Gonzo, Earlsdon, Coventry

I haven't visited Earlsdon since 2017. Whilst I remember the City Arms (Wetherspoon's) and the Royal Oak being fairly decent pubs, Beer Gonzo is certainly a valuable addition to the local drinking scene, especially if you're into craft beers. The interior is split into two parts, with a bottle shop at the front and a bar/drinking space at the rear. We passed through the empty (beers, but no people) bottle shop area to the dimly-lit bar at the rear where several other customers were present. The craft beer selection is quite varied, albeit with a slightly Belgian/continental theme. They are all listed on a digital screen behind the bar. The selection was Pastore Limone, Tartarus Kludde Cascade Harvest Graff, De Struise Cuvee Delphine, Dig Brew Milk & Chocolate Cake, Brasserie D'Achouffe, Holy Goat Hyper Violet, Evil Twin Pretty Stoked, Evensong Canon, F*ck Cancer/Emperor's Bacta, The Veil Drizzle, Black Iris Divine Elements, Twisted Barrel Stolen Days, Deya Into The Haze, Schneider Bayrisch Hell, Pilton/Left-Handed Giant Themepark, Cazottes Marcotte Mauzac & Judith Beck Ink 2018. Certainly not cheap, but the Pilton cider was a new one for me. I could have happily stayed much longer in here. But our train time was drawing nearer and nearer and the urge to get food along the way meant that we were quite rushed. Hopefully I will be back some time.

The Gonzo Taproom and Lambic Bar is a micro nestling at the back of the Beer Gonzo shop in Earlsdon. Walk through the door and change beers rather than costumes. The place is a small, squarish room, very minimalist and all grey with concrete floors, industrial lighting and basic long wood benches and tables. It isn't traditional and it isn't cosy. There were a few punters in on our earlyish Wednesday evening visit, enough to make the loud acoustics of the place noticeable. Worth checking the opening hours as they do vary day by day but opening seems to be at 12 and closure never later than 9.20. Details are on their website. The bar is at the back to the left with 16 keg taps set into the wall and the list of beers available above them. Beers on when we called were: Prairie Oh! Fudge (11%), Cloudwater/Evil Twin Kir Royale Slushie (8%), The Kernel Export Stout (9.3%), Table Beer (3%) and IPA Citra (6.9%), Twisted Barrel Anything Goes (5.5%), St. Bernadus ABT 12 (10%), Hoppin Frog The Frog Abides (10%), Anchorage Bitter Monk (9%), Cigar City Caffe Americano (11%), Chorlton Orange Sherbert Sour (4.5%), Melvin Your IPA (7%), Liquid Light Cosmic Debris (5%), Left Handed Giant Bubble Vision (8%), Northern Monk/Finback Cocktail Beer Ramen (6.4%) and Wander Beyond Mini Strawberry Shake (3%). No cask but if you have any interest at all in modern keg then that really is some range and I enjoyed the couple I tried. I spotted two types of glass: a trendy pint glass and tulip shaped glass with 1/3, 1/2 and 2/3 markers so you can have whatever measure takes your fancy although the stronger beers didn't have a pint price advertised. As ever with keg price is worth a mention and they ranged from £2.25 for a half (3%) to £11.15 (10%) again for a half. The latter is chunky giving a pint price, were it available, of £22.30! In addition to the keg offer, there are beer menus on each table one of which details the keg choices whilst the other has the longest list of lambic beers available that I've ever seen so if lambic is your bag then this is your spot. It's a trek from the town centre but if you fancy buying the odd bottle or can and sampling an interesting beer or two then it's well worth the journey. I'd certainly return.

Official site of Gonzo Taproom & Lambic Bar - www.beergonzo.co.uk

Official site of Gonzo Taproom & Lambic Bar - www.beergonzo.co.uk