The Brushmakers Arms Upham 25th August 2016

The Brushmakers Arms Upham 25th August 2016

We had visited this pub before but as there had recently been a change of management and we were hearing encouraging reports, through the grapevine, we felt it was our duty to have a return visit and find out for ourselves.

So six of us set off from Bishops Waltham on a hot and humid summers' day for the 4 mile walk to Upham. Four other gents were due to join us at the pub but for some reason didn't fancy the walk!

On arrival, we were obviously suffering from extreme dehydration (the walkers that is) so we headed straight to the bar for sustenance in the form of beer! 

We were warmly welcomed and presented with a choice of  a good selection of four beers:

Upham Fields of Gold - 3.8%, Palmers Copper Ale - 3.7%, Fullers London Pride - 4.1% and Cheriton Goodens Gold - 4.8%. Most of us opted for the Upham Fields of Gold which was a refreshing straw coloured beer, which was just what the doctor ordered.

Having satisfied our thirst over a couple of pints it was time for the main event - the pie!

This months offering was to be individual chicken, ham and leek pies with chips and vegetables The pies were presented in individual enamel pie dishes which we thought was a nice traditional touch.

With a little coaxing the pies turn out perfectly onto the plate which suggested that they were cooked to perfection. Which indeed they were! The pastry was very good and there was plenty of excellent filling and it all came with gravy on the side - yum.

Everybody cleared their plates and some of us even had room for a pudding from the extensive menu.

The taxi duly arrived to take us back to Bishops Waltham, it was felt that to walk back after such an excellent lunch would be a step too far! However, two of our group did decide to walk back taking a different route - never to be seen again!(they did turn up eventually having taken a wrong turn or two - or had they found another pub?).

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

• Pastry 4.25
• Filling 4.40
• Beer 4.24
• Ambience 4.38
• Value 4.49
• Overall 21.76

Many thanks to Nicki and her team for a most enjoyable visit and congratulations on an excellent pie which puts the Brushmaker into 2nd position overall for 2016 so far.

 

The Woodman Inn, Lower Upham, 26th November 2015

We visited this pub quite recently, in January 2015, when we were quite impressed by the place, although it had only recently been taken over by a new landlord and it was still in the throes of being brought up to date, having been somewhat neglected by the previous landlord.  Unfortunately we have heard disturbing rumours that the landlord has lost heart (and maybe a bit of money) and has decided that he can't can't carry on running this pub, so it is now up for sale.  Having been somewhat alarmed by this news we decided to return for another look, and maybe for one last tasting of the produce of the estimable Upham Pie Company.

Once again most of us decided to work up a bit of an appetite by walking the 2.5 miles to Upham. It's a nice walk, or would be if there weren't so many HGVs thundering past on the main road. By the time we arrived at the pub we were, as usual, gasping for a pint, and we were presented with a good choice.

There was the ubiquitous Ringwood Best 4.0%, the very pleasant Ringwood Boondoggle 4.2%, and the respectable Ringwood 49er 4.9%, all of which we have sampled many times before.  And there was Cracklerock Crackerjack 3.8% from a new brewery just down the road in Botley, which proved to be Crackerjack!  They also had Guinness on draught, and my learned friend Tall Paul reported that it was very pleasant.  We were pleased to see that the beer prices hadn't gone up since last time, and once again we were impressed by the quality of the beer.

For the pies we were offered a choice of 4: Steak & Ale, Steak & Kidney, Steak & Stilton, or Chicken & Ham, all supplied by the estimable Upham Pie Company just up the road. This time we noticed an interesting development that the pies were available in two sizes, medium (at £7.95) or large (at £10.95). Naturally, as we had had the medium last time we chose the large this time. The pies came with vegetables and a choice of mashed or chipped potatoes, and gravy was served separately in a jug on the side, just as we like it, but disappointingly there was just one type of gravy available for all the different types of pie.

The pies were certainly large and very tasty. In fact they were so large that several of us left some of the pastry. The fillings were all very good, packed with tender meat and with just the right amount of tasty sauce. Interestingly, the filling scored significantly higher this time.  The pastry was good too, but there was just too much of it for some of us, although needless to say, the Vegan was the first to clear his plate again and he didn't leave any pastry. Interestingly, our scores for the pastry were lower than last time - this is probably no reflection on the quality of the pastry (which was short crust just as we like it) but rather more determined by the quantity. 

