please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Ever since the owner described local townsfolk as "losers" in the press there's been a big drop off of punters, especially with the Carps now on form and the recent opening of the Tap Room and Farmers Yard. Don't bother. Really, just don't.
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Beer festival end of the month.
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I found myself in Maldon on a Saturday lunchtime and after reading the great reviews of this place I had to visit.
Apart from the electric being off and no food being available the pub was first class. I had a pint from the farmer's range and it was excellent and at �3.00 a pint very reasonably priced.
Well worth a visit when you're next in Maldon or if you haven't been for a while.
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A truly brilliant pub worthy of it's inclusion in the BITE top 10. The twigs by the fireplace and the "jus" available - as opposed to gravy - mean I go here every time.
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Visited this excellent historic pub yesterday evening,the gravity Farmers beers were on top form,and reasonably priced,i can fully understand why this pub wins many awards especially from CAMRA.
Just one critisism ,the pub dog appears to dislike all customers especially those who have their own dogs with them,this needs to be addressed,we left earlier than planned.
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Lovely old building (in parts dating back to c. 1400) and former coaching inn, just off the High Street in the centre of Maldon. The Blue Boar operates as a hotel but incorporates a pub/bar that is open to the public.
Visited yesterday to find a beer festival in progress but opted for two of the Blue Boar's own ales ('Drop of Nelson's Blood' and 'Puck's Glory'). These, along with several others, are available on gravity dispense. The two myself and my companion tried were both excellent, and reasonably priced at �3.00 per pint. Service was friendly and efficient.
The interior is decorated with stuffed animals and other curios. It's personal taste but I found this all slightly twee. Fortunately, the quality of the ancient building shines through and, combined with the excellent quality home-produced ales, I most strongly recommend this pub.
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Last week I paid a visit last week excellent beers..Pucks Folly and Nelsons Blood. all at 300p a pint.
One problem is you now have to pay 400p to park your car in the courtyard at the back.
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I like this place more each time I go there. An absolutely incredible old building, the eclectic range of artefacts adorning the front bar is barking mad. Four Farmer's beers plus Adnams were available, all on gravity dispense. A couple of years ago I also stayed in the hotel for a couple of nights. That was great too.
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Mr c likesbeer - please come and have a chat with me next time you are in the Blue Boar. I won't bite!
pupsy - 17 Dec 2010 19:41 |
I get to stay in this great pub when working in the area. The beer is always terrific and the food ins't bad either. Its a lovely old building, now even better with a brewery out the back. One or two of the customers think that they own the place on occasion but the real owner is a very nice guy rightly proud of his pub. Don't pass this place by!
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Further to the comment below, I have to say that the landlord, John, is actually a fabulous chap. Eccentric in the very nicest of ways and great company. He is also there pretty regularly as far as I can make out... he is a very old fashioned type of publican: the sort of very characterful host you would have known a hundred or even two hundred years ago... And the pub matches the man - quirky and delightfully old fashioned
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I drink in the Blue Boar fairly regularly, the beer is excellent, staff are friendly and food is good. The local (brewery across the car park) Farmers ales are particularly good. All proper beer is served by gravity and is well kept.
We like this pub very much and think it is the best in Maldon, but with the following caveat.
From time to time (rarely, luckily) there is a man who wanders around the Pub, he appears to be the owner. He seems to take great joy in making arbitry rules, e.g. Dogs are allowed anywhere, dogs only in the front bar, he tries to tell us about the beer/history of the pub/town etc. However we think we are in the Pub more than he is! The good thing is he seems to go on holiday (sailing?) & owns a farm so in NOT a regular fixture!! But I shut up because I don't wan to be banned!
I rate the pub 10 if the owner is not there! But still 6 if he is, the beer is worth it!!
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Very good foor and ale. Staff very friendly.
Made a horrible mistake by staying at the Swan Hotel in Maldon because we missed this place when looking for a place to stay. the Holtel looks great and we we very unhappy we had already paid at the other dump.
