The Bell, Bath

A fairly rough and ready back street pub, though no doubt it is loved by many. I liked the fact that my beer was about £1/pint cheaper than just up the road at the Curfew, and it was in good nick too (Arbor C Bomb - NBSS 3.5), though I've had many beers that I enjoyed more, and I can't see me drinking this one again. I wouldn't mind calling in here again, but with the Star less than five minutes walk away, it seems a little unlikely.

Fairly worn and traditional boozer heading north out of Bath town centre. You enter to find the bar in front of you, with the room stretching off to the left hand side up a few steps. In the middle is a slightly larger area, where there appeared to be a DJ in action. At the bar, regular beers are Otter Ale, Butcombe Adam Henson's Rare Breed, Hop Back Summer Lightning & Bristol Beer Factory Independence. Guests were Bath Gem & Downton Chimera IPA. Thatcher's Cheddar Valley was also available. It was only as we were about to leave that I spotted another 2 boxes of cider to the side of the bar. I decided to stay and try both - Dick Willows Dry Cider & Bristol Cider Company Bristol Sixer. A decent pub that should be included on any crawl of Bath and was probably my favourite of 12 visited on the day.

As described by PSM, below, this town pub is a GBG regular, which is justified by the quality of its beers. Strangely though the staff know very little about this side of the business, and the barman who served us hadn’t even heard of CAMRA. Fortunately the landlady put him right, and although they no longer off CAMRA discount, he gave me a few bob off anyway out of kindness. Ales on were St Austell Cornish Bitter, Summer Lightning, Otter Ale, Rare Breed, Palmer’s Stoker and BBF Independence. Two craft beers, Moor Refinance and Brixton Pale Ale, plus a bank of megas were also available. Beer quality aside I wasn’t really struck on this pub, but it’s worth a visit and I wouldn’t be put off coming back if the situation arose.