The Crown, Bishops Waltham, 26th March 2015

For our March outing we elected to return to The Crown Inn in Bishops Waltham, to re-assess the place after our earlier visit in 2013, despite our vow at that time never to return to the Crown for another pie.  That vow might have been made rather hastily, as it overlooked a number of important factors such as the fact that this is for us a local pub on our doorstep, and it serves good ale at reasonable prices. There have been several management changes at the Crown since our last visit, so we felt it was worth a re-appraisal (and we were feeling lazy and couldn't be bothered to venture any further a field).

So Doug, Joe, Nick, Si, Trev, Lord North & Tall Paul once more ventured into the cosy interior of the Crown, hoping for the best but prepared for the worst.

On arrival we found that there weren't many other customers there, so we immediately went to the bar to sample the ales.

This being a Fullers pub there was a good selection of Fullers ales available: London Pride, Seafarers, and HSB. The guest ale was St Austell's Proper Job (4.5%), which was a rather good IPA. In fact we sampled all the ales and found that they were all rather good, just as on our previous visit. They do know how to serve a good ale here.

When Doug was arranging this visit he asked the chef to lay on a good pie for us, and he did us proud. We had a Steak & Oyster Pie (otherwise known as a Pauper's Pie) served with Broccoli and Mash.

The pies were individual pies encased in a delicious short crust pastry, and filled with a very tasty mix of steak, whole oysters, and sauce. The steak was in big chunks, and very tender. The oysters added a lovely salty tang. The filling was just the right consistency. The vegetables were cooked perfectly, and the mash was smooth & creamy.  Extra gravy was served separately, in a jug, just as it should be. The portion size was just right - not too big and not too small. We'd never had a Steak & Oyster Pie before, and we had to admit that this was a very good pie. Near perfect in fact.

Unlike on our previous visit, the service was very good this time, with fresh drinks being brought to our table by the very friendly and helpful waitress. Somehow, we felt that the ambience here was much better than on our prevous visit, although actually, nothing much had changed. There's still a very pleasant period atmosphere to the place, the facilities are very clean, there's plenty of comfortable seating, not too many distractions like canned music or TVs, and (this time) very pleasant staff who gave good service. As far as value-for-money is concerned, even the pie was slightly cheaper this time (£11.95 vs £12.50), and the beer has always been quite good value.

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

• Pastry  4.41

• Filling  4.34

• Beer  4.14

• Ambience  4.12

• Value for money  3.58

• Total  20.58

What a difference 2 years and several management changes make! 20.58 is a respectable score which puts The Crown in 2nd place in our rankings of pubs visited so far this year. Of course, the more attentive reader will spot that we've only visited 2 pubs so far this year, but still, credit where credit is due. The score in 2013 was only 16.71 so this year's score of 20.58 represents a huge improvement, and definitely means that the Crown now comes with our formal seal of approval.

PS Oysters are alleged to have aphrodisiac qualities. Unfortunately on this visit these (if they exist at all) were undone by the quantity of ale consumed.

PPS At the time of writing, the Steak and Oyster Pie is still on the menu. Grab it while you can.

2014 Pie Club Pub of the Year Award

After another year of dedicated devotion to duty in 2014, 10 of the gentlemen members of the Pie Club gathered together on 26th February 2015 at The Black Dog, Waltham Chase for a formal presentation to Peter, the Landlord, of the 2014 Pie Club Pub of the Year certificate, in recognition of the outstanding Sausage, Black Pudding and Bacon Pie which we enjoyed there on 27th November 2014. 

Peter seemed very pleased very pleased to receive the award, and wasted no time in displaying it in a prominent position next to the bar. Quite an understandable reaction when you think about it.

To celebrate the occasion we had a few beers and enjoyed another excellent pie - this time it was a Game Pie. It was another very good pie and served to maintain this pub's reputation as a provider of top-quality pies, but in accordance with Pie Club traditions we viewed this outing as a celebration of past achievements, so did not subject this pie to the usual scrutiny and assessment.  We just enjoyed it instead.

Congratulations to Peter, and the chef, and long may you continue to maintain such high standards. 

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

AGM at The Wheatsheaf, Shedfield, 11th December 2014

After another year of dedicated devotion to duty in 2014, the gentlemen members of the Pie Club gathered together at The Wheatsheaf Inn, Shedfield for their annual general meeting.  Our choice of venue was, of course, an acknowledgement of the very special place in our hearts occupied by the Wheatsheaf.  We will never forget that momentous pie we were served in 2012 which won the Pie of the Year Award that year. Add to that the excellent range of Flowerpots Ales available here at very low prices and we have what has become the spiritual home of the Pie Club and the gold standard against which all other pubs are measured.  Knowing that our hosts, Tim and Sally, had laid on another very special pie for us, we were eager to get the formal business of the day completed quickly so that we could get on with the much more important business of tackling another Wheatsheaf pie.

