HOME | LAST 100 POSTS | CONTACT ME

Category: Essex

Harwich – Alma Inn (Good Beer Guide)

This is the only Good Beer Guide pub in Harwich that was open during my visit to the town and although its frontage isn’t necessarily the most appealing I was aware from reviews that this would likely be a positive experience.

Customers need to walk down the little corridor and then into the bar area, ignoring the tempting doors to the side.

This range of real ale surprised me, five different options across numerous beer styles is hard to achieve and maintain quality. However, since they’re listed in the Good Beer Guide and the reviews are broadly positive, they’re clearly achieving that. The prices are high though, over £6 a pint for real ale is what I’d expect to see in London. However, this venue is primarily a restaurant and so I’m assuming those prices reflect that, although those just wanting a drink are also welcome and there are some stools at the bar for when they’re full of diners.

Not a very clear photo, but a sign showing how high the flood water rose in 1953.

The interior has plenty of character and feels homely. The service was informal and polite, although I wouldn’t say there was any attempt to much engage beyond the minimum needed. But, that’s fine, not every pub is going to be the Hop & Vine, a friendly welcome is sufficient for me.

I’ve had the Black Adder from Mauldons before and it’s a very good stout, a roasted flavour with a creamy texture, with the pint here tasting just as I expected. The crisps were also delicious and complemented the beer nicely.

Someone has added the word “beer” at the bottom, which isn’t a bad shout. The pub’s web-site has a section which has the title “Officially the finest pub in the East of England” underneath “CAMRA Real Ale Pub” but I can’t find any evidence of that on CAMRA’s area web-site. It did win the branch award seven years ago but I can’t find any regional awards, but perhaps they were from other organisations.

I’m slightly disappointed (and only very slightly, I have more pressing concerns) as well that the pub’s web-site mentions nothing of its history other than it dates from the 1850s. Instead, the Harwich Pub Trail has a full history of the pub which is interesting, particularly the reference to:

“As it stands the building dates from many different periods but it was probably built in 1464 as a house. By 1599 it was owned by Captain Twitt – a relative of Thomas Twitt (or Twytt) a merchant and brewer in the town. The Twitt family were well-connecting and well-known in the town and Captain Twitt’s daughter married Christopher Jones at St. Nicholas’s Church in 1593. Although Sara died aged 27 in 1603 her husband went on to own a rather famous ship named the Mayflower and used it to guide the Pilgrim Fathers to America in 1620.”

It was a Tolly Cobbold pub between 1957 and 1990, then Pubmaster before falling into the hands of the hopeless and hapless Punch Taverns who sold it in 2010. And there’s some more history and older photos here.

There’s elements of quirkiness that I like, such as the details of their six bedrooms where they note about the view from one that “it boasts a sea view and a view of a quite charming electrical substation“. I also hadn’t seen before the poster on the inside of the entrance to the toilet that said something along the lines of ‘let those coming in have priority, their need is greater than yours’. I like that informality, I think it gives a softer edge to the pub and makes it feel that bit more inviting.

As a random aside, it’s not my problem and nor indeed anything I’ll think about again after writing this, but I find the pub’s use of the CAMRA logo all over the place and on every page a little confusing, as well as the reference to their being a “CAMRA Real Ale Pub” without any links to the national web-site. It may be that CAMRA have authorised this use of the logo and wording, but it seems unusual terminology that I haven’t seen before.

The on-line reviews for the pub are very positive, so I’d say it’s a safe bet that the food is reliably good, whilst the clear fact they’re able to stock five real ales is showing just how much beer they’re selling. It’s one of the more expensive pubs I’ve been in for real ale, and actually the most expensive pub listed in the Good Beer Guide that I can recall and that includes tens of London pubs, but prices are rising and no venue is immune to them.

This is one of these pubs that’s worth coming to get a drink for just to feel part of the history of the building, but given the excellent choice of real ales and how well kept they are, that all comes together to feel like reasonable value for money. And I like the irreverent sense of humours that is evidence throughout the pub, all rather lovely.

April 4, 2023
Harwich – Statue of Queen Victoria

This statue spoke to me, albeit not literally, because it is a snapshot in time of the hopes that existed in Harwich in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The statue was placed here in 1904 and it was listed in 1994 which has likely made it easier to receive the repairs that it had urgently needed over recent decades. The statue was unveiled by the Earl of Warwick on 11 June 1904 and was funded by public subscription which raised the necessary £400. The Earl of Warwick said that he was personally delighted that “all classes have subscribed liberally towards it, showing their spirit of loyalty”.

