The Flowerpots Inn, Alresford

The Flowerpots Inn and the adjacent brewery are located down the quiet country lanes of a pleasantly rural part of mid-Hampshire. The pub, a converted farmhouse which has since been extended, has two rooms, with the public bar to the right and lounge bar to the left. The public bar has standard seating in a fairly bare room with a dartboard on the far wall and a few hop plants snaking around the tops of the walls. The room opens out further beyond the bar and this area was being used by diners on our visit, so I didn't like to pry too much, but I did spot some caps hanging on the wall, although to what end I’m not sure. The lounge bar which is the oldest part of the building typically had more comfortable seating including padded benches and a sofa. Some farm tools were hung above the bar counter and there was a photo on the wall showing the pub's opening night. The beers were all racked up behind the bar and were as fresh as might be expected given that they'd travelled from the other side of the car park, where the brewery is located in an old outbuilding. There were four beers racked up - Flowerpots Bitter, Goodens Gold, Perridge Pale and Triple B ranging from £2.50 - £2.70 in price. The pub has a campsite and also offers B&B accommodation which certainly provides one potential solution for those looking to enjoy a session here without having to worry about how they're going to get back home. A marquee was set up in the large garden and I believe the pub hold a beer festival every August Bank Holiday. It was good to hear from the barman that the pub and brewery is doing very well at present, as it certainly seems like a lot of hard work has gone into making this an excellent enterprise. This was well worth making the trip out from Winchester for and although their beers were easily found around town, none of them tasted as good as those we tried here. Certainly worth putting a bit of effort in to give this place a try.