Pubs and Beer in Southampton: OX:47 Lounge (previously CaskAway), Oxford Street

In the hip Oxford Street area of Southampton, not far from Ocean Village, the new microcraftbeerbar Caskaway is sure to be successful. The area is full of bars of all sorts - there is something here for every taste, and keg craft beer is the big hip thing at the moment, so offering that in a trendy outlet is a no-brainer. It opened in September in a former florist shop, and all the seating is made from reclaimed wood, and is higher than normal as the space beneath is intended for storage.

The keg selection. Yes, the light was as distracting in life as in the photo

The bar is small and a little uncomfortable. The seats are all wood with no cushions, and just a little too high for comfort. Mostly keg beers, but three gravity cask available. No bar so your order is taken and then brought to your table. Sells pints, halves, and thirds of beer; also pork pies and scotch eggs. No WiFi (yet). No atmosphere on my visit which was around 5 on a Friday when the owner seemed busy doing his accounts. Several others in the place, but little discussion going on. Atmosphere could well be warmer later in the evening.

No bar, just a station - this is how pubs used to be before Brunel invented
the pub bar to serve impatient passengers at Swindon station.

Date: Oct 2016 Score: 6.5

Caskaway has become a victim of the government's lockdown measures:

As you know all know, Caskaway has been closed for several months due to the unforeseen events of this year. The repercussions of the coronavirus on the pub industry in general have been absolutely devastating, and they have been particularly damaging to small, independent pubs like Caskaway. Due to the measures that would need to be put in place to keep our customers and staff safe in such a small venue, it would simply not be financially viable to continue. Sadly, as I’m sure many of you have already heard, we will therefore not be reopening Caskaway.

We would like to thank everyone who has passed through our doors since we opened. We are incredibly grateful for your custom and support over the years and we are sad that we weren’t able to break this sad news to you all in person.

As with everything though, there is always a silver lining - we may now actually have time to have a drink with you on the other side of the bar! We hope to see you at one of the many fantastic beer establishments in Southampton, who we wish all the very best of luck to in these turbulent times.

Alas, this is also not the end… we have already been busy planning our next project so keep your eyes open for updates on this!

Beers drunk here include Mad Hatter Mint Choc Chip, Wild Beer Trendy Juice,