"Earlier this year a new manager was appointed to manage this pub, it is my understanding that they previously managed the Savoy Spoons in Swindon, which is much larger than the Stannary. One of their first acts was to remove the Beer Bible, which real ale drinkers were able to make suggestions from and which showcased breweries by and large based in Devon. Shortly after it was removed I asked ther manager where the Beer Bible was and he replied unequivocally that it was being updated. Several months later and the Beer Bible remains conspicuous by its absence. Used as a verb the dictionary definition of updated is to add new information or to make corrections, therefore it is hard understand why the Beer Bible has in fact been binned, at least metaphorically, although for all I know it may have been binned physically. This was not a good start, however since then things have actually got worse. Despite myself and many other real ale drinkers having been reassured by the new manager that at the very least the Bays Brewery Devon Dumpling would always be on, it has not always been on and yesterday not only was it not on but there was apparantly none in the cellar. Given that there was no Devon Dumpling available and nothing of any note among the other real ales I departed, this is not the first time this happened in the recent past. The fact that the person who normally orders the real ale was on a well deserved holiday for a week is neither here nor there as the manager would have known they were going to be on leave and should have managed the situation, this state of affairs did not occur under the previous manager. However at the end of last week, with no Dumpling available, I noticed that Jail Ale was on and so ordered that. However as anyone who knows a ittle about real ale would have realised what was poured was NOT Jail Ale. I recognised the taste and immediately identified it as being Stag from the Exmoor Brewery. As I like Stag it was not a problem, however a real ale connaisseur I know ordered two pints of Jail Ale and quite rightly identified that it was not Jail Ale. For some reason the staff would not accept this person 's word and they left the pub, with their beer left largely untouched. The following day I emailed the manager to let them know that they had the wrong pub clip on. Did I get a response? Thanks? No, I received no reply whatsoever. Poor customer service and yes I was correct and it was Stag that was being sold. What happened was a clear breach of Criminal Law, specifically the Consumer Protection Act under the Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. This states it is a criminal offence to apply a false trade description to goods, or otherwise to supply goods which have been falsely described . In addition it is now clear that the real ale lines are not being cleaned properly and this is being noticed by increasing numbers of experienced real ale drinkers. Instead real ale drinkers are seemingly and doubtless unintentionally (I hope) being held in contempt. This is in stark contrast to families who frequent the pub with their children, some of whom scream at the top of their voices and throw their food on the floor. Why is there no sign stating Accompanied well behaved children are welcome. I am confident that Tim Martin is no Woke, so why can those in charge of children who ruin the atmosphere for everyone else not be brought to book with a friendly word?"
