Acre, Windsor

This is a bit of a strange one – a freehouse operating out of the local Liberal Club and fully open to the public. The immediate impression on approach is of an ugly municipal building and upon entering, it became very clear that this was some sort of club, albeit without the usual ritual of having to sign-in (although track and trace was still in use at the time of my visit, so I still kind of got that experience too). The pub operates out of a simple rectangular room that has been filled with standard tables and chairs plus a couple of padded pews and the odd high tales surrounded by bar stools. The etched glass front windows bear the pub’s name, in a nice nod to typical pub features, whilst the walls have been painted a cream colour, with some tongue and groove panelled lower sections and a fully panelled wall next to the bar. The servery occupies the rear left corner of the room and has a panelled counter front with a dark wood mirrored bar back. A pillar in the centre of the room fails to break the space up effectively and gives the impression, along with the configuration of the ceiling, that this room may have been divided at some point, although what purpose the building would’ve served back then is unclear. The walls have been decorated with some cool posters and I spotted various slot machines, what appeared to be a juke box, a popular dartboard and a large TV screen showing muted tennis whilst soul and Motown tunes played, prompting an occasional singalong from some of the locals. I received a very warm welcome from one of the two old-school barmaids, who also enquired as to whether I was a CAMRA member. They have three handpulls on the bar, one of which is permanently dedicated to serving Windsor & Eton Guardsman, with the other two given over to guest ales. On this visit, they had Adnams Ghost Ship on one of these pumps, but the other remained unclipped. My pint of Guardsman was in decent enough shape and the staff were very attentive, popping over to see if I wanted another pint as I reached the end of my first. This was a nice enough place to stop off for a quick pint and I enjoyed the cheerful service and unpretentious styling of the pub. It’s not really trying to attract a diverse clientele, with the old-school club feel attracting a lot of middle-aged blokes and not many other demographic groups. I’m glad I called in to check the place out but can’t imagine a return will be on the cards when there are better options around town.

A club ( members get a discount) but it is open to the public. 3 real ales served.