Brooksteed Alehouse, Worthing

Facebook page of Brooksteed Alehouse - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Brooksteed Alehouse - www.facebook.com

Just around the corner from Worthing station, the Brooksteed Alehouse was one of Worthing’s earliest micropubs, opening in September 2014. The pub is quite rare in micropub circles as it has already changed hands after the original owners parted ways with the business they’d successfully established in early 2017. This is one of the more homely micropubs I’ve visited, set in a former retail unit on a small parade of shops. The parade stands quite a way back from the road, affording plenty of room for pavement seating which was popular on a bright Sunday afternoon. You enter into the main part of the pub, with the short servery directly opposite the front door. Boards to one side list the range of ales available from a purpose built temperature controlled room behind the bar which is visible as you pass the bar. The room has dark vinyl flooring and walls painted in dark but quite warm shades and decorated with brewery mirrors, reproduction adverts, black and white photos, some arty prints and a pump clip collection. Seating comes mainly in the form of high tables and stools along the left hand wall, plus a single regular table under the large front window. There is a drinking ledge along the wall of the taproom with bar stools beneath and on this visit a cheeseboard and cold meats platter had been laid out for customers to get stuck into. To the rear there is a small lounge-style area with pews and chairs around a couple of old school desks which I couldn’t help but take a look inside, only to find a collection of board games. This is quite a cosy spot with more old pictures on the walls along with a rack full of beer related magazines and an old fashioned first aid kit among other odds and ends. There is a garden to the rear but this is for smokers only – the pub does not have a licence allowing drinks to be taken into the garden. The boards listed five cask ales – Dark Star Espresso and Six Hop, Bedlam Golden Ale, Dorking DB1 and Holler Boys The Rouser – and there was a beer menu on my table listing a limited but thoughtfully compiled list of bottled beers. I gave the Golden Ale a try for £3.80 a pint and thought it was in fantastic shape and a great pint to kick off a crawl around town. The staff were very friendly, stopping for a chat when I arrived and urging me to get stuck into the cheeseboard before it all went. This is a quality pub that does well on the usual micropub specialities such as good service and well conditioned beer, but it also scores well on comfort, aesthetic appeal and having enough space to afford a bit of privacy should you want it. This is one of many very good micropubs in and around Worthing and a great option for anyone travelling on the train – don’t miss out on this one.

Whilst I'm not a connoisseur or collector of micropubs, I can recognise that this is a superior example of the genre. Money has clearly been spent here and they've come up with a comfortable, well-appointed room that actually does feel recognisably pubby, rather than former shoppy. The Brooksteed attracts a good crowd with the clientele managing to go beyond the CAMRA stereotype, although the local branch has awarded it a Pub of the Year honour. On my visit, service was friendly with advice and tasters both freely given as I weighed up the two pale ales I fancied (from a selection of 5 or so - not all of them pale). The beer was of excellent quality, gravity dispensed from the cold room behind the bar (yes, there was almost a bar here). In addition to the ale, a good selection of modern craft in cans and bottles was available. The main drawback is that there is just a single lavatory so you may need to plan the timing of your onward journey around the limited opportunities for relief here.