If Queen Victoria could turn around a little bit, this is the rather beautiful view that she would see. I suspect that if there were requests for statues of Queen Elizabeth II then the population would likely give generously, but it seems that the great era for statues and memorials is perhaps over.

April 4, 2023
Harwich – Harwich Masonic Hall

The star at the front represents the Masons as I understand and it feels like an austere frontage for a building that is still in use. It was constructed in the late nineteenth century, but the building was badly damaged in the Great Flood of 1953 which caused substantial damage to the coastline of East Anglia.

The frontage did have windows at the time of the Great Flood, so I suspect that they were removed during the repair of the building in the late 1950s. Despite a large number of buildings in the area being listed, this one hasn’t been which also means that I haven’t been able to discover much more about its history. I found it interesting though with its frontage and was pleased to see it’s still used for community events. They’ve got a web-site at https://harwichmasonichall.co.uk/.

April 4, 2023
Harwich – Greater Anglia Train from Norwich to Harwich

Today’s little pub, history and walking expedition is to Harwich since I thought that I needed a day out. I noticed on-line that the London train before mine was cancelled so thought I’d rush down in anticipation of the actual service I was booked on being full. Fortunately, I got a table just in time so was able to merrily type away for an hour or so. The service inevitably got busier and I got chatting to a confused passenger (they weren’t confused by me, or at least I don’t think so) who wondered why the train was so busy. We then shared our thoughts about Greater Anglia, which is a healthy scepticism I would say mixed with a supportive attitude.

My train arrived into Manningtree on time, but since it was a tight connection I didn’t get time to have a look around the railway station.

Looking to the left, the train was empty. Something of a contrast to the standing room only of the train that I had just disembarked.

Looking to the right, the train was empty. Now, I know I complain, but I hate it when they shove five seats in across. They’re so narrow that it effectively takes out the middle seat of the three so I disagree that there’s any benefit in terms of passenger numbers. Indeed, they’ve just made it more uncomfortable for everyone as it’s hard to navigate down the aisle and there’s a reason why trains traditionally have four seats across.

A couple of other people got on and then got off again at the gateway to the globe railway station that is Harwich International.

I do love a bit of history and they’ve made an effort with the boards at Harwich Town. The sign notes that between December 1938 and May 1940 that 10,000 unaccompanied children came to Britain from Europe. Although many people were involved, it is impossible for me not to mention the work done by Sir Nicholas Winton, someone that I consider to be one of the greatest people of the twentieth century. The relevance is that the children arrived here at Harwich and many stayed locally.

Another board about the Kindertransport.

I’ve been watching a lot of Hi-de-Hi recently and I didn’t realise that the programme was filmed at Warners which wasn’t far from the railway station, but unfortunately it was all demolished in 1992. That was a suitable treat to feel so near to where all this comedy action took place.

It’s a pretty railway station and it’s at the end of the Mayflower Line, with the building being rebuilt between 1865 and 1866.

And an information board at the front of the station, it all felt more remote than I had expected with all this greenery. But I had arrived into Harwich on time and ready to explore the town for my first time in recent years.

April 4, 2023
Saturday and Sunday : LDWA Boat Trip Along the Orwell

There was little of consequence on Saturday because I was far too focused on the excitement of the LDWA boat trip that was taking place on the Sunday. There’s the usual heap of photos at https://flickr.com/photos/julianwhite-uk/albums/72177720300345889 for anyone who wants to trawl through them all.

My friend Liam, who is pub obsessed, demanded that we go to Briarbank, even if it meant missing the pre boat trip walk, so I decided that we’d better do that to keep him happy. I went here a few months ago, it’s a laid-back and friendly venue which would be easy to miss. And here’s a quiz question, there’s a subtle hint in the photo as to what this building used to be.

Here’s the answer and well done to anyone who noticed what was above the door in the previous photo.

The frontage of the building today. They’ve got a pleasant outside area I noticed later on and I enjoyed my visit, the Briar Cobnut brown ale was well-kept and quite malty.

