Roses Free House, Woolwich, SE18

This is a much celebrated Woolwich venue with a reputation for a solid selection of ales, my visit on Saturday afternoon found Caledonian Kick-Off (what's it got to do with them I wondered), Young's Blonde, Westerham British Bulldog, Hog's Back Three Hops and two pumps unclipped. My Bulldog was a bit tired and became flat by the time I was half way down it. A single room which narrows towards the rear, the bar is on a side wall towards the front. Carpeted, wood panelling and some retained lower etched glazing, mainly with rose motifs but also "Private Bar" and "Fine Old Bottled Port" as well as the pub name. The ceiling is panelled in white with black surrounds, there is a working dartboard to the front adjoining the bar and towards the rear a board lists the most recent cribbage league results. The vivarium remains with the two lizards Ronnie and Reggie on display. Behind the bar a glass case contains a football boot signed by Steven Gerrard. Seating is traditional at blue banquettes while decor includes a Fullers brewery mirror and some Guinness ads. A TV showed the cricket while some rather depressing crooning style music played. I confess to being mildly disappointed by this pub which is much vaunted, it is slightly shabby, my pint was very lacklustre and a couple of blokes at the bar were rather boorish and irritating and in need of being told to behave by the barman. I may have hit on a less than good day but I found the pub to be average at best.

Just off the main retail strip, this is a warm, traditional local's pub with a reputation for serving well kept interesting ales. The pub has a single room layout, albeit with two distinct areas within. The front part of the pub is predominantly an open space with the servery down the left hand side and some wide U-shaped banquettes along the opposite wall. The room is part carpeted and part vinyl floored and has obscured front windows bearing the pub's name and a repeating rose motif. The servery has a pleasant enough counter and a decidedly shaky looking, boxy canopy replete with lots of decorative ironwork. A dartboard can be found next to a disused doorway with a pane inscribed 'Public Bar' and I noticed a lot of CAMRA magazines from around the country in the window sills behind the banquettes, with a collection of books on a shelf further along, next to the juke box. Beyond the bar is a notably different area with dark wood panelling on the walls and a great mural above depicting the Thames and nearby docks. Tub chairs and long benches serve a number of small round tables and a good collection of vintage breweriana covers much of the remaining wall space. A tank in the rear left corner apparently contains (or once contained) two lizards named after the Kray twins, but I had a peek and couldn't spot them. A TV on the bar canopy remained off in favour of tunes from the juke box played at a sensible volume. The pub was notably much quieter than any other visited on my Friday evening crawl around Woolwich, which struck me as rather ominous for the pub's future. There were three ales available on this visit - Caledonian Over the Bar, Westerham Single Hop Archer and Hop Stuff Fusilier from the local Woolwich based brewery. I tried a pint of the latter which I thought was in good shape. The landlady seemed a bit distant at first, offering a rather muted welcome, but overall I found the place friendly enough and was happy settled down on one of the comfy banquettes. This is a very pleasant old-school freehouse which makes a pleasing contrast from the areas other decent pubs which are mostly modern chain affairs from the likes of Wetherspoons, Antic and Youngs. I hope a pub like this can continue to flourish in an area that seems to be gentrifying rapidly and would recommend it to anyone who values a good old-fashioned community local.

There were four ales on here - Cambrinus Deliverance, Sambrook Wandle, Doom Bar, and Westerham Grasshopper (£1.65 a half). Another handpump had a clip reversed, and a sixth was unclipped. There were no menus so I guess food is not generally available, but I did see some rolls on a tray behind the counter, and a sign that they were £1.30 a pop. Looked a good bet to me. This struck me as a traditional old pub. It's carpeted, and furnished with normal tables and chairs; the fielded paneling on the walls looks typically inter war, and the ceiling was panelled with what looked like traditional Truman's vitrolite, but not shiny enough. Other features include the wrought iron bar gantry that looks as if it's been lifted straight out of the 70s; a dartboard; a small Fuller's Smith and Turner brewery mirror; a large mural at the back featuring a river scene; and the tank at the back which I hope still houses those famous lizards Ronnie and Reggie. Sky Sports are advertised. This is a locals' drinking pub I would say, judging by the handful of punters in when I visited on Wednesday afternoon. But of course it could be a different place in the evening. This is a comfortable old traditional pub that does a decent ale selection. I would say that it's one of the better Woolwich pubs.

Historically the pub is known as the Prince Albert and dates back to at least 1858 however it is commonly known as Rose’s although my archive digging has not managed to find a cheery buxom wench by that name as I was hoping but a more officious business title of E J Rose & Co who are on the Post Office records for the address for much of the early part of the 20th Century. For as long as I can remember, Rose’s has been the flagship ale pub in Woolwich and despite a closing down scare a couple of years ago, continues in that vain although the Great Harry ‘Spoons and the new Dial Arch have finally given it a bit of competition. Unlike its more corporate neighbours, Rose’s comes across as a traditional small time family run establishment aimed primarily at the old boys market. The interior has had a bit of a tidy up in the last year or so and looks a bit fresher and more airy than it used to be although it is still a generally traditional no thrills kind of place. To the left of the bar is a decent darts area and you will also find a jukebox and a couple of flat screen TV's one over the bar and one at the rear. There did once used to be a pinball machine but disappeared some time ago. Pride of the décor is probably the large mural depicting the nearby Woolwich Ferries and there are also some coloured glass rose motifs in the windows. A tank contains a couple of reptiles (I’m not David Attenborough so I’ll pass on the species identification front) and the friendly pub dog also has its own spot. There are usually 3 rotating ales available (Westerham Matrimoniale, Cottage Windsor Castle and Thwaites Wainwright Ale - all at £3 - on my latest visit) although there is capacity for more with 3 further pumps and they hold regular beer festivals where another dozen or so are racked up where the dartboard is. The pub has won multiple CAMRA awards and appears in the Good Beer Guide. As Woolwich goes, Rose’s is still one of the more friendly, hassle free and accommodating pubs and with the nearby Dial Arch, Elephant & Castle & 'Spoons all offering a choice of ales, things are looking a little more rosey (pun intened!) for real beer drinkers in the area than in the past.