Dead Wax Social, Bond Street, Brighton, 01273 683844

WRITER Dave Barry once described beer as the great invention in the history of mankind.

He justified it by adding: “The wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.”

Dead Wax Social takes that dream combination of craft beer and sourdough pizza, and throws in another platter that matters – the vinyl record.

The wall facing the bar at the entrance of the former late night bar Riki Tik is now home to a giant rack of vinyl, containing 4,000 LPs.

And the idea is that as well as enjoying an ever-changing range of eight craft beers on tap and stone-baked pizzas, customers can browse the racks and select discs to be played on the decks by the bar.

The vinyl selection is eclectic to say the least –taking in vintage Now compilations, Neneh Cherry, Nat King Cole and even the Mary Poppins original soundtrack.

“We got them from friends of the company, friends in Brighton and various vinyl wholesalers,” says Paul Chalcraft, operations manager for the Laines Pub Company.

“We are only ever going to play vinyl – there will be no digital music. We are currently putting them into playlists for the different times of day.”

The rest of the venue keeps in with this theme. A small HMV-style listening booth and space for a pop-up record store connects the front bar and the back bar/restaurant. It is decorated with pictures from independent record stores in Brighton and beyond.

The back bar walls have been hand-stencilled with logos from Brighton-based independent record stores and labels both past and present. And the music is filtered throughout the space, although there is a separate DJ booth for late night shows.

“It’s a pub and a record shop,” says Chalcraft. “In the digital world of social media it is almost harking back to the actual purpose of going to a pub and listening to some sounds.”

The worlds of craft beer and music are not so far apart – the venue is inviting DJ Justin Deighton, himself now a craft beer entrepreneur as one of its guest DJs. The venue has already received a lot of interest from DJs who want to dust off their vinyl collections.

The beers on offer range dramatically in origin and strength. On the opening night the bar was serving Northern Monk’s strong dark beer Peated Soul – with an ABV of 8.4% - as well as bottles of Brewdog’s Dead Pony PA at 3.8%, part of a range of more than 40 bottles curated by Horsham-based The Beer Collective. The beers are available in third-pints and two-third-pint schooners, as well as the more traditional half-pint and pint measures.

The accompanying pizzas are being created by the Pressing Plant Pizza Co., with the kitchens open every day except Monday. A range of eight pizzas will be available from noon to 8pm Tuesday to Saturday, and 5pm to 10pm on Sunday. Flavours range from classic tomato, mozzarella and basil to the more adventurous pesto base with rocket, pine nuts, goats cheese, sun-dried tomato and caramelised onion. Prices start at £4 for a 7in pizza, or £7 for a sharing 12in pizza, with sides of garlic bread, olives and salad also available.

It looks like Brighton’s healthy music scene finally has its own dedicated meeting space, right in the heart of the North Laine.

Open Sun to Wed noon to 2am, Thurs to Sat noon to 3am. Visit www.drinkinbrighton.co.uk/deadwaxsocial or facebook.com/deadwaxsocial