Here was the vessel for the day, the Orwell Lady. This boat trip was paid for by Norfolk & Suffolk LDWA as part of the national organisation’s 50th birthday and I think 40 or so members came along for the journey. I had thought that the boat was a bit bigger than it was, but it’s a vessel with an interesting history, it was once a Thames River cruiser which was put together in 1979. It operated from Westminster Pier for a decade, then moved to Brownsea Island near Poole and has been meandering around Ipswich since 2001.

There’s the new N&S chair in the centre, Hilary, taking control after Hayley (on the left) yelled at everyone to be quiet. She’s good at getting quiet is that Hayley!

And we’re off! The captain, or whatever he’s called, gave a running commentary during the day of things to look out for.

We had to go into a lock to get onto the Orwell from the Marina and there was a bit of a queue for that, so we did a little tour of the harbour first. I remember Ipswich marina as an industrial and quite derelict area nearly two decades ago, it has very much changed to be really quite decadent now.

This is the grand building of the Old Customs House, originally built in 1845, replacing the previous building was which thought to have been there for over 400 years.

Into the lock. As Alan Partridge would say, it’s all happening now. Susanna was on the vessel and I was surprised that she hadn’t been to Ipswich before, as she’s been just about everywhere. I was impressed that she wanted to see the Wolsey Gateway, it’s one of the treasures of Ipswich that I’ve thought doesn’t get the recognition that it deserves. Ipswich could have been very different today if Wolsey’s plans for his Ipswich college had come to fruition, it could have perhaps been more like Cambridge and Oxford. The Gateway is a remarkable survivor and was intended to be the entrance from the river into the college, which itself was never built.

All of these containers are courtesy of Matt Hancock, hundreds of them, all with PPE waiting to be destroyed.

I’ve walked along the riverbank before, and gone over the Orwell Bridge in a car, but I’ve never been in a boat thing that goes underneath the bridge.

A little island with some fishermen.

And a hawk’s box, or some sort of bird like that. I’m pleased at the zoom on my camera, this is the first time that I’ve properly tried it out on something I wanted to see. What I wanted to see wasn’t there, but I guess that’s not quite the point.

I don’t think that I’d want a yacht, it looks a right hassle to maintain and manoeuvre about. I imagine it’s a very expensive hobby as well, so I think I’ll stick to craft beer where I’ve got no fears of capsizing. Well, I hope not anyway.

Look at the size of this container ship operated by Maersk. I remember being close to container ships in Seattle harbour when I went on a little boat trip there, but I don’t recall ships any of this size. Apparently this can hold several thousand containers and it still amazes me that the thing can still float with all that weight.

The cranes for taking containers on and off ships.

We didn’t unfortunately get up the powerboat speeds of when a little group of us went on the Thames Rocket a few months back.

Harwich and its lifeboat station, which is one that Liam didn’t build.

It’s a long time I’ve been to Harwich, I fancy another visit at some point. The geography of the situation, namely the big river in the way, makes it harder for me to get to than Felixstowe, despite them being so close on the map.

There was some kind of emergency, so this little boat thing was allowed to travel at speed ahead of us.

There’s Simon, Jane and Liam. Richard managed to break one arm off of his sunglasses as a party trick to amuse people which was kind of him.

Back under the Orwell Bridge, with the whole trip having taken around three hours.

The Cliff Brewery building originally constructed in 1896 and not in very good shape at the moment. There are plans to get on and fix this building up, but they need to hurry up before it just falls down. There’s more about this building on the Ipswich Maritime Trust web-site.

Sitting in the lock waiting to re-enter Ipswich Marina harbour, it’s surprising (to me anyway) how quickly the water level rises but without being able to feel it.

Anyway, all in all a very lovely day, thanks to Simon and Hilary for organising this trip, a lovely way of commemorating the LDWA’s 50th birthday. I’m pleased to say that no-one fell overboard, no-one was seasick and everyone was actually quite brave. It was also lovely to catch up on gossip, which I think was the main function of the day really.

Liam had never been to Tim Hortons, so we had a little visit on the way back to their new Ipswich outlet.

I quite like the chain, although they’re expanding quickly and I wonder just how different their offering is. Anyway, this is a bit of an aside to the rest of my post about the boat trip, but I enjoyed my chicken strips anyway.

July 7, 2022
Braintree – The Picture Palace

On the way down to London last week, we popped into this JD Wetherspoon pub in Braintree (a town we were near as Liam want to charge his electric car there, as he’s very environmental) as I hadn’t visited it before, and I felt that this was a sufficient reason to go there.

