LIVERPOOL ONE PUB ONLY? Fly in the Loaf CRAWLING FROM RAILWAY STATION TO THE GROUND? Public transport to the ground after a walk to Fly in the Loaf, Roscoe Head and Ye Crack SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT? The Everyman                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    EVERTON ONE PUB ONLY? Ship and Mitre CRAWLING FROM RAILWAY STATION TO THE GROUND? Dr Duncans, Ship and Mitre and then Thomas Rigby , then taxi or bus SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT? White Star                                                                                                                 Baltic Fleet 33A Wapping   L1 8DQ  Telephone 0151 7093116 W www.wappingbeers.co.uk    G Mark and Kevin Yates F Bar snacks, brunches and traditional Sunday lunches 12 to 2 Mon - Fri, 11 to 4 Sat, 12 to 4 Sun   SP   TV Opening 12 to 11, 11 to 10.30 Sun           Wapping beers are a personal favourite of mine and to go to their home was a particular treat that didn’t disappoint. The pub is an impressive island among the redeveloped hotels and car parks along the dockland highway. The scale of the pub is delightfully appropriate. One smaller bar is festooned with superb photos of dockside scenes. The longer second bar is on a different level and arranged café - style for larger groups to sit around tables. The Baltic Fleet has won numerous awards and it is easy to see this as a destination pub. If you only have time to visit one pub in Liverpool then this grade II listed building and brewery would make the perfect choice. Without doubt “mine’s Wapping.” Of course it is. UPDATE:  The pub reopened after a short closure under the new management of Mark and his son Kevin. The upstairs restaurant has gone as the pub recreates the traditional pub feel. Merseyside’s only brew pub offers real fires, quiz nights and as something novel; a monthly Laurel and Hardy film night. A warm welcome is guaranteed along with great ale, guest selections, and over twenty bottled continental beers. BWV 28.2.05:  Tigertops Right Rye,  Wapping Brunel,  Bow Spirit Bitter, Summer Ale, Tapley Mild BWV 19.4.06:  Connoiseur Ruby Thursday,  Ring O’Bells Porkers Pride,  Wapping  Bitter, Bow Spirit Bitter, Summer Ale, Stout, Tapley Mild,  Double Vision cider Doctor Duncan’s St. Johns House, St. Johns Lane   L1 1HF  Telephone 0151 7095100 W www.cains.co.uk  G Peter Howarth F Traditional good quality pub grub 12 to 3 Mon - Sat, 12 to 5 Sun   MP   B   D Opening 11.30 to 11 Mon - Thu, 11.30 to 1 Fri - Sat, 12 to 10.30 Sun           The good Doctors pub is not as large as one might think on first observation. The corner public bar is a gem with ornate tiled pillars in all their Victorian splendour. The other public bar is a good chatting area with original seating facing the traffic through picture windows. The rear of the pub is a spilt - level lounge, less grand but equally comfortable. Most impressive, however, is the variety of Cains ales. This place is a regular award winner and the conversation appeared very footie orientated. I would imagine, due to its proximity to Lime Street Station, it to be very busy most days and on Saturdays in particular. It is a great starting point for a visit to this fine ale town. In my case it was the regular afternoon shift that filled the bars with a constant purr of contentment enjoying different beers from their last visit. UPDATE:  Chris is the new manager and the pub now offers the full range of Cains ales rather than guest options. A new outside area under construction will be ready for use soon. BWV 28.2.05:  Cains Bitter, IPA, Dark Mild, 2008 Victorian Ale,  Orkney Raven Ale,  Wychwood Wolf Rider  Addlestone’s Cloudy Cider BWV 19.4.06:  Cains 2008 Celebration, Bitter, FA, IPA, Mild, Triple Hop Everyman Bistro and Bars 5 - 9 Hope St   L1 9BH  Telephone 0151 7089545  www.everyman.co.uk G Alan Crowe, Paddy Byrne, Dave Scott and Tim Byrne F International bistro menu, all prime fresh ingredients made from scratch by specialised team  Bistro opening: 12 to 12 Mon – Wed; 12 to 2 am Thu – Fri; 11 to 2 am Sat. Closed Sunday.  Foyer Bar: 10 am to 2 pm for light snacks and an hour before and after theatre performances for drinks.   MP   BM O 12 to 12 Mon - Wed, 12 to 2 a.m Thu - Fri, 11 to 2 a.m. Sun           The Everyman Bistro has been serving real ale in a cellar under the Everyman Theatre since 1970. It is one of the Liverpool’s best-loved venues, that the regulars in nearby pubs had no hesitation in recommending to me, and regularly receives well-justified national press accolades.            The main Bistro consists of three inter-connecting rooms and there is also a Foyer bar on the ground floor. You enter the main Bistro down a set of steps to the right of the theatre and emerge into the main bar. On the left are two further rooms: the middle ‘servery’ room and the ‘3rd Room’.  