The Pelican Inn, Gloucester

A fairly small pub, tucked away in a back street behind the cathedral, it looks unremarkable from the outside but venture within and you’ll find an extensive range of beers, as well as one of the largest choice of ciders I have ever come across. Internally it’s divided in to a couple of different rooms, with the larger one being to the left. This had sanded wooden boards on the floor, a whitewashed ceiling with plenty of black beams and some exposed stone walling at the back with more inset black timberwork. There was some dark wood panelling on the lower part of the walls, with rough cream plasterwork above, and a few old black and white photographs were dotted around. A small bookcase housed a large selection of Good Beer guides. Padded green velvet benches were around the perimeter, with regular chairs elsewhere and a small brick fireplace was off to the right. The smaller room to the right was broadly similar in terms of décor but with a parquet wood floor and a few colourful beer posters on the wall, as well as another small fireplace and wood burning stove. Beers on tap were Dorothy Goodbody’s Æthelflæd Ale, Wye Valley HPA, Ramsbury Mango Libation, Wye Valley Wholesome Stout, Dorothy Goodbody’s Hopping Mad, Dark Revolution Sonic IPA, Wye Valley Deuce, Wye Valley Bitter, Bristol Beer Factory Independence and Butty Bach. Initially there appeared to be just two cider taps for Stowford Press and Thatcher’s Gold, but a pole next to this had a further ten cider mats on it. I assumed these must be just ones that had been stocked previously, but an enquiry to the friendly barman elicited that they were all in fact currently available. So, the range also included Rosie’s Pig Rusted Wheel, Orchard Pig Explorer, Lily the Pink, Orchard Pig Maverick, Rosie’s Pig Raspberry Roller, Once Upon a Tree Thrown Hat, Old Rosie with Rhubarb, Cracklin’ Rose Perry, Lyonesse Medium Dry and Rosie’s Pig Regular. A quite exceptional selection, with my only regret being that I had only popped in on a mid-week lunchtime and had to head back to work.