Beards + Boards, Southampton

A very apt name as there were beardy blokes and a good collection of skateboards around the place. Even the taps along the back wall were fixed onto skate boards. The music in here was excellent, along with some graffiti artwork down the left hand wall, plus some original vinyl album covers. There were two beers on handpump Flowerpots Bitter and Hand Brewery Coffee Porter and a decent range of 9 craft. We stayed a while here as the staff were friendly and chatty and the beers were superb.

Fairly new micropub that I hadn't had chance to visit on previous visits to Southampton. The staff in here are friendly and served a good selection of beers and ciders. The real ale was Bowman Swift One. Real ciders were JJ's Mango Cider, Rhubarb Cider & Special Reserve. Craft beers were Kona Big Wave, Beavertown Neck Oil, Brew Toon Loose Cannon, Snap Back MBH, Hophurst Citra & Mosaic, Triple Point X2, Laine Twisted Lips & Frisky Bear Candy Floss Imperial Stout. There were also a couple of fizzy ciders from JJ's - Cloudy Cider & Pear Cider. There are plenty of skateboards lining the walls and behind the bar itself. There is also a punk theme to the place, along with a talking unisex toilet. All in all, our brief visit was very enjoyable. So, I'm sure I'll be paying a return visit some day.

Now visited , a typical small oblong shop refurb, bench and table seating along with some cushioned beer barrels, high stools and drinking shelves. The general theme is skateboarding with music to match, indeed the barman had a back to front baseball cap on. There is also some kind of punk rock thing involved and bizarrely there is an audio punk blog playing when you visit the toilet. On the Beer front, three handles with two on, Steam Town Stoke and Vibrant Forest Juncus, eight craft keg and five cider. I had Juncus , very good and on keg Mammoth Twist, not so good. Not a bad place though the music gets a bit samey, decent beer choice.

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