The Broken Seal Tap Room, Stevenage

Side street bar. Oblong room, all feels fairly new, neat and tidy, light blue colours. Apparently a brew pub for Six Hills and indeed two of theirs were on keg out of the total of 10, with two cask in addition. GBG listed so into the ales I went - the Craven Brewery EFA was dire, aspiratored beyond all life, flat and cardboardy (NBSS 1). At least my half of Vault City off keg was nice. Both glasses noted as being horrible and streaky from a malfunctioning dishwasher. Then Billy Bragg talentless nasal drone came on the stereo which sealed it. When I took back my glasses - one full and one empty - the barman made no enquiry, maybe crap real ale is a common occurrence in here, or he is just an uninterested sloth, or maybe both. God knows how this got in the GBG.

Difficult to find, due to being on Basil Road in spite of having a High Street address, but well worth the effort. It's quite deceptive in size with a reasonable bar area and some outside seating as well as some additional seating in the brewery. A good selection of beers on offer as well, with a couple of cask beers and several craft of their own plus guests.

Modern unit, larger inside than it looks. nice enough inside with bottle shop at end. Specialist tap house highlighting the craft ales.

The Broken Seal Tap Room is the brewery tap for the Six Hills Brewery. It is located in a building just off the High Street of the Old Town, within easy reach of other Old Town pubs. However, it is currently the only entry for Stevenage in the Good Beer Guide. There is a single rectangular room, with the bar to the left as you enter. A blackboard behind the bar lists the beer (and cider) range. The list comprises mainly craft beers on keg, along with some KeyKeg. But there were a couple of guest cask ales, which were Abbeydale Hopback Enigma & Burning Sky Porter. The real cider was Dorset Nectar Dabinett Organic, whilst the craft beer list was Brew By Numbers 08 Chocolate & Orange Stout & 85 Triple IPA - Chinook & Centennial, Six Hills Hanging Around, Moving The Goalposts & Slingshot To Mars, Six Hills & Charles Faram House Pils, Brew York Calmer Chameleon & Juice Campbell vs The Army of Darkness, Abbeydale Aussie IPA & Lindeman's Kriek. Beers are also listed on an Untappd screen and there are multiple fridges containing bottles and cans to the right-hand side. These can be drunk in or taken away. This is certainly a decent addition to the Stevenage bar and pub scene.

Official site of The Broken Seal Tap Room - bogbrew.co.uk