The Queen Inn, St Cross, Winchester

Quite a few on – maybe more than I thought sensible on a boiling hot day. Now has its own microbrewery, installed in Spring 2022. Decided to get stuck into the homebrew and regretted it; the Pillowcases was a dreadful alkaline metallic mess (that weirdly was also well-looked after, NBSS 3.5 on that score) and a flabby wit beer (2.5) - lesson learned. The pub itself it still very nice (we sat in the lovely garden) and well-worth a visit if you stick to beers you recognise; hopefully the ropey brew is teething trouble. November 2017 Running as before which is fine by me. Eight ales on; 2x GK, Two Cocks Roundhead, Flack Manor Wolfie, Downton Hopaholic, Red Cat Riesenrad, White Horse Porter, Good Chemistry Natural Selection. Six of these on pump and two on stillage. Noted a collection of cricket caps in a mounted glass case from across all the main nations. Enjoyed the excellent local banter in the smoking area. Also noted that they organise pub walks from here, not seen that before. The best all-rounder in Winchester right now I think. Rated 9 April 2016 Attractive old pub in the backstreets, south of Winchester city centre. Immediately appealing with a well-tended front facing garden. A nice interior, an opened-through room with dining off to the left and some nice tiling. Lots of framed pics of old Winchester on the walls, as well as some nice tiling and painted wood panelling. Perhaps the most notable décor item is the framed cricket caps from all the major nations. Big rear garden. A wood fire on the go, adding that authentic smokey atmosphere. The real revelation however was at the bar, six ales on pump (XT1, Southwick Old Dick, GK IPA and OSH, York Guzzler, Dark Star Antares) with four stillage (Flowerpots Bitter, Bowman Meon Valley, Flack Manor Double Drop, Dark Star Partridge) replete with proper cooling jackets. I tried the XT which was in great form. Noted in addition that a brewery room is being refitted, so presumably their own beer will flowing out of some of the pumps in the near future? Staff were friendly and efficient and coping well with the Mother’s Day scrum. A beer festival was advertised for May. All-in-all a proper find, not GBG listed either for 2016, I am sure that will not be the case for the 2017 Guide. Do this one. Rated 8.5

Looks more like a village pub, despite its suburban setting, with an appealing front patio area with several tables made from millstones and a larger beer garden at the back. The interior is quite dark and traditional in appearance, with the main bar area in the centre, a large dining room off to the left and (very unusually for a Greene King house) its own micro-brewery to the right. Two of their own beers on handpump - A Long Way from Pillowcases (£2.10, half), Queen of Sheba - and others from May Provisions, Siren, Flack Manor and Irving. Also had two more gravity beers from Ramsbury and Fallen Acorn from two of the the four casks on the rear stillage.

As described by previous reviews, this is a pleasant town pub with a comfortable garden, friendly staff and a convivial atmosphere. They have their own brewery at the back, which was formerly at another pub down the road. I tried their own A Long Way From Pillowcases but wasn't impressed - it tasted like over-cooked homebrew and didn't hit the spot at all. Luckily there was a good selection of guest alternatives, including Flack's Double Drop, which was in superb condition. Other ales on were Whole Hearted from Fallen Acorn, Ramsbury's APA, a golden ale from May (a new one on me). There were one or two others from their own stable but given the initial disappointment I didn't try those. Maybe next time, though, and I'll certainly be back to give it a try.

It seems from the older reviews that this pub is unchanged and of course matches the most recent review. The place is essentially a mix of the traditional meets modern, with our group predominantly opting to sit out in the spacious beer garden, where it was really a bit hot and sunny for comfort, though not the pub’s fault. I opted for the Siren Suspended in Eclipse at a very reasonable £2.20 a half and very nice it was too. This pub is probably better for beer drinkers rather than traditionalists, but it’s certainly worth including on a Winchester crawl.

Official site of The Queen Inn - www.thequeeninnwinchester.com

Official site of The Queen Inn - www.thequeeninnwinchester.com

The Queen Inn was one of a couple of Winchester pubs I had targeted, that I had not previously visited in the city. It has the advantage of being on the edge of the city. Whilst the car park is being used for extra seating at present, you can park nearby for up to 4 hours. This was another first for me in the coronavirus world. Upon arrival, we were pounced upon and promptly told that the pub was full. I'd anticipated that this would happen to me at some point, but not necessarily at this exact time. It was late afternoon on a Saturday and not a time I would have expected a pub to be at its busiest. Luckily, the waiter offered us a seat in the aforementioned pub car park. It had been raining all day, which had forced customers to occupy all indoor space instead. But the rain has just stopped. So, we took him up on the offer. Ordering felt like a drive-through McDonald's. You were ushered to the bar, moved along to a connection point and then encouraged to vacate the area. Very efficient, but also very clinical. Despite all of the negatives, I rate this as the best of the Hampshire pubs I tried that day. Whilst the regular beers are from Greene King - IPA & Old Speckled Hen, there are some interesting guest ales, including a couple from the pub's in house brewery. Guests were Queen Inn St Cross Ale & A Long Way From Pillowcases, Flowerpots Gooden's Gold & Red Cat Scratch. A semi-outdoor area with cover at the rear looked quite welcoming, as we watched in envy from our car park spot. But then, some of the patrons had seemingly had one too many and were becoming rowdy. It was certainly a vibrant atmosphere. By no means the best pub in Winchester (I can think of several better), this was marginally our favourite pub of the day.