At least we had a good evening by eating and drinking heren
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Well worth a visit. Very good Pub Food but, more importantly, there is a chalk board with Chef's Specials. The chef really knows his business.
Plenty of real ales from the barrel. It has loads of local character, and characters! Don't be put off by the forbidding exterior. Prices very reasonable.
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Good boozer, with six different ales on last night, four of which are brewed on the premises. Staff friendly, helpful and polite. Well worth a visit.
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Great beer in this pub with the Farmers brewery in the court yard. I like the old world feel of the place and that there is plenty of room outside to sit on a nice day.
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I've been here a few times on rainy horrible days when I'm travelling in the area. I love the old historic place, it does seems it's a locals pub where many visitors drop in for the nose about. We were made welcome both times and the charming mgr/proprietor gave us chapter and verse on the variety of ales on sale. It would be good to stay somewhere near one time and really get stuck into a few offerings but on the whole I would say stop and go take a look, it's something heartening and a little bit different.
Mcloj - 20 Apr 2010 08:21 |
Infested by wasps on my visit, but the chavs at the next table made me warm to the wasps a bit and the beer was very good.
Suffers from being in a rather small town that is seeing hard times, but if you can overlook a few tattooed hardcases staking out their territory (and their boyfriends) it's a pub worth a detour.
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what can I say about this pub, except fantastic.
Visited last saturday (10/10/09) and was met by the head brewer who promptly invited us on a tour of the brewery and gave a brief history lesson on the hotel and the brewery, we then went and sampled the ales, Nelsons Blood, pucks Folly, King Green and Golden Boar, all straight from the barrel and all in tip top condition, so good was it that we had to return that same evening to sample them all again, great food too, the ham egg chips and onion rings really hit the spot, pub grub along with a more substantial menu is available and a pretty reasonable price I thought a nice beer garden too just the place to relax and enjoy great beer from a brewer who really cares what people think about his beers.
Oh and while you are their, if it is open don't forget to stock up on the bottled beers , we managed to take home 8 different beers to try. 10 out of 10 from me.
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A great visit on Thursday to this 14th century coaching inn. There are two bars to the pub part. The front tap room has a hunting theme with a boar hogs head and a young roe deer head on one wall. An adult deer with full antlers is on the opposite wall next to the roaring fire place. A stuffed fox was also in that area and a cabinet with further stuffed animals including a rabbit. As you cannot see the casks from this side there is a pole with the pump clips of all the available beer. The other bar which I think is known just as 'the bar'. More comfortable seating here with many nautical pictures of ships. You can view all the casks here and there is also enough room for the next casks to come on. On Thursday night; Farmers Puck's Folly, A drop of Nelsons Blood & Oyster Stout with Crouch Vale Amarillo and Adnams Bitter. I think everything apart from the Oyster Stout was �2.80 on the night and �3.00 for the stout.
Nigel Farmer gave us a full tour of the brewery in the stable block to the rear of the pub/hotel. He seems to be happy with the arrangements with the owners who he supplies with his beer. He said that sometimes the Blue Boar get through a cask of Puck's Folly every day. Puck's Folly was created through his love of Amarillo but is very differently hopped with an abundance of goldings.
The toilets are situated in the opposite hotel building which also seems to have a lot of character. From the outside courtyard we could hear the jazz band performing in the room upstairs above the bars. You can see a little up there where there is a rather grand old fireplace. I understand that many local societies use this room for meetings. Great to see that this has just had its 25th rating and has become BITE's number one pub (Current user rating: 8.5/10 (rated by 25 users).
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Splendid atmospheric pub, great ales and excellent value for money local food.
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The tables get a bit sticky from time to time. Very (ahem) Victorian loos. Always good beer- regularly monitered by tame resident brewer.
