Mad Squirrel Tap & Bottleshop, High Wycombe

As described by Quinno, this beer shop (which is a better description than ‘pub’) also serves good pizzas. It was a nice novel experience coming here, but the novelty did wear off quite quickly, especially as there appeared to be no restriction on children of various hominid species being allowed to run freely. The other humanoids in when we visited were a mixed group of trolls, hobbits and gnomes, with some homo sapiens to keep the balance. There appeared to be 19 ales on draft, plus a large collection of tins and bottles in the small shop area, so it was difficult to select sensibly – especially given that the barbeing kept wittering on about our drinking the strongest beer at 7.5% abv. All that aside, it’s a very valuable addition to an area where good beer is relatively rare, so I’m sure I’d be happy to come back in for beer and pizza, and I’d definitely include it in a town crawl.

Mad (formerly Red) Squirrel’s new brewery tap, done in an uber-craft style more suited to Walthamstow than Wycombe. In addition to a bottle shop on the ground floor, there is also an upstairs restaurant area. 20 taps with 16 on and a range of cask, keg and cider in the mix, chalked and slated behind the bar with tasting notes and prices. My Mad Squirrel London Porter was a little on the flat side. In a town previously not particularly blessed with a good range of quality pubs I imagine this one will do fine, though it’s a bit too clinical for my personal taste.

New brewery shop and bar (just open for a few weeks); the fourth of its kind. Naturally very pristine, and with its light decor and sparse modern furniture it could have felt rather clinical. However, with its attentive staff and interested customers, all felt welcoming. Also has more space upstairs (not visited). The bar along one wall has six cask taps and 14 keg offerings, perhaps half from the owners but a good selection from other small breweries (and one international guest). Spoilt for choice, I went for their seasonal Berkhopstead harvest ale (£2.85), brewed in very small quantities from their own tiny Berkhampstead hop garden, and very good too.