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Submitted on Saturday, 10^th August 2024
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Brook House Inn, Holmrook

Boot
Boot
Postal town: Holmrook
CA19 1TG

Correct details

Served areas

Boot, Eskdale

Reviews of Brook House Inn (Average Rating: 8½ of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Will Larter left this review about Brook House Inn

On my latest visit to what has become my favourite pub in Eskdale I chose halves of two out of the four beers on the bar. Carlisle Cumbrian Bitter was NBSS 4, a very well presented but fairly straightforward Norther bitter. Cross Bay Hops Be Trippin' was something else: first of all it had to overcome my prejudice against stupid names, then on the initial taste there didn't seem to be much going on - very good condition but fairly ordinary. Then on the swallow there was a burst of flavour, freshly chopped herbs or something, bursting dramatically in the mouth and nose, quite extraordinary. As I was recording my NBSS 4.5 in the GBG app I noticed that this pub is not in the Good Beer Guide this year, whereas another pub just up the road, where I had two poor quality beers poorly served the previous evening, is. I know that GBG entries are not based on one visit by one drinker, but something seems to have gone wrong here. Clearly I need to come here more often, to boost the scores for this brilliant pub! (It's quite a bit cheaper here too.)

On 2^nd October 2023 - rating: 9
[User has posted 4273 recommendations about 3935 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Will Larter left this review about Brook House Inn

In my review of 30th March 2011 I noted the numerous dead animals and birds on the walls and ceiling; I scored the pub 6. In my review of 10th October 2019 I noted the tables made from the cross-sections of tree trunks; I scored the pub 7. On my latest visit the tables were pretty much normal and the rather eccentric dead menagerie had long since been replaced on hooks and nails on the beams by (rather more normal and not at all alarming) drinking vessels - cups and mugs and jugs. The beer has been consistently good (and cheaper than another pub up the valley) and the service is friendly and helpful, and it's become my favourite pub in Eskdale, so I think an 8 would be fair.

On 4^th July 2022 - rating: 8
[User has posted 4273 recommendations about 3935 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Will Larter left this review about Brook House Inn

Eskdale has become my most often visited Lake District valley in the last two or three years, so I have, as you'd expect, visited this and the other pubs quite a lot. The beer here, in my experience, is always good and often a bit less pricey than at the Woolpack up the road. They often have a Barngates beer (brewed at the Drunken Duck outside Hawkshead): Cracker, Tag Lag or the excellent Goodhew's Dry Stout. Although the interior of the pub strikes me as being a little too food oriented (each table, made from a slice of tree trunk, has its own place mats especially designed to cope with the distorted surface), there is a pleasant sun trap at the front for those magical days of unexpected sunshine. Eskdale is a beautiful valley with high level walks not far away, but the woodland walks near the river and the nearby falls are very relaxing, with the prospect of a beer adding to their charms.

On 10^th October 2019 - rating: 7
[User has posted 4273 recommendations about 3935 pubs]

View more reviews of Brook House Inn (8)

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