The Albion, Conwy

Imposing corner pub with a large three room interior. Fairly traditional in décor with a relatively intact 1920’s refurb with some 1970’s fiddlings – look out for a wood and brick archway and various interesting fittings, covered in detail below; this is a CAMRA National Inventory pub. Maybe lacked a little atmosphere on my visit due to tables being removed to maintain COVID space and awful yellow sticky tape over the floor. The pub is managed by three local brewers - Conwy, Purple Moose and Snowdon Craft so ale-wise it was 2x Purple Moose and 2x Conwy, my pint of Gold from the latter was an NBSS 3.5, usually a very tidy score but the lowest of the four establishments I tried that evening which I guess tells you something very positive about the beer scene in this historic little town. A bit stretched on the service front, one overworked and stressed barmaid trying to do the entire floorwalking thing. You should do this one.

Good Beer Guide 2019 Entry and winner of North Wales Pub of the Year 2016. Doesn't look much from the outside - some Ansells Branding and a tranditional "old man's pub". Inside is where the money has been spent - all soft wood furnishings and original tiling. Two roomed - with the a long bar in the bar room. Knowledgeable and friendly staff. Recommended.

Having spent two nights in Conwy I had two evening visits to this pub on the Thursday and Friday. I've known about this place for a few years so expectations were high and it didn't disappoint. It's well described below and on the Thursday I opted for the main bar and on the busier Friday the back room. Although this isn't a micropub it is run on similar lines with no music, TV screens, fruit machines or mainstream keg beers. The wines and spirits are also non-mainstream apart from possibly Courvoisier Brandy. The bar has ten hand pumps with two ciders, beers from the gang of four brewers who took it on and a couple of guests. On my visit guests were from the Conquest brewery and Derby. I had four different beers on my two visits Great Orme Chocoholic & Bad Bad Boy, Conquest ESB and Nant Cwrw Carw. The last one was £3.20 and the rest £3.30. All were in first class condition. I really liked this place and discovered at the end of the second night that the owners had also taken on the Bridge in Conwy, I already knew about the Australia in Porthmadog. This is good as it gives me an excuse to return!

Inside the city walls, on a prominent street corner in the centre of Conwy, is The Albion Ale House, a pub that proudly displays a prominent banner proclaiming it as “CAMRA North Wales Pub of the Year 2015” Externally the pub still retains some evidence of former Ansells ownership with the old trademark squirrel logo and several branded Ansells lamps still in evidence. The pub sign features an old sailing ship and merely refers to the pub as “The Albion”, although I gather that the pub’s official name is now The Albion Ale House – a name it took on when the pub reopened in February 2012, following an 18 month or so period of closure. The pub is jointly owned and run by a consortium of 4 local Welsh breweries – Great Orme, Purple Moose, Bragdy Conwy and Bragdy Nant. Staff wear black T shirts with these names listed on the back to remind us of this. The pub features in CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors for its unspoilt 1920’s interior which was lovingly restored and enhanced as far as possible by the new partners. It is said to be the best example of an inter war pub in Wales There’s 3 separate rooms with the Lounge (formerly the Smoke Room) on the left as you go in being visually the most impressive. Here we see a fine large brick surrounded fireplace in a wide inglenook straddling almost the entire length of one wall with several small circular Art Nouveau stained leaded windows here. There’s an unusual alcove by the door with a double length seat. A number of old framed black and white photos and fixed seating around the wall with old bell pushes still in situ add to the fine traditional feel of this room. Heavy looking dark ceiling beams complete the picture here. There’s a separate entrance to this room direct from the street corner which features an Art Deco style curved top and some etched glass. The bar servery is in the room on the right, which is effectively the public bar, seemingly being the favoured room of the regulars and features the original counter and a fine original mirrored bar back which prominently incorporates in the centre an old round clock. A good number of framed CAMRA award certificates are on display here, as is, high up on a shelf behind the bar, an old miniature Watneys Red Barrel Behind this room, accessed via a corridor with green tiled walls and a quarry tiled floor, is the Snug, a room in similar style, with old bell pushes and fixed seating and a small serving hatch in the wall allowing service direct from the main bar. In this room we see a display of framed match books and a picture of a ship – Dryden ( Lamport and Holt Shipping Line ) – whose bell, we are told, is behind the bar in the Public bar and is still rung at closing time. A few photos of Conwy lifeboat crew also feature here. There’s a small outside covered patio at the rear. I think that this is probably the first pub where I can ever recollect seeing a substantial separate menu of dog food displayed on the tables – and I’m not talking about free dog biscuits and bowls of water here. A colourful “Great British Pub Dog Food” menu features such delights as Lamb and Rice Kibble, or Salmon and Potato which, for a standard 250g portion, will set dog owners back the princely sum of £ 2.99p. And all this, somewhat unusually in a pub, not on the South Downs or in The Lake District, where one might expect a good number of dog walkers, but inside the old town walls in the picturesque tourist destination town of Conwy. Not being a doggy person, I was not exactly disappointed that no dogs were present during the course of my visits Pleasingly, us mere mortal humans are also catered for, food wise, with a range of cold snacks including pork pies, pasties, pickled eggs, nuts, crisps, olives etc being on offer. Potato crisps using 100% Welsh potatoes are supplied by (and I kid you not) a firm called Jones O Gymru. There’s no TV or fruit machines here, just good beer, cheer and conversation. Notably, and pleasingly, on both of my visits, a small group of overseas visitors had specifically sought this pub out for its beer range and were suitably impressed. There’s 10 pumps, of which 2 are used for Welsh ciders. A range of real ales are offered, featuring prominently, but not exclusively, those of the 4 brewing partners and other Welsh breweries. On my visits on 2 consecutive days, breweries featured included Great Orme, Bragdy Conwy, Tiny Rebel and Waen amongst others. Beers on at any particular time was listed on a blackboard in the corridor with gravities and prices listed, along with details of what’s coming soon. Whilst there’s no beer taste or style details given, a small jam pot by each pump clip shows you the colour of the beer and the enthusiastic and willing staff will gladly give you a taster on request. Prices varied between £ 3.10p and £ 3.30p depending on gravity. The CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2016 sticker is prominently displayed on the bar counter. It goes without saying that beer quality was top notch. If I have one negative, it is that there appears to be a disproportionate emphasis on higher gravity beers with, on my second visit, 4 of the 8 beers having gravities of over 5% (this later increased to 5 out of 8) and the weakest beer being 4.2%. A selection of foreign and craft beers are also available. This is definitely a destination pub when anywhere near the vicinity – I really hope to get here again sometime