The Brickmakers Arms, Swanmore, 25th July 2012

Those of us who still have functional memories often look back on the early days of the Pie Club with some degree of rose-tinted nostalgia. It may be a trick of our memories, but many of us have been heard to observe that pies today are not as good as they used to be in the good old days. So, by way of a trip down memory land, and to put this hypothesis to the test, we decided to return to  The Brickmakers Arms, Swanmore, the historic site of the very first Pie Club outing on 20th January 2011. It is only fair to point out that the pub has undergone a change of ownership since our first visit, and so was ripe for reassessment.

It being a fine sunny day, some Pie Club members chose to walk to the pub. For some this was easier than others. It was easiest for Doug, obviously, as he lives in Swanmore and counts The Brickmakers Arms as his local. Others chose the road route and a few hardy individuals chose the cross-country route. Needless to say, by the time we all arrived at our destination we had all worked up a fine thirst. We were greeted warmly by the landlady, who proudly showed us what she had to offer:

The excellent range of beers available included several of our favourites, including Bowman Swift One 3.8%, 
Bowman Wallops Wood 4.0%, Hammerpot Woodcote Bitter 4.5%. At this point something struck us - we've grown (in more ways than one)! There were 3 of us present at the inaugural meeting, and now there were 7 of us. Only one member, Paul T, was absent.  On a fine sunny day, such was the allure of our favourite beer, the Swift One, that even the hardened lager and Guinness drinkers succumbed to its attractions and we ordered 7 pints of Swift One @ £3/pint. The landlady suggested that we might like to wait in the garden until the pies were ready, so off we went, to debate the important matters of the day.

There was only one type of pie available on the menu - Pork & Vegetable Pie, served with buttered vegetables and a choice of thin-cut fries, fat chips, or champ mash. All for a reasonable £10.95.

After our 2nd pint (or was it the 3rd?) we were shown to our table inside, and without much delay the food was presented to us. First to arrive was the pie with thin-cut fries:

The pie had the fully-approved home-made short-crust pastry (not Jus-rol!), and was filled with an interesting mix of shredded pork with carrots, peas, sweet corn, apple, onions and peppers. The accompanying vegetables were a seasonal mix of freshly-cooked steamed courgettes, mangetout, and cabbage, with a touch of butter added. The gravy was served in the approved manner, with a small portion pre-applied to the pie, and a larger portion served separately in a jug. We found the taste of the gravy very interesting - we had to ask to find out what the ingredients were, and found out that they included rosemary, calvedos, and ginger! All things considered, this was a very original pie and a far cry from the ubiquitous Steak & Ale pies, which, frankly, we're starting to get a bit bored with. It's a shame we don't award points for originality.

Next came the pies with fat-cut chips:

And finally came the pies with champ potato (again, an unusual offering):

We all agreed that all varieties of the potatoes very very good, and that the whole meal was very nicely cooked, very tasty, and well presented. The portion sizes were ample, but, unusually, we all managed to eat up what was put in front of us, and several of us still had room for puddings.  This is no reflection on the portion sizes, but rather reflects the ease with which we were all led astray by the sight of a tempting pudding menu:

We felt obliged to sample a selection of different puddings:

The puddings were all very good, but perhaps Doug made the best choice - The Love Puff Pastry Slices:

The ambience of the pub was judged to be very good. There was a TV and piped music in the bar area, but we couldn't hear the music in the (separate) dining area, and the TV was switched off. The pub is very clean and comfortable - there are even 2 sofas available, which is a very nice touch. The service was excellent. Another nice touch was that when we were presented with the bill we were also presented with a dish of home-made chocolate sweets, which were very tasty:

Scores for The Brickmakers Arms, Swanmore (Max 5 in each category - total 25 overall)

Pastry - 4.21

Filling -  4.57

Beer   -  4.13

Ambience - 4.32

Value  - 4.55

Overall  - 21.78

This was another excellent afternoon - another fine traditional pub, recently refurbished, with attentive staff, good beer, and another exceptional pie.  Surprisingly, despite having such a fine range of ales available, when it came to the scoring we had to mark the beer down slightly as it was served slightly too chilled (OK, it was a hot day, but anyone would have thought we were in Australia!). As it is, this score is sufficient to ease the Brickmakers Arms into 2nd place in our rankings, ahead of the Brewery Bar, and second only to the Wheatsheaf. But the competition is close, very close.

