The Cambridge Blue, Cambridge

Justifiably famous back-street alehouse, with an extended 'J'-shaped bar area now supplemented by a marquee in the rear beer garden. As you would expect, the furniture is fairly rustic and the decor mostly breweriana, but you'd want your money back if it wasn't... Only slightly odd feature is the line of bottle fridges that face you on entry. Busy early on an otherwise quiet evening between Christmas and New Year, with an appropriately convivial atmosphere. Splendid selection of nine real ales - including the Santa's Claws from Colchester Brewery (£3.60) - and five ciders from the 14 handpumps. Top drawer!

For over twenty five years this had been the "must visit" pub for beer in Cambridge. Note the use of the word "had" in the previous sentence as on my day in Cambridge this was the least attractive pub visited. I remember when this was a Nethergate pub in the days when they were a revered brewery and I also recall how they made the smaller bar on the right a No Smoking room long before the smoking ban was introduced. On this occasion as I entered I was faced with a wall of fridges containing bottles as though I had walked into a supermarket or off licence. Gone are the two bars as it's all one room and on an early Saturday evening it was rammed. It was far too busy to note down all the beers so I just went for the Burton Bridge Dam Dog (£3.60) which was in good nick. To me it's been ruined and is a victim of its own success. It's gone from being a popular back street pub with great beers to a crowded madhouse. It's lucky that there are other better options nearby.

This is a well revered ale house, tucked away in a residential back street, but within easy reach of the station and city centre. The pub is set in a row of Victorian terraced housing and was originally known as the Dewdrop Inn before changing to it's present name which refers to the colour worn by Cambridge University's sporting teams and their famous rowing crew in particular. On entering the pub a huge statement of intent is laid out immediately before you, with a set of huge fridges packed full of exciting bottled beers dominating the entrance space. To the right is a reasonable sized seating area with limited access to the bar and décor similar to that seen in the main part of the pub which is to the left of the entrance. Here you will find the main bar running down the right with pews under the front windows and small tables with low stools opposite the bar. There are lots of brewery signs on display including a number from continental breweries on the ceiling. The room extends some way to the rear, into what looks like a relatively new extension. Long tables are arranged down the left side and standard tables and chairs fill in the gaps on the right created by a series of structural pillars. The room is bare boarded and a set of doors at the rear lead out to a very nice and surprisingly large garden which is part paving, part astro-turf and lined with several large trees. Picnic benches and modern metal chairs with tables under parasols comprise most of the seating options, although there is a nice little summerhouse in the far corner. Steps allow patrons to climb a low stone wall to the rear which seemingly leads into the adjacent cemetery and judging by the frequency with which it is used, I can only assume that this either acts as some sort of short-cut to the pub or that I spent the evening drinking with the undead. On the bar, a strong cask line up comprising Moonshine Blueberry Ale, Redemption Fellowship Porter, Dark Star Hophead, Brew Co Citra, Black Hill Three Quarters, Great Heck Voodoo Mild, Langton Angler, FILO Gold, Woodfordes Wherry and Six Bells Cloud Nine. Thirty real ciders were also available as part of their ongoing cider festival and the staff were doing a good job at promoting these to any customer showing a bit of indecision at the bar. I opted for a beer from a brewery I'd not tried before - the Black Hill Three Quarters - but found it was pretty flat and not really up to much, which was a shame as this pub clearly knows how to keep good beer. An interesting first visit to what appears to be something of an institution among the city's beer drinkers. The poor pint was unfortunate but I'm prepared to file that under bad luck and I would be very keen to return and spend a bit more time working through the ale range.

Approaching the smart yet unexceptional exterior down a quiet back street, you get no impression of the wonders within the Cambridge Blue. That all changes as soon as you open the door: instead of a bar sporting handpumps and a few lager fonts, you're faced with a couple of fridges packed full of the world's best bottled beers. The actual bar is round to the left, offering a dozen or so quality ales and real ciders - Oakham had a couple of representatives when I visited. Further back, the room has been much extended - it may lack great character, but they obviously need the room to accommodate lucky locals and awe-struck beer tourists. As if that were not enough, there's a sizeable garden beyond. While Cambridge has many quality pubs, you could be forgiven for simply coming here and not moving on.