The United Brethren, Chelmsford

Ferociously modernised place, painted top to bottom in an oppressive grey/blue colour with a modern wood bar back – too much for me, so I settled in the sizeable astroturf rear garden. Four cask offerings with two Mauldon, one Woodfordes and one from Chelmsford - Death of a Cowboy- which was certainly on life support, flabby and buttery (NBSS 2) served by a bored barmaid. Some interesting stuff on the keg with four genuinely foreign ones. I tried the Dinkelaker Privat and it was fresh so this is probably your best bet should you come here - I certainly wouldn’t bother with the cask, too many on and no real inclination to shift it either.

The United Brethren (UB) is tucked away on a side street, just off Moulsham Street. It has a fairly modern feel, with sofas being quite popular. 2 real ales were on - Chelmsford Blueshack Radio Wave & Adnams Southwold Bitter. Two of our party tried the Blueshack Radio Wave, which was quite clearly off and returned. I opted for the Hush Heath Jake's Kentish Cider from a keg, in its place. The drinks were changed without argument, but the pumpclip was not turned round. Shortly after, a local wandered in and asked to try the same beer. He came to the same conclusion as us and asked to try the Adnams - same result. At this point, the landlord became apparent, tried the Adnams and declared it off. When prompted by us, he also tried the Chelmsford beer and agreed again that it was also off! So, all was well that ended well. I ended up with a new cider for me that I hadn't initially spotted and nobody else had to endure the 2 dodgy ales!