The entrance to the former cinema, which was purpose-built in 1935 as the Embassy (the name of which is still visible on the exterior of the building, as can be seen in the top photo). Before it, the Picture Palace had stood here, which was built in 1912 on the site of a former sand-pit and this name has been brought back by JD Wetherspoon. Braintree was growing by the 1930s (and has grown almost exponentially since) and the demand for a larger venue was required, hence the construction of the Embassy.

The pub is located to what was the bottom left corner of Fair Field in this map from the early twentieth century and Victoria Street now cuts across this site from west to east.

My friend Richard will be delighted at this, he adores Bells and would swap his entire whisky collection for a few shots of this.

The interior of the pub and it appeared to be a sensitive conversion into a pub which hasn’t damaged the historic integrity of the building (or at least as little as shoving a pub into an old building can damage it). It’s not brilliantly reviewed on-line, although there’s nothing too serious.

I couldn’t find any amusing reviews, but I liked this:

“Came in at 8 to order food. Didn’t order any alcohol. Got harassed at quarter to 8, trying to rush us to eat our food. Wasn’t even 9 yet. No sign showing that was there policy on the door. Rude staff. Extremely rude staff. Do not go here if you want a nice night or evening.”

I guess that there was a child in the group and the pub were honouring their licence restrictions,something which seems to infuriate no end of customers as they feel their children should be exempt. But, I noted that they arrived at 20:00, but complain that they were being hurried at 19:45. Anyway, I digress in a pointless manner.

I had a quick half of the Ridley’s Rite beer from Bishop Nick brewery who are from Braintree itself, which is at least some effort to stock local drinks. That tasted very acceptable, although the others on the table just opted for coffees, although I didn’t say anything of course….. As a pub, it wasn’t entirely clean (as Ross discovered when put his sleeve into a pool of tomato sauce, although we all saw the funny side in that – other than Ross), but it’s keenly priced and a decent transformation of what is a relatively grand building.

November 10, 2021
Colchester – The Magnet Micropub (Interview)

I’ve worked my way around many pubs in Colchester, but I was delighted to hear (on an LDWA walk where one of the walkers is friends with the owners….) that there’s a new one opening and especially so as it’s a micropub. I drone on about those a lot and I suspect many more will open in the years to come, which is something rather positive for the hospitality industry.

Anyway, although I haven’t had chance to visit yet, the owners kindly agreed to do a little interview. This also means that I am now planning a little road trip with friends to visit Colchester pubs again (any excuse I admit….), including the Magnet.

The pub opened in late May 2021, so this is all new and exciting. I like the “an idea was formed whilst somewhat worse for wear in a micropub”, as I’ve had great (or what I considered to be great) ideas with friends in similar circumstances. I also think that this idea must have been formed in the very lovely Hop Beer Shop, which I visited last year.

The micropub is located in part of the former Norfolk pub on North Station Road, a short walk from Colchester railway station. Which makes it an ideal location to pop to before getting a train (or having just got off one for that matter). The pub takes its name from William Gilbert, a local scientist who did work on magnetism, so relevance to local heritage which I rather like.

The owners are Robert and Ian, who have been spending the last few months getting everything ready for their new venture.

What made you open a micropub and who is involved in the project?

An idea was formed whilst somewhat worse for wear in a micropub in Chelmsford at the tail end of 2019 which was then amazingly followed through. The micropub is co-owned by Rob and I. Prior to this we had both worked in finance.

Have there been any obstacles in your opening, other than the huge challenge of Covid-19?

The biggest challenge has been finding suitable properties and then educating landlords / freeholders etc., on the benefits of a micropub, particularly when changes to planning permission were required. As regards The Magnet itself (aside from Covid-19 related restrictions) the biggest obstacle was getting the utilities isolated and connected.

Projects like this sound fun, has that been how it has worked out so far?

We have been very lucky with the trades persons and suppliers that we partnered up with. Their level of expertise and enthusiasm has been unbelievable. Also the friends and family members who have lent their time and skills to the project,

Your pub has been formed from part of the former Norfolk pub, how many people will it seat?

It will seat approximately 50, including the courtyard area.

What sort of atmosphere are you hoping to achieve?

Relaxed but convivial, with conversation promoted.

