The Dog House, Ashford

Seeing that this micropub was due to close for the afternoon at 3pm, we aimed to get here for around 2:30pm on a Wednesday afternoon for a swift drink. It is not particularly easy to find, being located in a rather busy trading estate. After a few laps, we finally noticed a couple of drinkers sitting undercover in a patio area which led us to the entrance. Just another couple were in and the barmaid was eager to inform us that they were closing at 3pm. Indeed, she had her coat on and was ready to go well before the 3pm curfew! More of a cafe bar than a micropub, this place had one solitary real ale - Hop Fuzz Fallout. However, it did also have 4 real ciders from Kent Cider Company - Waken, Yowler, Mango Cider & Henderson's Rhubarb Cider. The Yowler was another new one for me. A vinyl record player sits in one corner and its range of records appears to be a selling point. But despite the range of ciders, I failed to really warm to this establishment, especially knowing that our visit was a little on the rushed side.

Micro-pub in the curious Evegate development of small businesses occupying a range of mostly modern buildings in what was once a farmyard. In the summer months, customers can sit out in the courtyard (some of which is under cover of a wooden shelter). The real ales are served by gravity, and I found a couple from Hop Fuzz - English Bitter (£3.60) and the single-hop Bullion - together with the 6.2% We Were Kings from Angels & Demons.

There were three ales advertised here - Range Ales Double Tap, Romney Amber Ale, and Old Dairy Red Top. But although only the latter two were on, they were in super condition and at £3.60 a pint seemingly quite cheap for someone used to London prices. The food menu was quite limited, with sandwiches and jacket potatoes being the main fare, but I also saw a curry advertised. This is a micropub and microbrewery. Being a micropub, the ales were on stillage only, and of course there were no fruit machines or TVs. There was some booth seating, as well as a couple of tall chairs (as opposed to stools) with a table that had some mechanical contraption is its pedestal. There was also some outside seating. There was an operational turntable, along with loads of vinyl albums with a note to the side of it saying that punters are happy to put on a record of their choice. The classic Carole King album Tapestry was playing when we went in, but as it wasn't very busy we took the opportinity to put on the Stones' Some Girls when it finished. The were lots of other classic albums, by artists such as Sam Cooke. I know that music can disqualify a pub from micropub status, but I reckon the music here is an unusual pub feature, rather than the banal pop music we usually get foisted on us. This pub is a bit out of the way to put it mildly, but it's certainly worth a visit if you're nearby.