The Fork 'n' Ale Taproom & Kitchen, Weston Central, Weston Super Mare

This pleasant street corner pub just across the road from the Town Hall, is run jointly by the Pitchfork and 3D breweries. You enter to a bare boarded main bar area with the servery over to the right along the back wall. This space has some nice seating options, with comfortable chairs, plus one or two less comfortable looking high stools, serving a mix of tables whilst over to the right a couple of very nice sofas and a hard, backless bench have been formed around a large low table. The lighting on this side of the pub is quite muted, mainly coming from low-wattage bulbs strung around the ceiling in a complex pattern. The end wall has been covered in lots of art by local painters, most of which appeared to be for sale. The bar has a traditional wood panelled counter and rather dull bar back and, on our pandemic-era visit, we found all the handpulls had turned clips, but this was just to discourage people from approaching the bar, as the beers were instead all listed on a blackboard propped up in the middle of the room. Over to the left, there is a nice raised lounge area with a further mix of seating including a few high tables and chairs positioned in front of the windows, offering nice views out to the Town Hall. The walls have been decorated with book shelves and an unusual display made from cog wheels, whilst there is a nice fireplace on the back wall. The toilets are accessed via a very narrow staircase which has necessitated the introduction of a ‘Stop/Go’ road sign at the bottom of the stairs, which punters were diligently remembering to turn each time they went up or down. Lounge-style pop tunes played quietly in the background during our visit and there was a reasonable crowd in early on a Sunday evening. Pitchfork and 3D ales dominated the handpulls, with a good range of styles and strengths represented. Options on this visit were Pitchfork Golden Ale, 3D Crane Kick Pale, Blood Shot and Beertle Juice plus a guest ale in the shape of Pinkers Birnbeck Vanilla Porter. I tried the Beertle Juice, which was a very rich, luxurious milk stout that I could’ve sat drinking all night. The other half tried the Birnbeck, which was a little thin and overall quite disappointing despite being in good nick. The staff were very friendly, helpful and happy to have a chat when time permitted. I really liked this place, which I thought was a nice example of a brewery (or two breweries in this case), using a traditional pub with contemporary stylings to showcase their beer – much more preferable to sitting in a factory unit or railway arch. The friendly service and well-kept ale made this place really stand out and I’d say this is an essential stop-off when visiting Weston.