Do you have a favourite other micropub in East Anglia? Have they inspired you with this project?

Following on from the last question, Farmers Yard in Maldon, and Mawson’s in Southend, in terms of atmosphere.

Will there be decadent bar snacks available? I have a passion for locally sourced Scotch Eggs! Although I’m also content with scampi fries…..

At the moment we have locally produced crisps and cakes, but are thinking of expanding our savoury bar snack offerings. So if you have any suppliers that you recommend, we would be grateful to hear them.

Will the vibe be more craft beer or real ale? Or a crossover between the two?

We built a small dedicated cold room and are able to serve both cask and keg at a perfect temperature. We have three handles for cask, and five keg lines which currently host two IPAs, a pilsner, a fruity wheat beer and a cider. We also offer cider from the box, locally distilled spirits and a range of bottled drinks

Which breweries are you looking to source from?

As both Rob and I are new to this game we are currently only sourcing from local breweries (predominantly Colchester Brewery) but as we get more experienced we may start to expand the net wider.

Do you have any longer-term plans for the micropub with regards to things that you want to achieve in the future?

It’s still very early days for The Magnet (we only opened on May 21st). So making it a success is priority number one.

The pub has a website at https://www.themagnetpub.co.uk/.

June 1, 2021
Chelmsford – Woolpack

I visited this pub in October 2020, this isn’t some lockdown breach…… Although it’s Greene King, it’s also in the Good Beer Guide and has been the local branch’s pub of the year.

The pub didn’t have any dark beers and no craft beer, and the poor member of bar staff was left with a dire choice of beers to recommend to me, namely Hardys & Hansons Olde Trip. This beer is, frankly, not particularly good at the best of times, so I wasn’t entirely thrilled. However, I forced myself to have a half, as it seems a little pointless to try and visit every Good Beer Guide pub and then not have a drink.

The interior was decorated for Halloween, or at least I assumed it was….. I tried to ignore the ‘Create Your Own Dance Video’ machine, which seemed ill-fitting in numerous different senses. The presence of this machine confused me a little, is this trying to be a local community pub or Yates? There were also numerous ‘4 shots for £12’ which isn’t really much of an offer when it includes Cactus Jacks, where an entire bottle costs far less than £12. Anyway, all this seemed muddled, and I got the impression that beer drinkers are being shunted out. If you want a young and vibrant theme then get better craft beer, not machines to create your own dance video. Anyway, I digress.

On the point of beer choice, I was slightly annoyed to see there was a picture frame full of Titanic Brewery pump clips as well, as that’s one of my favourite breweries and I would have very much liked to have enjoyed one of their beers. Instead, I was stuck with Greene King’s finest.

The pub serves food including Sunday Roasts and there are burgers and the like.

The service was fine, although the pub being empty didn’t add much to the atmosphere. The staff member asked me for help spelling words on a document he was writing, which made me feel useful at least. I suspect there’s quite a community feel to this pub in normal times, it had that sort of atmosphere to it. It’s quite a ‘lived-in’ pub and I hope they don’t try and modernise this VIctorian pub pointlessly, it’s got charm as it is.

As for the beer, it was bloody awful and on the turn. Usually I’d get it replaced, but it’s such a bland and boring beer anyway that it didn’t much change my enjoyment of it. I think Greene King work hard on their obsession to deliver mediocrity and this beer delivers on that. It comes to something though when I’ve started to wonder whether Greene King beers actually tasted better when they’ve gone off, at least there’s some sort of flavour.

It seems that in normal times there is actually a relatively wide beer choice available, so I was maybe unfortunate to visit when the pub was struggling to offer much of a range. The Railway Tavern in Chelmsford had told me the day before that they didn’t have the trade to justify putting darker beers on, which didn’t seem an unreasonable thing to say. But, judging solely on what was available when I visited, this was sadly just the bland Greene King offering and it also wasn’t kept well.

Whatpub note that the pub underwent a change of management at around the time that I visited, so perhaps this was the dying days of the previous owners, which would explain why things were a bit ropey. So, nothing particularly impressive from when I visited, although it was clean and the pub seemed to be taking the Covid-19 rules seriously. But, the whole set-up seemed to be focused more on moving away from beer towards gimmicks, and I’d rather they went the other way and pushed towards craft beer as that’s where being on-trend lies. This is all very confusing though, the pub is clearly popular with CAMRA and real ale drinkers, but it felt like it was trying to be something else. Maybe this just all makes more sense during normal times, being a publican is hardly easy during these strange times.

