Later this afternoon I will be passing by the Fuller’s brewery in Chiswick on the National Express coach from Bristol to London. Although there are dozens of pubs in London and the south east owned by Fuller’s, there are only two in Bristol, the Old Fish Market on Baldwin Street, and the Cambridge Arms in Redland.
I was in the spacious beer garden of the Cambridge Arms for a couple of hours on Saturday with my friend Emily, who has just moved into a new flat further down Coldharbour Road.
Although I often visit the Cambridge, especially for the pub quiz on Sunday nights, it was the first time I had been in the garden since last summer when Emily, a few friends and I joined other beer lovers for a talk and tasting session led by Fuller’s head brewer. It was a great way to spend an evening, with gentle sips and talk of hops soon replaced with guzzling and talk that hog roasts are truly the best food to accompany beer.
There is a good food menu at the Cambridge, but it really is all about the beer, with a regular roster of Fuller’s brews as well as special guest and seasonal ales.
Honey Dew was my tipple of choice on Saturday, which tasted all the better served in a glass goblet rather than the usual boring pint glass. Mr Harry is the current seasonal beer, while there is of course Fuller’s more well-known beers London Pride, ESB and Discovery all still on tap.
The Cambridge Arms, 30 Coldharbour Road, Redland. 0117 973 9786.
