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Williams Ale & Cider House (Metropolitan Pub Co. (Greene King))
| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Bedlam - Redroaster |  | 1 |
| Big Penny (formerly Truman's) as of late 2022 contract brewed - Blindside |  | 1 |
| Big Penny (formerly Truman's) as of late 2022 contract brewed - Swift | | 1 |
| Big Penny (formerly Truman's) as of late 2022 contract brewed - Two Halves | | 1 |
| By The Horns - Hopadelic |  | 1 |
| Essex Street / East London Collaboration - Olicana | | 1 |
| London Fields - Broadway Belle | | 1 |
| New River - Blind Poet | | 1 |
| Plain Ales - India Plain Ale | | 1 |
| Southwark - Bermondsey Best | | 1 |
| Tigertops - Star Man | | 1 |
| Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - Small Batch Cherry Chilli Stout | | 1 |
| Big Penny (formerly Truman's) as of late 2022 contract brewed - Pucker Up Mistletoe Mild | Not Tried | 0 |
| By The Horns - Diamond Geezer | Not Tried | 0 |
| Crouch Vale - Brewers Gold | Not Tried | 0 |
| Dorking - Red India Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Dorking - Washington Gold | Not Tried | 0 |
| East London (ELB) - Jamboree | Not Tried | 0 |
| East London (ELB) - Orchid Mild | Not Tried | 0 |
| Five Points - XPA | Not Tried | 0 |
| Goffs - Jouster Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Greene King - Spitalfields Brew | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hackney - New Zealand Pale Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hogs Back - HBB | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hogs Back - Mistletoe & Swine | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hogs Back - Utopia | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hop Stuff - Fusilier | Not Tried | 0 |
| Itchen Valley - Belgarum | Not Tried | 0 |
| Itchen Valley - Pure Gold | Not Tried | 0 |
| Lytham - Blonde | Not Tried | 0 |
| Plain Ales - Inncognito | Not Tried | 0 |
| Saltaire - Triple Choc (was Triple Chocoholic) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Sambrook's - Lavender Hill (originally exclusively for Nicholson's) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Sambrook's - Powerhouse Porter | Not Tried | 0 |
| Southwark - Gold | Not Tried | 0 |
| St Austell - Proper Job | Not Tried | 0 |
| Titanic - Plum Porter | Not Tried | 0 |
| Triple fff - Ramble Tamble (previously 4.6%) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - Grandstand Bitter | Not Tried | 0 |
| Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - Naked Ladies | Not Tried | 0 |
| Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - Redhead | Not Tried | 0 |
| Wadworth - Horizon | Not Tried | 0 |
Stephen Harris
Visits Details
30 Mar 2019 (Wittenden)
Late afternoon on a mild spring Saturday.Good to see a dartboard being made use of.We sat at the back and admired an old Fremlins poster.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedlam - Redroaster | 5.00 | | A smoked coffee porter.Bitter,not over heavy with the bean:more on the aroma front. |
| Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
| Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - Naked Ladies | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Dorking - Red India Ale | 5.00 | Not Tried |
22 Sep 2018 (Magnus Greel)
Early evening and an oasis of a calm relaxed atmosphere here compared to the bustle of nearby pubs. We had a choice of two free tables by the entrance so decided to spread out here.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| By The Horns - Hopadelic | 4.30 | | Earthy and fruity tropical hints |
| Goffs - Jouster Ale | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Triple fff - Ramble Tamble (previously 4.6%) | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Lytham - Blonde | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| East London (ELB) - Orchid Mild | 3.60 | Not Tried | |
| Dorking - Washington Gold | 3.80 | Not Tried |
07 Jul 2018 (Stephen Harris)
Not my ideal choice as a venue to watch the England v Sweden World Cup game, but I’m the victim of a delayed train into Liverpool Street. It is packed and boisterous in here. Not very conducive to calm observance of the game. I’ve little idea of what beers were available as I could not get very near the bar.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Penny (formerly Truman's) as of late 2022 contract brewed - Two Halves | 4.20 | | It did a job over a couple of pints. |
| Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - Grandstand Bitter | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Sambrook's - Lavender Hill (originally exclusively for Nicholson's) | 4.50 | Not Tried |
19 Dec 2017 (Stephen Harris)
Early evening and very busy. The weather is milder than in recent days, allowing a lot of people to stand on the pavement outside. Two or three more cask beers were available, but it was difficult to approach the bar near enough to see what they were.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - Small Batch Cherry Chilli Stout | 4.70 | | Black, cherry, chilli – it’s all there. High prices and short measures do not lead to deducted points on this website – so, excellent. |
| Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Spitalfields Brew | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