February 19, 2021
Colchester – Abbey Arms

Just for clarity, this visit is from a couple of months ago, this isn’t a pub serving illegally during the lockdown. This was our penultimate pub of the evening and it was busy inside, as well as outside by the time we left. The pub was modernised a few years ago and I do like what they’re done with the exterior, it’s much improved from what was here before.

For some reason I’ve failed to note what I ordered in this pub, although knowing Nathan, he can probably still remember. So, it’s not ideal I can’t comment on that, although I do know that the choice wasn’t overly exciting in terms of there being no darker options, but the beer quality was fine (I’d have remembered if it wasn’t) and the primary selection is from the Colchester Brewery.

I wasn’t overly impressed at the acoustics of the pub, it’s a large single bar affair with no room divisions and a more modern design which just seemed soulless to me. The pub staff were friendly, although were perhaps unfortunately distracted by some of the pub’s more vibrant customers. There was a community feel to the whole arrangement though, I suspect someone new to the area would find the environment welcoming in terms of meeting new people and feeling welcome.

I wasn’t quite sure who the pub’s target clientele were, there was what I felt to be a slightly uneasy mix between the bright beer fonts and the real ales perched next to them. I’m more used to sports bars putting craft beer in alongside lagers to try and keep on trend (or just sell lagers and sod all else), and that’s something that is potentially quite exciting to me (well, not the sports bar or lagers bit obviously). But, I can’t complain that they’ve made an effort to sell real ale and it’s rather lovely that it’s working for them. The pub had also made an effort to stock a wide variety of spirits, so it wasn’t all generic and bland.

There was nothing wrong with the pub, but I’ll mark this one as not being for me (in fairness to them, very few sports bars are, so I was never their target market), I think I’d have rather it was the old fashioned local it was a few years ago, or something more modern in terms of craft beer or innovative and exciting real ales. But, the pub was busy, so I hope it’s doing well and that’s all that matters in these challenging times….

November 29, 2020
Colchester – Queen Street Brew House

This visit was a few weeks ago, this isn’t a pub staying open during the lockdown…..

The pub is very well-reviewed in numerous places on-line and there are comments about its quirkiness running throughout those reviews. When we arrived, it also had the most onerous health related rules that I’ve seen in a pub in terms of what they had on posters by the door. They required a face mask when moving around (not required at the time, so they were ahead of the curve here), they required temperature checks, address details and had a complex toilet procedure involving spades. The pub then proceeded to not really enforce these rules, although I’d add that everything still felt safe and they were following what they needed to do.

I think quirky is an appropriate word for this set-up, which looks like I’ve done it (hence, I approve). It also didn’t serve any obvious point, as customers walked in both directions on both sides, so it more corralled people together if anything. But, then again, it did remind people to be careful and that was useful.

It’s cheaper than plastic screens and just as effective, so why not? I didn’t buy the round here, so I’m not sure exactly how friendly the service was, but apparently it was all polite and welcoming from what I was told.

I had an Old Man and The Sea from Mighty Oak Brewing, which I thought was served at a temperature which seemed to me to be nearer to frozen than chilled. It knocked the entire taste out of the beer, there were no flavours evident at all, and I think that’s the first time I’ve experienced that with a beer of this type. There are meant to be flavours of espresso coffee, dark chocolate and dark fruit, but they were indiscernible and the nearest I’ve tasted to this is Guinness Extra Cold (which in itself has rather died away). Rather awkwardly, the pub toasted my rating on Untappd…

I do know that Mighty Oak Brewing are a decent brewery, they’re local to this pub being from Maldon, and I’ve had their beers at the Hop Beer Shop, United Brethren and the Duke of York, all in Chelmsford.

Anyway, back to this pub, which was beautifully quirky in very many ways and it clearly had a loyal clientele. It had a community feel to it, with an impressive range of Belgian bottled beers and a number of ciders. Even though some of their arrangements might have felt quirky, it still seemed safe to me, it’s all rather different to what the chains were doing at the time. So, I think I quite liked this pub and the reviews on Untappd don’t suggest any issues with the beer, so I’ll pop back again at some time as their choice of beer and ciders looked innovative and intriguing.

November 16, 2020