PubsandBeer
History: Home > The Society Rooms
The Society Rooms (Wetherspoon)
[Back to most recent] [Previous Visits] [More Visits]
| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Saltaire - Bulldog |  | 1 |
| Kelham Island (probably brewed by Thornbridge now) - Night Rider | | 1 |
| Beartown (latterly part of Manning Brewers) - Peach Melbear | | 2 |
| Otter - Otter Mild | | 1 |
| Cairngorm - Culloden | | 4 |
| Wooden Hand - Cornish Buccaneer |  | 2 |
| Highgate - Davenport's Beer Hunter | | 1 |
| AllGates - Dry Bones (was called Brigantia) | | 2 |
| Orkney (Sinclair) - Wayfarer IPA (Atlas range) | | 3 |
| Three B's - Oatmeal Stout | | 3 |
| Butcombe - Blonde | | 1 |
| Phoenix - Black Shadow Mild | | 3 |
| Rooster's - Patriot | | 1 |
| Nethergate (was Nethergate Growler for a while then name reverted) - Red Poll | | 1 |
| Herold - Black Chalice | | 2 |
| Marston's - Dragons Tale |  | 1 |
| Weltons - Hawthorn | | 2 |
| Daleside - Spring Frenzy | Not Tried | 0 |
| Greene King - Ruddles Best (was 3.7%) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Everards (see entries against Joule's & Robinsons whilst its new brewery was being built) - Val-Dieu Abbaye Blonde | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hawkshead - Lakeland Lager | Not Tried | 0 |
| Mauldons - Thomas' Tipple | Not Tried | 0 |
Visits Details
24 Apr 2010 (Pedro)
Evening
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix - Black Shadow Mild | 4.00 | | |
| AllGates - Dry Bones (was called Brigantia) | 4.00 | | |
| Cairngorm - Culloden | 4.20 | |
24 Apr 2010 (ChrisE)
About 13:00 hours on a Saturday. The usual mix of drinkers and families, with the added sound of a group of Morris Dancers walking around trying to find a table, and going to the bar.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix - Black Shadow Mild | 4.00 | | A delicious dark mild. |
| Herold - Black Chalice | 4.80 | | Black with a white creamy head. Full of flavour, I enjoyed this pint. |
| Greene King - Ruddles Best (was 3.7%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
| Daleside - Spring Frenzy | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
| AllGates - Dry Bones (was called Brigantia) | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Beartown (latterly part of Manning Brewers) - Peach Melbear | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Hawkshead - Lakeland Lager | 5.00 | Not Tried |
24 Apr 2010 (Alenomore)
Arrived at 1745 and, at last, the final two festival ales needed were found here! And yet again, as per last October, even with the slow turnover in the Muggleton, these two Wetherspoons have provided all 50 of the festival Ales between them. Well done.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelham Island (probably brewed by Thornbridge now) - Night Rider | 5.20 | | Superb. A decent stout and the last new ale needed. Devoured five pints of this! |
| AllGates - Dry Bones (was called Brigantia) | 4.00 | | A refreshing golden ale. |
| Phoenix - Black Shadow Mild | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Herold - Black Chalice | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Daleside - Spring Frenzy | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
| Beartown (latterly part of Manning Brewers) - Peach Melbear | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Cairngorm - Culloden | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Hawkshead - Lakeland Lager | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Mauldons - Thomas' Tipple | 4.50 | Not Tried |
23 Apr 2010 (Alenomore)
Arrived at 2100 and getting busy. Only one ale changed.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marston's - Dragons Tale | 4.50 | | New on for St Georges Day. Nothing special, pale bitter, but went down well. A sponsored beer under the Run for your Life banner. 10p per pint going to JD's chosen charity. |
22 Apr 2010 (Alenomore)
On this 2200 visit and some slight changes from the night before. Can echo Ian's comments. The bang up to date info is spot on using Pubsandbeer!
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herold - Black Chalice | 4.80 | | My kind of beer. Two pints and a 5* rating. Excellant. |
| Cairngorm - Culloden | 4.20 | | Tried again and thought it was even better than the night before. |
| Orkney (Sinclair) - Wayfarer IPA (Atlas range) | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Highgate - Davenport's Beer Hunter | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Everards (see entries against Joule's & Robinsons whilst its new brewery was being built) - Val-Dieu Abbaye Blonde | 5.50 | Not Tried | |
| Daleside - Spring Frenzy | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
| Three B's - Oatmeal Stout | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Weltons - Hawthorn | 4.20 | Not Tried |
22 Apr 2010 (Ian)
After seeing that Kentish Al had seen 4 of the festival beers that I'd not had yet at this pub last night, I took a couple of hours off work and popped up to Maidstone to try them. Especially as it was the Culloden which I'd been looking out for. That's why I love this site, you see a beer on at a pub that you want and then you go. Easy.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orkney (Sinclair) - Wayfarer IPA (Atlas range) | 4.40 | | Clear gold, lasting creamy head due to quite tight sparklers used here. Bit of yeast on aroma, but quite pleasing citrusy American hops too. Hugely drinkable in the body. The hops on the finish are really attractive, right level of bitterness, citrusy grapefruit flavour and develops a very good aftertaste. A golden ale done well. |
| Cairngorm - Culloden | 4.20 | | Deep reddy brown with a firm thickish collar of light tan foam. A slightly choccy initial taste. Then some sweet dark fruits kick in. More milk choc on aroma. The mix of choc, slight roast/toast and then jammy fruit, is a little unusual. Not unattractive at all. In fact I quite like it. The half pint lasted just 4 gulps and less than 5 mins, in fact extremely likeable beer with some sting on the finish which is more sour fruit than hop. Excellent. |
| Three B's - Oatmeal Stout | 3.80 | | Very decent choc flavours, a bit overly harsh on the roasted malts maybe, bit of tar and liquorice, good tasty stout though. |
| Weltons - Hawthorn | 4.20 |  | Atificial lemon and ginger, tasted a bit like washing up liquid. |
21 Apr 2010 (Pedro)
afternoon - annoyingly no Otter Mild that I wanted to try !
