The Ale House, Chelmsford

High hopes on approach as there is a Wigan Central vibe from the exterior, being housed as it is in converted railway arches. Interior is two distinct long rooms with curved vaulted ceilings lined with corrugated iron, and the left side has the seating separated into basic booths. Booming modern AOR music was the first sign of a departure from the Wigan Central hopes. The cask is located at the rear of the servery so you either peer over or wait for the beer board to revolve, which is rather unhelpful. Six, IIRC, on. My first choice was, I was curtly informed, off. So a panic order of what should be a home banker of Oakham Citra produced a flabby half lacking turnover (NBSS 2). Judging by what I observed around me after being seated for a few minutes made me think the place clearly trades on craftykeg nowadays. Expensive as well – I left feeling a bit miffed. Maybe I was unlucky given the reviews below, but the best places make their own luck.

Official site of The Ale House - www.the-ale-house-chelmsford.co.uk

Official site of The Ale House - www.the-ale-house-chelmsford.co.uk

Situated in a couple of railway arches directly outside Chelmsford's train and bus stations, this is a modern alehouse with plenty of cask and keg options. You can enter the premises from either side of the tracks and both arches are similarly decorated with grey wood panels on the walls and a white corrugated iron ceiling which sadly hides the vaulted brickwork beneath. At each end, there are large plain glass windows displaying the pub's name, that act as end walls and allow a good deal of light into the arches. There is nice modern flooring throughout and one of the arches has a long bar counter running along the side wall, with the handpulls annoyingly sited on the bar back, which makes it incredibly difficult to read the pump clips, not helped by the fact that the beer board listing the options is in the other archway. There is limited seating in the arch with the bar, but the second arch has lots of chunky tables and chairs, a few battered sofas and some long benches, whilst outside there is limited cafe style tables and chairs. Decor includes a selection of smart brewery mirrors and some rather nice old breweriana including a couple of excellent old Ridley's signs. I also noticed a photo display showing the process of converting this space to pub use and bizarrely there was a modern penny farthing bicycle in the area between the two arches. Various blackboards rounded out the decor, listing various special offers and upcoming events, whilst a few displayed humorous beer related quotes. Pop music played throughout my early afternoon visit and I was one of a small handful of customers at this time of the day, having followed a large group in who commented on the lack of atmosphere before continuing to walk right through the pub, exiting through the far doors without breaking their stride. The positioning of the handpulls not only made it hard to read the clips, but also meant that I missed an entire bank of pumps, so I'd advise anyone visiting to consult the blackboard in the other arch before ordering. Cask options on this visit were Left Hand Lactose Tolerant, Shalford Levellers Black, Hydes Old Indie, Tiny Rebel Juicy, Tapstone Voodoo Juice (£4.00), Trade Going To The Sun, Oakham Citra and Hangar 17, Dark Star Hophead, Arbor Never a Frown, Good Chemistry Time Lapse and Turning Point Rising Tide. A pretty extensive range and lots of breweries I'd never heard of. I tried the Voodoo Juice which was in reasonable shape without really standing out. There are also five craft keg options from the likes of Summer Wine and Left Hand Brewing plus a further five German beers. I though this was a pretty good attempt at creating a modern alehouse, but the location under the rattling train lines makes it a little devoid of the cosy qualities you'd associate with a top quality pub. The ale range is one of the widest in the city and if they can maintain quality across so many handpulls, this would be well worth a look when passing. An interesting addition to Chelmsford's pub scene and a good place to discover new beers.