Real ale fans after a taste of the good stuff should wing it to Dragonfly. Master brewer Conor Donoghue’s gleaming equipment now stands proudly to the rear of The George & Dragon – an
atmospheric 18th-century staging post on the old highway to Oxford. Modern-day travellers should alight here for fine refreshments amid bottle-brown and cream surroundings complete with open fires
and bronze art nouveau nymphs. Dragonfly is capable of producing 1,200 litres of cask and keg liquor in one go – so anticipate anything from Early Doors (a crisp, hoppy golden pale ale) to Achtung!
(a banana and clove-flavoured, Bavarian-style wheat beer), as well as seasonal and limited-edition brews. Three-for-a-tenner bar snacks include pulled pork and sweet potato hash, fishcakes with
spicy aïoli, beery fondue with garlic dipping bread, and a Welsh rarebit made with Dragonfly’s Dark Matter stout.