Crown Inn, Telford

Final stop of my Thursday Oakengates mini crawl. Decent range of beers but not as many as The Station across the road. Had a pint of the Falstaff Micky The Idiot. It was OK not one of the Folly's best. I spent quite a bit of time drinking Folly ales when I worked in Derby. The pub was very quiet although it looked as though some live entertainment was due on later.

A good traditional two room drinkers free house which dates back to around 1830, the front public bar is the largest room with a small bar counter opposite the entrance and a small brick fire place with a log burning stove on the left, nice paintings of steam railway scenes and chalk boards informing of guest ales are on the wall. To the right of the bar counter is a door that leads to a hall way which has a couple of seats, beer memorabilia on the walls and a pile of toys to keep the kids entertained while dad enjoys a quick pint (although this isn’t the kind of pub that you would think of taking the kids). On the left of this hall way is a smaller bar area with a second small bar counter, small fire place on the right with beer and whiskey memorabilia dotted around the room. The front room is usually fairly quiet with no music and little conversation, the back room is even quieter! There is also a small enclosed courtyard out the back. Regular ales are Hobsons Best Bitter and Mild with normally six changing guest ales mostly from Shropshire and neighbouring counties (Cask Marque and GBG 2010). There is the odd beer from further a field, the occasional Porter and there can be a couple of Milds on at the same time. Note that the guest ales are split between the two bars. This is a great real ale pub which prides itself on the quality and selection of its beers, it can be very quiet and a little intimidating in the front bar if you’re not a regular, but it is still worth a go as you never know what you might find on the chalk boards and the beer has always been well kept on my visits. You can’t miss the place as the exterior is painted bright yellow, so no excuses.