Cow & Cask, Newbury

Cow & Cask is very much your stereotypical micropub, with two ales served from jacketed casks beside the bar. There's also a keg beer from Rebellion or you can have a bottle from the fridge. It was another warm afternoon in this long hot summer and the ale I had was not cooled in the slightest. Seating is around a couple of low tables, or several high chairs facing into the room (cos you gotta have conversation). The clientele were few in number and bemoaning their lot in life, despite them not suffering any obvious hardships. You'd hope this pub works better in the winter - today, the ale really couldn't be recommended and there was no way I was hanging around for a second pint.

Almost a nano-pub, with just two tables and a few extra bar stools to one side. Up to six cask ales in on gravity from a two-tier stillage beside the compact counter. With four on when I visited, I found a pair from Three Daggers, Vale 80/- (£4.80) and the 2.8% Modern Mild from Field + Theory. Also has a couple of keg beers from small electric pumps on the bar-back and several boxed ciders from Tutts Clump.

My last visit to Newbury fell on a Monday when the Cow & Cask was closed so I was happy to find it open during a recent Tuesday late afternoon visit. It’s a tiny place with a lino floor, four tableless high stools up the left wall and padded bench seating and a couple of tables across the front windows. There’s a white kitchen fridge on the right wall next to a couple of large beer fridges full of cans and the four boxed ciders listed on the chalkboard on the rear wall next to the serving counter, behind which are six casks on stillage. Two of these were on drawing Ramsbury Brewery’s Deer Stalker and Springer which were both good, but I preferred the less hoppy Stalker. Rebellion Beer Co’s Roasted Nuts was also available from a 22 pint mini barrel (nitro?) on the back bar. There were two other customers, the conversation flipping from beer to non-league football and back to beer again. An enjoyable visit.

A pretty traditionally run micropub concentrating on cask ale in general as opposed to craft beers. True to its classification it is pretty small inside and was well attended with middle aged chatty blokes. There were two beers from stillage, both from Ramsbury,Coronation IPA and Farmers Best, on the floor was a single barrel with a dispensing gizmo attached, this was Indigenous Baldrick, marked on rge beer board as being served under pressure, it was in fact a rather decent mild. This is a nice and very friendly micro serving decent beer and while I prefer a bit more of a choice on the beer front its certainly one of Newburys better venues.