The Fat Cat, Ipswich

An odd location really, a long hike up a hill through a fairly unassuming residential area though passing under the impressive viaduct was a highlight. An unassuming exterior, you could almost walk past it if it wasn’t for the flash of orange and the ‘free mouse’ (ho ho) sign. Fairly small inside with a plain main bar, a side room with (COVID-constructed?) booths and a rear conservatory. Fairly rustic, bordering on the spartan, not much in the way of cosiness unlike its cousins in Norwich. Things started to look up as we discovered the long and pleasant beer garden and got chatting to the licensee who was very engaging and genuinely interested in our three day extravaganza around Norwich and Ipswich. Onto the beers then; a large selection via pump or stillage in the cool room. I went for Bishop Nick 1555 (NBSS 3), Crouch Vale Brewers Gold (4) and North Riding Peanut Butter Stout (3.5) as well as a very nice (if not cheap) chilli scotch egg. Ciders and some crafty stuff also available. Easily the best of the Ipswich pubs I did that day but its location means you need to either do it first via bus, or do it last with a pre-ordered taxi. It doesn’t really compare to the Fattus Cattus outlets in Norwich but in a town that’s hard to love, this is a winner. 8.5 Visited early August.

Having been to the three Fat Cat pubs in Norwich, I was expecting this to be the highlight of my day in Ipswich. It was the only pub where reservations are compulsory. There were tables available when I arrived and after I left. So, I'm not sure if I would have been accommodated if I had not booked. I do hate having to book, as my day had to revolve around the booked time for this pub. After initially being shown to the "wrong" table, I was moved to the correct one. Although, most were undercover, in any case. As was expected, the ale and cider range was good - Crouch Vale Brewers Gold & Yakima Gold, Adnams Mosaic, Vocation Heart & Soul, Woodforde's Wherry & Norfolk Nog, Black Sheep Best Bitter, Sharp's Doom Bar, Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde, Lilley's Mango Cider, Saxby's Plum Cider & Celtic Marches Cracklin' Rosie Perry & Slack Alice. This is undoubtedly a good pub, but the experience did not match that of the original Fat Cat in Norwich. It may have been due to a more limited beer and cider range than normal or perhaps due to the outdoor drinking arrangements, but I was slightly disappointed.

Ok, I'm moving to Ipswich & buying a house somewhere between the Fat Cat & the Dove. Only Adnams on single handpump BUT, an eclectic selection (yesterday) of 13 on stills in the ‘tap-room', all for less than £2.50. Plain bar, wood floor, bar stools, tables & seating area to the left, conservatory with bleached wood tables to the rear, garden beyond. Friendly barman, apologies for being a twat & moaning drunkenly about my missing scribblings – yes, they were in my pocket! Notice suggests they will supply you with a plate if you want to eat a takeaway (not fri/sat). Belgian selection & Thatchers bottled Perry, but here's the important stuff – FatCat TopCat & HoneyCat, Wolf – Straw Dogs & In Sheeps Clothing, Crouch Vale Essex Nights & Brewers Gold, Oakham Inferno, RCH Hewish IPA, Woodforde Wherry, and that's where my decipherable notes for the day end. This was my first FatCat, verdict – marvellous.

Located a good 15 minute walk to the east of the town centre, the Fat Cat is a destination ale house where the beer is the undoubted star. The pub has a fairly simple two room set up, with the front door leading you into a bare boarded, C shaped room which runs around a well worn looking servery on the right hand side. There are a few seating options in this bar area, although most customers on my visit were perched on stools around the back of the bar. A Fat Cat mirror hangs in the rear corner and the walls have been decorated with a few bits of breweriana including several enamel beer signs. There is a separate room off to the left which has red half panelled walls and a red and black checked tile floor. One bench runs along the left hand wall, with low stools making up the remaining seating options. There are more brewery signs on display here as well as partitioning ledges which double as book shelves for the pub's book swap scheme. To the rear of the pub, there is a conservatory style space with a reasonably large garden beyond, with plenty of benches which were proving popular on a warm spring afternoon. There was no music playing during my stay and I didn't spot a TV screen either, with the buzz of conversation creating a decent atmosphere. There were only two ales on handpull when I arrived, but a quick check of the beer board hung above the servery, confirmed that the majority of the ales were poured straight from the barrel in the taproom next door. The options on this visit were Crouch Vale Brewers Gold (£3.20) and Yakima Gold, Sharps Doom Bar, Fullers London Pride, Woodfordes Wherry, Box Steam Tunnel Vision, Green Jack Orange Wheat and Rising Sun, Oakham JHB, Exmoor Gold, Brains Little Sipper, Red Fox Mild, RCH Old Slug Porter, St Peter's Golden, Fat Cat Number 8, Humpty Dumpty Swallowtail and Maudons Suffolk Pride. Two real ciders were also available and the boards also listed a good range of Belgian bottles. I decided to try the Crouch Vale Brewers Gold, which was okay, but not quite in the sort of sparkling condition I had hoped for. This is clearly one of the best pubs in Ipswich for ale drinkers and the lack of modern distractions should also please traditionalists, although I'm not sure the pub has the wider appeal of the nearby Dove Street Inn. An essential addition to any crawl around town, but equally tempting to stay for a while and work through that beer list.