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orkney (Sinclair) - Wayfarer IPA (Atlas range) | 4.40 | | |
| Wooden Hand - Cornish Buccaneer | 4.30 | | |
| Beartown (latterly part of Manning Brewers) - Peach Melbear | 4.40 | | |
| Greene King - Ruddles Best (was 3.7%) | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
| Highgate - Davenport's Beer Hunter | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Daleside - Spring Frenzy | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
| Three B's - Oatmeal Stout | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Weltons - Hawthorn | 4.20 | Not Tried | |
| Cairngorm - Culloden | 4.20 | Not Tried |
21 Apr 2010 (Alenomore)
Another post 2200 visit and not disappointed either. (The "other" JD still had no changes!)
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orkney (Sinclair) - Wayfarer IPA (Atlas range) | 4.40 | | An excellant and tasty IPA type, although, it should'nt taste of Peach! (The Beartown ale was next door. Obvious to me because I've sampled plenty of the Peach, but, bossman Tim here needed "advising"? Some confusion reigned earlier in the evening I believe as well? Went down really well though. |
| Three B's - Oatmeal Stout | 3.80 | | A good "nightcap"? |
| Beartown (latterly part of Manning Brewers) - Peach Melbear | 4.40 | | Superb. And not at all like Atlas Wayfarer! |
| Cairngorm - Culloden | 4.20 | | A new ale and fresh on tonite and top class. Dark and very tasty. |
| Herold - Black Chalice | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Wooden Hand - Cornish Buccaneer | 4.30 | Not Tried | |
| Highgate - Davenport's Beer Hunter | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Daleside - Spring Frenzy | 3.40 | Not Tried | |
| Weltons - Hawthorn | 4.20 | Not Tried |
20 Apr 2010 (Alenomore)
At 2200, after finding no changes in the "other" JD, this consistently good JD came up trumps yet again with two ale changes tonite.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weltons - Hawthorn | 4.20 | | A new beer to me, a golden ale, with so much going on. The refreshingly tasteful citrus with the zesty ginger notes made this ale an outstanding find. I'm sure the ladies here would enjoy this ale? For me, it was three pints worth of total enjoyment! |
| Wooden Hand - Cornish Buccaneer | 4.30 | | A very nice ale. |
| Butcombe - Blonde | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Highgate - Davenport's Beer Hunter | 4.50 | Not Tried | |
| Saltaire - Bulldog | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Three B's - Oatmeal Stout | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Otter - Otter Mild | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Rooster's - Patriot | 4.70 | Not Tried |
19 Apr 2010 (Alenomore)
At 2200, with no changes in the "other" JD nearby, it was straight on to here with only two changes noted.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix - Black Shadow Mild | 4.00 | | An excellant mild. |
| Saltaire - Bulldog | 4.80 | | Three samples for £1.89, and this first one, spot on again. |
| Otter - Otter Mild | 3.80 | | Another outstanding mild. In tip top condition and a strong contender for my ale of the festival! |
| Butcombe - Blonde | 5.00 | | A new version of an old beer, last sampled in 2004. This is a very light ale, refreshinly good for summertime, in good nick and now 4.7%. |
| Nethergate (was Nethergate Growler for a while then name reverted) - Red Poll | 4.20 | | Another tasty dark bitter. |
| Highgate - Davenport's Beer Hunter | 4.50 | | Still in fair condition tonite. |
| Three B's - Oatmeal Stout | 3.80 | | Good taste and still in good condition. |
| Rooster's - Patriot | 4.70 | | Not sampled since 2003. Very nice bitter and in very good condition. |
About The Society Rooms
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
| 161 |
| 579 |
| 211 |
 | 51 |
| 16 |
The pub is found in Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1RF.
Part of the Brenchley House building in Week Street. Large Wetherspoon's pub with 2 levels which opened in April 2002. The Society Rooms takes its name from the efforts of William Shipley, founder the Royal Society of Arts and the Maidstone Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge. Shipley died in 1803, and is buried in Maidstone, and lies in a tomb between All Saints Church and the old Palace. 10 handpumps in 2 banks, each of 5.
We have visited this pub 456 times, seen 897 different beers and tried 665 of them.
Postcode: ME14 1RF