The Dale Street area of Liverpool is often referred to by some as ‘Beer Street’ given its generous number of pubs lining the road from near to St John’s Gardens down to Water Street, many of the roads, side streets and alleys branching from one of the original Seven Streets themselves are home to bars and pubs providing some unusual and distinctive drinking holes.  Many of these places started life as coaching houses, inns and taverns set up for the large numbers of travellers and traders visiting Liverpool and some in the area have stood the test of time.
 
For the Beer Quarter idea, some of the local landlords of establishments in this area have decided to come together to draw on the Liverpudlian sense of community to form the ‘Beer Quarter’ and host a weekend of events to try and bring attention and excitement to the area of the city again.

The Denbigh Castle’s Fiona Hornsby stated: “We’re acutely aware of the dismal headlines about 70% of pubs potentially failing over this Winter.  Our ambition and focus is to retain all of our pubs in this great city of ours and especially in this area, because, what would Liverpool be like without them? It’s almost unimaginable looking back over our last three decades of experience in the industry.”

The Beer Quarter celebrations will be taking place over the weekend of the 23rd to the 25th September with all the participating pubs running a series of events over the course of the weekend including beer launches, live music, tastings, comedy, pub games, meet the brewer events and special food offerings amongst other festivities. ​

The Caledonia has had some battles along with way to ensure it continues to operate; following a massive redevelopment project by Liverpool University to replenish the Philharmonic Halls buildings which surround the Caledonia (or ‘The Cali’ as it is affectionally known locally), the pub’s existence was under threat back in 2013 thanks to some dealings by the PubCo at the time, Admiral Taverns.  Due to plenty of fight and local support, Laura, Hannah and the team are continuing to do their thing and keep one of the cult pub favourites of Liverpool ticking.
 
The team behind the Caledonia have recently had a bit of a revamp in regard their menus and also the beer that they stock.  For the evening we attended, the pub had chosen to undertake a Tap Takeover with the help of Carnival Brewing.  There were three different cask (the Skosh Lime Leaf Pale, Ribbons of Distinction Idaho 7 and Carmen) beers pouring, along with another three keg and plenty of back up choices stored in the fridges behind the bar.  The revamp of the menu is to introduce a broader appeal, with ‘burgers’, nachos, fried chicken (seitan in the case of the fried chicken burgers we tried) and a variety of sides, light bites and other dishes sitting on the menu. 

Laura King, the licensee, offered “We took the chance on going vegan with our menu in 2017 and it has been a great success, enabling us to combine elements of a traditional community pub with something unique.  We are now looking to build on the existing menu while reaching out into creative world inspired food and vegetable focused options.  I can’t wait to try it all myself!”.
 
The food and beer were both great; unfussy casual eating and great local beer brewed in the shadow of the Royal Liver Building.  Hopefully we shall see more of what the Caledonia offer with their beer range going forward, as having four rotating cask lines and three kegs which aren’t tied is a healthy level for small but perfectly formed pub.

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The Caledonia
22 Caledonia Street, Liverpool. L7 7DX
Web: www.thecaledonialiverpool.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/caledonialiverpool
Twitter: twitter.com/thecaledonia
Instagram: www.instagram.com/thecaledonia/

The new development that has since arisen from the rubble is smart if a little ubiquitous to many UK cities and the units have gradually been taken, adjusted and opened to the public, slowly adding character.  Restaurants, bars and other concerns are starting to fill the area and one with quite some promise opened its doors for a soft launch on the 27th May, receiving a respectable amount of footfall for a bar which was yet to officially open up to the public.

Having a catch up with the new head brewer and operations manager, Andy Hayes, has furnished us with quite a few details on how things are planned to pan out for Liverpool’s erstwhile flagship heritage brewery.  There were quite few reasons that it never felt ‘the right time’ to push Cain’s back into the marketplace, a major one being the pandemic.  Perhaps the most definitive effect on the delay to Cain’s coming back online, it was a time that saw many breweries lower brewing capacity, stop altogether or move across into a focus for small packaging and online/off sales in order to limp along over what was a very long two years for them.
 
“Years of planning, consultation and training have led to the confidence that we are in the best possible situation to relaunch such an important Liverpool icon, in the way that it deserves” posited Hayes.  When asked about the scale of what the brewery would be looking to do upon launch, he responded “The brewery is very much micro; a 10HL or 6 Barrel brew kit with the intention to brew at least four times a week, working up to six when it’s plausible.  The beer will mostly be going into cask and kegs initially”.
 
