The Bath Brew House, Bath

Contrary to the previous recent reviews, I quite liked this place. It's certainly much larger than it initially appears. As you enter, the brewing equipment can be seen off to the left-hand side. The bar can be found to the right of this and takes up most of the space in the large front room. To the rear, the building opens up and there is a much larger drinking/dining space where there is also an open kitchen. Further beyond that is a spacious outdoor area. Toilets can be found upstairs, along with a function room called the Tank Room that wasn't open on our Friday afternoon visit. Handpulls at the bar stocked only Bath Brew House beers - Carpe Noctem v14, Gladiator, Emperor, Warrior & Barbarian. A few handpulls were unclipped, one with a prominent "card only" sign on it. It seems that the majority of pubs and bars in Bath have gone down this route. The Carpe Noctem v14 was described as a "German Dark Beer". I'm not normally into German-style beers and wasn't sure whether I'd made the right decision when ordering it. But in actual fact, this ended up being my favourite beer of the day in Bath. It was a glorious coffee stout that was full of flavour. Incidentally, there was no real cider here. The solitary barmaid was keeping herself busy during what must have been a quiet period of the week. One customer arrived and commented how quiet Bath actually was on that day. Perhaps we were lucky to have found this place so relaxed. Other customers were asked whether they were students, as a discount is offered to them.

Large open-plan and echoey place which, as the name suggests, is a brewpub. Modern music, open kitchen, wood plank flooring and walls, uncomfortable seats – a very mid-teens feel. To the rear is a decent enclosed quasi beer garden. Six of their cask on the go, we went for the Deus, Emperor, Lupulus and Gladiator. Cask quality between NBSS 2.5-3 and brew quality pretty variable – the Lupulus was the only one I’d be tempted to try again. Expensive, too and of course card-only. Worth a nose to say you’ve been but I can’t imagine myself re-appearing under my own steam. Inevitably it’s GBG’22 listed.

This is a modern brewpub with a great central location in a striking old building, formerly the Midland Hotel. Inside, the pub occupies a large rectangular room with the bar midway along the left-hand wall and a variety of mostly comfy seating around the remainder of the perimeter. The place felt a bit like something from the Brewhouse and Kitchen chain, minus the pointless faux-industrial decor, making good use of contemporary furniture and fittings to create a smart, slightly quirky environment that will appeal to a broad customer base, perhaps best exemplified by the sight of my elderly father ordering a round whilst surrounded by a tottering hen do party. We settled under the front windows, which were surprisingly great for a bit of people watching, so I didn’t properly explore the rear part of the pub, where I believe there is a function room and a decent garden area. The in-house micro supplies the majority of the beer, with the handpulls offering a range of styles with suitably Roman-themed names - Gladiator, Spartacus, Commodus, Emperor and Herculean - plus a load of other homebrew options on keg. I forget which one I tried, but seem to recall it was a bit underwhelming - very light bodied and devoid of flavour. I really like what they’ve done here and thought it was a good venue that will work well in a range of circumstances. The place was comfortable, well thought out and clean, but service was a little lethargic and the beer left a lot to be desired - I’ll hope I just made a poor choice and that the rest of the range is better.

Not for me - or Mrs M, who wanted to leave on entry. Good beer guide 2022 entry. Although I think establishments that need bouncers should be excluded from the bible. Massive interior and large beer garden that is covered. Absolutely packed solid on a Friday night with students. Pumping music. Tables, if you can find one, filthier than a JDW. The beer was also poor. I went for one of their own brews - Dunkel Fester - an attempt at a German Dunkel. Overfizzy and a head that disappeared almost instantly. Bar staff friendly, but overworked.