Another Sunday outing involving a walk, a pub, and a beer or 2. So where did we go and what's the story?
Not far from Exeter in Devon, UK there's a cool little town by the name of Topsham and a very popular and interesting place it is to hang out. And one of it's pubs is the Bridge Inn which maintains it's traditional charm and classic beer.
They only open for a couple of hours over lunchtime (and again later on) so we had to work smart. It's a favourite haunt there, as there are several other pubs but this one you're more or less guaranteed a good pint of ale and decent selection to boot if that's what you're looking for.
It's also a scenic spot and as luck would have it a fairly decent day for the time of year so able to sit outside, albeit with a jacket...
This is a picture of the Double Locks pub by the canal taken on the walk there. Didn't go there on this occasion but have in the past and will again I'm sure
We took a bus part of the way and walked the rest and met up in a local cafe in Topsham for a coffee before heading to the pub for opening around 12 noon. After grabbing a seat and perusing the beer menu, it was just a case of waiting for the bar to open and we were off to the races.
First up was a Neap Tide, 'a classic amber bitter' from Teignworthy brewery. Weighing in at a light 3.8% it was a good opener after building up a little bit of thirst. And it went down a treat I must say and was probably the nicest and freshest of the day.
Today's selection. What you having?
First pint served in a jug which was nice and looking out over the river with a bit of sun on my back, shortly before the others arrived
Looking at the pub from where we were sat and the hatchway to the left there with that chap being served, which serves the drinks to outside. You can of course go inside to sit and order at the bar there. The interior is a few small rooms and has a quirky, histrorical and homely feel.
This one was actually taken a few years ago on a previous visit there. That's me in the bottom right hand corner! I think there must have been some sort of Jubilee or monarch celebration of some kind with the flag and the bunting. They do like that sort of thing there and like to mark the occasion. This side faces the main road that goes through Topsham.
Second up for me was a Raker, an ideal percentage at 4.5 and was a citrus beer which worked well for me, but my dad prefers something a bit darker so went with the East Street Cream, a full bodied, malty bitter at a slightly stronger 5%.
Then finally (a 'couple of beers' really means 3) the idea was to finish with an Indiana Bones which is a malty ale and a bit stronger again at 5.6% which would have been a nice finisher (at least for that pub ;)).
However, some thirsty fuckers had drank it all, and by the time they had put a new barrel on, we were well into an East Street Cream (so same again for my dad, but a new one for me).
No cider on this occasion and we didn't bother with the Branoc as that's a common one around these parts and not all that exciting.
We didn't walk back, so got 2 buses with a pit-stop in between and we returned from whence we came...
A good day out and about including a tasty tipple or 3!
Related:
Images my own (or my sister's)