Firebird Brewery Bar, Horsham

You can find a brewery taproom pretty much anywhere these days and this one's in the countryside on a small estate with a smart cafe and a cheese shop, so it's peak artisan here. It must be said they've done a good job here, with the bar area on a mezzanine above the brewery floor (note, it's very much upstairs if you have mobility problems, though the website does mention ground floor seating, which wasn't apparent). Plenty of comfortable seating to be had here, some in booths, some around regular tables. You'll find 10 wall-mounted taps behind the bar - 5 each for keg and cask. Condition of the beer is obviously first class, though somehow my pint of cask Citra was served without any appreciable head or lacings on the glass. The second pint, New England IPA "Work Ethic" on keg made more of an impression on and in the glass. As I didn't visit at a peak time, I did have to seek out a server, but this was an afternoon visit to a working brewery. Had I turned up later in the day, I'd have had the opportunity to get some food from a food truck. On the other hand, I wouldn't have had a bus home. In summary, this is one of the best taprooms I've visited, though some may find accessibility a problem.

Facebook page of Firebird Brewery Bar - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Firebird Brewery Bar - www.facebook.com

Still very much as well-described in the previous review, with the addition on this visit of picnic-type benches in the brewery area and outside in the yard. Probably the best effort I have seen of trying to make a good drinking venue in an industrial unit, with the only slight detraction being the effect of strong sun on the metal roof which made it a bit warm for comfort upstairs.

Located in a factory unit on a rather unexpected little rural industrial estate on the fringes of the village of Rudgewick, this is a pleasant bar on a mezzanine level inside the Firebird Brewery. To access the bar, you first have to pass through the brewery shop - a small ground floor space offering a good selection of bottled and canned beers. A door to the rear right of the shop leads out into the brewery, with a good number of large brewing vessels filling this sizable factory unit. Turning right through the door, you’ll find a staircase to the left which takes you up to a rather cool little mezzanine space with a bar that looks down over the brewing operation. This area has been carefully styled, to help create a proper drinking environment that is well apart from the usual practice of chucking a few canteen benches between the brewing kit. The space has attractive dark modern floorboards, a few sections of exposed metal wall, some skylight panels that allow a bit of natural light in, and a good mix of seating. To the left there is a row of hard bench booths that would work well for small groups, whilst some wider bench spaces can be found at the front end of the room, giving way to a lounge area further back, with plenty of sofas. The end walls have been painted with very colourful cartoon-like murals depicting animals in a brewery, which helps deflect your attention from the fact that you’re sitting in an industrial estate unit. The servery is to the right and has a simple tongue and groove counter with a small white tile section of bar back housing the keg taps alongside a load of old crates and a couple of Firebird branded beer tanks stacked on top of one another. A trellis strung with low level lighting helps to obscure an otherwise ugly ceiling and other decorative touches include old spirit bottles with fairy lights inside on each table and a Wurlitzer jukebox in the centre of the room, although I’m not sure if it’s operational or not. Amazingly, they had five of their beers on cask - Festive 51, Heritage, Two Horses, Parody and one other I forgot to note - plus plenty of keg, bottle and can options. A cheerful barman served me a pint of the Two Horses, which is probably my least favourite of all the Firebird beers I’ve tried, but was at least in very good shape. I took a crate of beer home with me from the brewery shop and found the bottled beer was pretty good in the main. This is a very nice brewery bar with a thoughtfully put together bar area that provides good, comfy seating options and some well kept beer that isn’t that easy to find in pubs. The best compliment I can give this place is that I felt more like I was in a pub than in a factory unit and were it a bit easier to get to, I’d be more than happy to make this a regular port of call.