Cain’s is slated to be available in the parent company’s (Mikhail Group) venues for the moment, with Liverpool pubs such as Punch Tarmey’s, the Brewery Tap (on the corner of Stanhope Street) and Dr. Duncan’s being backed up with the new brewery tap venue in the ‘Terracotta Palace’ venue at the Baltic Market site.  There are also venues in St Helens and Southport that are part of the portfolio for the owners, meaning that Cain’s beer will be available across the region, albeit in select venues until things take off or expand.  Andy Hayes is quite positive about the reception and how things are in Liverpool and across Merseyside; “We’ll possibly be looking to do some keg swaps in future, as I have a few favourite independent breweries that produce some great beer and we’d love to develop a relationship with”.
 
So far, the Microbrewery premises in the Baltic will comprise a visible brew house in a new multipurpose 3 floor venue, there will be four bars present which will include a ‘craft beer bar’ a ‘Hoptails’ bar and two taproom bars.  There is also expected to be space for outside areas and some live music.  Projected timescales for opening is a soft-launch by the end of May and a full opening within a few weeks of that.  The Cain’s beers are expected to be ready in time for the full opening.

​The vision for Cain’s is one which is possibly a cloudier one at relaunch than if it had continued to brew and trade past its demise in 2014, when reported debts of £8m meant the brewery could not continue.  Though Hayes is quite certain about the new Cains’ place in Liverpool beer and brewing; “I see the brewery as a return to some vintage times, whilst things are certainly dominated by more modern offerings.  The brewery venue we have will be in direct contrast to the traditional brews we are making, whilst the Brewery Tap pub will be held as a traditional venue more reminiscent of the heritage the brand holds.  I’m confident that we can remind everyone that well-made traditional beers made with quality malt and hops can still hold their own in the modern environment and stand up to modern styles.”
 
Andy also wished to express his gratitude to the rest of the team who are behind the scenes getting things together for the Cain’s launch; “A nod to Brewing Services Limited, their expertise from day one has been really reassuring and informative, the help from David Smith, Hayley Young and Rob Smith has been invaluable”.

Stay tuned to our Social Media channels (Twitter / Instagram / Facebook) and the Cain’s output for updates on the new venue opening and when their beers will be pouring once again on the regions taps and handpumps.

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Cain's Premises are due to open to the public from 6pm on Thursday 2nd June, 2022 onwards.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cains_brewery
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CainsBrewery
Instagram: www.instagram.com/cainsbrewery

Tickets have been on general sale for a little while and are sure to sell out as they did last year, so you'll need to be quick to ensure you can get in and enjoy Liverpool's biggest craft beer festival.

The question on most people's lips as ever is over which breweries will be in attendance.  The full list has also now been published... read on.

Full Brewery List:

Alpha Delta, Beak, Maxlrainer, Black Lodge, Brew York, Carnival, Chapter, Duration, Farm Yard, Glen Affric, Kirkstall, Lakes Brew Co, Left Handed Giant, Love Lane, Marble, Neptune, North Brew Co, Northern Monk, Pilot, Polly’s, Pomona Island, Red Willow, Seven Bro7hers, Thornbridge, Top Rope, Vaux, Verdant, Vocation, Wander Beyond, Wylam, Zapato.

You'll spot a few newcomers this year and some returning favourites in the list, along with some great additions from last year's event.

For those who want to attend the party, but are less fussed on all out craft beer drinking, there are other bars present at the event.  To the rear of Black Lodge is SubRosa, which will be mixing cocktails and there is a bespoke lager bar and cider bar (hosted by (Inncider Trading) at the event to cater to other tastes.

Food will be covered by local (and across the North) Indian street food aficionados Bundobust, with Fatback, Chip'd, Root and Dough Bros also present.

Music is hosted by the Melodic Distraction crew, featuring Carnivalization, Giovanna, Emily Rose, Yama Yama and many more.

It's sure to be a corker of an event, as it is every year!  

Ticket prices range from £12.50 for a single session to £32.50 for the full weekend ticket.

