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The Kingston Arms (Free House)
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| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Harviestoun - Ptarmigan |  | 1 |
| Hop Back - Summer Lightning |  | 1 |
| Bartrams - Dark Side |  | 1 |
| Oakham - JHB | | 1 |
| Crouch Vale - Brewers Gold |  | 1 |
| Fox - Plum Gold | | 1 |
| Timothy Taylor - Landlord | Not Tried | 0 |
| Elgood's - Black Dog Mild | Not Tried | 0 |
| Newby Wyke - England Expects (superseded by 4.6% version) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hop Back - Entire Stout | Not Tried | 0 |
Visits Details
19 Jan 2007 (Ian)
Friday lunchtime and a reasonable crowd in, all enjoying the simple but tasty food. I was here after going to the Bacchanalia off licence round the corner which is a gem. Draught cask conditon beer for take home and a great range of Belgian, German and British bottled beer. Anyway, with 10 beers on, some of my favourites of all time, I was in heaven. The internet access is a real boon, you can look beers up and everything. Helpful locals too, give you tips for other pubs to visit.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harviestoun - Ptarmigan | 4.50 | | Best beer of the session. Unbelievably aggressively hoppy. It really feels like licking raw hops. Smooth caramel/toffee malt balances it and gives it a sweetness that gives it great structure. Brilliant beer. Some great tropical fruit flavours too. But that hop is awesome. |
| Hop Back - Summer Lightning | 5.00 | | I so want to give this a higher score. One of my all time favourites. Bit of yeast and citrus fruits on aroma. Full in mouth with that slight sweetness from the alcohol and then a smooth malt/hop swallow, with a great lingering herby hop finish with more melon type hops and a certain dryness. Yes, very good beer. |
| Oakham - JHB | 3.80 | | It'll be interesting to see if the quality can be maintained now that they have had to move the brewery. Pale gold beer, lasting white head. Bit yeasty on aroma, citrusy in mouth, but certainly not at its best. Good citric hop finish, but just a bit funky with the yeast running through it. |
| Bartrams - Dark Side | 5.00 | | Black with ruby edges and lasting tan head. There is something like dates in here. Some nuttiness too and liquorice. Molasses on nose and then this really interesting flavour. Instead of going with the normal choc/coffee, this has dark dried fruits and liquorice and molasses. Really extremely tasty. Finish is drying with more dry liquorice flavour. Very tasty beer. Didn’t know it had wheat in until I read the Bartram’s website. |
| Crouch Vale - Brewers Gold | 4.00 | | Just not quite there. Aroma again has a bit of appleness too it. Green apple, which suggests not ready yet. Sherberty hop on finish is excellent, full and creamy. Probably needs another day to be at its best. |
| Fox - Plum Gold | 4.60 | | Gold with lasting white head. Strange to have this after the Bartram Dark Side. Bit of vinegar/citrus/cider, which means it could be getting tired. Not a huge aroma, and then a cidery appley flavour more than plum. Unless of course they are very sour plums you are using. Very sour under-ripe greengages is my guess. Soft in mouth. Finish is pretty drying with more sour plum. Funny, I expected it to be a rich plum beer, but it is far more sour than that. |
| Timothy Taylor - Landlord | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
| Elgood's - Black Dog Mild | 3.60 | Not Tried | |
| Newby Wyke - England Expects (superseded by 4.6% version) | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Hop Back - Entire Stout | 4.50 | Not Tried |
About The Kingston Arms
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 1 |
| 7 |
| 10 |
| 3 |
 | - |
The pub is found in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB1 2NU.
Back street pub just off the busy Mill Road heading east out of the city. L shaped pub with a bar with 11 handpulls, 10 beers on and one for cleaning through, no keg so no lager and no keg stout (e.g. Guinness or Murphys). Food is good quality simple pub fayre. Lots of pale wood furniture, yellow and green walls. Patio at the back for better weather. No smoking area at front with good windows that let in natural light. Gem of a pub. Also has 2 free internet terminals for customers. One of the best pubs in the city of Cambridge - little changed over last few years.
We have visited this pub 11 times, seen 48 different beers and tried 18 of them.
Postcode: CB1 2NU