We
were blessed with a sunny spring evening for this beer mission for my girlfriend’s
birthday. We came to Lincoln for her birthday last year but spent it at the beer
festival which was again this same weekend. Whilst we enjoyed the festival we
felt we should explore the local real ale scene this time round. And so, armed
with a reporter’s notebook, a CAMRA pen, a digital camera and the GBG App, we
set out across one of the most historic cities in the north of England, to see
what it could offer us.
First portal of call was Strugglers Inn which is a cosy traditional pub with the beer garden
being larger than the inside! A banner fixed to the front proudly proclaimed
its inclusion in the Good Beer Guide and indeed, 8 out of 9 hand pumps were
ready to dispense beer. Situated in a quiet part of the city it is close to the
wall of Lincoln Castle and provides drinkers with a good range of snacks including
crisps, pork pies and Cornish Pasties. Not particularly cheap though; both of
our beers were under 4.0% but still cost £3 a pint. However it was Lincolnshire
CAMRA’s pub of the year and is one of the best pubs in the city. I chose Hophead by Brewsters (3.6%) and the Mrs
had Banquo by Newby Whyte Brewery
(3.8%) which we enjoyed in the beer garden reading a copy of Imp Ale, the
publication by Lincolnshire CAMRA.
Next
up (and just around the corner) is The
Victoria, a Bateman’s pub. There are 3 Batemans pubs in Lincoln,
unsurprising as they are a prominent Lincolnshire brewer dating back to 1874.
However The Victoria was the most convenient one to visit for the prosed route
I had planned. The layout here was similar to The Strugglers with the bar in
the middle and rooms either side, with a gravel beer garden running down the
left side of the pub. Good views of the castle wall and yet again there were
quality snacks on offer (beginning to put Sheffield to shame!) of which I had a
generous slice of pork pie with a Dijon mustard dip. It was refreshing to find
a pub offering a CAMRA member discount if only 5%, however the round still came
to £6.56 with the pork pie. I sampled Gravitas
by Vale Brewery Company (4.8%), and my better half had Gate Hopper by Maypole Brewery (4.0%), both of which we found to be
nice if not exactly setting us on fire.
The Magna Carta
has arguably the best spot in the city, set in an ancient square at the top of
the hill and in between the majestic cathedral and the imposing castle walls. This
is a Marston’s outlet and I would imagine it is one of their managed houses
being in such a prominent spot. A generic typical pub food menu is offer, attracting
families and we also ate here as it was convenient and cheap. A multi-levelled
pub that saw a jazz band begin to set up as we were finishing our food, a
staple of Friday nights according to a wallboard. Whilst this may be a national
brewery pub (we tend to favour free houses) I would recommend a visit due to
its location and character.
Next we set off down the hill in search of the highly
anticipated Green Dragon; however it is not the only establishment that fronts
onto the canal. This was something we soon learned for we wandered into The Witch and Wardrobe by mistake. We
did not actually realise this until we left and came across the real Green
Dragon a few doors down! This went some way to explain the rather run down and
rough and ready nature that the Witch and Wardrobe presented us with. An
appearance that was not consistent with the description the Good Beer Guide
App. None the less we had a drink in the enclosed, modest but empty beer garden
with the Mrs supping Tom Fool (4.0%) from Jennings and Mansfield Cask (3.9%)
tickling my pallet. Both beers were distinctly average which, in terms of the
Mansfield Cask, was a little surprising. Because I used to work in a Mansfield
tenancy pub in Baslow (The Rutland Arms) and recall enjoying Mansfield beer. My
taste in beer has perhaps evolved which is something I have suspected for a
while. Either way I could not help but feel that this fine building had
potential which was not being fully exploited. Having said that there were
advertisements for an 18 ale beer festival over the diamond jubilee weekend,
perhaps demonstrating ambition beyond the constraints of the Marston estate.
So
it was quite a surprise when we walked along the canal towards what we thought
was our next choice of venue and there, standing majestically in all its Tudor
timber framed glory, was the Green
Dragon. One of the oldest buildings in Lincoln this public house is made up
of 3 levels, each with their own distinct character. The bottom level is more a
bar area but had plenty of hand pumps most of which were in use. Milestone was
the predominant brewery on offer, again not a surprise for it is also a
prominent Lincolnshire Brewery and can be frequently found in Sheffield pubs. There
is also a bar on the 1st floor, along with comfy chairs and snug
style corners, with food being served on the 2nd floor. A pint and a half of Crusader by Milestone
was drunk a beer which rang a vague bell. As it turned out the bell was rung
because it is not a beer I really like, having had it before somewhere local.
The
light was fading fast now but we still had a good couple of ale pubs to check
out. First up was The Jolly Brewer;
think the Dove and Rainbow but appealing beyond the rock crowd being, brighter
more vibrant and offering a very good range of beer. A huge beer garden (for
this urban setting at least) along with a dart board and table football were
all on offer with the obligatory wide ranging juke box. There were 6 ales on
with Milestone featuring yet again of which we had a pint and a half of the
wonderful Raspberry Wheat Beer (4.6%) after a pint and a half of Old Grafter
(4.5%) by Dark Tribe. It would be a good place to end the night but we were
determined to get to one more pub and, after calling ahead to make sure they
were serving late, we made our way back up the hill.
And so we arrived at The
Morning Star which is in a residential setting but not from the town
centre. Equipped with 6 hand pumps although they were mostly stocked with beers
from national breweries, which was becoming the norm around Lincoln it seemed. Hobgoblin,
Bass, Timothy Taylor Golden Best, Ruddles, Bombardier and Deuchars were the
ales on offer, of which I could not resist a pint of Bass having worked for
them and served it in my youth. A cosy pub which has the bar in the middle and
a larger rear room than the one that wraps around the front of the bar. Dogs
are allowed and on the night we were in they were serving after time to the few
beer drinkers that had returned from the festival with a thirst not yet
quenched. While the prospect of another pint was enticing we decided to call it
a day and headed back to The Duke William where we were staying.
All in all I would say that the pub scene in Lincoln is
better than the real ale scene. To say it is such a significant city there is
certainly room for a couple more local breweries. So do go for a pub crawl but
go for the history just don’t expect any revelations in the guest ale stakes.
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