Jawbone Brewery, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham

Hidden away on a small Thames-side industrial estate, yet somehow lacking any kind of river view, this is an extremely utilitarian brewery taproom which won’t be winning any awards for aesthetics. In many respects, the taproom is much like countless other such ventures around the capital, operating out of a concrete floored room with all the brewery kit to the front and a small bar and seating concession further back. Five canteen-style tables, all painted in bright red and with visible branding from the Kronenbrauerei of Ulm across them, run down the right-hand side of the room, under whitewashed blockwork walls. A walkway to the left, passes a truly ugly unpainted wooden wall, which has been ‘decorated’ with three paintings which are all for sale and all rather ‘meh’. The walkway leads to the rear of the room, where the bar can be found – obviously sporting a similarly ugly counter and bar back, with the keg taps mounted on the latter. The taps were far enough from the counter to necessitate a menu, which listed the draught range. Music played so quietly in the background that it was only really audible at the bar, and I’d imagine if the room were to fill up, it could get incredibly noisy, thanks to the total absence of soft furnishings. There are seven keg taps on the bar back, but only three of these were in action when I visited – Jawbone Highs & Lows, Longshore gang and Bone Idle. The bar man seemed friendly enough and poured me two-thirds of the Bone Idle, which set me back £4.00 – it was a pretty uninspiring brew and I can’t say it was anywhere near good value for money. They also listed a gin and a wine option on the menu, as well as a few soft drinks. I had pretty high hopes for this place but left disappointed thanks to a shoddy drop of beer and an interior which sets a new low for minimum effort spent creating a pleasant drinking environment. I may have made a bad choice with the beer and could well be missing out on other tasty jawbone brews, but I’m highly unlikely to return to verify this.

Facebook page of BeerDock Taproom - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of BeerDock Taproom - www.facebook.com

Official site of BeerDock Taproom - www.jawbonebrewing.com

Official site of BeerDock Taproom - www.jawbonebrewing.com

Taproom to new craft brewery (currently closed due to Covid restrictions: open for order collection only)