The Salopian Bar, Shrewsbury

First pub of a dozen in Shrewsbury, easy walk from the station. The place was rammed to the rafters with rugby fans when we went, watching the first Lions test against Australia. It went mental when the Lions won by the narrowest of margins. Good selection of beers but the place was so full that it was difficult to make an informed decision and I went for Butty Bach as a safe option. I would love to come back when the pub is a little quieter but I am not complaining, it's nice to see full pubs being enjoyed by happy sports fans and drinkers.

This is a modern style L-shaped bar with a decent location opposite the river and close to the bus station. The pub has a single room layout with a tiled floor and some striking bright red paintwork on the walls. The front part of the pub has mainly high tables and stools, but around the corner there are thankfully some nicely upholstered chairs, which seem a far more comfortable proposition. In better weather, it might be worth taking drinks out to one of the cafe style pavement tables, although sadly there is a busy road between the pub and the river. Several TV screens were on throughout the pub showing Sky Sports News and the place was filling up nicely on my early afternoon visit with fans about to make the long trek out of town to watch a match a Shrewsbury’s New Meadow stadium. The walls are dotted with a few bits of brewerania and there was a rugby shirt hanging from a spot which appears to have once been occupied by a dartboard. Despite the name, the pub isn’t run by the Salopian Brewery, although one of their beers, Oracle, was available alongside Buxton Dark Nights, Dark Star Revelation, Mallinsons Nelson Chinook (£3.00), Stonehouse Station Bitter, Oakham Bishop’s Farewell, Hop Back Entire Stout and Holden’s Golden Glow, with three real ciders also available. I went for the Mallinsons which was well kept, but a little disappointing on the taste front. There is a good bottled beer selection, with many of them on display in fridges next to the servery. Shrewsbury is one of those towns with plenty of excellent traditional ale houses, so the modern styling of the Salopian Bar offers something a little different, even if it’s not to everyone’s taste. Personally, I enjoyed stopping off here and would’ve gladly stayed longer had time permitted.

Shrewsbury's only craft beer bar as far as I am aware. Had 5 cask ales on when I visited, and a range of UK craft beers on tap, including offerings from Brewdog and Thornbridge. Keep it up guys! Real cider and a huge range of bottled foreign beer were also available. Could do with rearranging the furniture a bit perhaps.

This place is quite hard to judge really. Although the real ale/real cider along with the extensive belgian offerings, is top notch the furnishings are unremarkable with no outstanding features. I counted up to 8 handpumps on the bar. A pub that's in the GBG and also offers a discount for CAMRA members. Got chatting quite easily with the locals and regulars. In fact, I had quite a good time and a laugh as the banter flowed along with the ales. I had a pint of 'Dark Side of the Moose' brewed by Ochr Dywyll Y Mws. Don't ask me to pronounce it though! It was obviously a Welsh porter/stout and was like amber nectar.

Surprisingly modern inside considering the outside look, it looks like any old boring sports bar with its three big screens and venetian blinds. It’s open plan, L shaped with white and red walls and a tiled floor. Furnished with a mix of high tables and chairs and low sofas. It’s very CAMRA- friendly with a 10p per pint discount. Eight handpumps provide beers from micro breweries in excellent condition, the walls are dotted with Pub of the Year awards and such like. There is a good range of Belgian beers in the fridges and the kegs are a mix of UK standards plus more interesting stuff from Frulli, Bellevue (Kriek)and Leffe. Punters this lunchtime were almost entirely eccentric in one way or another.

Very good range of beers in excellent condition

If you were to walk in here without realising It has such a good range of ales you could easily get as far as the door and walk out as it is very much a wine bar feel. However we have had a good selection of ales to choose from in our few visits and our most recent visit there were three real ale stouts on. The only downside on this last visit was the large group of drinkers that had certainly had a few too many and were drowning out the background music plus made it difficult to get to the bar. The pub soon emptied out except for this crowd and we only stayed for one pint. Let's hope this is just a one off and not a regular occurrence in here.