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Reading Real Ale Trail end date extended

Reading Ale Trail...we're on it

The Reading Real Ale Trail end date was set as today, Wednesday 8 April 2020. Many people, maybe including you, had not yet completed the trail when the pubs across the UK closed.

The Reading and Mid Berks branch of CAMRA, who organise the Trail, has decided to pause the activity until it is announced that The Retreat and all the other pubs can reopen.

Once this has happened, the Reading and Mid Berks branch of CAMRA will make an announcement relating to the Trail and a new end date, which will be placed on this webpage https://reading.camra.org.uk/aletrail and on this Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/readingaletrail/

So in the meantime, please keep your Reading Ale Trail booklets and stickers safe, as you will need them in the (hopefully) very near future.

We are looking forward to seeing you back at The Retreat.

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The Retreat – temporary closure

Please note that The Retreat will be closing this evening, at 21.00, for an indefinite period of time.

We have taken this decision based on the request of the Government and for the interests of customers and our community.

We all hope that by taking this action, along with thousands of other establishments across the UK, we will be able to reduce the overall impact of COVID-19.

As things develop, we will update you on our plans.

We look forward to seeing you all again soon.

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Will The Village Easter Festival go ahead?

We have just taken the decision to postpone the Three Buck Shirt gig this Saturday and the Sunday Jazz with Stuart Henderson and Simon Price on 29 March. This decision has been taken with the interests of our customers and our community coming first. We are continuing to monitor the situation and will provide updates on our other events soon.

We are monitoring the Government and NHS advice every day. These are difficult times for us all, and we want to do the right thing.

The Village Easter Festival plans are under review. We will be making a decision soon as to whether it should go ahead or not.

If it cannot go ahead as planned, we will consider a later date for an event that is a variation on the theme.

We will keep you posted.

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The Cribbage Tournament Results

Thank you to everyone who came along on Sunday (missing the rugby) and played in, watched or supported The Helen Bolton Cribbage Tournament 2020.

L to R: Jo Dormer, David Gray, Tilly Harrington, Kevin Harrington.

The winners of the Helen Bolton Cribbage Tournament 2020 were Jo Dormer and Tilly Harrington. Jo was a good friend of Helen and used to play cribbage with her. Tilly is Helen’s daughter.

Father and son team, Ian and Tom Whitaker came second in the Tournament. They had travelled from Brighton and Bristol to take part.

3rd place went to Rich Sloman and Brian Moignard (landlord of The Retreat).

Click here for full details of all the rounds and photos from the afternoon.

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New Belgian beers

We have two new Belgian beers added to the list at The Retreat: La Chouffe Blonde (8%) and Trappistes Rochefort 6 (7.5%)

LA CHOUFFE leaves citrus notes on the palate, followed by a refreshing, pleasantly spicy note, giving it a lovely lightness. With its 8% alcohol content and slightly hoppy taste, this golden beer has won over beer lovers from all over the world down the years. Its unique taste has won various awards. >>> https://chouffe.com/en/beers/la-chouffe/

TRAPPISTES ROCHEFORT is one of the three Rocheforts. This one proves to be the ‘lightest’ when it comes to colouring. This amber-coloured Rochefort gives a clear appearance in the glass, under a collar of froth that is just off-white. In the nose, hints of mocha and caramel and a yeasty herbalness (cloves, pepper) are rounded off with a slightly sour taste. You can taste biscuit, caramel and pear, beautifully balanced with a slightly roast bitterness and a touch of cloves. In the finish, the pearls flow away and culminate in a rounded dry taste.