Don Valley Tap, Doncaster

For those who do not know, the former Wool Market has been turned into a giant food court. Don Valley have 3 units amongst the various world street food vendors - the main one serving cask ales with 3 of their own brews and Stancill Barnsley Bitter. Further in is another bar serving keg and a corner unit serving cider. Mainly novelty value but at least you can get a decent beer if eating the overpriced food.

The Don Valley Tap is a stall located within Doncaster's indoor market. Apparently there is a second stall, but we didn't search for this. The market was very quiet on our Wednesday afternoon visit. It's normally closed on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but does open on a Tuesday and Wednesday during the summer school holidays, which was convenient for us. There are a few tables with benches near to their original stall, but the atmosphere is very much that of a market, as opposed to a pub or a bar. Toilets are a bit of a trek. 3 of their own beers were on cask. Atomic Blonde & Gongoozler are the regulars. The third beer was Best of You. I tried the Gongoozler and the Best of You. Neither were anything to write home about.

Located inside the former Woolmarket, a Victorian structure of glass and iron filled with food stalls and bars, a bit of a destination all round. It’s a hectic place on a Saturday afternoon and the punters appear to form orderly queues as the serving face is rather narrow, there’s a sign telling you which way to queue and the queue can go from 0 to lots in under 30 seconds. The bar itself is a box with seating on two sides, one side at a shelf overlooking the market, the other some cordoned off tables and chairs typical of these market “pubs”. Five pulls with three from Don Valley and one from Settle plus a blank. A few keg beers both usual and unusual. Not really a great drinking experience, especially as the air was constantly filled with shouts of “who’s next?” or “anybody waiting?” and the throughput of wandering dickheads. The toilets are shared among all the outlets, there’s a queue for them too. Madness but I’ve been in worse places.

Facebook page of Don Valley Brewery Tap - www.facebook.com

Official site of Don Valley Brewery Tap - www.donvalleybrewery.co.uk

Official site of Don Valley Brewery Tap - www.donvalleybrewery.co.uk

Facebook page of Don Valley Brewery Tap - www.facebook.com