Charlie's Bar, Melton Mowbray

Facebook page of Charlie's Bar - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Charlie's Bar - www.facebook.com

In the Good Beer Guide as Beerheadz - it is now called "Paint the Town Red". Same staff, same MO - although they have added Gins and Ciders to the menu - something that was previously missing. Not too easy to find, as there is no obvious labelling - the building is protected from alteration. If you need directions, ask Nigel over the road. He will try and upsell you a pork pie. Slightly posher than normal micro, with outdoor seating. Unusual choice of Cask (Decent Stahlstadt from Weldon Brewery) and plenty of Round Corner Keg. Lovely Staff (and other customers)

This conversion of a former shop in Melton's oldest secular building dates back all of six months to November 2018, in which time you'd expect any teething difficulties to have been sorted. I was greeted by one member of staff and ignored by the other, whose phone was apparently more interesting. Of the three beers on hand pulls, I have previously drunk one and disliked it, another was a marshmallow porter, which I ruled out both for sweetness and as a vegetarian (marshmallows are made from gelatine), which left me with Framework Sixteen Needles, a beer with a challenging name and the taste of a beer that has gone off. I didn't complain, because what was I going to drink instead? Installing a modern bar in an ancient building requires taste and tact, and while the bar counter itself was ok, I found the juxtaposition of it'll do modern furniture made out of rough timber and scaffolding poles with the fragments and photos of the old just a little too uncaring. Maybe that's just me - I hope others have a better experience of this place.