Brewery Inn, Melksham

Nicely summed up by Blue Scrumpy, below, we came here on an ad hoc visit just as they opened. The main bar was comfortable, helped by a welcoming open fire and the variety of seating types. While the two outside areas – one more of a barbecue area with a children’s play area attached, the other a smoking area – started to fill up as we sat inside. The menu is as described, standard pub grub at reasonable pries for the area. The staff and locals made us feel very welcome and it was an enjoyable visit in every respect, and some made the point that we were much better off here than in The Barge where we had originally intended to visit. The beer was in excellent condition – Rusty Copper Living The Dream, Otter Bitter and Stan’s cider were on draft, and there was a mega selection from Guinness, Thatcher’s, Ashton Press, Amstel and San Miguel. Well worth dropping in by car, as there is plenty of parking, or walking up from the canal.

The two pubs in the village of Seend Cleeve are like chalk and cheese. Set up the hill from the canal in the village itself, the Brewery Inn is very much the locals' pub. The cool interior has a couple of small rooms and outdoor space either side of the pub. Staff had made the decision not to serve Sunday roasts due to the heat, but plenty of diners were still arriving for their standard pub grub menu. There were a handful of drinkers too. Butcombe Original is the regular beer here. The guest beer was Frome Funky Monkey, with Thatcher's Stan's Trad cider also on handpull. Despite the Good Beer Guide stating that there are "several ciders" available, this one was the only still cider and I believe that CAMRA have recently decided that this one is not "real". So, there may be no more apple symbol for this pub in the 2023 Guide. Down-to-earth village local that is easily the best pub in the village.

Official site of Brewery Inn - www.breweryinnseend.co.uk

Official site of Brewery Inn - www.breweryinnseend.co.uk