We agreed that in future our annual award for excellence would be "The Pie Club Pub of the Year" rather than "The Pie of the Year". This is a more accurate reflection of the fact that our award is based not just on the quality of the pie, but also on the overall experience of the pub visit.

We then went on to consider which pub should receive this coveted award for 2014. Here are the scores for each of the pubs that we visited this year:

1. The Black Dog, Waltham Chase (27/11/2014): 22.34
2. The Bucks Head, Meonstoke (25/09/2014): 22.32
3. The Kings Head, Hursley (29/05/2014): 21.59
4. The Brewery Bar, Botley (24/04/2014): 21.54
5. The Ship Inn, Owslebury (23/01/2014): 21.13
6. The Rising Sun, Swanmore (30/10/2014): 21.07
7. The Hampshire Bowman, Dundridge (26/06/2014): 20.70
8. The Queen Inn, Winchester (24/07/2014): 20.58
9. The Brickmakers, Swanmore (27/03/2014): 19.98
10. The Hurdles, Droxford (28/08/2014): 19.20

It was a very close contest, with the Black Dog in Waltham Chase winning by a very narrow margin. Our hearts go out to Nicki and Shaun at The Bucks Head, who must have thought that with their bold imaginative move of serving us 2 pies each they had the award in the bag, and perhaps in any other year they would have won, but they were just pipped at the post by Peter and Kathy at the Black Dog with their equally bold and innovative idea of offering us a Sausage, Bacon & Black Pudding Pie. Commiserations are due to all the other venues - there were no bad pies here, and everyone did very well.  

Congratulations to Peter and Sally at The Black Dog for a well-deserved win. We are looking forward to our next visit to The Black Dog, in March, when we will present the award.

Now on to more important matters.  While we were deliberating over our AGM, we were well assisted by the excellent range of beers which were available:

We found that these ales were a great help in our decision making. Meanwhile, Sally had prepared a special Steak & Kidney Pie for us. When it was brought out for us there was a moment of respectful silence followed by a buzz of appreciation as we saw just how good it was. 

We helped ourselves.  Made with short crust pastry, and served with perfectly cooked carrots, brocolli and new potatoes, with a jug of gravy on the side, this was as near perfect as a pie can possibly be.

The end result was inevitable - a full set of empty plates and very happy gentlemen:

To use our usual methods to evaluate this experience would be an insult to all concerned. This experience is sublime. It is beyond evaluation. Suffice to say, this pub will continue to be the spiritual home of the Pie Club, and sets the standard by which all other pubs are measured. We are looking forward to our next visit to The Wheatsheaf, which will probably be in December for our next AGM, unless we can think of some excuse for not waiting as long as that. 

The Black Dog, Waltham Chase, 27th November 2014

Having been turned away by one of our local pubs, we felt the need to go somewhere where we would be rather more welcome so for our November outing we returned to The Black Dog, our third visit to this very popular pub in Waltham Chase. Our first visit to this pub (in July 2011) was okay but we felt that there was some room for improvement. When we visited again in October 2012, soon after the current landlord (Peter) had taken over, we found that it was much better, so this time we wanted to see if Peter had continued to improve the place as he said he would.

Several of our members are still on a bit of a health kick, so they built up a bit of an appetite and a thirst by walking the 2 or 3 miles to the pub. On arrival they were given a warm welcome by our hosts, Peter & Kathy, and offered a good choice of ales, some of which were new to us:

There was Black Dog Ale 3.8%  from a mystery brewery in Trent, Brains' Reverend James 4.5%, and York Brewery's Guzzler 3.6%, as well as Green King IPA. The Black Dog Ale was a smooth dark ale, very drinkable, but after a long walk several of us preferred the Guzzler, which was a light hoppy ale. Both beers were in very good condition and served well.

Now, for the main business of the day, the pie, we were in for a special treat! The chef had prepared for us something which we had never experienced before - A Sausage, Bacon & Black Pudding Pie! A few of us expressed some doubts about the wisdom of eating such a thing, but when the pies were served up we all agreed Who Dares Wins!

We couldn't help noticing that it was covered in green stuff, but despite that it was a superb looking pie and we couldn't wait to get stuck in. It was served with mixed vegetables and a choice of chips or mashed potatoes, with extra gravy served separately in a jug, just how we like it.

After we had finished loading up our plates with the vegetables and potatoes, the meal looked excellent, and we could barely restrain ourselves (so we didn't).

The pie filling was delicious - moist, with slices of sausage which we think we recognised as coming from a local butcher, bacon adding a salty piquancy, and black pudding complementing the whole ensemble.  In fact the filling was so good that when it came to the scoring, a few members awarded it an unprecedented 5/5. The short crust pastry was also very good. A few members suggested that it might have been better if we had been served individual pies rather than slices from a big pie, but the problem with this is that individual pies tend to have a higher ratio of pastry to filling, making the pie rather dry and stodgy. In this case perhaps we could have done with a slightly more pastry, but when the filling is this good, who cares?  The vegetables were all nicely cooked, and all too soon our plates were clear (and we'd even eaten all the green stuff).

