Blind Tiger, Shrewsbury

Very atmospheric at night as it's pretending to be a speakeasy, so all the lights are very dim. Bare brick walls in the main room where the bar is situated. There's a further room to the left hand side of the bar which is full of comfy sofas etc, The main room has some high tables along with some more comfy chairs. Only about 10 people in the place on a Monday night, but it still had a good buzz about it. As Will says there are 3 keg taps on the rear wall, but these were very difficult to see in the half light. I had a pint of Jaipur as I wasn't rushing anywhere. Ms CAMRA had a glass of red wine that she says was very nice. It's a classy place and I didn't think the prices were too steep given that I got change from a tenner. We'll no doubt be back in here next time we're in Shrewsbury.

Official site of Blind Tiger - www.theblindtigerbar.co.uk

Official site of Blind Tiger - www.theblindtigerbar.co.uk

With only 15 minutes before my train, I was stopped at the traffic lights when I caught sight of this place. Swiftly parking my bike on the end of the nearby car park (parking a car would have involved going through a red light before circling around and finally buying a ticket at the machine; me? I just got off and walked across the road). Two guys were sat outside in the February sunshine with a fag, but when I went through the door they immediately became bar staff and hurried inside to see what I wanted. It's a very stylish place, with mostly bare brick walls enhanced by some wood here and there. The furniture is mostly industrial - steel benches and stools and some kind of work table, all enhanced by colourful cushions. The bar is at the back of the fairly narrow room with a noticeable absence of beer dispense equipment, but on the back wall are three taps, labelled Jaipur, Brooklyn and Kozel. I went for the least alcoholic, as I was going to knock it back before getting on my bike to whiz back to the station. Kozel was a very fizzy and downright ordinary pilsner, with barely any flavour that I could discern. I dare say they do all right here with what they are selling, but I must say that a real ale would have gone down very nicely with me.