The Taphouse, Wimborne

Official site of The Taphouse - thetaphousewimborne.co.uk

Official site of The Taphouse - thetaphousewimborne.co.uk

Perhaps a bit too large to be called a micro-pub, but the narrow, elongated shop conversion has been done in a simple, attractive alehouse style. Rustic bar and furniture, plus a couple of tiny tables in the small yard at the back. Apart from the Doom Bar, there was otherwise an excellent selection of seven real ales served direct from the stillage behind the counter (but with most at the stronger end, I went for the Sixpenny Best at £3.50). Worth seeking out.

Although this micropub has a typical small former shop frontage inside it's bigger than many. The long room has three areas, the front with low tables and chairs, the bar area and some tall tables and chairs at the rear. A door leads through to proper toilets and a small patio garden. There was a muzak soundtrack playing which strictly speaking infringes the guidelines for these places and a few spirits which many micropubs now seem to stock. There were also a few keg offerings that didn't look very interesting. There were six cask ales worth considering and Doom Bore on offer which made up for any guideline infringements. The six were Hop Back Summer Lightning & Winter Lightning, Dartmoor Best, Eight Arch Session & Quarterjack and Bristol Beer Factory Independence. I went for the Winter Lightning (£3.60), a beer I hadn't seen for years and which was excellent. This is another micropub well worth a look.

Opening in late 2013 in the former Colour Craft store, the Taphouse has been described as a micro-pub, although I think it's fair to say it's much more spacious than that implies. In many ways, it's a typical shop conversion, with a long narrow interior, broken into front and rear sections by the positioning of the servery midway down the right hand wall. The front area is quite compact, but squeezes in a few comfy looking seating options which have the benefit of allowing you to people watch through the front windows. A drinking ledge runs along the left hand wall, opposite the bar, with a very handy board above which details the current ale range. There are some high bench and stool options in the rear part of the room in a space which has some unusual artwork on display including some technical drawings of a bicycle and a revolver. A corridor to the rear left leads out to a paved garden where some additional seating can be made use of, weather permitting. There are still a lot of pubs in Wimborne, but none have really tried to appeal directly to the discerning drinker, which is where this place steps in. The board opposite the bar listed a good range of ales, mostly from micro breweries, with the options on this visit being Gyle 59 Cloudy Toujours, Sixpenny IPA and Best, Hopback Summer Lightning, Sharps Doom Bar and Townmill The Cobb. All of the ales are served directly from barrels racked up on the bar back and at least two real ciders were also available from boxes behind the bar. I tried the Cloudy Toujours which was a proper Saison style brew and the IPA which was in great condition and flew out of the glass. The staff were really friendly and welcoming and had an infectious enthusiasm for this exciting new business. I've always enjoyed drinking in Wimborne, without ever having a pub that stands out for great beer. The Taphouse has certainly solved that issue and will hopefully force other pubs to up their game. This is a great little pub and one I hope has the full support of the local community as it deserves to be a success.

A micro pub in a former art and craft shop, this wonderful boozer is dimly lit and consists of a single long bar. It's big by micro standards but still homely and welcoming. There were 6 gravity fed ales and a cider behind the bar; two of the ales were from local breweries. They are very strict about standing times and temperatures, and this discipline pays off in beer quality. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, the jukebox played 70s nostalgia and the regulars were mostly mellow. I had a pint of Gyre's Cloudy Saison, a sharp, refreshing pint in excellent condition. This is a superb micro, although prices are higher than they need to be. An essential part of the local ale scene.