The ceilings are surprisingly low and the rooms are laid out in style that is reminiscent of many a good real ale festival restaurant. The food however bears no such comparison. It is of the highest order and it is through the combination of a excellent ales and good food that the Everyman gets its regular patronage. The atmosphere is trendy without being in the remotest sense pretentious. The place is always lively, particularly so in the hours prior to a theatre production. There is regular live music and a poetry night in the ‘3rd Room’ but the other two rooms remain quite peaceful. Continental beers take as much prominence as the Cains Bitter and the two excellent ever-changing guest ales. If you tire of Liverpool’s pub heritage and want something very different then the Everyman offers a rewarding experience. A favoured haunt of students, lecturers and media types, the Liverpool Echo dubbed it “Liverpool’s most Bohemian venue”. BWV 19.4.06:  Cains Bitter,  Enville White,  Weston’s Cider Fly in the Loaf Hardman St   L1 9AS  Telephone 0151 7080817 G Dominic Hornsby F Full menu 12 to 7   MP   SK   BM   D O 12 to 11 Sun - Thu, 12 to 12 Fri – Sat           This is the newest kid on the real ale block and has all the qualities of the nearby Dispensary and more. This converted bakehouse has references to its history within the large freeze slogans. This is, however, where the concessions to the past end. I will confess to liking the real air of confidence in the pub. It is great to sample Okells brews in a room that offers a range of drinking spaces. I preferred to catch up on the large screen TV while Laura and her brother Phil wanted to check out the newer guests on offer. It was all very friendly and a slap in the face to large - style city pubs, It is a pub rather than a cheap drinking space, “with service that is efficient, friendly and knowledgeable,” (Colin of Liverpool) and long may this continue. Nothing, however, could console the Liverpool fans recovering from the Cup Final defeat of the previous day. It does for some, “make going to the match a close call.” UPDATE:  A pavement licence is in the offing to enable the next stage of the café culture to operate, or maybe just to offer smoking space! Three beer festivals a year are held. Will this be the winner of the Merseyside best bar award? BWV 28.2.05:  Cottage Peregrine,  Oakham JHB,  Okells McLair, IPA, Bitter,  Pardoes Bumblehole  Wickwar Right Flanker BWV 19.4.06:  Downton Equinox,  Enville Ale, Saaz  Holden’s Windblower,  Lodden Dragon Fly,  Okells Bitter, IPA,  Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Philharmonic 36 Hope St   L1 9BX  Telephone 0151 7072837 G Marie Louise Wong F Good quality traditional pub menu 12 to 3, 5.30 to 8 (Phone to book in eve,)   MP   BM   D O 12 to 12           It was onwards and upwards to the Philharmonic and what a climb up in terms of grandeur. Described by Egon Ronay as the most ornate pub in Britain I would prefer the qualities of gob smacking, jaw dropping stateliness. The Grand Lounge must be unique in its scale. The other drawing rooms ooze comfort and history. Not solely the preserve of concert goers, the pub is of national importance and we are so lucky that the beer quality attempts to reach the unattainable standards of the building. And then there are the toilets, what is this; an architectural guide? Well I’m sorry it has to be done. The beer was very good, guest ales rotating about the regular Cains and Deuchars. IPA. My evening visit found a wide variety of customers, couples enjoying the cosiness of the smaller rooms, and large groups meeting mates in the Grand Lounge, I joined those who wanted a relaxing post work pint at the bar. Excellent! UPDATE:  It is still between the two cathedrals, a new restaurant is open upstairs. BWV 28.2.05:  Bateman Hopbine Bitter,  Cains Bitter,  Greene King Old Speckled Hen,  Ridley’s Old Bob,  Shepherd Neame Spitfire BWV 19.4.06:  Bass Draught,  Black Sheep Bitter Caledonian Deuchars IPA,  Coach House Squire’s Gold,  Elgood’s Cambridge Bitter Roscoe Head 24 Roscoe St   L1 2SX  Telephone 0151 7094365 W www.roscoehead.co.uk G Carol Ross F Wholesome, good value traditional menu 11.30 to 2.30, 5 to 7   MP   SK O 11.30 to 12, 12 to 12 Sun           Of those pubs in the Blue Badge tours of Liverpool, the Roscoe is my favourite. This is because it has genuine character, not only in the building but also in the people who work there and the customers that use it as a consequence. Carol, the charming landlady, has continued the traditions of her parents so well that it continues a remarkable record of being in the CAMRA guide for nigh on 35 years. I bet the pub has many regulars who have been there all that time and many more who have ended their three years as students only to make Liverpool their place of work just to maintain friendships made here.            