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A wonderfully atmospheric 14th century coaching inn situated in the heart of town. The main hotel takes up one side of the courtyard whereas the pub with its 2 bars is opposite. The relatively unspoilt front bar (the Tap Room) has bare parqued floor, an old brick faced fireplace, original old beams and a whole host of wonky walls with suitabley off centre pictures. Stuffed animal heads, horns and antlers overlook proceedings and a fabulous ornate antique cabinet stands in the corner. The carpeted rear bar is more intimate but no less atmospheric with low wonky beamed ceilings and a real sense of history aided by the slightly nautical theme with old ship portraits (all seemingly depicted on rather choppy seas) and ships wheels. The Farmers beers are brewed on premises and dispensed direct from the series of 12 racked barrels (5 were available on my visit). The atmosphere is generally lively without being raucous and the locals were all friendly enough. The antics of Popsy the dog will generally keep you entertained. Whilst we didn�t eat on our recent visit, we have dined here before and food was very good. Upstairs is a function room with a vaulted ceiling and its own bar but I�ve not actually been up to see it on any of my visits. The toilets are situated in the main hotel building on the other side of the courtyard although sadly there isn�t any access to the hotel itself which is apparently equally interesting. All in all, an excellent pub, one of my favourites and one that doesn�t need many excusses to make a return visit.
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Excellent venue popular with real ale enthusiasts and home of Farmer's Ales which has a brewery at the back of the premises.
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I'll be there in a few weeks time I'm going to The Swan Beer Festival in Little Totham starting the 14th June and I will pay a visit to the Blue Boar as it is a year since I was last year.
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I tried this Inn purely by chance having worked in the vacinity a few weeks before and been intrigued by the look of the place. I was not disappointed. What an absolute gem. The beer, some of which is brewed on the premises, is excellent. The food and the service is all that could be desired and the bar has character that if you could bottle it would make you a fortune. I would urge any connoisseur of good beer and good pubs to try this 14th century Inn and while you're there go and have a chat with the brewer - he's friendly and helpful and will tell you all about the process. You can buy bottles of 'farmers' in the shop there (one of the best bitters I've tasted in a long time!)
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This pub is a real gem.Excellent Farmers beer straight from the barrel,friendly service and polite brewer ready to update drinkers on how the brews were coming along.Pucks Folly was spot on ,very bitter finish.A real pub,open fire,no extraneous noise apart from convivial conversation.
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A 14th century inn and an absolute cracker. Stuffed with antiques and locals of all sorts with heavy beams, oil paintings and roaring fires. A very welcome survival in a charming market town: if only all pubs retained such genuine, unaffected character - an accolade to the landlord, a gentleman farmer called John Wilsdon.
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Lovely pub, nice seating area outside. Good range of Farmers Ales which were very good but still reckon the Mighty Oak beers of Maldon are nicer.
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Fabulously idiosyncratic pub in Maldon: ancient, but with a huge accretion of fittings and bits from all eras, like the encrustations on a sunken ship. The highlight is the beer, much of which is delicious Farmers Ales brewed in a small microbrewery plant on the premises. Staff have a dry sense of humour, but are friendly. Food is good basic stuff: nothing special, but then the prices are reasonable too. We stayed there overnight in a decent honest room: breakfast is excellent, and the resident's lounges etc continue the eclectic theme of random stuff from all ages. It's evident from being there on a Saturday night that this pub has broad appeal. All social classes and ages were present, from middle class couples to the local trendy Essex boys all dressed like Michael Caine in the 60's. To top it all a convention of Morris dancers were exercising their clogs in the function room upstairs with thumping like a hip hop hatch with big bass bins, so we really felt we were getting a selection of all of England: from the traditional to the modern.
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Visited for the first time on Sunday and what a wonderful place to visit.
Tried one of their Farmers beers at 5% and what a great beer one of the best I've ever tried' they also had Pucks Folly and Nelsons Blood but I stuck with the high gravity Farmers.
Great oak beams in the Tap room with stuffed animals in the rafters.. a unique place..
I will return.
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Without doubt one of the best pubs I go to and unfortunately not often enough. Went in last friday night to find a very mixed range of ages. Superb beers from the barrel including two Adnams. Seems pretty standard? A far cry from another nearby pub with loads of kids hanging around outside. Highly recommended.
