Craft 101, East Cowes

As described by Paul, below, this narrow, single room micro used to be a shop premises. Indeed, the glass in the windows and other signage still reads ‘The Old Curiosity Shop’, which would have been a better name for the pub as ‘Craft 101’ sends the wrong message in both parts. There is a real micro feel here, including the improvised furniture and church pews which, as Paul implies, are designed to be functional rather than comfortable. There is a large TV screen over the bar which was showing their beer listing on realalefinder.com. The landlord was friendly and helpful, while the regulars were a decent bunch. Two dry cask pumps, so we’d hit it at the wrong time. There is a fridge full of canned beers, plus a selection of keg: Vault City Raspberry Sour, DEYA Steady Rolling Man, Verdant Lightbulb, Beak Parade, one from Electric Bear whose name I didn’t get, Cloudwater Fuzzy and two from Steam Town – Shiny and Nitro. Worth having a few beers here before walking up to the Lifeboat to eat.

In Craft 101, I found standard craft bar fare with a couple of hand pumps to supplement the 10 keg taps. Those taps are mostly devoted to the modern pale ales we've come to expect, with the 2 pumps chalked for Vibrant Forest and Electric Bear, but sadly now sold out for the week (casks are tapped on a Tuesday and when they're gone, they're gone - the venue is closed on Sunday evenings and all day Monday). Keg prices at £5.60 - £8 a pint are fairly reasonable by 2025 standards. The shop window frontage on a west-facing street lets in plenty of light and, on this warm afternoon, certainly amplifies the strong sun, with the fan unable to really help matters - I'm not sure I'd want to be in here for too long come high summer. In addition, the narrow bare boards that pass for seating with low tables at a full arm stretch are seemingly designed to minimise your stay, and my backside insisted I take the hint and move on after a couple. There's only 2 pubs in the centre of East Cowes these days, so your mini pub crawl may as well call in. Cask enthusiasts should probably ensure they hit the venue before the weekend.

Facebook page of Craft 101 - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Craft 101 - www.facebook.com