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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 - Copper Ale |  | 1 |
| Palmers - Tally Ho! | | 4 |
| Titanic - Plum Porter | | 1 |
| Skinner's (now brewed by Goodh) - Betty Stogs Bitter | | 1 |
| Long Man - Old Man | | 1 |
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | | 10 |
| Coors - M&B Brew XI (brewed at Brains) | | 1 |
| Hop Back - Summer Lightning |  | 1 |
| Shepherd Neame - The Faversham Steam Brewery - Whitstable Bay Pale Ale | | 1 |
| Dorking - Five Claw | Not Tried | 0 |
| Marston's - Wychwood Hobgoblin IPA (was Ruby Beer) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Bowland - Boxer Blonde | Not Tried | 0 |
| Shepherd Neame - Late Red | Not Tried | 0 |
| St Austell - Anthem | Not Tried | 0 |
| Sambrook's - Junction | Not Tried | 0 |
| Shepherd Neame - Bishops Finger | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hop Back - Citra | Not Tried | 0 |
| Long Man - Long Blonde | Not Tried | 0 |
| Batemans - Hooker | Not Tried | 0 |
| Dorking - Pilcrow Pale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Greene King - Scrum Down | Not Tried | 0 |
| Dorking - Extra Pale Ale XPA (was 3.8% | Not Tried | 0 |
| Downton - Apple Blossom Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Downton - Elderquad | Not Tried | 0 |
| Long Man - American Red Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hop Back - Crop Circle | Not Tried | 0 |
| Downton - Downton Dream | Not Tried | 0 |
| Downton - Moby Dick | Not Tried | 0 |
| Palmers - Dorset Gold | Not Tried | 0 |
| Eagle (formerly Wells & Young's, formerly Charles Wells, formerly Wells) - Young's London Special (was Special) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Dorking - DB Number One | Not Tried | 0 |
| Sambrook's - Powerhouse Porter | Not Tried | 0 |
| Titsey - Leveson Buck | Not Tried | 0 |
| Bedlam - Benchmark | Not Tried | 0 |
Visits Details
11 Feb 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until closed. Packed with just one small vacant table. Pity the lined glasses have disappeared completely here of late.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | Glorious |
| Titanic - Plum Porter | 4.90 | | This was spot on. Unusually for Titanic PP it really stressed that dryness that plums should give |
| Batemans - Hooker | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Palmers - Dorset Gold | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Scrum Down | 4.10 | Not Tried |
04 Feb 2023 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close. Assured superb condition ales here every visit. Only 20 minutes or so by bus and tram from The Real Ale Way West Wickham tonight.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | 4½* Astounding condition. Palmers as it should be |
| Hop Back - Summer Lightning | 5.00 | | Good nightcap but never as good as it once as |
| Palmers - Copper Ale | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Sambrook's - Powerhouse Porter | 4.90 | Not Tried | |
| Hop Back - Citra | 4.00 | Not Tried |
23 Sep 2022 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until midnight close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - Tally Ho! | 5.50 | | Splendid form |
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | Good but not quite excellent |
| Shepherd Neame - Late Red | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Palmers - Dorset Gold | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Eagle (formerly Wells & Young's, formerly Charles Wells, formerly Wells) - Young's London Special (was Special) | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Sambrook's - Junction | 4.50 | Not Tried |
16 Sep 2022 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until midnight close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | Back to form after the blip on the last visit |
| Palmers - Tally Ho! | 5.50 | | Difficult to be much better |
| Eagle (formerly Wells & Young's, formerly Charles Wells, formerly Wells) - Young's London Special (was Special) | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Sambrook's - Powerhouse Porter | 4.90 | Not Tried | |
| Bedlam - Benchmark | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Marston's - Wychwood Hobgoblin IPA (was Ruby Beer) | 4.50 | Not Tried |
09 Sep 2022 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close. Upon entry a sing song taking place at the far end but it soon dissipated.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long Man - Old Man | 4.30 | | Great end of evening nightcap |
| Coors - M&B Brew XI (brewed at Brains) | 3.60 | | Excellent despite its deliberately misleading lack of stated provenance |
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 |  | Something definitely wrong with this yet had only been on for 4 hours or so. No head, no lacing, no condition and not enjoyable |
| Long Man - Long Blonde | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Downton - Downton Dream | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Downton - Moby Dick | 4.70 | Not Tried |
03 Sep 2022 (Philip Pirrip)
Late evening visit until close. Aha Tally Ho! on to bring an immediate smile on entering.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 |  | One word - superb. 4½* |
| Palmers - Tally Ho! | 5.50 | | One word - superb. 4½* |
| Hop Back - Crop Circle | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Downton - Apple Blossom Ale | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
| Downton - Downton Dream | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Long Man - American Red Ale | 4.60 | Not Tried |
31 Aug 2022 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | Top notch |
| Skinner's (now brewed by Goodh) - Betty Stogs Bitter | 4.00 | | Not so far in taste away from the Palmers IPA |
| Hop Back - Summer Lightning | 5.00 | Not Tried | Tempted but the much adored mid brown bitters were too good |
| Downton - Apple Blossom Ale | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
| Downton - Elderquad | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Long Man - American Red Ale | 4.60 | Not Tried |
24 Aug 2022 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | Spot on |
| Shepherd Neame - The Faversham Steam Brewery - Whitstable Bay Pale Ale | 3.90 | | Condition good but not a whiff of the floral hop nose it probably ought to have |
| Shepherd Neame - Bishops Finger | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Long Man - Long Blonde | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Dorking - Pilcrow Pale | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Dorking - Extra Pale Ale XPA (was 3.8% | 3.40 | Not Tried |
20 Aug 2022 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | 4½* could hardly be bettered |
| Palmers - Tally Ho! | 5.50 | | Made a pair of 4½* ales here tonight. This stuff was just glug glug glug |
| Long Man - Old Man | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
| Titsey - Leveson Buck | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Bowland - Boxer Blonde | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| St Austell - Anthem | 3.80 | Not Tried |
16 Aug 2022 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until close.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmers - IPA (Best) | 4.20 | | Faultless |
| Palmers - Copper Ale | 3.70 | | Different to the IPA but excellent quality in an obviously professional brew |
| Palmers - Dorset Gold | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Dorking - DB Number One | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Titsey - Leveson Buck | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Dorking - Five Claw | 5.10 | 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