I’ve discovered a new house-of-welcome-refreshment to add to
my list of places to visit when in town – Nip & Growler in the High Street,
King’s Lynn, Norfolk. It’s probably a micro-pub (micro-pubs being the latest
craze to sweep dust away from the nation’s traditional image of what a tavern
should be). I can’t be sure, though, because nobody seems to be able to tell me
what makes a pub ‘micro.’ Perhaps it’s like love – impossible to define but you
know when you’re in it.
It’s small, being about the size of a Jessop’s shop (which
is exactly what it was before the camera retailer went out of business), yet it
sells a frequently changing minimum of 12 real ales and cider brands on tap, a
fair percentage of which describe themselves as ‘vegan” which presumably means
they’re not clarified using fish bladders. Four glass sizes are on offer: the
usual pint and half pint, and 1/3rd pint and 2/3rds pint. Most of
the brewers are either local or localish. Beers are dispensed using the key-keg
system, a sort of bag-in-flagon system which pumps compressed air between the
flagon and the inner bag to deflate the bag and thereby send the beer through
to a waiting glass.
I like the place. It’s quirky and shabby and unpretentious. The
proprietor was friendly and only too pleased to explain the way it all works.
Background music was as it says in the title – in the background. King’s Lynn
pubs are a bit grim generally – this is a pleasing addition to the available
options for those wanting to drink decent beers in the town centre. Lots more
information is on their website: http://www.nipandgrowler.uk/
including translation of the Latin epigram and what I’ve forgotten to mention.
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