lines, all conveniently displayed on a large screen. I had the Arbor Mosaic, which was very good. I’ve heard they do great pizzas as well. A plaque on the outside wall commemorates a gig by John Lennon and Paul McCartney as the Nerk Twins, in April 1960, when Paul’s cousin was running the pub.

Taxis were ordered for the next pub, the Jolly Anglers, a friendly freehouse located on the eastern side of Reading by the Kennet & Avon Canal. Most people opted for the White Horse Arion in this pub, which I imagine gets very busy in the summer.

A ten-minute walk brought us to our next destination, a gem of a traditional, back street local called The Retreat, one of CAMRA’s Real Heritage Pubs. There were six real ales on the small bar, with Harvey’s Sussex Best Bitter proving very popular. An unused front door on the right