The Station Hotel, Shrewsbury

A smaller-than-it-initially-looks pub, partly explained by the place also operating as a hotel again since being thoroughly refurbished before reopening a couple of years ago. Not much room for seating in the compact bar area, and the dark blue paint scheme is almost oppressive. However, it offers a good selection of keg and key-keg draught beers, Salopian Oracle (£3.50) on cask and a big range of fancy gins.

A rather dark-painted bar with something of a nightclub feel, situated opposite the station as the name suggests. It seems a lot smaller than it appears from outside, with a large side passageway feeling as though it ought to lead somewhere other than the toilets. Lots of gin and cocktails, with a fair selection of crafty stuff on keg, and just Salopian Oracle on handpump. Not actively unpleasant but generally seems lacking.

Craft beer bar opposite the station, the counter is buried away at the back. Three triple tap units and a single pull serve a range of crafty stuff although the hand pump had a more prosaic Salopian Oracle. I had an expensive (£2.80) half of Northern Monk Stout. Usual grey paint job but high bench seating covered in suede at nicely finished wood tables with high stools on the outside, a few normal sized tables and chairs inhabite the outer edges. Copious amounts of spirits sit on the bar back.

Official site of The Station Hotel - stationhotelshrewsbury.com

Official site of The Station Hotel - stationhotelshrewsbury.com

I got here early on a Saturday afternoon when it had a fair crowd in, many of whom were soon trekking off to the football ground. The general mix of customers was quite varied. It seems to be a rambling place and I got the impression I only saw a small part of it. The small front room that overlooks the station forecourt leads through to a smallish central bar. I did notice a door marked "Smoking Room" on the way to the Gents but I didn't check it out. The bar has only one cask ale namely Salopian Oracle (£3.50) which was in excellent condition. I then noticed a laminated sheet advertising a January Sale of some tinned "craft" beers. I tried a Beavertown Humuloid Double IPA (£4.05 reduced from £5.40) then went for the "Buy One Get One Free" Tiny Rebel Captain Insano which was £6.10 for two 330ml tins (£5.25 a pint). I thought this was quite reasonable for a 10% abv beer that was also excellent and prevented me from moving on to another pub. It's worth a look but for me the single cask is a bit of a drawback.