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Picture of Just Ales
Image posted by Jonathan Wilde
Submitted on Friday, 15th April 2016
With picture contributions to 4509 other pubs
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Requested be closed with reason - Other: Boarded up and no sign of life. WhatPub agrees.

Just Ales, Wells

Pub added by Aqualung .
38 Market Street
Wells
BA5 2DS
Correct details

Served areas

Reviews of Just Ales (Average Rating: 6 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about Just Ales

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.

On 24th November 2020 - rating: 6
[User has posted 3093 recommendations about 3093 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Blackthorn _ left this review about Just Ales

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.

On 1st May 2016 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1937 recommendations about 1850 pubs]

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Pub location see interactive map of local area
Map location corrected by Jonathan Wilde
Castle Cary, 11.14 miles, 3 hr 35 min walk (show)
Bruton, 13.16 miles, 4 hr 14 min walk (show)
Highbridge & Burnham-on-Sea, 15.96 miles, 5 hr 8 min walk (show)
Latest updates View all updates for Just Ales, Wells
21st Oct 2023, 21:10
Request to mark pub as closed by E TA approved
 
21st Oct 2023, 13:59
Request to mark pub as closed submitted by E TA, with included notes: Other: Boarded up and no sign of life. WhatPub agrees.

Pub Details

Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.

  • Accommodation : No last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Bar Billiards : No last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Beer Garden : No - One table on pavement outside - last updated 01 May 2016 by Blackthorn _
  • CAMRA Discount : No - Loyalty scheme of buy 10 pints get one free - last updated 15 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Car Park : No last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Child Friendly : Yes last updated 24 November 2020 by Pub SignMan
  • Darts : No last updated 15 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Function Room : No last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Hot Food : No last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Jukebox : No last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Karaoke : No last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Live Music : No last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Live TV Sports : No last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Micropub : Yes last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Pinball : No last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Pool Table : No last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Quiz Night : No last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Real Ale : Yes last updated 07 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Real Cider : Yes - Boxed - last updated 15 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • Wheelchair Access : No last updated 15 April 2016 by Jonathan Wilde
  • WiFi : Yes last updated 24 November 2020 by Pub SignMan
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