“Here's
to trying three pubs and finding one.” So went
the toast. The Crown & Cushion was in fact the
first pub we had seen in Eton, but the last we went
into, mostly because of the Good Beer Guide, which
turned out to be very specifically accurate in its
title, being a good source for finding real ale, but
dreadful in assisting to find good pubs. The Good
Beer Guide is published by the Campaign For Real Ale
(CAMRA) and their missions include:
• Maintain
consumer rights
• Promote quality, choice and value for money
• Support the public house as a focus of community
life
• Campaign for greater appreciation of traditional
beers, ciders and perries as part of national heritage
and culture
• Seek improvements in all licensed premises
and throughout the brewing industry.
As with many lobbying
organizations, I agree with the majority of their
planks, but not necessarily the entire platform. Their
current over-zealous pursuit of real cider may cause
cider to be removed from pubs altogether, although
their success on the real ale front cannot be played
down. CAMRA saved real ale, it is no exaggeration
to say, and as a result saved many independent breweries.
No new ale breweries were set up in the UK for the
fifty years before CAMRA was founded in the 1970’s,
but there are now around 300 new brewers producing
real ale, part of a massive real ale revival. Their
support of the Beers Orders of 1989 doubtless contributed
to chains such as the Hogshead and the Firkin conglomerate,
despite honest intentions to the contrary.
We have CAMRA
to thank for the guest beers appearing in tied houses,
a very welcome development. Before CAMRA forced the
issue, pubs tied to breweries could sell only beers
provided by those breweries, but now, the publican
can sell other often more interesting beers, within
certain limits. One phrase to treat with caution these
days is ‘Free House’. In the past, this
has meant that a pub could sell whatever beer they
saw fit, but now it means little, as the marketing
people have come to realize that there is no law governing
use of the label.
CAMRA had obviously
been at work in the Crown & Cushion. Hook Norton,
Old Speckled Hen, a very local beer, Scrumpy Jack
cider and a ton of locals in an unspoilt environment.
Eton is well
worth a visit, if you like pubs. As mentioned earlier,
by venturing the few hundred yards over the Thames
footbridge, you would have access to many more pubs
within easy walking distance of each other, and all
looking reasonably attractive. Indeed it was much
to my chagrin that Doris wanted to explore Windsor
Castle - Windsor's pubs looked much more interesting!
You may like to take a short break and wander through
Windsor Castle as well as go to the pubs, but just
don't do it at the height of the tourist season.