On our first visit to this pub in January 2011 we also had a Pork Pie, although the recipe was completely different. On that occasion our score for the visit was only 16.4, and yet, according to Pieman's recollection, it was a very impressive pie. Pieman imagines that as that was our first outing, perhaps we hadn't calibrated our scoring system correctly. Does this mean we're going to have to revisit all the pubs we've been to before?

Our normal monthly outing for August has been cancelled, in order to make way for our special first anniversary celebration, at a secret location on 26th August, when, for once, friends and wives will be invited. Look out for the full report in due course.

The Brewery Bar, Botley, 28th June 2012

On a hot, sunny and humid day in June a large gathering of excited gentlemen (Nick, Trev, Paul E, Paul T, Si, and, after a long absence, Doug) assembled outside The Crown in time to board the No. 8 bus to Botley, heading for The Brewery Bar. Having successfully managed to get off the bus at the right stop (with some help from the driver) our unfailing instincts led us to the pub without any further difficulties.

On entering the pub we were given a warm welcome by the landlord and staff.

Our initial impression of the pub was somewhat off-putting as we noticed the TVs, background music, fruit machines, dogs, pool table - all things which are normally anathema to discerning gentlemen such as us. And we were disappointed that there is no actual brewery in the pub, although we were told that there used to be.  And we also immediately noticed the fine and unusual selection of ales on offer.

We all had our eye on the Green Jack Orange Wheat Beer 4.8%, but at 4.8%* we felt it was a bit strong to start with. Most of us opted for a pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord 4.3% @ £3.70/pint, although as usual  Paul E preferred lager, and Paul T preferred Guinness). 

We sat in the garden and started discussing important issues of the day while our pie was prepared. As we were halfway through our 2nd pints the landlord came to tell us that our pie was ready to be served, so we went in and waited with baited breath. On the table next to us were about 14 women who had obviously had a good lunch - their chatter was so noisy that we could scarcely hear ourselves think - but never mind that, the pie when it arrived was fabulous. The landlord and chef were understandably proud.

It was a splendid Chicken, Ham and Leek Pie, which had been prepared especially for us.** 

It came with plenty of beautifully prepared home-made chips, made from new potatoes,

a fine selection of nicely-cooked fresh vegetables,

and beef gravy served just the way it should be, in a separate jug.

The portions were very generous. In the judging that followed some gentlemen thought that the filling was so good that it was perfect, and awarded it 5 out of 5. But some other gentlemen are harder to please. After the meal we were all so stuffed that nobody fancied any pudding, even though there was a fine range of reasonably-priced puddings available.

Instead of having a pudding, we sampled the Green Jack Orange Wheat Beer 4.8%. Being a wheat beer it has rather an unusual first taste, but it grows on you, and we all agreed that was a fine beer. Our only criticism of the beers we had was that they were served slightly too chilled. Notwithstanding our initial impressions, the ambience of the pub was good. The distractions noted above were not too distracting when we were there, although it's possible that the pub might be crowded, boisterous and noisy in the evenings. It's clean, tidy, and the service was excellent. Our final bill for the food and 4 rounds of drinks came to £25 each, including service, which we thought very good value for money.

Scores for The Brewery Bar, Botley (Max 5 in each category - total 25 overall)

Pastry - 4.08

Filling -  4.5

Beer   -  4.25

Ambience - 3.42

Value  - 4.25

Overall  - 20.5

This was another excellent afternoon - a nice traditional pub with attentive staff, good beer, and another exceptional pie.  Perhaps it is unfortunate that this visit came so soon after our visit to The Wheatsheaf and the exceptionally good pie that we had there. The Wheatsheaf has raised the standard to such a high level that it will be very difficult for any other pub to beat it. Sadly for The Brewery Bar, despite such a good effort, they will have to be content with coming 2nd this year (so far).

On our return to Bishops Waltham we adjourned to The Crown, and it was there that we noticed Paul E's dress sense. Should we agree a dress code for future outings?

