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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
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Real Ale Classroom, Leicester
Leicester
LE1 1RD
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Real Ale Classroom
City-centre outlet for this local mini-chain, but certainly bigger than the other one that I've been to. Bar and three small alehouse-style seating areas at street level, plus the larger Common Room downstairs. Various casks with taps through the clear screen forming the bar-back, although only those for Shiny's Victory Screech hazy pale ale (£4.60) and 4 Wood best bitter were in use. Also has a wider range of craft keg beers.
On 23rd January 2025
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8679 recommendations about 8678 pubs]
Blue Scrumpy left this review about Real Ale Classroom
Having enjoyed a visit to the original Leicester Real Ale Classroom in 2019, I was looking forward to trying the new city centre branch.
The Rutland Street classroom is bigger than the original one but follows the same concept, being furnished with old school desks and seats. It occupies a corner location on a fairly quiet side street and the outdoor pavement seating seemed to be very popular in the pre-monsoon Leicester sunshine.
We were the first to arrive after the doors had been opened at midday. Perhaps many are confused by the conflicting times online. WhatPub said they didn't open until 1pm on a Saturday and their Facebook page said they opened at 2pm. Luckily I trusted their website and Google and found them opening at midday.
The city centre location is a plus point for this Classroom, as the original one is much more difficult to get to if you live locally. However, the one slight disappointment was the availability of just 2 cask ales on a Saturday. I seem to recall that the original place had around 4.
The 2 cask ales available were Two By Two HBC 586 Talus & Phipps NBC Steam Roller. I tried both, enjoying the former, but not the latter. Boxed ciders were Saxby's Traditional & Plum Cider & Bottle Kicking Cider Company Rambler. Craft beers were Polly's Wishful Thinking, Two By Two House Pale, Attic Orders, Wiper & True Tomorrow, Pentrich Laziest Worldwide, Pomona Island Tannhauser Gate, Yonder Freak Shake, Black Iris Chocozuma's Revenge & Anspach and Hobday London Black.
Drinks are served from a cold room, which you can see from the bar. It does look like there is plenty of space for more casks. So, hopefully they will increase the number of cask ales as custom grows. This is a decent addition to the city centre drinking scene.
On 22nd September 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3040 recommendations about 3038 pubs]
paulof horsham left this review about Real Ale Classroom
I attended the Real Ale Classroom and this is what I learned.
The pub features a series of connected rooms, all with wooden floorboards, the walls in painted brick or tiles. Seating was principally stools of various sorts, though with plastic chairs on the street. At the bar, I found a friendly server, who was able to offer 2 real ales, dispensed direct from the cask in a cool room, with several more waiting to go. There's also 10 crafty taps on the wall behind the bar, so perhaps a slight rename might be in order (craft keg college perhaps?).
An unobtrusive indie-rock soundtrack helped the atmosphere along on a quiet afternoon.
I enjoyed it enough to get beers in both cask and keg form, and would have no problem returning.
On 5th September 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 554 recommendations about 516 pubs]
Quinno _ left this review about Real Ale Classroom
A retail outlet that was converted to a bar in 2012 and has now metamorphised into LE1’s branch of Real Ale Classroom (the original is in Stoneygate). It’s a tight wedge-shaped GII listed building with plenty of glazing that should make for a dynamic and interesting space though the owners have decided for reasons best known to them to gloop a fairly dull bluey grey shade all over the place (bet that’ll look stellar on a grey, rainy Monday afternoon in November). Plenty of casks racked on the stillage but just two ales were available; sadly my choice of Langton Inclined Plane was very much in the remedial class, (NBSS 2). This place seems far more interested in the craftykeg angle. Card payment only. I was really disappointed by this one but there’s easy scope for improvements.
On 17th August 2024
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5552 recommendations about 5533 pubs]