real ale

Real Ale

Real ale aficionados will enjoy Liverpool: the city and surrounding region has some fine establishments for a drop of the good stuff.

Head to The Baltic Fleet, located on the Strand in Liverpool’s waterfront area, which brews its very own beers and real ale on site. Favourites include Mine’s Wapping, Summer Ale and Baltic Gold – a haven for CAMRA (or Campaign for Real Ale) fans.

Take a walk up to the Museum Quarter, by St Georges Hall and Lime Street Station. There you will find a small but key Liverpool drinking den called Doctor Duncans which sells Liverpool’s local brew, Cains. The Cains brewery is based just outside the city centre and has a range of excellent bitters, lagers and light ales which are supplied to local bars and supermarkets.

In the Business quarter you should sample the full range of continental beers at Rigby’s, another of Liverpool’s favourite real ale drinking haunts. Sit outside in the courtyard to enjoy the city’s micro climate.

Alternatively, pop into the Fly in the Loaf in the Cathedral quarter, another fab place to enjoy continental beers. Just a short stroll towards Hope Street leads you to the world famous Philharmonic Dining Rooms, a popular Liverpool drinking spot within fine Victorian surroundings. It has a great atmosphere, all sorts of interesting ales – try their strawberry beer -- and even the loos are worth a visit.

The Wirral Peninsula has a number of welcoming country-style pubs too, such as The Wheatsheaf at Raby. This is a lovely old low-beamed, thatched pub with a great selection of small brewery CAMRA ales and beers on offer, from Theakston’s Old Peculiar to Old Speckled Hen, as well as a full range of guest ales.