* According to the brewer's web site, the Green Jack Orange Wheat Beer 4.8% is only 4.2%.


** There is some dispute among Pie Club members as to whether or not it is a good thing to tell the pub in advance that we are going to pay them a visit. If pre-warned then (as in this case, and at The Wheatsheaf) they can make a special effort to impress us with a made-to-order pie. We like this because we get to enjoy a very good pie. But if we turn up unannounced then our experience will be more typical and a truer reflection of the pub. Whatever we do, we should be consistent so as to be fair to all the pubs. Pieman senses a schism developing.

The Wheatsheaf Inn, Shedfield, 29th May 2012

Nick, Joe, Paul E, Stephen and Trev all met up on the No 69 bus heading in the direction of Shedfield and the The Wheatsheaf Inn. All had resisted the temptation to start off with a pint in the Crown mainly because Si could not join us as he was busy tasting cream teas in the Cotswolds.

After a shortish walk from the bus we arrived at the pub to be faced with a fine selection of beers - mainly from the Flowerpots Brewery in Cheriton. The range was Perridge Pale 3.6%, Flowerpots Bitter 3.8%, Goodens Gold 4.8%, Flowerpots IPA 6%, and Oakleaf Nuptu'ale 4.2%.

The price of the beers ranged from £2.50 - £2.90 which we all agreed was excellent.

We all settled down to our pints opting initially for the lower gravity beers of Perridge and Pots Ale and all agreed they were in excellent fettle. Paul thought his lager tasted the same as it always did.

Joe had carried out the research for this visit and they had offered to prepare a steak and ale pie for us on the day. The ale being used was the Flowerpots IPA.

Before the pie made its grand entrance Joe was presented with a rather dangerous looking knife and a slice and spoon for serving the creation. Our veg was presented separately on our plates. When the pie arrived we could not believe our eyes or our stomachs!

Joe attacking the pie!

The pie was built for 6 hungry men but, as you can see from the photo below, we were up for the challenge and the five of us managed to devour the lot. Everyone agreed that it was a truly excellent pie washed down with some excellent beers and lagers(?).

Nick felt it could have done with a tad more gravy so he decided to soak some of his portion in his beer to get the desired affect!

Needless to say puddings were out of the question so we supped up our beer and headed for the bus back to Bishops Waltham and the Crown to wish Joe a safe trip to Canada.

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

Pastry - 4.36

Filling -  4.84

Beer   -  4.35

Ambience - 4.30

Value  - 4.86

Overall  - 22.71

An excellent afternoon - a nice traditional pub with attentive staff, good beer from a local brewery and an exceptional pie.  In fact, not only is this the highest-scoring pie of the year so far, it it also the highest scoring pie in the history of the Pie Club, making it a truly exceptional pie. 

Pieman is obviously upset at having missed this pie as he was unavoidably detained elsewhere. Pieman has noticed that there seems to be a trend developing; that all the best pies are sampled when he is away. If this trend continues, he may be forced to re-consider his position. Or maybe he should get his priorities right, stop whingeing, and just make sure that he turns up for all Pie Club outings in future.

The Southampton Arms, West End, 26th April 2012

We'd arranged to meet in the square in time to catch the 12:18 No. 7 bus to West End.  Some gentlemen were unable to resist the temptation to stop for a quick one in the Crown while waiting for the bus, but (for once) Pieman resisted. So Nick, Si, Joe, Paul E and Paul T boarded the No. 7 bus full of anticipation for the delights that awaited them in West End, at The Southampton Arms. This was Paul T's first outing with the Pie Club and it was soon evident that he could barely contain his excitement.

On arrival we were greeted by a charming barmaid and immediately offered a choice of welcoming beers, including the always reliable Sharps Doombar 4%, the ever-popular Ringwood Best 3.8%, and (best saved until last) Ringwood FortyNiner 4.9%, as well as some other drinks favoured by our newer members.

