The Archives, Brighton

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Official site of The Archives - www.thearchivesbrighton.com

Facebook page of The Archives - www.facebook.com

Official site of The Archives - www.thearchivesbrighton.com

A decent street corner Craft beer bar with ten plus beers from quality brewers, there were three or four other people in and the place had a good friendly feel about it, I'd be happy to call in again.

This is a small street corner bar in the busy Laines area, currently operated by the local Bison Beer brewery - complimenting their similar bar in Hove and a pop-up location on the seafront. The bar has a bit of a shop-conversion feel to it, thanks to the cramped interior and large front windows, which have plenty of seating arranged along them, for the ideal people-watching vantage point. The bar occupies much of the rear wall and is dominated by a long keg font, and liberally strewn with helpful beer menus. The decor is fairly restrained, but there is a bison print motif that can be found around various parts of the room, whilst to the right, a spiral staircase suggests that additional seating might be available upstairs. It was a hot, sunny day when I visited, so I took my pint outside, where cafe-style tables and chairs can be found along the pavement. In true craft beer bar fashion, there is a decent pizza menu to go at, in case the need for food gets in the way of your drinking. I think I counted twelve craft keg lines in total, and at least one real cider option. I thought it best to try some of the home brew, so opted for the Bison Beer Cosmic Bone Juice, which cost £5.75 for a pint and was pretty good, slipping down nicely out in the sun. The staff were rushed off their feet, but remained friendly and efficient and there was a decent buzz about the place. Another good venue from this brewery, which I thought was about on a par with their sister venue in Hove. A good range of craft beers, friendly service and a handy location all help make this a worthy destination.

Bison have been here long enough now to suspect they've been able to make a go of this site which has seen off previous operators. It's keg-only (the handpumps are used to stash the paper towels). The taps offer up predominantly local variations on pale ales with the odd weird beer. Food takes the form of burgers & fries. Not the coolest (as in least warm) room on a hot summer afternoon, but the beer certainly was and the service was friendly and enthusiastic. It's worth checking out if you fancy trying out some Brighton & Sussex craft keg.