Henry Boons, Wakefield

Conveniently situated next to Wakefield train station this pub is the brewery tap for the adjacent Clarks brewery. The interior is essentially a single, L-shaped room, but the layout and a bit of semi-partitioning have resulted in three distinct areas. Entry takes you into the largest of the three, which is very pleasant thanks to an abundance of dark wood and the unusual sight of a thatched servery, which also features what looks like doors from brewing coppers built into the panelling under the counter. The area is furnished with standard tables and chairs, but further into the room there are some smart leather banquettes. Beyond the left hand end of the bar, an appealing looking space with a nice old fireplace has been filled with a pool table, which diminishes its appeal somewhat. To the right of the bar there is a large space, screened from the rest of the pub by a partitioning wall which has been made to look like it has been constructed from a pile of sacks full of hops, which creates quite a nice effect. This space includes a raised seating area in the back corner and more of those leather banquettes. There's a good amount of brewerania dotted around, especially on a high shelf, including a few barrels and many old pictures of the brewery. A large TV screen was on showing muted coverage of the afternoon’s Premier League match. Ossett Brigantes, Castle Rock Screech Owl, Black Sheep Bitter, Timothy Taylor Landlord and Clark's Barrel of Laughs were all available, with another Clark's brew (Westgate Gold, I think) clipped but not yet ready. I tried a pint of the Barrel of Laughs, which was in good shape, if not the most memorable beer of the day. I liked the feel of this place and can imagine enjoying a decent session in here. Its location makes it ideal for a quick pint before catching the train, or, as others have suggested, a solid starting point for any crawl of Wakefield.

A 90s bar style lower exterior belies a comfortable, lived in pub with a few nice old features, although the thatched roof and the odd brass doors on the bar are probably left overs from a previous life. I visited on a quiet Sunday lunchtime so I can't offer any insights on the usual customers, remember this pub is on Westgate and is next to the station so Saturday nights could be interesting. The other customers on my visit were staff from the large government building next door, the one with the big walls and iron bars. Cask Marque listed and a previous GBG entrant the beer quality was well up to the mark with beers from Clarkes and visitors from the Black Country.