| Five Points - XPA | 4.00 | Not Tried |
29 Sep 2017 (ChrisE)
Late morning visit and fairly quiet. A group of us met here for a friend's birthday pub crawl. All cask ales were half price today.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwark - Bermondsey Best | 4.40 | | |
| Wadworth - Horizon | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Hogs Back - Utopia | 4.90 | Not Tried |
14 Feb 2017 (Stephen Harris)
Early-evening visit.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plain Ales - India Plain Ale | 5.20 | | A golden IPA with a good English hop bite. |
| Tigertops - Star Man | 4.00 | | A slightly weedy Golden Ale. A mysterious, home-made pumpclip give no clue of brewery origin. |
| Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
| Saltaire - Triple Choc (was Triple Chocoholic) | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| By The Horns - Diamond Geezer | 4.90 | Not Tried | |
| Itchen Valley - Belgarum | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Spitalfields Brew | 3.90 | Not Tried |
28 Dec 2016 (Stephen Harris)
Post curry pint and a chat with an old friend who happened to be at the bar.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| New River - Blind Poet | 4.50 | | A tasty Smoked Porter, although it fell flat rather quickly in the glass. |
| Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
| Itchen Valley - Pure Gold | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Spitalfields Brew | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
| Big Penny (formerly Truman's) as of late 2022 contract brewed - Pucker Up Mistletoe Mild | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Hogs Back - Mistletoe & Swine | 5.20 | Not Tried |
16 Sep 2015 (Stephen Harris)
Not over-crowded in the mid-evening and there is less obviously a ‘City’ clientele here than other pubs round about.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essex Street / East London Collaboration - Olicana | 6.00 | | This beer was brewed collaboratively at the Temple Brew House with ELB in a ‘live brewing’ day as part of London Beer City week. It is described as a Belgian Blonde, single-hopped with Olicana, a new British hop. My pint was a very murky amber colour and really rather odd. I was getting spicy, rather than fruity flavours. Drinkable, but not what I was expecting and quite possibly not right. |
| Sambrook's - Powerhouse Porter | 4.90 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Spitalfields Brew | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
| Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - Redhead | 4.10 | Not Tried | |
| Southwark - Gold | 5.20 | Not Tried |
09 Feb 2015 (Stephen Harris)
Early Monday evening and this pub is a lot less crowded than it can be.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Penny (formerly Truman's) as of late 2022 contract brewed - Blindside | 4.40 | | An easy-drinking, unchallenging, pale beer. |
| Greene King - IPA (was 3.6%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
| Crouch Vale - Brewers Gold | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Titanic - Plum Porter | 4.90 | Not Tried | |
| Plain Ales - Inncognito | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| East London (ELB) - Jamboree | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Hackney - New Zealand Pale Ale | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Hop Stuff - Fusilier | 4.30 | Not Tried |
16 Aug 2014 (Wittenden)
Late afternoon on a windy August Saturday. Fairly quiet.I'd hoped to spot some hipsters with ironic beards, but everyone was cleanshaven.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Fields - Broadway Belle | 5.00 | | A 'Californian Pale'.Tropical fruit. |
| Big Penny (formerly Truman's) as of late 2022 contract brewed - Swift | 3.90 | | I was intrigued to see a beer from the revived Trumans. Unfortunately it was rather nondescript. |
| Hogs Back - HBB | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| St Austell - Proper Job | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Spitalfields Brew | 3.90 | Not Tried |
About the Williams Ale & Cider House
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
 | - |
| 5 |
| 6 |
| 8 |
 | - |
The pub is found in Spitalfields, Central London, E1 7LS.
This long-standing pub was formerly called the Ship and was probably established in 1682. By the 1930s it had become more commonly known as ‘Williams’ in deference to the Williams family which had run the pub for many years – although formal renaming did not come until, I think, the 1970s. The pub was known in the early part of the twentieth century for its house rules, designed to avoid drunkenness on the premises. These included ‘No Smoking’ and ‘Only One Pint per Customer per Visit’. The former is now thankfully the law of the land, the latter has equally thankfully been relaxed. Whilst long attracting a City crowd, it remained a little more pool table than pinstripe into the mid-2000s, before moving more upmarket when acquired by Greene King from Whitbread’s. A further revamp in 2013 has seen an increase in the number of handpumps to 14, with a focus on London-brewed beers and real cider. Metropolitan Pub Co. is a Greene King pub brand.
We have visited this pub 15 times, seen 73 different beers and tried 19 of them.
Postcode: E1 7LS