Blue Moon at the Bollo, Chiswick

Christmas Day found me at a pub which fifteen years ago was my old stamping ground - the Bollo in Chiswick (although in my day it was called the Orange Kipper). Back then it was a slightly scuzzy boozer with a massive telly showing England getting battered by the West Indies; I celebrated my 23rd birthday there by  chucking up outside. Happy days.

These days it's gone all gastro-pub, as have so many London boozers (it's that or become flats, I guess). This means they can charge £4 a pint minimum and sell overpriced burgers on "distressed" furniture.

I don't really mind gastropubs, when the food's decent and the beer's good too - I like to eat well in an informal setting, so what's the problem?

The problem is when the beer's bobbins. I kicked off (and I'm writing this a week later, so forgive me as my notes seem to have disappeared) with a pale ale - it was called something like "Hoptease", so I was quite hopeful...but it wasn't great.

Given my writing partner's propensity towards American craft ales, I next went for a pint of Blue Moon from the keg. I was hopeful after my positive Meantime experience for something special, but I was a little wary once an orange segment was deposited into my wheaty pint:

Given its cloudiness, I was wondering if it was something along the lines of an ale version of Hoegaarden. I was to be bitterly disappointed; it was overly tart and the citrus was overbearing (not helped by the floating clementine), with a skanky, cheap-lager aftertaste. I could barely finish it.

Turned out, on research, that the, er, "Blue Moon Craft Brewery" is actually Coors; this is about as much a traditional craft ale as the Bollo is a traditional London boozer. Avoid.