The Royal Blenheim, Oxford

Original review: 6th September 2016 I first came here once before in 1994, us turfing up at around 6.30am for a fried breakfast, having attended the May Morning Carol Service, sung by the Magdalen College School Choir from the top of the eponymous college’s tower. Rebuilt in 1898, this is now in effect the tap for the White Horse Brewery. It's hidden away out of sight of tourists, though is probably the unofficial watering hole for students at neighbouring Pembroke College and possibly those drawn from Christ Church College on the other side of St. Aldates; our PuG crawl was undertaken during the university holiday. As described below, with a return visit made about a month later. This is a rather boring pub and the presence of returning students probably won't make for a great atmosphere either. In effect you go here for the beer where you are spoilt for choice, but have to be a fan of White Horse ales. This pub shows sport, albeit with the sound down and can attract the odd rum character. Ale choice aside, this isn't one of Oxford's best and doesn't really warrant a special trip. -------------------------------------------- A return trip last Monday and Tuesday and this pub is much improved. A few more modern touches have been added, including a hipster-style bar back. Otherwise, the pub’s fairly normal, with a raised area and TVs showing dross with the sound down; another bonus is that it doesn’t seem to attract students, despite being next to Pembroke College. However, the real reason to come here is for the ale choice. It’s now a collaboration between the White Horse brewery and Titanic. There were 10 pumps in operation, with offerings unsurprisingly from White Horse and Titanic (three pumps), their Iceberg on offer for just £3.10 a pint during the month of May; there were quite a few guests, including at least one from XT. Understandably, I plumped for a couple of pints of their sublime Plum Porter at £4.40 each, which is very reasonable for Oxford. This is a must-visit if in the city and when it comes to the ale range, it has no competition here.

Official site of The Royal Blenheim - www.titanicbrewery.co.uk

Official site of The Royal Blenheim - www.titanicbrewery.co.uk

Tucked away down a side street, but nonetheless just a short stroll from Oxford’s main thoroughfare, this is a substantial brick built pub on a street corner, and whilst it doesn’t look anything particularly remarkable from the outside, there was an exceptionally large range of beers available. Internally it’s one single L-shape room with a reasonably contemporary appearance, although more in a refurbished way than anything to extreme. Wood strip is on the majority of the floor with some chequered tiling elsewhere, whilst the ceiling was a deep blue colour. Taupe wood panelling was on much of the walls as well as some green wallpaper in places and padded bench seating ran around much of the perimeter. A porch with some stained glass made something of a feature in one corner and there were several pictures of Oxford boat crews on the walls as well as some black and white sketches and a few random quotes painted on the beams such as “There’s always time for one more pint” which was attributed to Inspector Morse. A few tatty plants on the window sills completed the interior decorations, although there was also a projector screen at one end, which looked a little out of place. Although not in use, it had yet to be rolled up for some reason, and we passed by earlier in the day when the rugby was being screened and the pub looked to be full to capacity. I counted no less than ten pumps on the bar, although a nearby chalkboard actually listed twelve, so perhaps there were a couple more somewhere. On this visit they consisted of Titanic Plum Porter, Titanic Cheery Dark, White Horse Bitter, White Horse Wayland Smithy, White Horse Village Idiot, Everards Tiger, Saltaire Amarillo, Wingle Rambler, White Horse Show Pony RPA, Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout, Longman American Pale Ale and Longman Old Man. After that lot, the cider choice was a little disappointing with just Stowford Press. Overall with it’s friendly staff and good beer choice, this is well worth seeking out.

There is already much written below on the pub itself which I won't repeat other than to say that it does feel like a recent, modern refurbishment. The key is that Titanic are taking over from White Horse as the Project William partners and this is already in evidence. Beers on were: Titanic Plum Porter and Captain Smiths, White Village Idiot and By George Bitter, Wayland Smithy, Shotover Poets Tipple, Everards Tiger, Dark Star The Original and an appalling Luna Star Gazer. The Plum Porter was very good but Iceberg or White Star may have been more appropriate for a warm evening. In addition to the handpumps there are 9 keg taps on the wall behind the bar but with the Titanic offerings on cask these didn't get a look in. Clearly our visit was as the pub was mid-transition but with a full Titanic takeover this will become the first, and likely last, visit in oxford.