The Gog & Magog (JD Wetherspoon), Plymouth

The Gog and Magog is a Wetherspoons located up a small side passage off Southside Street. A busy courtyard full of seating separates the pub from the main drag. Inside the entrance are a few tables before steps, and a wheelchair lift, that lead up to a long bar that runs down the left hand wall. This bar faces seating along the right hand wall of this comparatively small Spoons. There are two banks of five handpumps amongst the standard and premium keg. During a recent midweek afternoon visit these were drawing Sharp’s Doom Bar, Greene King Abbot Ale, Salcombe Island Street Porter, Ruddles, Lancaster Brewery’s Lancaster Black and Castle Rock’s Raspberry Ripple. The usual JDW menu is in operation. The service was polite, but I don’t plan on rushing back.

As described below, this slightly unusual JDW is in a relatively modern building on the site of a much older pub called The Blackfriars. Ales on were Abbott, Ruddles, Doombar, Walkers White Gold and Black Gold, and Jail Ale. There is a paved Garden at the front which opens Until 9pm. The staff were functional at best, the clients mainly rowdy students and screeching, drunken women, and the beer was in very poor condition. Not worth the effort.

This is an unusual Spoons in that for a city centre one it isn't that big. There's a fairly large courtyard at the front with lots of seating. Inside it's a split level room with some steps in the middle leading up to the bar area and a stair lift for wheelchairs. It generally has a modern feel to it. On a November Wednesday evening the courtyard was almost empty and inside fairly busy. Although there are ten hand pumps the choice was limited consisting of the JDW Trio Of Doom with Abbot and Doom Bore doubled, Dartmoor Jail Ale doubled, GK Old Speckled Hen, Hobgoblin and Burton Bridge Festival Ale. I tried the Jail Ale (£2.29) and failed to see why it should be a permanent fixture in almost all the SW England JDWs. Happily the Burton Bridge beer (£2.29) saved the day. Even so, if you exclude the Jail Ale there were no local beers on at all and two of the most boring ales from the all year guests (OSH & Hobgoblin).

Official site of The Gog & Magog (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

Official site of The Gog & Magog (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

A jumbo Spoons with a nautical/sailing theme and what looked like some sort of modern art take of a mainsail (I think?) on the ceiling. A colour scheme best described as ‘plum duff’. Absolutely rammed on our Saturday evening visit, wherever you stood you were in someone’s way (I wonder what the maximum official capacity is in here?). The two guest ales I was able to note at the bar were Tring Kettle Stout (below-par, possibly end-of-barrel) and a decent drop of Otter Winter Warmer. Seemed alright in here, a decent Spoons. 6.5

Called into this Wetherspoon outlet and found a good selection of beers available from up and down country. We chose Hook Norton Old Hooky and Ringwood Fortyniner, both in good condition. Location made it very popular, and the outside seating area was full at the front.