Phantom Brewing, Reading

Reading has a new brewery hidden away in the side-streets.
And a relatively new central taproom for Berkshire brewer Wild Weather.
And a 2020 Good Beer Guide entry that I've never been to.
So on (yet another) wet and windy February weekend we hopped on the train to visit all of the above.

The Moderation (213 Caversham Road, RG1 8BB - web)
First things first, we headed to the 2020 Beer Guide entry.
The Moderation is a mix of pub and restaurant, with a fusion menu containing various SE Asian dishes alongside traditional pub fodder.
The front bar has Six Nations flags hanging from the ceiling and footy on TV.
Mixed in with some lesser seen pub decorations...

BRAPA was in the Moderation a few weeks ago, reporting how his chosen beer ran out, but they "still squeezed one out, which was pure 'cleaning lines fluid".  We were to get a repeat performance as the Bath Ales 'Gem' filled half the glass, before some determined hand-pull pumpin' commenced, the last dregs spluttering out of the barrel.
This left one ale on offer, an Otter 'Bitter', which was, well...just okay.

This seems to be a bit of a rogue guide entry by Reading CAMRA who do like to throw in a few curve-balls. 

Phantom Brewing is located in roughly the same part of Reading as the Moderation, north-west of the train station.  To get there we negotiated several streets of terraced housing, eventually leading into an industrial estate.

Are we going the right way?

It's safe to say you're probably not gonna stumble across it by mistake.
We had a moment of doubt about opening hours when we saw the big closed shutter, although the presence of the food van gave us the confidence to stride up to the small door.

Phantom Brewing Co (Unit 3, Meadow Road, RG1 8LB - fb)
Once inside, it's a pleasant surprise to find a reasonable number of folks in an intriguing venue.
At the far end is the 12 barrel brewery, which was up-and-running in November 2019.  To one side is the semi-enclosed 'The Haunt' where the bar stands, and you get the luxury of heaters, rugby on the TV and marginally more comfy seating than the German beer-fest benches elsewhere.

The folks of Reading get a pretty good choice of craft ales already, the lucky blighters, and The Haunt at Phantom Brewing further increases this.
With 13 taps, there were 6 of their own creations available on our visit, plus a good choice of top-notch offerings from the likes of Arbor and Neon Rapture. 

Too many DIPA's led to ADHD?!  No problem, as there's plenty to keep you occupied here.

There's Skee Ball in the corner, darts, table football (which we got quite hooked on), and it's not often that you come across a 22ft table shuffleboard.

Shuffle Board - harder than it looked.

Here's some practical stuff, on the off-chance that anyone's actually found this post and got this far down and wants practical stuff...
Opening hours are limited at present - Friday 3-10pm and Saturday 1-10pm & don't take a big wadge of cash as it's card only at the bar.

Setting out this morning, a visit to the Weather Station was intended to be the main reason to come to Reading.
But we may have a got a little waylaid in here...

Which means by the time we actually got to the Weather Station it was the point of the day where I'm struggling with my beer, taking some odd photos, and failing to recollect much about the place the next day. 
Hell's bells - how many times do I manage to do this?!

Weather Station (19 Eldon Terrace, Reading, RG1 4DX - fb)

Yep, I need to make a revisit here, ticking it off at the start of the day.
As I say, odd photos.  Nothing to actually show what the place was like, but there is one of the contents of the shelf next to where we were sat.

Everything you ever need.

Whereas the Eldon Arms (which this was previously) had traditional pub comforts, the Wild Weather crew have set this up in craft bar/taproom style, most notable with precarious stools around barrels as tables. 
The lighting is dim, there's hip music, and lots of WW's recognisable artwork.
And a fantastic beer list, of course.
From which I picked something ridiculously strong and hard work.

I'll be back, and I'll do it justice next time.  Cheers!