The Hop Pole, Aylesbury

Official site of The Hop Pole Inn - www.aylesburybrewhouse.co.uk

Official site of The Hop Pole Inn - www.aylesburybrewhouse.co.uk

Nine beers plus a cider pull, the brew pub home of Aylesbury Brewhouse Co and on my visit a major outlet for Vale brewery. L shaped and stripped back although fortunately it retains plastered walls. Furnishing is traditional wood chairs and tables with a few leather armchairs. As well as the eight Vale beers there is a large fridge of Belgian bottles, advertising for which also figure in the decor, these appear more popular than the cask. No ABC beers on the bar but a blackboard promised Gamma, a black IPA was "in tank now" and three were on gravity in a space round the corner from the bar with a fourth conditioning. Eight keg taps of mostly mundane beers complete the beer side of things. There's a large long dining area at the back to the side. Somewhat lacking in atmosphere but probably worth the half mile walk from the town centre.

How do I follow that last review. We enjoyed our visit yesterday, and the good ales we had were Aylesbury Convergence, Aylesbury Horton and Vale Best Vale IPA. It is possible to see the brewery from the back room which was set for diners, and the bottle shop there with it's 2 beers served by gravity from casks was worth a visit.

Located on a main road leading West out of Aylesbury town centre, the Hop Pole is a well kept pub run by the Vale Brewery, with their off-shoot project – Aylesbury Brewhouse Company (ABC) – located on site. You enter past a decent front patio terrace into a large bare boarded room with a tongue and groove servery opposite on the rear wall. The bar back has been tastefully decorated with various jugs, beer bottles and spirit miniatures along with some intriguing jars full of bar snacks. Two large bay windows on the front wall, filled with standard and tub chair seating under flimsy light shades, are arguably the best spots to grab and were unsurprisingly both occupied on my arrival. There are two fireplaces, facing each other towards the front of the pub, each similarly sized with a plain mirror above. Some nice wing back chairs were arranged in front of one of the fireplaces, but the rest of the room had to make do with standard tables and chairs or some high stools around a large upturned barrel next to a pillar in the centre of the room. Some nice, aged breweriana, mainly in the form of weathered enamel advertisements, covers much of the wall space and a TV screen to the right was showing a muted men’s singles match from Wimbledon. The room extends to the rear past the left hand side of the bar, where you’ll find some high tables and stools next to a lone slot machine, before a step down takes you into a surprisingly large rear restaurant style area with rows of standard tables and chairs in a somewhat more formal setting. Behind the servery, there is a small brewery shop, where three ABC brews were on stilage, offering customers the chance to take cask conditioned ales back home with them. Various bottled beers, including more ABC and Vale brews plus a sizeable selection of Belgian beers, were also up for grabs. There is plenty enough on the bar to negate the need for take-outs though, with a long row of hand pumps dispensing ABC Valknut and Single Hopped Red Citra, Vale Best, VPA and Gravitas, Hambleton Nightmare, Milestone North Rock, Nottingham Dreadnought and ELB Foundation Bitter. I thought it best to try out one of the beers brewed on site, so tried the Valknut, which was in good condition but seemed to lack balance in its flavour profile. To be fair, the pump clip did state that it was ‘Intensely Hoppy’. The pleasant barman seemed happy that I’d chosen it and I was still able to sup my pint whilst watching the tennis and nosing through the steak and burger based menu. I really like what Vale have done with what, by all accounts, was once an unloved, run down premises. The place felt relaxed, comfortable and served up some good beers from a brewery whose output I have always very much enjoyed when drinking around Bucks. This is definitely worth the short walk out of town and was the pick of the pubs I encountered during my afternoon in Aylesbury.

Unremarkable-looking pub located some distance from the centre of town. Partly opened out inside to leave a 'L'-shape bar with a rear room down a couple of steps. Plain wooden furniture throughout, and a selection of breweriana, all in keeping with a proper ale house. Small front terrace. Nine of ten handpumps in use when I visited, with two Vale beers (Best and Gravitas, £3.50) and a fine selection of guest beers in a range of styles. Well worth the walk.

The building is well described below but this Vale Brewery owned emporium really is worth the short stroll out of the town centre to visit. My general impression, without repeating the detail, was of a large airy interior with lots of scrubbed pine tables, a friendly welcome and atmosphere aided by those playing ukeleles enjoying their art and those not, united in enduring it. Ales on were: Aylesbury Brewhouse Hornswoggler and Illumination Porter, Vale Best and King of Snow, Ilkley Best, Moles Elmos Fire and Bath SPA. An interesting selection and everything we tried was in good shape with most of the other customers also on the ale. I was slightly disappointed not to see more of Vale's, generally very good, beers on but it was a Tuesday in early January so this probably changes as the weekend draws near. This and the Farmers Bar make Aylesbury well worth a visit.