Only here for the beer
Any readers who might not know me might be wondering why each of the blog posts feature an Evening section why always has one or two pubs, usually micropubs, listed as places we hope to visit. Fear not, gentle reader, our goal is not to get hopelessly drunk in towns anew.
Britain has lost it's local character. Wander down any local high street and it is increasingly difficult to ascertain what area of the country you are in, let alone what town. Local shops are gone, replaced with the chain stores such as WHSmith, Boots, Toymaster, Argos and of course, Poundland. Local butchers and greengrocers have been, for much part, forced out of business by the edge of town supermarkets and local bakers replaced by Greggs. Coffee is now from the anodyne, mediocre Costa or Starbucks rather than the lovely little tea rooms and milk bars of my youth and the local fish'n'chippy is more often a McDonalds.
Pubs were heading that way too, the huge brewing companies like AB Inbev have snaffled up smaller national, and often local breweries, and beers of my youth are no longer to be found. Pubs are closing at about 18 per week as the traditional boozer can't compete with the JD Wetherspoons changes and the Beefeater style eateries. Or, more likely, as the pub owners realise that the building and land is worth more sold as building land than the profit that can be eeked from a tenant landlord trying to keep a viable business afloat.
Still, one thing is bucking this trend, micro-breweries and micropubs. Small regional breweries are popping up (there's 24 alone in Bristol), they have a small brew capacity and their distribution is often restricted to the local area, hence the role of the micropub. Micropubs are often older buildings repurposed as small pubs, owned not leased by the landlord with a large range of beers sold from small quantity casks and kegs, thus ensuring fast turn-around, a key element of good beer. Here in Chandlers Ford we have an excellent micropub on the premises of an former bank (well, half the premises, to reduce business rates, the other half is an Escape Room). Nearby Eastleigh has an excellent micro-brewery, which also happens to have it's own micropub taphouse.
Micro-brewies and micropubs are not just good news for beer drinkers but are good news for anyone who is interested in local produce; not only is the beer local, but the walls are likely to be decorated with local themes, food and snacks are likely to be locally sourced. At last an antidote to Costa, Starbucks, Subway, and McDonalds and one I certainly plan to endorse - mind you it helps I enjoy beer a bit too!