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The Woolpack, Chelmsford
Chelmsford
CM2 0DN
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Woolpack
Backstreet Greene King pub which was heavily decked out for Halloween in what was probably one of the largest rooms. Although, things were starting to get a little hazy and we didn't explore the rest of the pub.
At first sight, there appeared to be a good number of ales. Some had standard pumpclips. Others had been handwritten. On closer inspection, there was Greene King Abbot & London Glory, Ruddles Best, Morland Original & Old Speckled Hen, Hardy & Hanson's Olde Trip & Mighty Oak Captain Bob. My attention was drawn to the handwritten clip at the far end, which appeared to be an IPA from a new brewery I'd not heard of called 9K.
However, it soon dawned on me that it wasn't 9K at all. It was in fact gK and I'd ordered a Greene King IPA. With table service de rigeur, I had to shout across the room to stop the barmaid pouring the drink and to change my order to the Captain Bob instead. Luckily, my intervention had come in the nick of time. The Captain Bob was a decent drink and I'd avoided a beer I don't particularly like. No CAMRA discount was offered.
Nice pub. But it was a shame that all but one of the ales was from the Greene King stable.
On 13th October 2020
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Woolpack
A short walk from the town centre, this is a smart, comfortable Greene King pub that still feels very much like a local’s pub rather than a corporate venue. You enter into the left hand, main bar area – a carpeted room with a fine dark wood servery down the right hand side under an attractive stained glass canopy. Worn banquette seating follows the front and left hand walls whilst the rest of the room is furnished with standard tables and chairs. A couple of central pillars break up the sightlines through the room and there is a set of bookshelves against one of these pillars, full of old paperbacks. Pump clips line the dark wood beams that cross the ceiling and there is a pleasant fireplace on the rear wall under some brewery mirrors. Turning right, you enter a basic second room with a pump-free stretch of servery and public bar staples such as a pool table and dartboard. The pool table limits the potential for seating options and the room was subsequently empty on an early Saturday evening visit. In the rear left corner there is another area, which has lounge-style furniture in an L-shaped space and the comfy seating options arguably make this the most pleasant spot in the pub to grab a seat. A door to the right leads out to a garden with its own bar and huge amounts of stilage for the pub’s beer festivals. Beyond is an ample patio area with plenty of seating and quite a pleasant aspect.
For a Greene King pub, the ale selection was reassuringly diverse, with Greene King XX Mild, H&H Bitter and Morland Old Speckled Hen supplemented by Tring Fanny Ebbs and Kellet, Brick Peckham Pale, Colchester Cream Stout and one other that was not noted. You don’t see the XX Mild all that often, so I decided to try a pint and it was very nice, if perhaps a little hard going at this stage of the crawl, which I hadn’t really anticipated.
This is a nice pub with plenty of different areas in which to settle down over a well kept pint of ale. The pub’s freedom to select guest ales as it sees fit makes it a much more tempting prospect than your average Greene King house and judging by the stilage outside, it looks like their beer festival would be well worth stopping by for.
On 7th November 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Woolpack
A very inviting looking pub on approach and equally rewarding beers inside. Eight ales on handpump, this is a Greene King house with some GK specials and good guest beers. It's a comfortable pub with a relaxed atmosphere so you could easily make your way through their beer board. Beers on Hook Norton Old Hooky, Green Jack orange wheat beer, Batemans Spring Goddess, Bishop Nick Ridleys Rate, Belhaven Golden Bay, Hardy and Hansons Kimberley Bitter, GK Celebration Ale and GK IPA Reserve.
On 17th June 2012
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about The Woolpack
This was the last of the 6 pubs chosen from the 2011 Good Beer Guide for our visit on 23.12.10. We selected the Greene King Abbot Reserve and Vale Good King Senseless. Good to find guest ales in a Greene King house. We had a meal here from a good menu selection. It also seems to cater for all tastes which may be why it was awarded Local CAMRA Pub of the Year award 2010. There is a small bar area for those who like darts and pool, and an annexe with TV. They also host folk nights, quiz nights and hold beer festivals.
On 2nd January 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john mcgraw left this review about The Woolpack
Large comfortable street corner local.Unfortunately only has real ale from the Greene King stable.
On 1st February 2007
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]