Monday was a public holiday (in England at least) and we abandoned the gardening and DIY for a little while to get a change of scenery. We went for a walk around Moor Copse, a local wildlife trust reserve, which at this time of year is carpetted with bluebells – very spectacular. Afterwards we stopped off just down the road at The Greyhound in Tidmarsh. It’s a Fuller’s pub, and I was hoping for a pint of Chiswick Bitter or Discovery, but unfortunately the only beers they had on were London Pride and ESB (about 4 different draught lagers, mind you). I had a pint of Pride, and Sarah tried the ESB – both very well kept and tasty, just not what I had been hoping for.
In the evening we decided to go out for a meal, and chose The Jekyll and Hyde in Stratfield Turgis a few miles south of Reading. It’s a Badger pub, and I was delighted to find that they had Hopping Hare available. I had the bottled version of this beer a few weeks ago (see Hop to it), and was looking forward to sampling the cask version. It certainly didn’t disappoint – it’s 4.5%, the same as the bottled, and is light, refreshing and very drinkable – the 3 pints washed down the burger and chips very nicely!