We'd booked a table for 4, but there were 5 of us, and this seemed to cause a bit of consternation as the pub was quite busy and there weren't many spare tables. We were offered a choice of a table in the conservatory or one in the pub. Perhaps unwisely we chose the table in the conservatory. As we were shown to our table we noticed that the conservatory was full of old pensioners chewing steadily on their food, looking bored, and not talking much. Now some of Pieman's best friends are old pensioners, and he's one himself,  but this can be a bit off-putting. On the positive side, though, this probably indicates a value-for-money pub. And anyway, Paul E soon started to liven the place up a bit. Later on, Joe suggested that in future we should avoid tables in conservatories, and we all agreed.


There was only one pie on the menu (actually a Steak & Kidney Pudding), which should have made the ordering process easy. We ordered 5 pies but were then a bit puzzled when the waitress asked us if we wanted our pies with vegetables. Pieman asked if there was any alternative. She said "there's always one awkward one" and offered chips as an alternative. What? One or the other, but not both? Still confused, some of us ordered vegetables and some ordered chips.


When the food arrived we discovered that "vegetables" meant mixed veg with new potatoes, and "chips" meant chips with frozen peas.

The Steak & Kidney puddings were gigantic. The chips, peas, new potatoes and mixed veg were all nicely cooked, although the mixed veg included a mysterious yellow substance that looked like scrambled eggs. We all tasted it: it was quite tasteless and we were unable to identify it. Eventually we asked the waitress what it was and she told us it was mashed swede. The gravy was a bit gloopy, and should have been served separately, in a jug.  We all agreed that the Steak & Kidney puddings were excellent, and huge.


The service wasn't very good, but in their defence we have to concede that the two waitresses were kept very busy dealing with all the old folks and didn't have much time to spare for trouble-makers like us. We got the impression that they were mother and daughter, but we couldn't tell which was the mother and which was the daughter. They wouldn't bring fresh beers to the table for us - we had to go to the bar each time.


It is a value-for-money pub. The main courses were £7.95 each.  Most of us were too stuffed by the enormous Steak & Kidney puddings and couldn't manage any puddings, but Nick managed some Stewed Fruit & Custard (£1.95):

 Paul E had Apple Crumble with Custard & Ice Cream (£3.95), which looked good but he wasn't able to finish it:

The beer was good value for money as well, averaging around £3/pint, but due to the poor ambience in the pub (ands the fact that we had a bus to catch) we left after only having had 3 pints there. We made up for that by stopping off at the Crown on our way home. We had thought of moving on to the Rosebowl to watch some cricket, but the weather was grim so we didn't bother.  Some of us had to have a lie down when we got home, to recover from the Steak & Kidney puddings, which (did I mention this before?) were big. 

Scores for The Southampton Arms, West End (max. 5 in each category, 25 overall):

• Pastry 3.8
• Filling 3.9
• Beer 4.1
• Ambience 3.1
• Value 4.2
• Overall 19.1

This is quite a respectable score. The food, drink and value for money were good, but the pub was let down by its ambience, and nobody feels any great urge to return to this pub for another go.

The Bugle Inn, Botley, 29th March 2012

The plan was for the Pie Club members to meet up at the bus stop in Bishops Waltham square at 12.00 noon. Unfortunately Joe, Si, and new member Steve (welcome) arrived early, happened to notice that the Crown Inn was open, and right next door to the bus stop. This pub has only very recently re-opened after a very expensive refit, so they decided to check it out and have a quick one in The Crown while waiting for the others to catch up. 

Unfortunately, they don't serve pies there. Otherwise we would have had this Pie Club meeting in The Crown.


Nevertheless, a well refreshed Joe, Si & Steve still managed to get to the bus stop by noon to meet up with Trev and Nick, just as they were boarding the No. 8 bus to Botley. This bus goes all around the place, seemingly visiting every little hamlet for miles around, but eventually we arrived in Botley, and headed straight for The Bugle Inn.

We were welcomed by the landlord, and noticed immediately that there was a fine selection of ales available: the excellent Bowman's Wallops Wood 4%, the always popular Sharp's Doombar 4% , and (maybe a bit strong for lunch time) Gale's HSB 4.8%.   


