Regular readers will remember that my first visit to Henson Brewing wasn’t a world beater. So I decided that I would hold off on returning even though the taproom is a five minute walk from my office.
Since then the logo and website have been spruced up, so I re-visited. Here are the findings….and they are not great. The inside of the taproom has folding tables and chairs, there is an old truck parked inside but it doesn’t have the charm or (guessing here) the drivability of the Brewyard truck so the feel is a little temporary.
This is one of the first places where the beer names seemed to be not of a piece. I don’t expect that they should match or be all historical figures for example but Red, White and Blue IPA and then Paleolithic Pale? Speaking of the latter, it is a dark red and is more malty than hoppy. Not bad, but below par for British styled pale and way below if aiming for American style. There was also a “Sweet IPA” on tap which scared the bejesus out of me so I didn’t even order a taster.
The best indicator though was a friend joined me, had a taster of the pilsner, 2Pils, and then said that he would like to go elsewhere for beer # 2.
Maybe I will try again this time next year.