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Returned there last Saturday en route to Maldon Town v Waltham Forest. Still the best pub in a lovely little town which it is always a pleasure to visit.
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Superb atmospheric old pub with many genuine fixtures and fittings from 300-400 years ago. Beer selection was a little disappointing for my visit with a couple from Adnams (not one of my favourite brewers) and two of the Farmer's range, but not Puck's Folly or their Porter. Still, it gives me a good excuse to make a return visit.
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It�s not often I have to have an overnight so close to my North London base, but for reasons I wont bore you with here I found myself in deepest Essex last night.
So, as usual I utilised BeerintheEvening to find a suitable watering hole.
I was attracted to the Blue Boar due to the rating and the comments. Especially the references to the atmosphere, good beer and particularly Fredwood�s comment that it caters for the more mature (ie geriatric) as I am fast moving in that direction and wanted to avoid the local Maldon Mockney youth and not socialise with them.
Many thanks to the previous contributors, as this is a gem of a pub. For someone who is more use to the Pubco theme pubs of north London, this is a really great atmospheric old pub.
The beer was great and as mentioned by apa below the Pucks folly is very drinkable. However it would have been good if he had commented also on the �Nelsons Blood�, which is an excellent tipple if you like your pint tasting like it has been dragged through a charcoal fire backwards.
And then to cap it all I struck lucky with some very good entertainment. After watching several people disappear up a winding staircase I discovered that there is a function room above the bars and last night they had a showcase for local singer songwriters.
Apparently this is held on the first Tuesday of every month in the Oak Room above the bars, and for a mere �3.50 I enjoyed four very competent local singer /songwriters strumming away on acoustic guitars. Not only that, but the function room closer resembled a small mediaeval banqueting hall, with low slung beams and fully equipped with period portraits and full suit of armour� Cracking.
Excellent place, excellent evening. Cannot recommend it highly enough.
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Wonderful, atmospheric old pub with great choice of real ales. Recommended.
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Don't care about the beer. This is the classiest venue in Maldon, and therefore not very popular. Old coaching lodge and very historic. Caters for the more mature (ie geriatric) residents of Maldon, none of those new fangler wurlitzers playing that Liverpudlian skiffle music. Lovely, lovely, lovely place. Kind of place to take your girlfriends parents to fool them into thinking you're respectable and will treat their daughter well.
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great beer straight from the barrel i had brewers gold that tasted perfect also waiting to come on was crouch vale's amarillo and as this is a brew pub they also had their own mr mussel well worth a visit you can get a bus from chelmsford and it stops outside disabled access nice seating area at the back
anonymous - 30 Jul 2006 09:57 |
Really old pub with two bars.All real ales are served by gravity from behind the bar.They have their own brew as well as Adnams.The Pucks Folly tastes very strange at first but after a while it tastes pretty good.
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Great for beer, try the home brews. Had a meal in the restaraunt, which was a lovely place to eat, unfortunately the food was diabolically awfull.
anonymous - 11 Dec 2005 21:41 |
Good description from Lee below. Don't be put off by the lack of handpumps (as my mate was) there were 3 homebrews and Adnams on from barrels in the back bar. Although the main bar was a bit smokey the back bar was quieter and obviously more food orientated. Food was reasonable but not sure what happens when it is wet/cold as it appears to come from the hotel accross the courtyard. The toilets are also in the hotel and the brewhouse in the car park.
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An excellent brewpub opposite the church in the centre of the town. Two exquisite beers on gravity plus Adnams. During last night's visit I had the pleasure of enjoying a nectareous pint of Blue Boar Bitter, 4%. Dry, hoppy and bitter. Their slightly stronger brew was "Taste It and Name It", 4.2%, slightly less bitter. Food available in a separate bar. No music on my visit, but jazz advertised. The main bar features a tiled wooden floor and timber beams. The walls are bedecked with the heads of slaughtered beasts plus an array of hunting weaponry. Note the price tags still hanging from the light fittings on the walls. Not yet in the Good Beer Guide, but soon will be! A gem. Go there!
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