The Wheeltapper, Loughborough

Although very much micro-pub in concept and furniture / decoration, this L-shaped bar is really too large to fit the description as generally understood. So, leaving that aside, it is quite a good stop for a pint with five cask ales on handpump and ten craft keg taps on the bar-back. From the former, my Nut Brown (one of a pair from the 'new' Shipstones , £4.30) was exemplary.

Decent sized modern bar with a spacious bare boarded interior occupying a wide but relatively shallow room. The bar covers much of the back wall and has a rather bland counter front and plain painted bar back almost entirely covered in pump clips. Hard bench seating occupies much of the right-hand side of the pub, extending a short way past the end of the servery before giving way to a large beer garden with loads of seats and a good deal of shelter. Metal chairs and plush sofas alternate along the front wall, opposite the bar. The walls have been decorated with old replica railway posters, strings of fairy lights and a dartboard in the far-left corner. A TV screen on the bar back was showing some promotional nonsense whilst a fun pop-punk soundtrack chugged away in the background. Unlike most other pubs visited around the town on a Thursday evening, this place was pretty much empty. On the bar, five cask ales were available – Shipstone Mild and Little Hush, Kirtkstall Pale, Nene valley Bitter and Shiny Rocky. The TV on the bar back listed eight craft keg lines and numerous cider and perry options. The barman was very brusque and had no interest in engaging in any sort of beer-related chat, so I sloped off to a corner of the room and drank my pint in solitude. This place ticks the boxes in terms of beer selection and quality but loses points for a total lack of atmosphere and an unfriendly welcome, neither of which made me want to stay here any longer than necessary. This could be a decent place to enjoy some interesting beer if caught at the right time but didn’t really work for me on this occasion.

Modern bar in a new build - too big to be a micro. Inverse L shaped interior, quite a clean and modern feel with cream walls and a burgundy lower third with some rail themed décor including some nice interwar posters. Dart board. Five pumps all dispensing, my Black Lodge Parade was a bit flabby but perfunctory (NBSS 2.5) much like the service. I got here not long after opening and the place felt a bit flat. I wasn’t really enamoured with Loughborough pubs and this place kind of summed things up – plenty of potential but not really firing on all cylinders.