Brighton Bierhaus, Brighton

Perhaps the main Brighton Bier outlet, housed in a corner pub but given a gothic all-black makeover externally. The interior, though, is looks much more like a traditional alehouse in both the bar and side seating area. Four of their own beers, including Spaceman session Pale (£4.50), plus Wild Child from Humble Beginnings on the five handpumps. Also has a great selection of German, Belgian and other interesting beers from the 14 keg taps on the bar back and another seven on the counter. Understandably busy when I called in.

Set slightly away from Brighton’s more obvious destination pubs, but still easily reached from the seafront and pavilion, this is a craft beer bar that benefits from being sited in a former pub - The Thurlow Arms. The pub is a typical former two-bar set-up, now knocked through into a single room. There are nice modern floorboards throughout and the walls have been painted in a neutral colour scheme with some low panelling here and there and a section or two of exposed brickwork. The servery is centrally positioned on the back wall and has a dark wood counter front that has been covered in a diamond patterned fabric. A large German-style beer font stands proudly next to the row of handpulls - seemingly a permanent fixture and not just a gimmick from the Oktoberfest promotion they had on at the time of my visit. There’s a classic craft beer bar, white tile bar back with at least twelve keg taps along it, although I couldn’t see any beer boards, so I’m not sure how you’re supposed to know what they are dispensing. Seating comes mainly in the form of high tables and stools to the front and right, plus some normal tables and chairs in the cosier, and busier, left part of the room. Decor throughout was fairly simplistic, although the large “Brighton Bier” mural on the right-hand wall was pretty striking and there were a few other bits of art and breweriana dotted here and there. A TV screen in one corner of the room remained switched off in favour of some cool old soul and R&B tunes, played at a sensible level. Four handfuls were in use when I arrived, offering a choice of Brighton Bier South Coast IPA, Downlands Best, Burning Sky Plateau and a real cider. The twelve unreadable keg taps were supplemented by a few fridges in the rear right corner of the room, which were well stocked with bottled and canned goodies. My pint of Plateau was a reasonable £3.80 and in excellent condition, slipping down a treat and really meriting a second pint, although I sadly had to head off elsewhere. I thought as craft beer bars go, this one was done pretty well, offering comfortable seating in a relatively homely, pub-like environment without any of the usual industrial stylings and beer geekery that these places usually excel in. Having three cask ales and a real cider on was also a huge plus point and whilst the pub’s location doesn’t really lend itself to a crawl of the city’s top ale houses, it’s definitely worth seeking out to add something a bit different to your itinerary.

Very modern and very busy is all I wrote.4 cask beers from Brighton Beir.Kemptown red my choice was very good

Official site of Brighton Bierhaus - www.brightonbierhaus.com