And (respect to this man!) the Vegan was the only one of us who felt able to have any pudding - apparently the Chocolate Brownee was very good.

In all other respects the pub was very much as it was last time we visited. It's still a very pleasant pub, but we noticed this time that there weren't so many other customers there, which is a shame because pubs like this deserve support.  Once they've gone they're gone, and we'll miss them!

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

• Pastry 4.13 
• Filling 4.48
• Beer 4.44
• Ambience 4.38
• Value 4.43
• Overall 21.87 (was 20.96 last time)

The Woodman Inn, Lower Upham, 29th January 2015

We've often travelled past the Woodman Inn and often thought about paying it a visit. The pub looks lovely from the outside, with masses of flowers handing from its window baskets, looking every inch the perfect country pub. But it had had the same landlord for more than 40 years and been rather neglected over those years, nobody had ever recommended it, and worst of all, it served no food.

That's all changed now. It's recently re-opened after being taken over by a new landlord with close links to the highly-regarded Brushmakers Arms, and now they serve food. And what is more, they specialise in pies, supplied by the (also highly-regarded) Upham Pie Company. So of course we had to pay a visit.

So on a cold winter's day those of us who were still on a bit of a health & fitness kick decided to walk the 2.5 miles to Upham. It's actually quite a pleasant walk, or would have been if it hadn't been so cold. The pub is also on the 69 bus route from Bishops Waltham with a bus stop just outside, and those of us not feeling so energetic managed to get there on the bus without too much trouble, although the bus was running late so by the time they arrived at the pub, the walkers had already started sampling the ales without them.  

This being a free house, there was a good choice of 4 real ales available. Seeing as how it was January, we mostly started off by sampling the January's Ale (3.8% - from the Wychwood Brewery), which was generally considered to be very good, and served in perfect condition. In due course we tried all the other ales: Jennings Cockle Warmer 4.2%, Ringwood Boondoggle 4.2%, and Banks's Bitter 3.8%, and they were all found to be very good too.

For the pies we were offered a choice of Steak & Ale, Chicken & Leek, or Lamb & Mint. Unfortunately we were only allowed one each (not like when we visited The Buck's Head!), but at £7.95 each we couldn't complain. The pies came with vegetables and a choice of mashed or julienne potatoes, and gravy was served separately in a jug on the side, just as we like it.

The pie fillings were very tasty, packed full of meat but not too dry, and encased in short crust pastry that was very nicely cooked, but there is always a potential problem with small individual pies that the ratio of pastry to filling can be a bit too high, and some of us felt that in this case there was a bit too much pastry and not enough filling. The vegetables and potatoes were very nicely done. Portion sizes were maybe a bit small, but for only £7.95 each we couldn't complain, and those of us still on a bit of a health & fitness kick certainly couldn't complain. All in all, we felt that this meal was a bit like Kylie Minogue - small, but perfectly formed and very tasty.

A few of us felt able to tackle some pudding, which was Apple Pie with Custard (no choice, although we noticed some other diners had Sticky Toffee Pudding with Custard - presumably there was none left by the time our turn came).

We all thought the meal was excellent, and we had a really good time in this pub.  The new landlord is still in the throes of refurbishing this place, so it is perhaps a little unfair to judge its ambience right now, but we will anyway. The pub is divided into 2 bars - one was empty and had a TV on permanently with the sound was turned down. The other bar was busier, and had no such distractions except for a blazing log fire, which was much appreciated on such a cold day. Off this other bar was a dining room, where we ate.  The pub was surprisingly busy, but despite that the service was very good, and the barmaid was quite charming.  The food and beer were very reasonably priced, with the beer at around £3.70/pint and the pies at £7.95, and the quality was good, so we felt it was good value for money.

