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Beer of the Week (w/e 5th May 2024) with Mobyduck
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The Ale House, Stroud
Stroud
GL5 2HA
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Ale House
An odd one; a huge place housed in a pretty - if crumbling - building. Interior is two huge rooms via a hotel-style lobby. To the left, in aquamarine shades, is a seating area whilst further on is large atrium style room with a skylight, blue and white paint with a scruffy wood floor – bright and maybe a bit stark, certainly lacking in atmosphere. 12 pumps with 8 cask and two ciders, too many I thought given turnover however my BBF Valley of Eden was fine (NBSS 3) - they certainly weren't expecting many customers as the barmaid heaved herself off a table where she was sat with friends. Bar billiards spotted, also a wood fire and grandmother clock. I wanted to like this place but the lack of custom and low cask turnover on a huge set of pumps made me wonder if I got lucky more than anything. I’d give it another go next time and find out for sure. GBG’23 listed. 6.5
On 26th April 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5121 recommendations about 5104 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
paulof horsham left this review about The Ale House
I'm quite happy to return my glass to the bar, both on returning for another round and on leaving, but this is the first time I've encountered a notice on the table asking me to do so. Staffing seems to be a problem here, so maybe that's behind the polite notice.
The Ale House opened late due to a staff shortage (so I was glad I'd passed by earlier and got the tip-off). Inside, there's a couple of big, echoey rooms with high ceilings, and it's clearly the big draw in town in terms of beer choice. There's numerous pumps on the bar: Burning Sky Plateau seems to be the House ale, with 2 clips, one of the pumps being drawn through. Local brewer Tiley's were also available and I had a couple - very good they were, too.
Overall, it's calm and relaxing (at least shortly after 5pm on a Friday) and undoubtedly classy, though slightly sterile and in need of a bit of atmosphere, and it could hardly be more different to the manic Spoons around the corner.
On 4th April 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 453 recommendations about 425 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Ale House
We were about to leave Stroud behind, feeling quite disappointed with the quality of its pubs. But with one last stop, our efforts were redeemed.
The Ale House is situated in a nice old building, reminiscent of a gentlemen's club (the prim and proper kind), with high ceilings in its two spacious rooms. There is also an outdoor drinking area.
The highlight is the ale and cider choice - Tilley's IPA & Amarillo Pale Ale, Rooster's Yankee, Five Points Pale, Red Cat Mr M's Porter & Buxton Blonde were the ales. The cider was Pearson's Medium Dry, a new one for me, and there was also Snail's Bank Very Perry.
Easily the best pub we got to visit in Stroud. Although I'll have to go back to try those currently still closed that I missed to verify this.
On 4th August 2020
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2501 recommendations about 2500 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The Ale House
Grade II Listed building - impressive high ceilings and loads of space. Like an independent Wetherspoons!
Architecture is where the similarity ends. This is a proper beer lovers pub - with a wide range of beers on offer - all detailed on slates over the long bar. I went for a breakfast stout - which was perfect.
Sunday night quiz seemed impossible :-) Not knowing the height in feet of Angel Falls, Venezuela, we sat on some wonderful Chesterfields in front of a superb open fire.
Lots to admire!
On 8th January 2019
- rating: 9
[User has posted 1346 recommendations about 1332 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Ale House
Imposing premises, apparently built in 1837 for the Poor Law Guardians, and now a multiple Camra-award-winning establishment. You enter via a corridor to enter the central bar area benefiting from an expansive roof light, with a large seating area at the front and a room off to the side at the back. The furniture is surprisingly on the semi-modern side, but the tall ceilings make the place seem rather lacking in atmosphere mid-afternoon on a weekday(although there were several other mid-afternoon customers when I visited, and I expect that it is much busier at other times). It also has a real fire, but that was struggling to make a difference on a cold December day. Excellent selection of ten real ales and two ciders from the impressive line of handpumps, and my pint of Tiley's Equinox from the Salutation Inn in Ham (£3.80) was in absolutely top form.
On 15th December 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Ale House
An absolute gem this one and certainly ticked all the boxes on our visit. The entrance hallway with an impressive staircase and table lamps was like entering into an upmarket hotel. The next surprise was the sheer size of the two large rooms. The bar area was housed in the back room, which had high ceilings and a large glass panelled sky light which changes colour at night, when there is music played.
The young barmaid was very friendly and welcoming and was very patient and helpful when choosing a beer across their ten handpumps. I went for the Tiley's Citra Simcoe Session IPA, which was outstanding. Also tried was the Cotswold Lion Golden Fleece and Emmanuales beer Thou My Vision.
We sat in the front room which was finished in a deep heritage green colour and had boarded floors and large sash windows along the side and front. It was also good to see a lot of the younger crowd calling here for a decent pint of beer. Don't forget to visit Simpson's chip shop off the main square, as it's one of the best in the country.
On 28th February 2018
- rating: 10
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]