'No TVs, no loud music' - How the owner of Newport's newest micro-pub is going back to basics

Just five weeks after Darren Wood secured the keys to a vacant retail unit on Newport's High Street, The Stag & Scotch Micropub was open for business.

Darren isn't a stranger to Newport's pub scene, having run Joule's Brewery's The New Inn on Stafford Road for several years from 2015.

After the stint with Joule's, Darren took two and a half years away, running Red Rooster Events.

The events company organises a number of music and food festivals, including the Water's Edge Festival at Chetwynd Deer Park, and provides bars for larger events including the Newport Show. 

But Darren had always wanted to take on the challenge of a tiny pub and when Objects at 71 High Street closed in November, he jumped at the opportunity.

"I've been looking for something like this to come up for a while," Darren explained.

"There's a niche market for it in Newport, for people who want to talk to each other - no TVs, no loud music, they don't just sit there on their phones. It takes it back to basics.

"Good beer, good wine, good old-fashioned traditional values of social interactions - I think that's been amiss since the [Covid-19] pandemic really."

From getting the keys in November, Darren and his team took just five weeks to transform the place into a cosy bar and open in time for Christmas.

During their first week, customers drank their way through 25 cask ales.

"It's been amazing, we've had a superb start - busy right the way through Christmas. Drinks have been flying out the door and every evening every seat has been filled.

"It's been a really interesting project to transform a retail space like this - it's nice to put your own stamp on it. We've upcycled and recycled lots of stuff - hardly anything is new except for the dispensing equipment. 

"We've had a lot of people say it feels like it's always been there. That's what you want to achieve - that familiar feeling, like a comfy pair of slippers."

The tiny pub is stocking a wide range of cask real ales, primarily from Shropshire and Staffordshire breweries, but is starting to intersperse from brewers a little further afield.

The pub is also offering a range of craft IPAs, lagers and ciders - as well as a well-stocked back bar. A range of bar snacks including pork pies, sausage rolls and scotch eggs are also available.