Just Ales, Wells

My first attempt to visit this micropub close to Wells bus station, found the place shuttered up a good hour and a half before their published closing time, so I came back early the following evening to try my luck again. Thankfully it was open this time, but there was only one other customer in and he seemed to have only popped in for a chat with the landlady and left not long after I’d sat down. The pub has an unusual two room layout comprising a typical micropub front room and a cluttered rear room that acts as cellar, storage facility and overspill seating area. The front room is bare boarded and has three or four tables squeezed in to its limited space, one of which was occupied by the elderly landlady who was busy on her laptop throughout my visit. Old fashioned chairs serve each table, most of which are along the right-hand wall, with one more under the front window. A blackboard to one side lists the beer and cider selection and has been surrounded by the usual pump clip collection. A couple of old mirrors and paintings flesh out the décor a bit more and there is a till/payment area over to the left under more clutter. A couple of steps take you down into the curtained rear room where a couple more tables with the same dated chairs can be found along with a knackered looking sofa. The right-hand wall has the stilage lined up along it as well as a shelving unit holding all the glassware whilst the rear wall is home to more shelving used to hold the cider boxes. Many more pump clips can be found around the walls and I also spotted some well stocked bookcases, a framed poem that had been performed in the pub, an ancient looking heater and a large Bath Rugby flag among other bits and bobs. With no other customers in and the landlady occupied with her web browsing, I found myself sat in complete silence, broken only by the occasional click of the mouse pad, which I found pretty disconcerting. Just the two ales were available when I arrived – 3D Crane Kick and a bitter from the Pitchfork brewery which I decided to try. It was certainly a very well-kept pint and a satisfying amber brew, but I can’t say I really enjoyed sitting in silence drinking it. Three ciders were listed on the blackboard, although there were many more boxes out on the shelves in the back room. This place treads the fine-line between characterful and shambolic, leaning a little too far toward the latter in my opinion. The beer was certainly well kept and would make this place a strong draw in a city not particularly known for good ale, but you’d really hope to visit when there’s a decent crowd in, as I found it very awkward and almost unwelcoming when I had the place to myself.

Official site of Just Ales - www.justales.com

Official site of Just Ales - www.justales.com

A new opening in Wells in a premises that has previously been a clothes shop and a delicatessen, this bills itself as Somerset’s first micro-pub and thus follows the usual ethos of no music, fruit machines, TV’s etc. It’s just a shame that this one also seems to have dispensed with any heating; it was distinctly chilly in there and we quickly necked our pints and moved on to somewhere a little warmer. Internally it consists of a front and rear section with a couple of steps in between. The front section houses a counter with a cash register, but the actual beer is dispensed directly from barrels racked up at the rear. This creates the slightly odd situation where you order at the counter, whilst the barman then wanders off to get your beer and bring it back to you. In fairness though, I did see a note about table service, so perhaps this arrangement makes more sense then. Old sanded boards are on the floor, whilst the walls are a mixture of white and vibrant green paintwork. Old fluorescent light fittings look as though they were left over from the previous shop, and there were a few pictures dotted around the walls. A further shelving unit at the rear housed the boxes of cider and also a couple of trays of eggs. Presumably these were for sale, although I didn’t see anything about this. A leaflet on the table included a history of micro-pubs in general as well as a little more about this one in particular. Beers were chalked up on a board at the front of the pub and on this occasion consisted of Folklore Ruby Red, Black Tor’s Dartmoor Pale Ale and Pride of Dartmoor, Vale Gravitas, Tring’s Moongazing and Tea Kettle and Milk Street’s Funky Monkey. Ciders were also well represented with a trio from both Hecks and Wilkings in Dry, Medium and Sweet versions, as well as a Glastonbury Medium. If that’s not your thing, there were also a few Belgian bottled beers available as well as a limited wine choice and both soft and hot drinks.