The Victorian Tap, Hexham

Official site of The Victorian Tap - www.victoriantaphexham.com

Official site of The Victorian Tap - www.victoriantaphexham.com

A bit of a revamp and change of name since my last visit, the main change that I could spot being the opening of what was previously a doorway between the two rooms and is now an archway, albeit a plain rectangular one. The bar counter has six hand pumps as before, with one cider and five real ales (see photo). Two were almost local: Darwin Melon Head from Sunderland, and S43 Phoenix, an American late-hopped pale from the brewery formerly known as Sonnet 43 of Coxhoe in County Durham (and not, as the name now seems to suggest, the Sheffield postcode area). I went for the latter, not being in favour of fruit flavours in beer, and it was an ok beer, though almost indistinguishable from countless other American beers from modern breweries, not all of which have Sheffield postcodes. One of the better pubs in Hexham.