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Claret & Ale (formerly Claret Free House) (Free House)
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| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Palmers - 200 Premium Ale |  | 2 |
| Downton - Oatmeal Stout |  | 2 |
| Wantsum - Becket's Brown Ale | | 1 |
| Long Man - Old Man | | 1 |
| Palmers - Tally Ho! | | 4 |
| Long Man - Long Reign | | 1 |
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | | 10 |
| Palmers - Copper Ale | | 1 |
| Downton - Dragon I.P.A. | Not Tried | 0 |
| Downton - Mad Hare | Not Tried | 0 |
| Downton - Apple Blossom Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Dorking - Five Claw | Not Tried | 0 |
| Wantsum - Coronation Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Salopian - Shropshire Gold | Not Tried | 0 |
| Butcombe - Rare Breed (or Adam Henson's Rare Breed) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Cellar Head - Session Pale Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Cellar Head - Fireside | Not Tried | 0 |
| Greene King - Morland Old Speckled Hen | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hop Back - Citra | Not Tried | 0 |
| Wantsum - Cantium Strong Mild | Not Tried | 0 |
| Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - Four Grains | Not Tried | 0 |
| Long Man - Best Bitter | Not Tried | 0 |
| St Austell - Anthem | Not Tried | 0 |
Visits Details
26 May 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until midnight close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | As it should be |
| Palmers - Tally Ho! | 5.50 | | 4½* First day on of a new cask and exceptional all round |
| Greene King - Morland Old Speckled Hen | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Hop Back - Citra | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Cellar Head - Fireside | 5.20 | Not Tried | |
| Wantsum - Cantium Strong Mild | 4.80 | Not Tried |
19 May 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - Copper Ale | 3.70 | | In fine form |
| Wantsum - Becket's Brown Ale | 4.50 | | Unusual dark ale but in top notch condition |
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 |  | I took the last half pulled from the old cask for my IPA fix. New cask not ready until tomorrow |
| Cellar Head - Session Pale Ale | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Cellar Head - Fireside | 5.20 | Not Tried | |
| Dorking - Five Claw | 5.10 | Not Tried |
15 May 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | |
| Palmers - Tally Ho! | 5.50 | | 2nd last and last out of cask and still excellent - but noticed a more liquorice flavour coming through |
| Salopian - Shropshire Gold | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Long Man - Old Man | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
| Dorking - Five Claw | 5.10 | Not Tried | |
| Wantsum - Becket's Brown Ale | 4.50 | Not Tried |
13 May 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | Spot once more |
| Palmers - Tally Ho! | 5.50 | | 4½* Superb, on from today with new cask as I accurately guessed it might be |
| Salopian - Shropshire Gold | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Butcombe - Rare Breed (or Adam Henson's Rare Breed) | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Downton - Oatmeal Stout | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Wantsum - Coronation Ale | 6.00 | Not Tried |
12 May 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | Consistently excellent |
| Palmers - 200 Premium Ale | 5.00 | | So many qualities in one glass |
| Long Man - Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Downton - Dragon I.P.A. | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Downton - Oatmeal Stout | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Wantsum - Coronation Ale | 6.00 | Not Tried |
10 May 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - 200 Premium Ale | 5.00 | | I mused over both pints of this and could find no reason to other than mark as the pinnacle 5*. Superb. So 5* it is! |
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | As expected here |
| Palmers - Copper Ale | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Dorking - Five Claw | 5.10 | Not Tried | |
| Downton - Oatmeal Stout | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Wantsum - Coronation Ale | 6.00 | Not Tried |
06 May 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until a slightly extended Coronation weekend extension close. We need more Coronations.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | As expected here |
| Palmers - Tally Ho! | 5.50 | | A little more time for even more with the slight closing time extension |
| Long Man - Long Reign | 4.00 | | A quite golden ale and very enjoyable |
| Downton - Mad Hare | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Palmers - Copper Ale | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Dorking - Five Claw | 5.10 | Not Tried |
03 May 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | Back to top form after a blip the other day |
| Long Man - Old Man | 4.30 | | Much better than I expected, held great head and lacing until the last drop |
| Downton - Mad Hare | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - Four Grains | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Downton - Apple Blossom Ale | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
| Downton - Oatmeal Stout | 4.20 | Not Tried |
01 May 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | Rare to not be up to scratch, something not quite right with this one |
| Downton - Oatmeal Stout | 4.20 | | A little lost since Saturday's examples |
| Downton - Mad Hare | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - Four Grains | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Downton - Apple Blossom Ale | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
| Long Man - Old Man | 4.30 | Not Tried |
29 Apr 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until close. A superb ale drinking environment.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | No need to comment on its excellence |
| Downton - Oatmeal Stout | 4.20 | | Nourishing from first sip to last slurp of the lacing remnants |
| Twickenham (also uses sub-brand Old Hands) - Four Grains | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Long Man - Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| St Austell - Anthem | 3.80 | Not Tried | Ran out and its line left clear for rest of evening |
| Downton - Dragon I.P.A. | 4.50 | Not Tried |
About the Claret & Ale (formerly Claret Free House)
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 5 |
| 279 |
| 158 |
 | 22 |
 | 1 |
The pub is found in Addiscombe, Greater London, CR0 7AA.
Small low ceilinged pub close to Addiscombe Tram Stop in Bingham Corner, Lower Addiscombe Road. This pub is a regular outlet for Palmers beers. In November 2012 Palmers awarded the pub a certificate for having sold a total of 1,000,000 pints of Palmers Best Bitter (IPA) exceeding any other of its free trade outlets and in later years further greatly exceeded here and similarly certificated with 1,250,000th in 2019. 6 handpumps dispense the real ales and always at least 2 ciders served by a walk to the ground floor cellar, the latter of late not being real ones however. Beers in the cellar and due to come on are listed on a wallboard. Changed hands in 2016 with slight change of name from Claret Free House to Claret & Ale but little else has changed. 6 handpumps. Regular winner of the local CAMRA branch Borough Pub of the Year award. Local CAMRA branch Pub of the Year 2024.
We have visited this pub 217 times, seen 312 different beers and tried 101 of them.
Postcode: CR0 7AA