Dinosaur-themed brewery opens a church-like taproom in Portsmouth

The House of Rapture opened at the Staggeringly Good brewery in Fratton last month and fans of the brewery packed into the site to be the first to experience the venue, which is set up as a dinosaur-themed church. 

A three-day party with live music was held to mark the occasion. 

And another party is being planned for February 1 to mark the end of dry January. 

Bar manager Paul Judd, 43, said: ‘It is probably one of the most bizarre yet interesting multi-purpose venues in Portsmouth offering a raised first-floor stage for live music, entertainment, food and drink, private seating and a dance floor all inside a dinosaur-themed church.’

It’s not just the unusual taproom or the dinosaur-themed craft beers that are proving popular – a crowdfunding page set up to raise £300,000 to fund further expansion has attracted £140,000 of investment in just 15 days. The business has also secured a further £200,000 of private investment. 

One of the three owners – Jonathan Chapman, from Portsmouth – said they started out with a passion for home brewing but decided to take it to the next level.

The 38-year-old said: ‘We would brew batches on rented equipment, but even this became too small to meet demand, so we decided to go for it and build our own in the heart of Portsmouth.

‘In just three years we’ve established Staggeringly Good as one of England’s top 20 breweries and that’s out of 3,500. We are constantly striving to make our beer better.’

They are planning to build a second brewhouse in Portsmouth, and hope their crowdfunding will fund it.

Jonathan said: ‘We’re selling shares in order to raise the £500,000 we need to take the next big step.

‘The campaign is important because it will allow us to grow our potential. It will create a unique opportunity for jobs and increasing the availability of craft beer across our city.’

Paul added: ‘With people’s help on the crowdfunding there really is no limits to where this brewery can go and the success it will bring to Portsmouth.’ 

 To get involved go to crowdcube.com/companies/staggeringly-good/pitches/b2da3l

Or for more on the brewery and events go to staggeringlygood.com