The Wheatsheaf Inn, Shedfield, 24th September 2015

Perhaps in order to help us get over our disappointing experience last month, Joe organised this month's outing and decided to take us back to our favourite pub of all time, The Wheatsheaf Inn at Shedfield, midway between Botley and Wickham, and conveniently on the 69 bus route.  We have, of course, been here many times before: Our first visit was in 2012, quickly followed by a 2nd visit in 2013 (when we presented them with a well-deserved "Pie of the Year" award), and for our AGMs in 2013 and 2014. Although their pies have long been highly revered in our memories, it was time for a formal re-evaluation, as we know from bitter experience that things can change over the years. All the same, it was with great expectations that we approached the pub this time.

The Wheatsheaf is a free house, owned by the same people who own The Flower Pots Inn in Cheriton, home of the well-respected Flowerpots Brewery, so a good selection of well-presented good-value real ales is always to be expected, and we were not disappointed.

 

Having a choice of 6 real ales available at these prices in such a small pub is truly remarkable, although we have noticed that the prices have crept up since our first visit in 2012, when the beers ranged from £2.50 - £2.90. Needless to say, we felt obliged to check the quality of all these beers, and as expected, we found them all to be very good. As usual Tall Paul stuck to his Guinness, which in this pub is canned and served with an agitator, and as Tall Paul says, this can often be preferable to draft Guinness as it is more consistent.

Joe had pre-arranged* with our hosts (Tim & Sally) that we would have a Steak & Kidney Pie for 10 people this time. In the event only 9 of us were able to attend, so we had plenty of pie to go around. When Sally came in bearing the Pie there were spontaneous gasps of appreciation.

It looked every bit as good as it has done on previous occasions, so we knew we were in for a treat. It was accompanied by a dish of fresh vegetables and another of boiled new potatoes (no choices here!).

Joe did a great job of serving the pie up, and managed to avoid causing any arguments between us over unequal portion sizes (perhaps because we could see that there would be some pie left over for second helpings).

 There was extra gravy served separately in jugs, just as it should be, but it was hardly needed. This meal was as near perfect as is possible to imagine. The pastry (a short crust pastry made with butter and olive  a few mushrooms, oil, according to Sally) was perfectly cooked, tasty, light, and melted in the mouth (and such a contrast to our experience last month). The filling was large chunks of tender lean steak, delicious morsels of kidney, all enveloped in a perfect tasty gravy.  Our only possible criticism was that perhaps it could have done with a bit more kidney, but that is not to detract from the overall perfection of this pie. 

As usual, the first to clear his plate was Mike, our resident vegan (and newly-elected permanent member - congratulations Mike!).

Second helpings were had by some, leaving an empty pie dish. Doug was saddened when he learned that this pub does not do puddings, so he scraped whatever he could from the pie dish instead. The lack of puddings does not effect our ratings for this pub, as we have never included puddings in our evaluations.

Thankfully the ambience of this pub hasn't changed one bit. It's just the way we like it. And the value for money is still almost unbeatable, with beer at £2.80 - £3.70/pint, and the pie coming in at £9.50. 

Scores for The Wheatsheaf Inn (Max 5 in each category - total 25 overall)

Pastry - 4.88

Filling -  4.83

Beer   -  4.84

Ambience - 4.65

Value  - 4.86

 

Overall  - 24.06

Our search is over: We have found the perfect Pie/Pint combination and we need look no further. This score not only means The Wheatsheaf beats all the other pubs that we have visited this year, but is actually an all-time record score, unlikely ever to be beaten. It beats the previous all-time best score (22.71 scored by The Wheatsheaf in 2012) by a full 1.35. The closest contender other than the Wheatsheaf is The Black Dog in 2014, which scored 22.34, which is  beaten by a full 1.72.
Needless to say, we're already looking forward to our AGM this year, which will be held in the Wheatsheaf as usual, and we're quite sure that the winner of this year's "Pie Club Pub of the Year" award will be The Wheatsheaf!

The Hurdles, Droxford, 28th August 2014

As Pieman was unable to attend this month's trip to The Hurdles in Droxford, mini Pieman (also known as Porky Pie) stepped into the breach to bring to you news of our latest venture!

The Hurdles has a very good reputation in the area as an excellent Bar/Restaurant so we felt it was about time we paid them a visit to savour their pies.

So, Nick, Paul (tall), Paul (Lord North), Doug, Eric and Trev met outside the BW Tandoori to board our taxi for the short trip to Droxford. The taxi was spot on time, thank you driver Tony, so we arrived at the Hurdles in plenty of time to sample their beers before the main event. Gordon, a new member, who has recently moved to Meonstoke joined us there. There was some discussion between some of the members whether Gordon should be allowed to join as he does not live in Bishops Waltham but if nothing else we are a fair bunch and respect equal opportunities for all so we welcomed Gordon into the fold. Also 2 other members live out of the area!

We received a friendly welcome when entering the pub and we were all highly impressed by the pleasant ambience.

There were two real ales on offer, Bowman Ales Wallops Wood 4%  and Goddard's Fuggle Dee Dum 4.8%. Tall Paul went for his usual Guinness and the rest of us opted for the Wallops Wood, a beer we were all very familiar with and always in good 'nick'. Unfortunately, the beer was not in good 'nick' and after much patience by the barmaid it was discovered that it was the end of the barrel and she scuttled off to put a new one on. In the meantime we settled for a pint of Fuggle Dee Dum which was fine. The new barrel of Wallops Wood was also fine.

We were very pleased to be offered a choice of pies, a Steak and Kidney Suet Pudding or Chicken and Chorizo. Three of us went for the former and four the latter. The pies came with cabbage and mashed potato or you could opt for large chips or french fries as an alternative to the potatoes. Additionally, individual jugs of gravy were provided, which we like.

Steak and Kidney Pudding

Chicken and Chorizo

Both pies were substantial with very good fillings. The Chicken and Chorizo pie had a short crust pastry bottom and sides with a flaky pastry top which was excellent. When you cut into the pie it was a bit surprising to see a 'flood' of gravy pour out of the pie! However, this did not have a detrimental effect on the taste of this pie which was very good indeed. Those who opted for the Steak and Kidney Pudding were rather surprised to see it arrive with a baked suet crust rather than the traditional soft suet casing and felt it did not really work with this type of pie. However, most of the plates were cleared and after a beer break we duly moved on to the pudding menu.

There were a good choice of puddings and the group went for the following selection:

Bakewell Tart with Clotted Cream

Banana Crumble with Ice Cream

Cheese and Biscuits

....and especially for Nick a very interesting looking Mint & Chocolate Chip Ice Cream!

Everyone agreed the puddings were excellent and we just had time to finish up our beer, pay the bill as our taxi arrived. On returning to Bishops Waltham some of us retired to the Crown to contemplate life!

Scores (max of 5 in each category, 25 overall):

• Pastry 3.5
• Filling 4.15
• Beer 3.25
• Ambience 4
• Value 4.25
• Overall 19.15

An enjoyable time was had by all with excellent service. The score of 19.15 out of a possible 25 is a good score and may well have been higher if there had not been for an initial hiccup with the beer and the steak and kidney pudding had had a traditional casing. However, as always, this is down to personal taste. The lunchtime offer of 2 courses for £13. 50 is excellent value for money.