Winchester (like St Albans) has so many good pubs that it’s not possible to include all of them in one itinerary, but we had a go at getting to some of the best ones. I don’t propose to go into a lot of detail since I wrote up a broadly similar pub crawl of Winchester last year, but I just want to mention the ones I got to in case you wish to visit the yourself. I’ve also included links to my own reviews for each of the pubs.

King Alfred Statue, Winchester

I arrived in Winchester slightly earlier than my friends and so started with a brief return (after 20 years) visit to the Westgate Inn near to the station, closely followed by the Exchange in Southgate Street which was new to me. On the way to the meeting place I also popped into a much improved St James Tavern on Romsey Road.

The first pub on the actual itinerary was the Fulflood Arms just west of the station – a great community pub in a residential area. After this we strolled into the centre of Winchester for a slightly disappointing experience at the Eclipse by the cathedral. A better experience and some delicious Bowman’s Swift One was given to us by the Old Vine close by. This got our beer of the evening award.

Past the cathedral next to the Wykeham Arms – an ex Gales, now Fullers institution. We were there on the last night before the refurb started so beer selection limited – should be reopening soon.

It was getting dark now but we found our way across the Itchen to the Black Boy up Wharf Hill, on the east of the city for some Flowerpots Bitter and Bowman’s Wallops Wood.

Getting late and some were off to the station, but others returned to the Old Vine for a second opinion on that Swift One. Mmmm!

A night like that always leaves me wanting more of good places, and thinking about the pubs we didn’t get to – like the Hyde Tavern and the Roebuck which are both worth a visit.

Here’s to the next time!

Once again though, the good deals seem very limited with just the Lees Brewers Dark at £1 a bottle. This definitely seems to have supplanted the Wyre Piddle Piddle in the Hole that was £1 for ages but is now nowhere to be seen. I’m told by the assistant at Morrison’s that this discount on Brewers Dark is to continue for the forseeable future.

The only two other beers that were reduced were Thwaites Thoroughbred at £1.25 and Holts Humdinger at £1.29.

You may have seen from previous posts that the pub closed in the autumn of 2009 and was for sale for many months. It appears that the owner of the Elburton Hotel in nearby Elburton recently acquired the Odd Wheel and has reopened it after a major refurb.

The focus of the pub is much more on food now but real ales are still available – including the tasty Guzzale from the local Summerskills Brewery. The other beers available last week were Sharp’s Doom Bar and Courage Best. I’m told that the real ale selection will vary once the pub has become more established.

My view is that the new Odd Wheel is better than the old version. It’s lost its quirkiness and 70s decor but now seems to be as popular and as welcoming as ever. The food is excellent and good value.

I’ll be updating my Odd Wheel pub review page very shortly.

Amazingly after my comments from last month the Wyre Piddle “Piddle in the Hole” no longer seems to be on the shelves at any price. I’m sure it’ll return though.

Two beers are priced at £1.00 this month: Firstly the J W Lees “Brewer’s Dark” I mentioned last month – a delicious dark brown ale. Joining it this month is Shepherd Neame “Spitfire” – a popular bitter from the Kentish brewery. I’m not a big fan of Shep’s beers but I know they are popular with many. Certainly many in Wokingham as there were none left on the shelf.

Mid-range prices this month were:

• - Jennings Snecklifter at £1.24 – Another lovely dark beer, but much stronger than the Brewer’s Dark mentioned above.
• - Marston’s Old Empire at £1.28 – This is a great tasting genuine IPA. At 5.7% it’s a bit stronger than some beers.

As far as I can tell these prices should be good until 8th August 2010.

I’ve just noticed that the marker on the Bettesworths website has moved from ‘Under Offer’ to ‘Sold’. Does anyone out there have any more information? Is it going to reopen?

This used to be a great pub with a superb selection of real ales and good food. It would be a great shame if it was closed for good.