The pub sparkles, it has a really cared for look. No doubt the recent refurbishment has helped. The pub is renowned nationally for its design. It has four small rooms, the smallest of which, near the bar, is the definition of the Coronation Street snug of our early TV days. Each room has a splendid pub atmosphere. There is no option but to get involved in conversation, as I did with Mick, Steve and Jim. They were typical locals popping in for the first of several sampling ales before setting off on a post work pub crawl. The beer selection includes the now rarer Burton Ale and ever changing guest ales. All are lovingly cared for and, in the style of the pub, often unique and decidedly interesting. The banter is superb, the beer great and the choice of the Roscoe made me really pleased to be doing this vocation. BWV 19.4.06:  Burton Ale,  Elgood’s Greyhound,  Jennings Bitter, Snecklifter, Tetley’s Cask Bitter, Mild Ship and Mitre 133 Dale St.   L2 2HJ  Telephone 0151 2360859 W  www.shipandmitre.co.uk    G Brian Corrin F Good value pub food, pasties and pies at weekends 12 to 2 Mon - Tue, 12 to 2, 5 to 8 Wed – Fri. No food at w/e   MP   TV Opening 12 to11, 12 to 10.30 Sun            My town centre award pub for 2005 - 06 rapidly came to be my personal Liverpool favourite, due in no small part to the great welcome of the locals. Joe, the Everton fan, outlined just how great this pub is on matchdays, “Good friendly banter, shared lifts in taxis etc” and it sounds, and is, just perfect. Add in the recommendations from those in the other pubs in this guide page and you should have no doubt that the Ship and Mitre is the gold standard of Liverpool real ale pubs. The design is apparently of a ship galley. I was reminded more of a Scandinavian sauna, pine - clad bar with larger, more American diner - style, lounge to the rear. One can only dream of my team getting to play in town and take up the offer of the good time to be had. Perhaps it will be a beer festival visit. Cheers Joe. UPDATE:  I landed on a beer festival day! 12 hand pulled ales is the norm for weekends, as it was last year BWV 28.2.05:  Burton Bridge Stairway to Heaven,  Cottage Broadgauge.  Durham White Gold,  Eccleshall Slaters Premium,  Ossett Ellens Glory,  Salopian Shropshire Gold,  ,  Weetwood Ambush,  Wentworth Oatmeal Stout BWV 19.4.06:  Real ale festival was in full flow, 60 – 70 ales on the day of my visit. Thomas Rigby 22 - 23 Dale St.   L2 2EZ  Telephone 0151 236269 G Fiona Hornsby F National award winning menu described as “fantastic home cooked food with an original twist” 11.30 to 7   MP   SK   BM Opening 11.30 to 11           When does a sister pub become a partner pub? When the Thomas Rigby and Fly in the Loaf are run by partners under the Okells banner. The Thomas was the original venture of this brewery in the town. It has quite a different set of customers to its up - town sister but has real quality that compares with my much loved cathedral district friend. Oh and Fiona and Dominic share more than a love of real ale,           The Thomas Rigby has an interesting past. From wine merchant tap to great real ale pub, it has all the architectural merit you would expect in the prosperous streets that lead down to the Mersey. The pub has four separate rooms, all of individual character,, the main bar being long and subdivided by careful design to create a popular lunch time haunt for chattering businessmen. I met with Fiona in the courtyard where by early evening the transition to session drinking was underway. The atmosphere was very relaxed and relaxing. Couples chatted in small groups while CAMRA guide - toting blokes came and set into new ales. The beers consist of Okells own plus several guests, evidence of Carols’ interest in sampling as well as selling the real stuff. The competition for awards is intense and this pub more than holds its own. Finally, in true sexist style, I offer a trivia question for men only. At which ground was the photo in the gents taken?  BWV 19.4.06:  Broughton The Riever,  Oakham JHB,  Okells Bitter, Spring Ram,  Rooster’s Cream  Tomos Watkin Cwrw Ceridwan,  Tring Colley’s Dog White Star Rainford Gardens (Off Matthew St.)   L2 6PT  Telephone 0151 2316861 www.thewhitestar.co.uk G Alfie Buxton MP   SK   BM O 11 to 11, 12 to 10.30 Sun            Alfie and the White Star are something of Liverpool legends. It is easy to wax lyrical about the back room with its genuine Beatles connections, or rave on about the boxing memorabilia that includes Cooper and Ali stuff. The real draw for me was the chance to get Bowland beer and also to check out the history of the Czech Republic connections. Having been at the Euro 96 games and witnessed the Czech friendliness at first hand, it says a lot of the pub that this continues to the present day. To find it, you need to follow the signs to the Cavern area and then follow the real ale tickers, perhaps carrying this guide, to the pub. Once there you will find it difficult to move on. as the list of  Bowland’s Lancashire beers are a regular feature; but the beer list features weird and wonderful brews that you won’t have heard of, won’t remember, and probably won’t find again - at least until your next visit.  