The Black Swan / Dirty Duck, Rugby

A bit of a rambling interior with a central island servery.Towards the back there is a darts board and upright piano but a refurb has created a clean yet antiseptic interior not helped by being virtually empty on a sunny Friday early evening.The three handpumps were dispensing Hobgoblin,Old Hooky and Brains Reverend James,three very similar beers .There was some banter with the barman about this hop free selection,and he seemed on the defensive.Probably not enough to tempt real ale fans given the options nearby,you can only hope that some other USP emerges in time.

The Black Swan (or Dirty Duck as it says on the cantilever pub sign) is a historic inn which looks like it originally comprised three different buildings. The interior layout is thus somewhat complex, and although partially opened out it still provides a variety of seating areas on various levels. Pool table. Relatively loud music. Three of six handpumps were in operation, offering Theakston Best Bitter, Old Hooky and Play On from the local Wood Farm Brewery (£3.10, but rather cloudy). The array of pump clips indicate a past interest in real ale, but reviews elsewhere indicate that this may have waned in recent times (a suggestion not refuted by the dubious quality of my pint).