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The Platform Bar (formerly TMI Bottle Shop @ Coachworks; Boutilliers Bottle & Tap) (Free House)

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Beer (sort)Average Score (sort)No. Samples (sort)
Girardin - Gueze 1882 (Black Label)Excellent2
Lost and Grounded - Keller PilsExcellent2
Struise Brouwers - Robert the GreatExcellent2
Struise Brouwers - Clash of the Titans ReservaExcellent2
Boutilliers - Asteroid Blues (Special Edition)Good3

Visits Details

18 Aug 2023 (Ian)
Good bunch of locals in from old TMI
BeerABVScoreNotes
Lost and Grounded - Keller Pils4.80ExcellentTasty
17 Aug 2023 (Ian)
Only customer in the HotHouse venue. Sat chatting with Marcus the barman about Cambodia
BeerABVScoreNotes
Lost and Grounded - Keller Pils4.80ExcellentAs close to a Franconian keller bier that you can find in the UK on a consistent basis
29 Apr 2021 (ChrisE)
I had originally planned to be in Belgium today doing the Toer de Geuze but COVID prevented that, so as this is the only pub that I know of selling gueze I came here instead. I sat in the space shared with the other bar here and enjoyed a couple of beers.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Struise Brouwers - Clash of the Titans Reserva12.00Excellent
Girardin - Gueze 1882 (Black Label)5.00ExcellentFantastic.
22 Apr 2021 (ChrisE)
I was on the bus intending to go home when I discovered that it would be diverted because of a burst water main so I had to alight here and walk. Well it would be rude not to pop in for a beer first.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Girardin - Gueze 1882 (Black Label)5.00ExcellentExcellent and an unusual find for Ashford.
15 Oct 2020 (ChrisE)
Evening until 10pm close. A very pleasant atmosphere in here tonight and busier than I expected it to be. No cask ales but I had a number of Belgian bottle conditioned ales from which to choose.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Struise Brouwers - Robert the Great10.50ExcellentI love this, I was told they have sold rather a lot of it, mostly to me. A good Imperial Stout.
Struise Brouwers - Clash of the Titans Reserva12.00ExcellentOh dear, the label on this is difficult to read and I had not noticed the 12% abv when I ordered it. I would describe this as an oaky barley wine.
10 Oct 2020 (Magnus Greel)
Mid afternoon and a few other groups easily swallowed up in this warehouse sized establishment. My first visit and had I been transported here by a TARDIS or beamed off The Enterprise I'd have thought I was in a venue more suited to the now trendy 'burrows' (as the Yanks pronounce them) of East London! We had two beers here, the first I never noted but the second was a bottle of Robert The Great, both silly ABV's and both enjoyable, thanks to these I had my full night's quota of sleep around seven hours earlier than I planned to. The second round came to nearly fourteen quid for two 330ml bottles, but to me worth every penny as this place, similar to The Curious Brewery over the road, attracts a different kind of clientele compared to the cheaper places prevalent in this town.
BeerABVScoreNotes
24 Sep 2020 (ChrisE)
Thursday afternoon and very quiet which gave me a good opportunity for socially distant chat with the guvs from Boutilliers Brewery.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Struise Brouwers - Robert the Great10.50ExcellentI think this is bottle conditioned and suitable for an entry on this site. This pub has just taken delivery of a number of very interesting beers from De Struise. This is a black Imperial Russian Stout and absolutely delicious. £6.84 for a 33cl bottle meant that I rationed myself to two of them.
28 Feb 2020 (Philip Pirrip)
Return mid evening visit with Dosser of this august journal. A small crowd by then standing around the bar and a loud sound system blasting from a rostrum in the main hall. The multi-cubicle unisex toilet needs some getting used to.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Boutilliers - Asteroid Blues (Special Edition)4.70Good
28 Feb 2020 (Dosser)
Went here with Mr Pirrip. Small bar in warehouse. One of the beers on draught was over £14 a pint! Wow
BeerABVScoreNotes
Boutilliers - Asteroid Blues (Special Edition)4.70Good
28 Feb 2020 (Philip Pirrip)
Mid afternoon exploratory visit only marred by trying to find the entrance from the railway station side in an umbrella destroying wind. Great chat with the brewer who was staffing the bar. No cask here. A couple of other draught beers including an over 10% Triple IPA.
BeerABVScoreNotes
Boutilliers - Asteroid Blues (Special Edition)4.70GoodKeyKeg I think and not a silly price. This beer had been sold in three formats as coffee, standard and this one special and just the one keg of this one

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About The Platform Bar (formerly TMI Bottle Shop @ Coachworks; Boutilliers Bottle & Tap)

Summary of Beer Scores

 Total
Exceptional-
Excellent10
Good3
Acceptable-
Poor-

Website.

The pub is found in Ashford, Kent, TN23 1HU.

This bar originally opened on Friday 29 November 2019 operated by Boutilliers brewery. To find it enter the yard of the former coachworks and the bar is situated in the building on the left. Equipped with several keg lines and a large selection of bottled and canned products. One basic bench seat or else it is standing room here. The building has one truly shared unisex toilet cubicles room facility. Fairly rigid eco-friendly plastic "glasses" only here. Card payments only, no cash accepted here. Currently (September 2020) open Thursdays to Sundays only. Update May 2022. Then operated by The Made Inn. Open Friday to Sunday with six draught (not cask) lines and over 100 different bottles and cans. Has stated the intention to close on 23rd December 2023 quoting difficult trading conditions. Would now seem to be trading as part of The Platform Bar in the Coachworks.

We have visited this pub 12 times, seen 10 different beers and tried 7 of them.

Map location

Postcode: TN23 1HU