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Started off the day in Lymington Town visiting the Monkey Brewhouse, alongside a couple of real ale pubs in the town. Headed up to Brockenhurst to walk to Pig Beer in its lovely secluded location, before finishing in the Shirley area of Southampton to visit The Witch’s Brew, Overdraft and Clockwork.
Monkey Brewhouse
First call of the day was to the “Monkey Brewhouse” on the outskirts of Lymington. Around a 15 minute walk fron Lymington Town station (or an hourly bus service).
Both cask and keg beers are brewed on the kit that brewer Will has setup at the back of the pub 2 years ago with an extension to house the brewery, surrounded by glass so customers can see the whole brewery. Was great to meet Will and have a look around.
Tried a few of their beers while I was here, with both Sam the manager and Ruth behind the bar. Started with “Lymington Best Bitter”, went onto “Palooza” a tasty Session IPA, “Buckland Howler”, an easy drinking Pale and finished with “In The Vines”, a hazy 5.8% pale.
Some great outside seating here aswell as an on site restaurant and a 3 room bed and breakfast. The Grade II Listed turnpike toll house can be seen in the beer garden.
Angel & Blue Pig
A short bus ride back into Lymington Town and into the “Angel & Blue Pig”. A coaching inn was recorded on this site in 1756, and is now a early 19th Century Grade II listed building.
4 beers were avalanche on the bar here from local Ringwood Brewery, which is located just outside Bournemouth. I went with “Razor Back”, the first beer this brewery ever brewed, a tasty traditional bitter. Was great chatting to Sheena in here (apologies if ive spelt wrong), about the old layout of the pub.
Bosun’s Chair
The next pub in Lymington is seconds away from the railway station. “Bosun’s Chair” was originally a coach house. A really friendly welcome and a great outside area to the rear of the pub.
3 cask beers on here from Wadworth Brewery who brew in Devzies, Wiltshire. I went for the IPA, a very traditional session English IPA.
Pig Beer
Back on the train and off at Brockenhurst. The train to Lymington Town and Lymington Pier shuttles from Btockenhurst every 30 minutes. A 20 minute walk from the station to “Pig Beer”. Owned and run by two brothers and a cousin who in 2017 built the brewery and planted a hop field.
The brewery itself is located in an old pig shed (hence the name of the brewery), with a large undercover seating area across from it. Assistant Brewer James showed me around the brewery setup and bottling line.
4 beers being poured today (weekends they have more with the outside bar). I had a tasting paddle with 3 beers on. Started with “Infra Red” a Grapefruit Radler, “Session” an easy drinking session IPA and finished with “Sauber”, a wheat beer.
Back on the train again this time from Brockenhurst to Millbrook (having to change at Southampton Central). A 12 minute walk from here brings me to the Shirley area of Southampton. An area packed with bars, eating spots and more.
The Witch’s Brew
My first call here was to “The Witch’s Brew”, a small micropub run by Mary whom is was great to finally meet. A couple of rooms alongside a lovely outside area with a gazebo covering part of it. The toilet wall outside is a must see feature and really stands out.
Mary serves all her beers from Gravity and unlike most Micropubs they are served from Pins instead of Firkins. This allows a larger selection of beers to be available at any time (6 today), so covering most peoples tastes. She kindly showed me her cellar/beer room.
6 real ales available today with a good selection of pales, bitters and stronger pales (alongside a great cider selection). I started with “Perridge Pale” from Flower Pots Brewery, onto “Sessions Pale” from Brewers Folly and finished with “Belma” from Wantsum Brewery.
Overdraft
A bit further down the road brings me to “Overdraft”, a place I last visited in 2016 for a Tiny Rebel Tap Takeover event. It has an on site kitchen aswell serving taxos. A nixe warm welcome from Oscar in here.
A good selection of cask and keg beers here (alongside a number of ciders). Today they have 1 cask and 8 keg beers on the bar. I went with “Blueberry Pancake & Maple Syrup Sour” from New Bristol Brewery.
Clockwork
My last call today on the same road is to “Clockwork”. A small one roomed bar which opened in 2018. A warm welcome here from Steve.
A choice of 8 keg beers and a cask beer on the bar today. I went with “Dawn Chorus” a collaboration between Siren Craft Brew and Kings & Daughters Brewery in the United States. A crisp and clean pale ale, really good hop flavours coming through.
Micropub Adventures 