It's Wednesday evening (June 27th) and straight after work I went straight to the small village of Hampton Lucy. A picturesque village between Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick it has a delightful pub called the Boar's Head. It is close to Charlecote Park, a National Trust property and is also popular with cyclists due to the proximity of a Sustrans route. The pub was the local CAMRA's pub of the year in both 2009 and 2010 and is a Good Beer Guide regular. I've been here a few times before and I always look forward to visiting such a fine drinking establishment. It has a friendly welcome which is not always guaranteed in rural areas.
One of the reasons for enjoying a visit to the Boar's Head is to pick up a copy of the local CAMRA publication (Shakesbeer). Many local CAMRA branches produce excellent publications and I haven't found one yet which wasn't worth spending time reading whilst enjoying my pint. I always make a note of which pubs distribute them and they will therefore get my custom more than other pubs. Another reason for this is obviously due to the fact that pubs that do carry them are CAMRA favourites and therefore have a good beer choice. The Boar's Head is no different in this respect. It was in this pub that I first sampled a beer from the excellent Church End Brewery I visited last week but tonight I tried a pint of Ferris Wheel (4.0% ABV) brewed by the Grafton Brewing Co. of Worksop, Nottinghamshire. They began brewing in 2007 and it is a brewery I've never heard of before. The beer had a pleasant citrus aroma and had a pale straw colour. Sadly, the taste was slightly bland but you can't win them all. It was drinkable and I was in a favourite pub so it wasn't a waste of time. I also had the latest copy of Shakesbeer to read. Have a look for a CAMRA publication next time you visit a pub from CAMRA's Good Beer Guide. You won't be disappointed.
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