Tap & Brew, Swindon

Hop Kettle Brewery outlet which barely looks like a pub from the outside, a basic black and white signage. Inside is a small place in a basic alehouse style though with modern grey paint inducing a gloomy feel, as well as being cold on a dank early March day. All the seats in the main bar were busy so we were relegated to a strange rear vestibule which was akin to drinking in a squat. Six cask and some craftykeg on offer, I went casking via the Hop Kettle range of ESB (NBSS 2.5), Space Cowboy (3), Volya (3) and Element (3), none of which I really rated that highly on quality and also served in silly stemmed glasses which didn’t help the condition. I didn’t fancy this one as a venue. GBG’23 listed. If I go back, I’ll stick to the keg. 5.5

The Tap & Brew is owned by the Hop Kettle brewery and also has its own brewing equipment. All beers are from Hop Kettle, with cask offerings being Supernova Mosaic, North Wall, Mandarina, Element, Capella & #10 Russian Stout on our visit. Cosmic Shake was also added whilst we were there. In addition, there is also a good selection of their craft beers and plenty of bottles in a fridge near the doorway. We decided to sit inside. However, all other customers were seated outside either in a patio area at the front or in a surprisingly large garden area at the rear. With plenty of staff, service was fairly efficient.