Bison Beer North Laine, Brighton

Converted out of a restaurant / wine bar, Brewery Tap is one of they new-style craft beer bars. On the ground floor, behind the bar counter, an aluminium panel holds a long line of taps (unlike the Euston Tap, there's no cask ale here) while, alongside the windows, are squeezed a row of small tables and some seats. To the back, a spiral staircase leads, also Euston Tap-style, to a larger area upstairs with more comfortable seating. The toilets are also up here but, fortunately, unlike the Tap, there's more than one. So: to the bar offering then. A quick scan reveals that, while the taps go up to 31, the blackboard above the counter can only give a name to 11 and even that seems unable to keep up with the diminished range. Rogue Dead Guy Ale in Sussex? Oh, yes please! Well, no, as that's all gone. I have heard others bemoaning the unavailability of anything like the expected number of beers and it seems that this is a problem yet to be solved. On a positive note, there is a Happy Hour offering: £1.50 for a half of strong and interesting beer before 7:00 is certainly well worth investigating and a couple of tasters were offered without prompting. The summary, though, is of a nice idea, poorly executed. Worth a look-in if you want to try out a different set of craft beers to those available at the Evening Star, Craft and elsewhere, but be prepared to choose from a range more limited than the number of taps might suggest.