St Albans City FC (nicknamed The Saints) played host to Hampton & Richmond Borough FC on 11 December, at their home ground, Clarence Park, which is close to both St Albans City station and the city centre. The team competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football and the club is currently in 8th position. Drinking beer while watching the game is allowed in the National League South and the club has three bars within the ground itself, including one which serves real ale during matches. There is a main clubhouse which houses the Saints Bar plus two other smaller bars pitchside. Prices are from £4 per pint.
One of the pitchside bars, the 1908 Bar, regularly has two cask ales and was serving English Bitter and Golden Ale from local brewery, The 3 Brewers. The ground has a capacity of
just over 5,000 (seating 642) and you can move around between the different bars during the match. On a wet windy day, St Albans City FC won 3-0 with two late goals, so it is was worth staying until the end!
Details of upcoming fixtures can be found on the official club page. Tickets can be purchased online and cost £16.50 for adults. Concessions are available.
The Farmer’s Boy pub on London Road is only a 15 minute walk from the ground and an even shorter journey from City station. The pub always has a great selection of beers available from independent breweries in cask and keg and their beers are among the best in St Albans. There were three real ales on cask the day we visited, from Pentrich Brewing Co., Woodforde’s and Ossett. On keg, they had beers from Deya, Cloudwater and Glasshouse. The pub is a family run free house and has a large covered beer garden, which makes it a good spot all year round. There is regular live music.
The Beer shop across the road has ten taps, with a range of keg and cask beers to drink in or take out, plus a wide range of cans and bottles. On the day of our visit, draught beers from Northern Monk, Odyssey, Beak Brewery and Vault City were on tap and Galaxy in your Heart from Cloudwater on cask. The nearest pub to the ground is the Crown, a five minute walk away, which also offers cask ale.
Joanne Scott