Craft beer pubs in Liverpool

[PhilM]

A minority of "craft beer" establishments are now a place to be seen at, and the quality of what's being served isn't the most important thing.

I was thinking exactly the same, which is why I originally mentioned the article is in some aspects more focused on clientele rather than quality.

A couple of years ago, I stopped drinking in the Philharmonic for this reason. Bought a pint and it was atrocious: tart and cloudy as hell!

The young girl on the bar, not much over the age of eighteen and experienced in WKD, told me and my friends it was meant to taste like that.

I disagreed. Her colleagues, with an average age of twenty, disagreed with my friends and I after having a few sips of my pint.

Now, we'd individually drank more than they have had collectively, but they wouldn't have it. Eventually got a different drink... equally as poor.

The Philharmonic has great surroundings and the atmosphere can be great (I'd drank there for years), but they used this to attract their clientele.

However, they'd actually given up on looking after the ale. The toilets may be fantastic, but I go to drink ale not to enjoy a piddle.

Unfortunately as you mention, a few places are like this: they sell real ale but they don't actually look after it. It's almost become a clique.

I even saw a burger place in Liverpool One selling cooled 'craft ale' in a can the other day. Had a try it; tasted awful. What's the point?

 

[Sid James]

I was thinking exactly the same, which is why I originally mentioned the article is in some aspects more focused on clientele rather than quality.

A couple of years ago, I stopped drinking in the Philharmonic for this reason. Bought a pint and it was atrocious: tart and cloudy as hell!

The young girl on the bar, not much over the age of eighteen and experienced in WKD, told me and my friends it was meant to taste like that.

I disagreed. Her colleagues, with an average age of twenty, disagreed with my friends and I after having a few sips of my pint.

Now, we'd individually drank more than they have had collectively, but they wouldn't have it. Eventually got a different drink... equally as poor.

The Philharmonic has great surroundings and the atmosphere can be great (I'd drank there for years), but they used this to attract their clientele.

However, they'd actually given up on looking after the ale. The toilets may be fantastic, but I go to drink ale not to enjoy a piddle.

Unfortunately as you mention, a few places are like this: they sell real ale but they don't actually look after it. It's almost become a clique.

I even saw a burger place in Liverpool One selling cooled 'craft ale' in a can the other day. Had a try it; tasted awful. What's the point?

I think that the rise of craft beers is assisting the increase in popularity of Ales and I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. Why cant you enjoy both. I Know a couple of people who've been ardent lager drinkers have given craft beers a go as it's seen as on trend to do so, thoroughly enjoyed it and having experienced a taste revelation have been willing to be a bit more adventurous when out for a few beers.
I'm seeing more and more pubs selling greater range of ales and craft beers and slowly it's losing its image of an old mans drink
Lager has it's place but ale and craft beer have a vast range of complex flavours available that Ice chilled, mass manufactured, overly fizzy lagers just don't deliver.

Some are predicting the demise of lager (see this article ), personally I think really good lager has its merits and I dont see it dissapearing any time soon but if the increase in popularity for beer means that eventually I can go to most pubs and be assured of having choice of good beers I'm more than happy

 

[PhilM]

I'm seeing more and more pubs selling greater range of ales and craft beers and slowly it's losing its image of an old mans drink

Lager has it's place but ale and craft beer have a vast range of complex flavours available that Ice chilled, mass manufactured, overly fizzy lagers just don't deliver.

Some are predicting the demise of lager (see this article ), personally I think really good lager has its merits and I dont see it dissapearing any time soon but if the increase in popularity for beer means that eventually I can go to most pubs and be assured of having choice of good beers I'm more than happy

I'm quite an eclectic person when it comes to ale. I love real ale with the variety you can enjoy, both in taste and different brews.

Yet, I can also thoroughly enjoy a nice lager. For me, it all depends on the time, place and the company I hold what type of drink I decide to buy.

However, I dislike poor ale whatever type it is! I am more than happy for the rise of real ale, as it means an ever increasing variety. Big plus!

