Jolly good pub

This pub with a view is a particular favourite for fans of English ale, writes Robert Steven.

Lake Taupo¯ will run dry before the Jolly Good Fellows pub does.

The English-style pub has 15 different beers and ales on tap and fridges full of Kiwi craft beers.

The British ales have a loyal following, manager Stevee Rihia says.

‘‘I get people who say they’ve driven from the Hawke’s Bay for a London Pride or from Auckland for an Old Speckled Hen Ale.’’

The pub pours pints of Boddingtons, Kilkenny, Guinness, Kronenbourg 1664 and Bulmers Cider, as well as Macs Gold, Tui, Carlsberg and Speights, which is the bestseller.

Visiting Brits often share their two cents on the stouts, which are served cold, Kiwi-style, she said.

‘‘We do get comments about the beer’s temperature. Poms love warm beer,’’ Rihia said.

‘‘So we compromise and serve it in a warm glass for them.’’

Jolly’s is across the road from Lake Taupo¯ , in the lee of Twin Peaks motel.

Owner Craig Sawyer said that when the pub first opened in the 1980s, it was run as part of the motel.

‘‘Motor inns were quite common around New Zealand,’’ he said.

‘‘It catered for the traveller who could park their car, have a meal and a drink, and stay. They wouldn’t have to go anywhere until the next day.’’

Competition from restaurants and the difficulties of running both businesses concurrently spelled the end for most motor inns though, he said.

The pub has been through several name changes since the 1990s.

‘‘The original name was Mad Dogs and Englishmen,’’ Sawyer said.

‘‘Then it became ‘The Dodgy Geezer’.

‘‘But some of the locals took exception to drinking in a place called that – they didn’t think it was a good look.’’

Jolly’s has its quirky regulars, who love coming out to the pub by the lake, away from Taupo¯ ’s main pub strip.

‘‘There’s a lot of characters,’’ Rihia said.

‘‘We’ve got our regulars who sit in their same seats. If they’re not there, you might wonder why,’’ she said.

‘‘It’s a real family. Everyone knows what’s happening in everyone’s lives, and we all know each other’s children and families.’’

‘‘We do get comments about the beer’s temperature. Poms love warm beer. So we serve it in a warm glass for them.’’

Stevee Rihia, manager

PHOTOS: ROBERT STEVEN/STUFF Main photo, Jolly Good Fellows manager Stevee Rihia and Jonese Peters. Above from top, lakeside view, and two of the English brews on tap.