Nags Head, Reading

With the new Elizabeth line going direct to Reading and with me living under 20 minutes’ walk from Paddington, I decided to knock this one on the head; big mistake, as the Elizabeth line leaves 25 minutes after the advertised departure time for some reason and it takes twice as long as the train, though is still about half the price. Not realising that the western line leaves every half hour (rather than every seven minutes if going east), my timing was completely knackered, as I was only going to get around half an hour in here. I won’t bother to describe something that everyone’s visited, as I doubt it’s changed, still with 12 pumps (the left-hand bank blocked by a man-mountain of a Yeti) and countless pump clips on display. I first went for a half of the Brew York Tonkoko at £2.30 (more than I paid later in the evening at the King’s Cross Queens Head) and it was far too cold and I’m sorry to say, it was ever so slightly on the turn. A half of Siren Memento (£2.30 and purchased prematurely to allow it to warm up) was ok and served by a barman who initially regarded me a little suspiciously, probably because unlike the other eight customers, I wasn’t dressed like a band member from Dexys Midnight Runners. This place is obviously a must-visit ale destination, but not being able to view all the pumps is an annoyance and perhaps having 50% more pumps than customers is too many to allow for throughput, though perhaps this isn’t a problem later in the week when there should be more punters; the loud TV sports commentary was an unwelcome distraction.

Official site of Nags Head - www.thenagsheadreading.co.uk

Official site of Nags Head - www.thenagsheadreading.co.uk