Mad Squirrel Tap, Berkhamsted

Situated down one end of Berkhamsted’s main street, this is a compact, well laid-out brewery tap/bottle shop from the local Mad Squirrel Brewery (formerly Red Squirrel Brewery). The bar is a fairly straightforward shop unit conversion with plain floorboards throughout and scaffold shelving units down the right hand wall stuffed full of craft beer bottles and cans including the full Mad Squirrel seasonal brew selection, all helpfully sorted by beer style. This extensive selection is further supplemented by some fridges in the front left corner, whilst additional shelves to the left showcase the core Mad Squirrel range and a few cider options. There’s a small banquette under the front window and an upturned barrel in the centre of the room with a few high stools around it, but these are the only seating options inside the premises, so vertical drinking is to be expected. The servery is in the rear left corner and has an L-shaped tongue and groove counter, white tile bar back with the taps set into it and a large beer board above. The bare brick rear wall has been used to display various growler and mini-keg take out options as well as the beer paddles you can use on site for sampling thirds of each beer. To the left there is a side door leading out to a small decked garden with half a dozen or so tables and benches, offering some much needed overspill, weather permitting. The gents toilet to the rear of the building has a large, stripped out fireplace in it, hinting at a very different use for the building in the past. Music played quietly in the background throughout my stay and the peace was really only broken by the arrival of an over-excited puppy. The beer board over the bar suggested that there were no less than twelve Mad Squirrel beers available alongside two ciders. This is a pretty daunting range, especially if you’ve just got the time for a quick half as I did, but the barmaid was helpful and narrowed the selection down for me before I eventually plumped for the Hop Fest, which turned out to be a very light and refreshing brew that worked well on a rather hot afternoon. This is a fairly basic place that is probably a bit of a nightmare to drink in if more than a dozen or so people are in, but as these modern bottle shop bars go, I thought it was one of the better ones I’ve been to. The range is comprehensive, as is the take out selection and the service was very good. What it lacks in comfort, it more than makes up for in comfort and if you can avoid peak times, I would say this is an absolute must-do when in Berkhamsted.

Like most brewery micropubs this place is half pub and half off licence. It's a single bare room with shelves of beer bottles on one side, cider on the other and a small bar area in a back corner. There are no tables, just a few stools. I didn't venture to the upstairs lounge and the yard wasn't really an option in late November. The bar has up to four cask ales, half a dozen or so keg and a few ciders all of which are stored in a cellar below. I went for their own European IPA (£2.95) which was in reasonably good nick but hazy. The guest was Salopian Shropshire Gold which was £3.60. The guest kegs were also a fair bit more expensive than the Red Squirrel offerings. I quite liked this place but unless you're prepared to use the yard or the upstairs lounge it's rather spartan.

A quality micropub and a fine addition in Berko. The Brewery Shop looks as though it occupies a former shop premises and is compact and bijou but well laid out. There's a large shelving unit made from recycled scaffolding to the right which houses the well chosen bottle collection with the bar at the end to the left. The back wall of the bar is white tiled with all the taps sitting along it. Above the taps are boards listing the various cask and keg beers and ciders, easy to miss this if you're not actually at the bar. There's a small but attractive courtyard area and a room upstairs which is the same size as the bar and is quirkily and attractively furnished with a few well put together and interesting pieces. It's a relaxing place to enjoy a beer apart from having to trek downstairs to get it. It was busy on our Wednesday evening visit with the stools around the bar occupied by locals enjoying the ale and a few people upstairs. Cask beers on were Red Squirrel: Redwood American IPA, Conservation Best, Redtail Citra and Milk Stout with Arbor PSBH Bomb on as a guest. There were also seven keg options, several of which I'd happily have tried, and two ciders in addition to the range of bottles. We stuck with the cask options and it was all well kept and all very good. This and The Rising Sun alone make Berkamsted well worth a visit.