We settled down for our first pint, some having Wallops Wood, and others having Doombar, and surveyed our surroundings. The landlord had taken us to a table in the dining area of the pub, where there were no other customers, so we had the place to ourselves, although there were several drinkers in the other bar that we could hear.  There was no garden to sit in. We had our second pint then decided it was time to order some food. As there was only one pie on the menu it didn't take us long to decide what to order. 2 of us opted to have chips instead of new potatoes. We didn't have to wait long for the food.

  The pies had the correct short-crust pastry, a Steak & Mushroom filling, pre-applied gravy, and a selection of freshly-cooked vegetables: Cauliflower, carrots, and red cabbage.  Some of us (perhaps those who were hungriest) thought they were OK - nothing special but OK - but others were quite put off by the smell, and one of our members was actually unable to finish eating his pie*.

We'd also noticed some strange smells coming from the loos (or were they coming from the kitchens?). To be fair, this pub has a Lebanese chef, and a full menu of Lebanese food available (but no Lebanese pies, which might have been interesting). Maybe that accounted for some of the strange smells.


There was a tempting selection of puddings available, but by now we'd had enough, so we decided to skip the puddings:

As we left the pub, someone suggested walking just around the corner to The Brewery Bar to see if we could get some puddings there. This is not a bad looking pub, with a good food menu (including some pies) and a fine selection of ales:

It was a lovely sunny day so we sat outside in the garden and had a pint while we considered the pudding menu.  In the end we didn't bother with the puddings, and after a couple of pints we caught the bus back to Bishops Waltham.  We quite liked the look of the Brewery Bar, and decided that it was probably worth a proper Pie Club assessment later in the year.


As we got off the bus in Bishops Waltham, someone happened to notice that the Crown Inn was open, and right next door to the bus stop. This pub has only very recently re-opened after a very expensive refit, so we decided to check it out and have a quick one in garden at the front, in the sun.  As we were sitting there enjoying our pints, we got chatting with a young couple sitting at the next table who turned out to be JK and Lucy, presenters of Heart South Coast Breakfast Show.

Lucy got quite friendly with one of the Pie Club members, but Pieman feels honour-bound to reveal no more, and certainly won't publish any photos! The Pie Club got a mention on their show the next morning.

Scores for The Bugle, Botley (max. 5 in each category, 25 overall):

• Pastry 3.3
• Filling 3.6
• Beer 3.6
• Ambience 2.7
• Value 3.4
• Overall 16.6

* On checking the Pie Club constitution, Pieman was surprised to see that there is nothing in the rules about penalties for leaving a pie half uneaten. Pieman would have thought that the offending member would at least have to buy a round.

The Robin Hood, Durley, 23rd February 2012

Joe, Nick, Trev and new member Paul (welcome) duly met at the bus stop in Bishops Waltham to catch the number 7 bus for the short ride to The Robin Hood, Durley. Doug had sent his apologies and Si was on a mission in Bali at an organic yoga retreat to find the best Balinese pie.

The bus was on time so arrived at the pub to allow plenty of time to sample the beers before tucking into the pies.

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

There were a good selection of beers : Black Sheep Bitter 3.8%, Timothy Taylor Landlord 4.3%,  Old Speckled Hen 4.3%, and for Paul, Becks Vier 4%. 

Joe, Nick and Trev all started off with the Black Sheep Bitter which was excellent and went down very well. Trev then switched to the Timothy Taylors Landlord which is one of his favourite beers of all time and it didn't disappoint.

After a couple of beers we decided it was time to tuck into the pies! After some excellent but tough earlier negotiations by Joe the chef had agreed to prepare a game suet pudding for us - the game was a mix of venison, rabbit and pheasant. We all ordered the same which arrived on a bed of mashed potatoes with a few green beans sprinkled on top.

Everyone agreed the pie was very good with a good portion of filling which was very tender and the suet casing was very tasty. As we are a healthy bunch of Gents and fully committed to getting our 5 a day (veg that is) a selection of veg would have been welcome - maybe we could have ordered that separately from the menu?

After a short break and another pint we shifted our attention to the excellent choice on the desserts menu. Joe and Trev both opted for the cheese plate which had a good  choice of local cheeses.

Nick opted for the Coconut and Raspberry tart for the high fruit content to fit in with his diet!

