BrewDog Basingstoke, Basingstoke

This is a modern craft beer bar of the sort that Brewdog have been rolling out across the country in great numbers over the last few years. The pub has a single, concrete screed floored room with lots of gun metal grey around the walls, good sized windows to the front and right and a long servery down the rear wall. Seating varies from the right to the left-hand side of the room, starting with canteen style benches and long tables, then switching to high tables and stools with some comfy sofa seating chucked in at either end. The bar has a panelled counter front and typical Brewdog metal counter top with the usual cinema style beer board above the taps along the bar back. There's an open kitchen to the left dishing out a wide selection of food options with take out beer fridges to one side. Loads of potted plants add a bit of much needeeld colour, including lots of ivy style plants hung from the ceiling beams. Alternative rock and metal tunes were playing in the background but lost somewhat under the hubbub from a room devoid of soft furnishings. The beer boards listed no less than 15 Brewdog beers, one guest option and two alcohol free brews, but unusually no cider. I tried the Wingman at £5.75 a pint, which is a beer of theirs that I quite enjoy and it didn't disappoint here either. I was impressed to see that quite a few beers came in at under £6.00, which is a rare sight in Brewdog bars these days. I feel like I've been to better examples of this new style of Brewdog bar, but I still quite liked this place and thought it worked better than a lot of their older venues. For me, the pricing was a big draw, as I normally feel like I'm being ripped off by this chain, but prices were reasonable by craft beer standards and the choice was as extensive as always. A good addition to the town's pretty unremarkable pub scene and nice to have something a bit different to the back street boozers and 'Spoons that dominate the town centre. Date of visit - 17th February 2024

I tend to find BrewDog bars a little tiresome nowadays, the same as any formulaic pub chain, however this is a big plus for Basingstoke an otherwise very poor pub town. The bar is spacious, quite smart and obviously new, the general format is the same as elsewhere with a mix of high and low seating. Not worth travelling to Basingstoke for but if you find yourself here as I occasionally do, this is where I'd go.

Official site of BrewDog Basingstoke - www.brewdog.com

Official site of BrewDog Basingstoke - www.brewdog.com