Pub Notes: The Halcyon Quest, Prestatyn, Feb 2012
Jo and I were in Prestatyn in early February for the SFX Weekender sci-fi weekend. The venue was the Pontins holiday camp and unsurprisingly there wasn’t much going on ale-wise, apart from bottles of Newcastle Brown or Mann’S Brown Ale (I tried one of the latter for the first time and while it wasn’t horrible, it was a little on the sweet side, so I went back to the Dog).
On the Saturday evening we eschewed the cos-play and late-nite disco (even though Craig Charles was DJ-ing the late shift) sloped off for dinner at our hotel before taking a taxi up the hill to a pub we’d read about in the Good Beer Guide: the Halcyon Quest.
Our expectations were high, mainly because we’d seen their online beer board and were anticipating getting stuck in to a couple of Wentworth flavoured stouts. They’d listed, (and at time of typing, are still listing) Chili & Chocolate, Raisin & Oats, Treacle & Oats and Vanilla & Almond varieties, any of which we were keen to sample.
However, it was not to be. When we got there, the place only had three ales on offer, and none of them were any of the hoped-for stouts. A shame (the wording on the old version of the website, which seems to have been updated since we looked at it a month ago, gave us the impression that the pace actually had up to twelve beers on at any one time) but there we were, another taxi ride away from base, with nowhere else in town that was particularly recommended.
So we made the best of it: I ordered a pint of Empire IPA from the Spitting Feathers Heritage Ales range and Jo had a half of Facer’s Flintshire Bitter. And we were glad we did, because both beers were very tasty indeed.
The Empire IPA wasn’t a hop monster by any means. It was rich and malty with a bit of an orange-citrus tang. It was fresh, tasty and had a very good mouth feel as well. At 5.2% it wasn’t quite an IPA strength, but I’m not in the mood to open that can of worms again, so I’ll let it pass this time. Jo’s 3.8% session bitter was malty and biscuity, with a pleasantly hoppy after-taste. Both beers were well-kept, very fresh and seemed in tip-top condition.
The place itself was fine as well – a warm, friendly, welcoming boozer, only slightly spoiled by the karaoke night they were holding. To be fair, we’d spotted that on the website as well, so we were fore-warned, but I can’t help wondering whether that was the reason the place was a bit on the empty side for 8.00 p.m. on a Saturday evening. We got over the disappointment of our artificially-raised and subsequently-dashed stout hopes and stayed for another round of the same, but eventually the amateur warblings drove us out the door and back to the hotel bar (Guinness original or creamflow Boddington’s… I opted for the darker of the two evils).
Anyway, yes, if you’re in Prestatyn for a night or two (for instance, as an attendee at next year’s SFX Weekender, which will be back at Pontins Prestatyn) then I’d recommend the Halcyon for a quiet (pre-karaoke, at least) pint or three on ale-quality grounds alone.
Just don’t pay too much close attention to the ‘Guest Beers / Current’ page on their website… it tells lies.