Some of us still had room for puddings, so we chose from the pudding menu and found that the puddings were all up to the same high standard as the pie.

We all thought the meal was excellent, and we really appreciated the effort that our hosts, Peter & Kathy, and the chef made for us.  We would have personally congratulated the chef as we were leaving, but he was nowhere to be seen. The pub itself has a very good ambience (although we did notice some background music playing), and the service was very good. The food and beer very reasonably priced, with the beer at around £3.70/pint, and the pies at £9.95, so we felt it was very good value for money. Surprisingly, after such a good lunch, we managed to walk all the way back to Bishops Waltham, and finished up in The Crown, but that is another story. 

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

• Pastry 4.44
• Filling 4.74
• Beer 4.43
• Ambience 4.03
• Value 4.7
• Overall 22.34

Congratulations to Peter & Kathy - we can see that you have put a lot of hard work into improving this pub, and your efforts have paid off. Your score puts you straight in at number 1 in our charts, a whole 0.02 points clear of the previous leader, and puts you in a very strong position to scoop the "Pie of the Year" award this year. And please pass on our congratulations to your chef.  

We've been banned!

It seems that our review of our last visit to The Barleycorn Inn in Bishops Waltham, back in April 2013, has upset someone, because when we tried to book a return visit there for our next outing, it was made very clear to us that we were not welcome there and they refused to take our booking. 

We find this difficult to understand because (1) it was actually quite a good review (otherwise we wouldn't have wanted to go back there for another visit), (2)  if they'd let us know just what was wrong with the report we might have been able to fix it, or at least publish their comments, and (3) why turn away good business?

We always aim to give honest reports, albeit written in a light-hearted manner. We are aware that for us it's just a bit of fun, but for the hard-working staff in the pubs that we visit it's their livelihood, so we strive to be fair and accurate, and if our hosts are not happy with our reports we will always either publish their comments or correct the report. All they have to do is tell us. 

If we have unwittingly offended anyone at The Barleycorn then we apologise. It is never our intention to be offensive. Similarly, we apologise for any factual inaccuracies.  If it is our opinions that were found to be objectionable then we stand by what we said.

So, sadly, we were unable to return to the Barleycorn for our November outing. Instead, we returned to The Black Dog, Waltham Chase.  This visit will be the subject of our next report.

The Rising Sun, Swanmore, 30th October 2014

We had previously visited The Rising Sun, Swanmore, as our fifth outing back in 2011 when we were but a fledgling group with just 5 members. So we felt it was time to revisit this excellent pub.

As we are all in to fitness and health matters we decided to walk the 2 miles to the pub - this also helps to build up a thirst and offset the expected pie and possibly pudding intake. So in various groups, Nick, Trevor, Gordon, Stephen, Paul (Lord North) and Eric set off from Bishops Waltham, joined by Doug at Swanmore and at the pub by Joe who had elected to cycle over.

On arrival at the Rising Sun we were greeted by the welcome sight of four beers on hand pump and were informed that there was also a beer in the barrel we could also sample - so a busy afternoon was anticipated!

We were all very impressed with the selection of beers, some that we had never tasted before. There was Sharp's Doom Bar 4%, Irving Best Irving Type 42 Best 4.2% from Portsmouth, That Old Chestnut 5.2% from  Weltons Brewery in Horsham, Tom Cat 4.7% from Red Cat Brewing, Winchester, and Golden Arrow 4.5% from Cottage Brewing in Somerset, so we got tucked in!

After a couple of pints we decided it was time for the pie which was a steak and ale pie served up with peas, separate chips and gravy with additional jugs of gravy - just as we like it. It was served with a sprig of greenery on top which was soon removed!

Overall, everyone felt it was a good pie with a nice short crust pastry and plenty of filling. Despite generous helpings some of us still had room for puddings! Those that participated chose:

Rice pudding with clotted cream

Lemon Cheesecake

Chocolate Brownie

Treacle pudding

Again all the puddings were well received and all plates cleared!

We then slowly finished off our beers, the last one very kindly on the house - thank you!

Overall a very good return to the Rising Sun and many commented that it was one of our best meetings in terms of the ambience and excellent discussion created by good food and good beer.

We then headed back to Bishops Waltham stopping off for some refreshment enroute at the Brickmakers!

The scores for the Rising Sun, gratefully compiled by Nick are:

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

• Pastry 4.25
• Filling 4.06
• Beer 4.53
• Ambience 4.04
• Value 4.20
• Overall 21.08

The Rising Sun is currently in 5th place out of the 9 visits this year in what is proving to be a very close contest.