As you mentioned it is losing its image as an old man's drink. Younger people are drinking it; women are enjoying it; popular bars are stocking it.

Unfortunately though as Wooly mentioned, looking after real / craft ale isn't as easy as your standard keg ale.

Many bars are now adopting a hand pump or two, but are getting it completely wrong with regards to how they keep it. For them it's the image.

A badly kept pint of real (craft) ale can really put you off from returning. That's without mentioning the effect on your stomach the next day.

Hopefully this will improve with time as it's a pleasure to see real ale being loved by so many, when even five years ago it was pretty unloved.

I just do not want people to adopt it as they're jumping on the bandwagon; I want people to enjoy it and do it right.

The ice cold craft ale in the said restaurant (even though on the can it said serve room at temperature) was not doing it right.

 

[Lids1978]

What do people think of ONeills on hannover st?
The service is shambolic i feel. way too slow n the ales arent up to much. apart from that its actually a good spot with sound blues on matchdays!

 

[tsubaki]

I went back to Woolia a couple of weeks ago and sampled the reborn Wrexham Lager for the first time.

All other lagers are obsolete.

 

[coollino]

I drink 'craft beer' along with traditional ales. As people have said above; these days there is a fine line between bars doing it right, and bars just on the bandwagon for a decent profit. It's not too hard to work out what is what tbh, when you go to a place that sells Brooklyn Lager, Seirra Navadas Pale Ale and Punk IPA for 4.50, you know they are doing it wrong. Nothing wrong with the beers themselves, it's just that they are distributed widely enough, and on a big enough scale, for the average cost to be much lower.

A good, well managed Wetherspoons is always a great bet for ales, especially these days. Stocking Sixpoint, Brewdog and Rogue for around £3 or so a bottle.

 

[Fresh Prince of Belle Val]

Generally the pub toilet conditions in Liverpool are atrocious.

The raz is probably the worst bogs, makes the one off trainspotting look like the met quarter bogs.

 

[Fresh Prince of Belle Val]

Seriously don't want to know.

I was going to comment on beer but you seem to want to discuss, literally, crap. No one wants to read that.

To be fair the thread is about craft pubs not craft beers. Toilet conditions are a key part of a good pub in my eyes. For instance the tours of the listed toilets in the philharmonic pub.

 

[PhilM]

The raz is probably the worst bogs, makes the one off trainspotting look like the met quarter bogs.

Nowhere in the Raz is clean. The toilets are borderline in requirement of an NBC suit just to survive.

However, I once shared a toilet cubicle with a couple who were enjoying 'each other's services' as I had a desperately needed slash.

They were simply chatting away to me as I relieved myself. Even got a quick high five off her as I left. Up there with the surrealist moments ever.

 

[Russian Evertonian]

Tomas Rigby for me. But I visited not many.

 

[Clint Planet]

I'm a fan of the Baltic Fleet.

 

[Black Belt Jones]

Didn't know there was a brewdog bar in Liverpool - been to a few round the country, beer is good but there's a juvenile vibe to the place. Tanning 6% beer at £4.50 a go is for students and other newcomers to the world of beer. Need a few decent session ales to appeal to the experienced drinkers.

 

[Groucho]

To be fair the thread is about craft pubs not craft beers. Toilet conditions are a key part of a good pub in my eyes. For instance the tours of the listed toilets in the philharmonic pub.

That's as well as may be and I don't disagree, but I don't want to read this;

I am a bit of a shittin enthusiast. I like to poo in good conditions.

 

[Groucho]

I'm a fan of the Baltic Fleet.

I like it there.

Also like the pub behind Rigby's, The Lady Of Man.

 

[PhilM]

I like it there.

Also like the pub behind Rigby's, The Lady Of Man.

Aye! Often misunderstood as being part of Rigby's, so often overlooked by people both when deciding where to go and recognising their quality.

Not to the same standard, but the 'Ye Hole in Ye Wall' is okay for a drink once in a while. Not the best ale, but atmosphere is nice.