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

• Pastry 4.47
• Filling 3.86
• Beer 4.51
• Ambience 3.97
• Value 4.14
• Overall 20.96

The Brushmakers Arms, Upham, 22nd August 2013

It was a hot sunny day when Lord North, Stephen, Doug, Trev & Si met up outside the Bishops Waltham Tandoori  to wait for the taxi (ordered by Lord North) to take us on our eagerly awaited trip to Brushmakers Arms in Upham.  And we waited, and we waited.  And as we waited we sniffed the pleasant spicy aromas wafting over us from the nearby kitchen window, and we got hungrier and hungrier, and more and more thirsty. Eventually Lord North phoned the taxi driver and managed to get him out of bed, and after waiting more than half an hour the taxi eventually turned up. This was not the best possible start to our trip, but we shall say no more as there is now a disciplinary proceeding pending against Lord North so the matter is sub judice. At least the taxi driver accepted that the delay was all his fault, and let us off the outbound fare to make up for it.  Meanwhile, Nick (still on a health kick after his recent heart surgery) had walked all the way to Upham to meet us at the pub, was feeling very smug, and was already on his 2nd pint by the time we caught up with him. 

The Brushmakers Arms has long had a fine reputation for good food, so our visit here was long overdue. It's also not unadjacent to the Upham Brewery, which only started up a few years ago. It's probably fair to say that this brewery got off to a shaky start, and several pie club members have expressed a dislike of Upham Ales based on their earlier tasting experiences.  

As we eventually entered the pub we were given a warm welcome by the delightful barmaid. There was a good choice of ales available - when we noticed that Upham Tipster 3.6% was available on draft several of us decided to give Upham Ales another chance, as this was an ale that we hadn't tried before.  

We found the Tipster to be a fine refreshing light summer ale, and at £3/pt, not bad at all. A bit tasteless maybe, and definitely over-chilled, but on a hot summer's day this was ok.  The other ales available included Fuller's London Pride 4.1%  (£3.55/pt),  Fuller's ESB 4.6%, and Ringwood Best 3.8% (£3.50/pt). After a couple of pints of Tipster we moved on to the Ringwood Best, which was in better condition, and had a bit more flavour.

There was only one pie on the menu, a traditional Steak and Ale Pie, so we all ordered that. It came with mixed vegetables (which turned out to be a mix of fresh baby carrots, red cabbage, and a very pleasant ratatouille of seasonal vegetables, all served in separate side-dishes).

We were offered a choice of potatoes: boiled new potatoes, chips, saute, or dauphinoise. We chose a selection of different potatoes. One brave soul, who must have been feeling adventurous, even chose the dauphinoise.

All who tasted the chips and the saute potatoes judged them to be very good. The saute, in particular, had a good taste of herbs and garlic.  The dauphinoise potatoes were ok, but probably not a very good match with the rest of the meal.

When we saw the size of the pies we could hardly believe our eyes.

We each had an individual pie, measuring approx. 20cm x 12cm x 6cm, fully encased in short crust pastry, and packed with lean tender chunks of steak in a rich tasty gravy, and with a separate jug of extra gravy for each person. This was definitely a man-sized pie. By the time we had added vegetables and potatoes to our plates, we had a really good plateful. 

The pie filling was perfect in every way. The pastry was perhaps a little dry around the edges (slightly overcooked?), but with the extra gravy the pastry was also very good. 

Altogether, the meal was excellent, and at £10.95 it was really good value for money, but the main problem was the sheer volume of everything. We all struggled manfully to finish off our pies, but a few of us left some pastry (more disciplinary proceedings pending!), and we made very little impression on the potatoes and vegetables. Nobody, not even Doug,  had any room for puddings, which was a shame as there was quite a good choice available. And worse still, we were all so stuffed that we even found it difficult to drink more beer!  Difficult, but not impossible. Actually, one pie shared between two would have been ample.

The service was generally very good. There were no unnecessary distractions in the pub like TVs or music, and there was a nice touch in that a selection of newspapers were available for people to read, but a number of us had some criticisms of the general ambience in the pub, which did let it down a bit.
  
Scores (max. 5 in each category, 25 overall): 

• Pastry 4.083

• Filling 4.675

• Beer 3.833

• Ambience 3.958

• Value 4.667

• Overall 21.216

So by the narrowest of margins (0.024 points) The Brushmakers slips straight into 2nd place in our rankings, just behind The White Lion which we visited last month. This pie obviously scored very well on value for money, and on the pie filling, which was exceptionally good, but it was let down by the general ambience of the place, and the quality of the ale, although, to be fare, we were so staffed after the meal that we probably weren't in a very good position to judge the quality of the ale.