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Beer of the Week (w/e 14th April 2024) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by paulof horsham
Submitted on Sunday, 17th February 2019
With picture contributions to 4577 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (1 more image)
Detail Pages
Beer Engine, Brighton
Southwick
Postal town: Brighton
BN42 4FJ
Served areas
Reviews of Beer Engine (Average Rating: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Blue Scrumpy left this review about Beer Engine
Neighbourhood micropub on a parade of shops looking over a paved area and therefore set back from the main shopping street.
On a relatively sunny October day, a few people were taking advantage of the pavement seating to the front. Inside is fairly spacious by micropub standards. It's fairly dark inside with the bar on the right-hand wall towards the rear, with a cold room containing the beers and ciders just beyond.
Beers and ciders are listed on blackboards above the bar, but the boards don't seem to be updated very often. So, the real ale selection was completely out of date, with ciders and craft beers also having changed. This seemed to create a bit of confusion all round.
Only 2 of the handpulls were clipped with Gun Chummy Bluster & Nuttycombe Doonicans. The latter went just as I was leaving, with Butcombe Gold about to come on. Ciders were Seacider Passion Fruit Cider & Strawberry Cider, Dorset Nectar Dabinett, Snail's Bank Pig Squeal and their own Southwick Beer Engine Ciderengine. I chose the latter, but I dread to think how long that had been sat there for. I can usually stomach most kinds of cider, but this was in a pretty poor condition. Craft beers were New Belgium Voodoo Ranger, Fourpure IPA & Loudshirt Exp8.
There seemed to be a bit of a music theme with the interior and as with the previous review, music was being played at an acceptable level throughout my visit. Incidentally, I didn't notice a pinball machine. So, that may have disappeared. Although I wasn't really looking out for it.
On 19th October 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Cask Fan left this review about Beer Engine
More of a beer bar than a micropub I feel. I visited on a warm spring day, the bar is in a parade of shops and is just a short walk from the railway station and the 700 Coastliner bus route. Quite a number of locals were sat outside enjoying the sunshine where there are a good number of outside chairs and tables. Going inside I was very pleasantly surprised to see normal height tables and comfortable seating.
There were three hand pumps in use, the house beer Engine Oil (I don't know who brews this), Thornbridge Late Star (a strong bitter), and Titanic Plum Porter. I tried both of the last two and they were of good quality. As well as the cask beers the bar sells craft keg and a selection of lagers, a large chalk board above the bar lists what is available. A pinball machine was in the corner at the front of the pub, but wasn't switched on or not working. There's background music in the bar, I'm not sure about this as it wasn't loud enough to hear properly, although I guess complaints would follow if it was any louder.
On 26th March 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 43 recommendations about 35 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Southwick Beer Engine
Just a short way up the road from Southwick station, situated in a row of shops, this is a very nicely presented micropub that seemed popular with locals and visitors alike. Presumably a simple shop-conversion, the compact, narrow single room interior is bare boarded throughout with the servery along the rear part of the right-hand wall. Some nice padded banquettes line the left-hand wall and have been supplemented with low stools, a few more of which serve another couple of tables in the front right part of the room. Unusually, all of the tables are very low, a bit like coffee tables, with Perspex screen installed between each table down the left side of the room, creating what felt like a series of small booths. The bar has a chunky corrugated metal counter front with a more typical wooden top, plus a plain bar back decorated with various coins and bank notes. One of the keg fonts has been housed in an old engine block, which I thought looked quite cool and was a nice play on the pub’s name/beer engines. Blackboards across the bar canopy list the full drinks range, but with the new one-way system set up through the room, you can’t stand far enough back to read them. The room has been decorated with some striking modern art prints, many of which related to music and film – a theme that also saw an electric guitar suspended above the front window. There’s also a long row of pump clips running around much of the room just below the ceiling, creating a colourful frieze effect. Loud pop tunes were playing on an early Saturday afternoon, which perhaps explained why most punters were sat outside on the many picnic benches and metal tables and chairs that line the pavement.
There were three ales available across five handpulls when I arrived – Thornbridge Brother Rabbit, Old Dairy Blue Top and a house beer called Engine Oil – with Gun Pale Ale coming on during the course of my stay. The Brother Rabbit was a nice pint in good condition which set me back £4.00 for a pint. The craft keg range covered breweries such as Brewdog, Lervig, Tiny Rebel and Wild Beer, with a couple of mainstream options including Guinness also available.
This seemed like a really nice micropub which perhaps flaunts a rule or two but still offers the typical drinking environment you’d expect of such an establishment. The beer range was interesting and my pint was in fine condition, the staff were friendly and there was plenty of comfortable seating both inside and out. I could’ve done without the loud music but aside from that, there was plenty going for this place and I’d be more than happy to return again some time.
On 27th August 2020
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
View more reviews of Beer Engine (5)
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- Official site of Southwick Beer Engine - southwick-beer-engine.business.site
- CAMRA WhatPub :: Beer Engine - whatpub.com
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 16 February 2019 by paulof horsham
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 16 February 2019 by paulof horsham
- Beer Festivals : Yes last updated 31 March 2022 by paulof horsham
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 27 August 2020 by Pub SignMan
- Car Park : No last updated 16 February 2019 by paulof horsham
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 27 August 2020 by Pub SignMan
- Darts : No last updated 16 February 2019 by paulof horsham
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 16 February 2019 by paulof horsham
- Function Room : No last updated 16 February 2019 by paulof horsham
- Hot Food : No last updated 27 August 2020 by Pub SignMan
- Jukebox : Yes last updated 16 February 2019 by paulof horsham
- Karaoke : No last updated 27 August 2020 by Pub SignMan
- Live Music : Yes last updated 16 February 2019 by paulof horsham
- Live TV Sports : Yes last updated 12 March 2019 by paulof horsham
- Micropub : Yes last updated 09 April 2019 by Aqualung .
- Pinball : No last updated 16 February 2019 by paulof horsham
- Pool Table : No last updated 16 February 2019 by paulof horsham
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 16 February 2019 by paulof horsham
- Real Cider : Yes last updated 12 March 2019 by paulof horsham
- WiFi : Yes last updated 16 February 2019 by paulof horsham
