Dolphin Inn, 48 St. Michaels St, SHREWSBURY, SY1 2EZ [Map]
01743 350419 
17-23 MO-SA; 17-22:30 SU
Quiet Bar, Rail Station Near Pub

A day to remember. That's me consuming my 100th
different real ale in 120 days, October 1995

Tucked away in the back streets of Shrewsbury is this early Victorian gas-lit drinking house. The gaslights still work and produce a very gentle lighting affect in the room. If you're travelling there by train you'll need to head under the railway bridge as you leave the station and you'll find it about half a mile down the road on the left-hand side.

There's two bars, a very basic public bar to the left and a much more comfortable lounge to the right where most people congregate. It's the sort of pub where you can guarantee that you will never have a bad pint. They've always a good selection of beers on offer and they'll describe each one so that you can choose the one (or more) that 'suits you Sir'. Whatever you do, don't ask to drink any boring, dodgy fizzy water as they don't even sell lager in bottles. At the end of 2000 they opened up a brewery at the back of the pub (the Dolphin brewery) and a couple of their beers are usually on tap at the bar.

Do note the limited opening hours and they've an impressive range of coffees available too, and lots of cats wandering around!. They used to be open earlier in the day and we were caught out too by this.

UPDATE on the pub thanks to Nigel Bevan, of Shrewsbury and West Shropshire CAMRA. Still got cats, though not so many. Has a resident Polecat now which comes out for a mooch now and again. Still brewering his own beer; a lambic style black beer of some strength (Dolphin Black ) Nigel, the landlord, says it is 6.5, but we all think it is stonger. Dolphin Best Bitter and Dolphin Premium Bitter. He has a good range of Belgian beers in bottles (Grimbergen Blonde & Brun, Morte Sebite, De Konik etc etc. Watch this space as he plans to turn the bar into a restaurant and have accomodation.

Colin stroking one of the pub's 9 or so cats!, September 2000