The Frog & Toad, Gillingham

Welcoming real ale pub in a rather unpromising side-street location, with plain but traditional furniture and decor in a slightly opened-out L-shaped layout. With three of the five handpumps in use, I found a couple from Wantsum - Montgomery and the single-hop Sabro (£3.60) - plus Beaky Blinder from Parkway Brewing.

Previously The Rising Sun, this traditional Victorian backstreet local is now noted for its ales and is a GBG regular. The bars are cheaply decorated, the toilets are in a state of decay and the fabric of the building is badly maintained, but somehow that doesn't seem to matter. There is a tv screen, dartboard, shabby carpet and old furniture, the original fireplaces have been bricked in and the colour scheme is terrible, but the background music was actually quite good. There is a small yard at the back which is used for beer festivals in Summer, but it was eerily silent this week. There were several ales on, and I had a pint of Dark Horse Birdie which was absolutely perfect. I can't wait for the next festival to try a few more. It's rough and ready, but the welcome is warm and the staff are both knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their beer. A must for ale drinkers, but don't bring anyone who can't take the rough edges.

I thought that I had stumbled upon a hidden gem after reading the blurb on the outside of the Frog and Toad about more than 30 Belgian beers being available and the cask Marque accredited plaque. Unfortunately there was no sign of these Belgian beers and four of the five hand pumps were unused leaving London Pride as the lone ale. Hoegarden and Leffe were available alongside the usual draught suspects, but I went for the wife beater which was served by the friendly bloke on duty. There was some low back music and I spotted a dartboard at either end of the pub. I didn’t spot any TVs and there were no advertisements for Sky Sports. I wouldn’t go out of my way to drink here again.

The Frog & Toad is only a short walk from the station but is so tucked away in Gillingham's back streets that only the locals and the ale hunters would ever find it. The interior consists of 2 knocked through but off centre rooms with an unusually situated kitchen in a seaparte room to one side away from the bar. The far room is more of a public bar with darts and plasma TV although there is another dart board in the main bar as well as an upright piano for those Knees Up Mother Brown moments. The sign outside boasts 30 Belgian Beers although I can't claim to have noticed and despite the rear room being festooned with pump clips, disappointingly there were just 2 of the 5 pumps operational with Youngs Winter Warmer and London Pride hardly being an inspirational selection. That said, there is little competition in Gillingham on the Ale front so whatever is on offer comes as a bonus and to be fair, this was an early Sunday lunchtime and the pub was empty apart from myself and 4 Aston Villa fans ahead of the recent cup tie. Sunday papers on the bar were a nice touch and it all feels quite homely with old photos and maps on the walls. The F&T is certainly one of the better Gillingham options but probably not worthy of specifically going out of the way for (unless one of their beer festivals is on).