ales is both interesting and novel. When I visited the pub was perfectly unaffected by the tourists strolling nearby. It is a great retreat in the middle of tourist land, I would want to visit here whenever possible.  UPDATE:  All is exactly the same and Tubes is still barred BWV 28.2.05:  Bass Draught,  Bowland Hunters Moon, Nicky Nook, White Star Pale Ale, 1745,   Caledonian Deuchars IPA BWV 19.4.06:  Bass Draught, Bowland Sky-Dancer, White Star, Caledonian Deuchars IPA, Jennings Cumberland Ale UPDATE Food:  “A great selection of snacks including pork pies and fresh cobs” (not sure of food times) Music:  JB, BM Disabled:  Good           The White Star has the qualities of a traditional community pub, despite its city centre location.  While tourists ambled by, unsure whether to venture inside, the pub was filling up with an assortment of local shoppers, football supporters, and beer tourists.  Some folk were on familiar terms with the staff:  others, like me, poked their heads around corners noting everything down.  Whether notes were destined for print, or merely confined to the memory, this gem of a pub is worthy of recognition. An attractive tiled floor, wooden panels, and etched glass, all tick the right boxes for fans of the Victorian boozer par excellence.  The front snug consists of a red crescent-shaped leather banquette, while the large back room favours green upholstery.  A huge TV screen dominated this room on the Saturday of my visit, though most customers preferred the front area.  TV here was unobtrusive and allowed me to admire the accents and legendary scouse wit before making for the game. Framed pictures cover almost every wall space:  football memorabilia and photos of local characters vie for space in between the nautical prints – lest you forget you are in a historic seaport.  Johnny Cash and Dean Martin were singing when I arrived, so that probably tells you something about the age and disposition of the pub’s clientele.   BWV 26/08/06 Bass draught, Blakemere Cheyenne, Bowland Befuggled, Chipping Steamer, Cheshire Northern Soul Time, Caledonian Deuchars IPA   Chris Ackrill Ye Crack 13 Rice St   L1 9BB  Telephone 0151 7094171 G Seamus  O'Neill F Good value pub food 12 to 5.30 Roasts from 12 Sun   MP   SK O 12 to 11 Mon - Thu, 12 to 12 Fri - Sat, 12 to 10.30 Sun           Many a beer tourist will have walked along Hope Street, seen the pub with its Bass insignia from the top of the road then decided to keep going. I know that I did last year and in doing so missed a fantastic pub that challenges all your stereotyped images of city centre drinking in general, and Liverpool ;life in particular. It is a gob smacking village tavern in the heart of the cathedral district. It belongs down a country lane, where the locals will swap tales of heifers and crop yields rather than European cups and nights out in the town.            There are six small rooms, the most famous being the war office, apparently frequented by that most famous of singing schoolboys from the nearby school. The Dissenters plaque above one of the doors will reveal his and other artists’ use of the pub in the past. Today the locals are true regulars. The students who use it are described as the sort who fails their degrees because they spend too much time here. They are probably encouraged by their elder, but not so wiser, mates who readily offer a friendly Scouse welcome to newcomers such as me. The “big room” will host football matches on the screen and on Fridays be prepared to have a blue grass musician share your bench seat. By big, I mean not quite as tiny as the rest of the pub. The beer garden is another big plus, offering real quality on those hot summer days when a courtyard is the best place to drink the night away. BWV 19.4.06:  Beartown Ginger Bear, Pandamonium, Zodiac Gold,  Nethergate Augustinian,  Phoenix Heywood Oak Best  Weetwood Cheshire Cat MERSEYSIDE CAMRA  GOODISON PARK  ANFIELD  LOCAL BREWERY Unit 11, Diamond Business Park, Sandwash Close, Rainford, Merseyside WA11 8LY www.georgewrights.com     LOCAL BREWERY Wapping Brewery Baltic Fleet 33A Wapping   L1 8DQ  Telephone 0151 7093116  www.wappingbeers.co.uk    WETHERSPOONS The Fall Well  St John's Way  Liverpool  L1 1LS  Opening Times:  Sun-Wed 9am-midnight; Thu 9am-1am; Fri/Sat 9am-2am  The Richard John Blackler  Units 1 & 2, Charlotte Row  Great Charlotte Street  Liverpool  L1 1HU  Opening Times:  Mon-Sun 9am-1am  The Welkin  7 Whitechapel Liverpool  L1 6DS  Opening Times:  Sun-Thu 9am-midnight; Fri/Sat 9am-1am  The Lime Kiln  Fleet Street/ Concert Square  Liverpool  L1 4NR  Opening Times:  Sun-Thu 11.30am-2am; Fri/Sat 11.30am-3am