This article is provided courtesy of Jody of Somerset CAMRA. The article first appeared on the Somerset Facebook page on 26th May 2025.
Who remembers the regular feature in Pints Of View, Tony Goes To?
Well following on from that, Jody, your editor of Somerset CAMRA Facebook has been to the Forest of Dean this weekend. I’ve managed to visit 6 of their branch GBG pubs including one with a beer festival and 1 of the branch areas breweries plus a deli in Coleford which sells lots of local beers and ciders amongst lots of other great produce Forest Deli.
The first stop on the way to our holiday accommodation was the The Forest Brewery on the outskirts of Lydney. I sampled a flight of their beers plus a half of their porter Raven. My wife had an excellent fruity low ABV cider from Just Pressed Cider from a place called Longhope near Mitcheldean.
Then we went to our accommodation in Coalway, near Coleford. I managed to visit The Dog House Micro Pub before it closed. I had a half of Hopper Strange Thing.
The following day I paid a quick visit to The Hearts of Oak, Drybrook a GBG pub and their beer festival. I tried a new brewery to me, Ledbury Real Ales . It was then on to GBG pub The Forge Hammer and River Spice in Lydbrook. Here I had an excellent Lydbrook Valley IPA. Lydbrook Valley Brewery beers are brewed on site in their nano brewery.
Later that evening my wife and I went back to Dog House micro. This time Tileys was on the bar so I had this whilst my wife had some Devon cider.
Sunday we had a roast at another GBG pub, the The Dog and Muffler Inn in Joyford, Berry Hill. The roast dinners were lovely. It also has a nice terrace and garden to sit out in with rolling countryside views. The ales on offer were to my surprise Glastonbury Ales Lady Of The Lake, plus Goffs and Wye Valley. I had the Goffs Brewery as I was in Gloucestershire.
I then ventured to the village of Park End and the GBG pub The Fountain Inn, Parkend where I had Wye Valley Brewery Hopfather a very nice hoppy cask pale. It was the off to Clearwell and the recently re-opened Lamb Inn. It is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday’s and is cash only. It is not in the GBG but many locals rate it as the best ales in the area. Here there were 4 ales on, I had Grey Trees Brewery. Diggers Gold from the Welsh Valleys, another hoppy citrusy cask pale.
Back to Coleford later Sunday afternoon and I returned to the Dog House. A new ale was now on, a brewery I’d never heard of so naturally I had to try it. Tatton Brewery which I had to look up, the brewery is situated in Knutsford Cheshire. It was a dark bitter described as a winter warmer.
Today we were retuning to Somerset but not before a stop at The Boat inn Penallt. The pub is in Wales but can be reached by a footbridge from England across the vast River Wye. Another Glastonbury ale, Hedge Monkey was on offer here and a couple Wye Valley ales but I was attracted by the extensive cider list. I went for Monnow Valley Cider lower abv ciders for my wife and I.
Final stop was the Rising Sun Woodcroft Community Pub Project near Chepstow. Here I went for the Greene King cask collaboration brew with the Dutch brewery Uiltje Brewing Company. A very citrusy cask pale, quite a lot of mandarin flavours
So that was the end of our Forest Of Dean adventures. I may publish more of these, they were my favourite feature with Tony when I edited Pints of View. If anyone would like to do a similar article when they visit somewhere on holiday, business trip etc with real ale pub adventures please message the page. All that is required is a write up and some pictures.