Brewhouse & Kitchen, Poole

This was a typical Brewhouse & Kitchen experience - I opted for a cask Session IPA, brewed on site but pretty ropey, and looking like more like an under-conditioned Best than a Pale. Let's be honest, these places tend to be more of a restaurant really, with the beer as a sideshow. If you approach them in that frame of mind, I'm sure you'll be fine. As a beer-drinking experience, this one fails to excite, as seems to often be the case. Nice building, mind you.

A little detached from the main town but within easy striking distance of the train station its certainly one of the better pubs beer-wise in town. Large open plan and a little rambling inside, also some decent outside space for the summer months. There was five or six of they're own brews on, I opted for Telemark Extra American IPA, the last and best pint of the day. A decent spot worth a visit.

Official site of Brewhouse & Kitchen - www.brewhouseandkitchen.com

Official site of Brewhouse & Kitchen - www.brewhouseandkitchen.com

This Grade II listed pub, just off Poole High Street and relatively handy for the train station, was originally called the Brewers Arms, before being renamed the Rising Sun in the late '90's and switching to a gastro pub format initially offering Thai food, but latterly a standard gastropub menu. Recently, the pub has been taken over by the ever expanding Brewhouse and Kitchen chain (not to be confused with the unrelated Brewhouse pub on the High Street), complete with its own on site brewery. The pub was formed by converting two late 18th Century houses into a single premises, resulting in a very wide but shallow interior. You enter, via a decently furnished front patio space, into the mid section of the pub, with the servery directly opposite. There is a lot of copper on show around the bar area, hinting at the brewing process, and the servery has a standard counter and part white tile bar back with keg taps attached, as seems to be in vogue these days. Seating in this area is restricted to high stools along a drinking ledge with some old suitcases and travelling chests nailed to the wall above and filled with bits relating to the brewery. To the right is a bright space with a mixed range of seating options, some colourful art on the walls and eclectic décor, plus a large TV screen showing live rugby coverage. This seemed like the 'pubby' half of the room, whilst over to the left was a slightly more formal section with a good deal of standard seating in a traditionally decorated area best suited to those wanting to eat perhaps. The beers all come from the in-house brewery, with the options on this visit comprising Telemark Extra, Brewers Arms Bitter, Squirrel Island, Swing Low, Shaky Boat, Rhodes Test and Code Name, with one handpull remaining unclipped. There were nine taps on the bar back serving craft keg beers and ciders, plus a few more taps on the bar counter and a decent bottled beer range as well. I gave the Telemark Extra a try and thought it was a pretty good brew, whilst similarly positive feedback was received from others in our group regarding the Swing Low. I'd never bothered visiting this pub in the past as it always stuck me as a dull gastro pub of limited interest to anyone just wanting a drink, but it is now very much a wet-led venue and I really enjoyed a brief visit here and would be keen to return for a longer session. A good addition to the town's drinking scene.