Fine pint in this stunning country pub

There’s only so much fineness I can stand, you know.

The White Bull at Alston, near Longridge, is a pub I’ve promised myself to drop in and try many times of late.

Smartly refurbished and with a reputation as a reliable purveyor of good beer and top pub grub, it was with no little anticipation I crossed the threshold Monday evening just gone.

All boxes ticked, I am happy to report, bar one minor but...

Rural swank, Cask Marque, to be honest a row of gleaming cask pumps was expected.

Instead, just the three. One guest, Thwaites ‘cooking bitter’, and the ubiquitous Wainwrights.

Maybe my head has been turned by some of the serious real ale pubs popping up around the shop these days, but if the owners of the White Bull hope this will be a selling point for them they are mistaken. It is the variety not just the quality which keeps cask enthusiasts coming back for more.

A shame, because in every other regard this is a pub I could happily visit again and again.

Not this column’s job to review food, but it was excellent, and the beer I did get my lip over was to match.

A pint of Cunning Stunt (a name the barmaid enunciated verrrry slowly and carefully) was the pick, a pale amber beer with an unusual herby aroma and nice soft fruity palate.

Lightly bitter and refreshing at the finish, I could easily have polished off another but duty binds me to cast my brace more widely and so a Wainwrights was next up.

Maybe familiarity has bred a little contempt for this ale – let’s face it, the stuff is everywhere – but a well kept drop is still a good pint for me. This was that, earthy on the nose, with a peachy orange flavour and honey for afters.

A good pub, no Bull.