Paul went for the traditional Apple Crumble with custard.

By the emptiness of the plates afterwards everyone seemed to enjoy their desserts!

We then paid up and caught the bus back to Bishops Waltham - where feeling tired after all the travel we popped into the Barleycorn for a reviver!

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

• Pastry 3.75
• Filling 3.875
• Beer 4.0
• Ambience 4.375
• Value 3.625
• Overall 19.625

Pieman's Australian tour, February 2012

Pieman recently completed a 6-week trip around Victoria, Australia. Having been to Australia before, he knew that the chances of finding the perfect pie/pint combination in Australia were slim, but he couldn't resist his natural inclination to sample a few pies while he was out there. Here are his impressions.

Let's deal with Australian beer first, and let's be quite clear about this: It's all rubbish. Overpriced, cold, gassy, tasteless rubbish.  Another problem is that you don't often get pies served in Australian pubs. It seems that Aussies would rather gamble than eat in their pubs. (What a good idea! - let people get drunk while they're gambling, and even provide atms so that if they run out of money they can always get some more!). So Pieman was, for the most part, limited to eating pies in restaurants, cafes, bakeries, etc.

The first pie that Pieman sampled was excellent. It was at the Dunkeld Gourmet Pantry, in Dunkeld NW Victoria (a small sleepy town on the way to the Grampians, in the middle of the outback, with not a lot to commend it except this restaurant, which was rather a good find:

This was an individual Chicken and Leek Pie, served with some find home-made chips and the usual token rabbit food. Note the fine pastry-work. For once, this place lived up to its name. This was a gourmet pie, probably one of the best that Pieman has ever tasted. It's a shame that you have to travel so far to try one.   

After finding such a good pie, Pieman was encouraged to sample another pie in a delightful little cafe ("Apple Annie's") in Castlemaine, Victoria:

It was an individual Beef & Burgundy pie served with chips, salad, and (rather unusually) a dollop of vegetable curry. This was quite a pleasant pie, and the curry accompanyment was actually rather a good idea. Pieman's alter ego does have a fondness for curry, so this meal actually combined two of his favourite meals in one, and he left Apple Annie feeling very satisfied.

So far so good, but from here on things take a turn for the worse.

Australian cricket and footie fans go all dewy-eyed whenever the pies at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) are mentioned, often going on at great length about how wonderful the Four'N Twenty Pies are. So Pieman felt obliged to try one when he went to the MCG to watch an Australia v India ODI.

Pieman wishes that he hadn't bothered. This was without any doubt the worst pie he has ever tasted. He felt ill for 24 hours after eating it. His partner (Mrs Pieman) tried one and claims that she was ill for the next 2 weeks. Pieman was so traumatised by the experience that he still refuses to say anything more about it. These pies should carry a health-warning. Avoid at all costs. If we assessed pies on a Celsius scale, this pie would score -273c. It represents absolute zero on our pie scale. At least it provides us with a baseline, against which to measure all other pies.

Having resolved to avoid Australian pies for evermore, Pieman wandered into a bakery in Echuca, in far-north Victoria, and his eye was caught by a Ned Kelly Pie:

Now, Pieman really should have known better. He's been into Australian bakeries before, where they often have dozens of different types of pie on offer (see below), and he should have remembered from his earlier visit to Australia that bakery pies are nearly always bad. Plus, these particular pies look suspiciously like quiches, and he should have remembered Pie Club Rule #8 ("Any member who ever suggests eating a quiche may, by a majority vote of the founder members, be dismissed from the Club"). Nothwithstanding any of this, he succumbed to temptation, and persuaded himself that they are not quiches because the solid congealed mass on top (made of egg, bacon and cheese) forms a solid barrier, and isn't soft and mushy like a quiche. The pie was served hot, but beneath the congealed mass on top  lurked a cold mass of (allegedly) minced beef.  It sounds bad, but Pieman was starving at the time, would have eaten anything, and at least he didn't feel ill afterwards. So it wasn't as bad as the MCG pie.

Sample Australian Bakery Pie menu (don't ever be tempted to try any of them):

At this point Pieman had learned his lesson, and decided to avoid all Austalian pies in future. And so should you.