Sessions:

Thursday 16th June - 5pm to 11pm
Friday 17th June - 5pm to 11pm
Saturday 18th June - (Afternoon) 12pm to 5pm // (Evening) 6pm to 11pm

Link to tickets is here: ​www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/craft-beer-expo-2022-tickets-211654312747

Taproom launches are often precariously hurried things; tiling, woodwork, line and cellaring installation and those final licks of paint and polishing surfaces all having to be tackled before the first customer’s beer can be poured, safe in the knowledge that a job has been done.  There may be tweaks here and there, but ultimately, a brewery can take satisfaction in completing their own space and a chance to sell their beers direct to people, happy it will be in the best possible condition. 

The team at Azvex Brewing have been working hard to make their unit on Gibraltar Row, in the shadow of the iconic Liver Building, ready for guests to enjoy beers brewed on the premises.
 
Azvex have made some waves since they planted their flag in Liverpool at the end of 2021, with Adam Henderson, formerly of Neon Raptor joining up with a handful of other seasoned beer operatives to bring another weighty presence to the stretch from the Liver Building down to the King’s Dock and Baltic area. 

It seems that things are going to plan to, as at time of writing the brewery is carrying an average on Untappd (for what it is worth) of 4.06 for its range and was hovering around the top 4 for all UK breweries.  The RateBeer scores are also better than good.  Not bad for less than a year of operations.
 
A full run down of the what, where and why has been detailed on the Azvex website blog by head honcho, Adam, here: 
https://www.azvexbrewing.com/blog/welcome-to-azvex-brewing-company/

The last two years have seen the event undertake a period of dormancy, due to the nature of a pandemic, rubbing shoulders with people from across the UK would not be the wisest move or the most sensible behaviour to propagate, so it’s understandable.  But in 2022, the shadow of the pandemic is still not completely out of sight, but things have settled into a pattern to provide people with enough confidence to mingle again and for SIBA to put on a show at the Liverpool dockside arena.

​For those attending the show, hopefully there will be enough of them to enjoy a trip around Liverpool’s city centre and perhaps further outward to investigate some of the great pubs and bars that are located nearby.  Let’s be totally honest; there are a lot of them (RIGHT HERE).
 
So given the opportunity to investigate and have a bit of an adventure around the area once the trade sessions have reached a conclusion at the end of each day, we thought we would provide some inspiration for people to consider when exploring places to find a great beer in Liverpool.

​Dale Street Area
 
Not too far from the Mersey, Dale Street has a host of pubs and bars that pour some excellent beer; from the famous Ship and Mitre (with a great mix of traditional and modern cask beers, along with some own brewed gear, continental brews and kegged craft beer), to the Excelsior almost immediately next door (again, a solid cask line up), to a saunter (carefully) across Dale Street to the award winning Dead Crafty Beer Company, whose 20 lines of modern craft from across the UK, Europe and the US is nothing short of remarkable. 

​The Angus is a more recent venue, hosting lots of live music but also some great beers on both cask and keg.  A little closer to the water are The Lady of Mann, Thomas Rigby’s, the Vernon Arms and Ye Hole in the Wall, all stocking a solid cask line up (usually more traditional styled for the latter two) with the former two stocking some craft keg and some interesting small package beer in the fridges.  Round the corner from these is the Lion Tavern, another award winning pub with a good traditional range of cask ales. 

A more recent addition to the area (during the pandemic) is the refurbished Denbigh Castle, set up as a sister pub to the Bridewell and it stocks a fine range of traditional and modern cask, with continental lagers and some craft keg.  Finally, for a slice of local history mixed with a decent serving of cask beer, Dr Duncan’s is also located nearby; a beautiful and ornate building with a rich history and a lovely open fire in a mosaic tiled lounge.

​The Baltic Area and Dockside
 
Another area of the city which is filled with interesting places to eat and drink, with the old and new juxtaposed.  Here you can find Turncoat Bar on the Albert Dock, hosting a Kernel Brewery Takeover during BeerX, serving craft keg beers, great pizzas and cocktails if you need a change of pace.  You can also see the Pumphouse, which looks out towards the Mersey and Irish sea and has started to display a very interesting line up of cask ales. 

Across Wapping from the arena, the Baltic Fleet, an erstwhile brewpub with a deep tapestry of maritime influence in the city, hosts a range of cask and continental beers.  There are brewery taprooms located in this area too, with both Love Lane and Black Lodge Brewing located nearby.  Love Lane will certainly be open and serving an array of cask and keg, as well as having a busy kitchen ready to provide other sustenance. 

There are a range of smaller and incredibly charismatic pubs in the area too; Hobo Kiosk serves a range of keg and small package beer from local brewers, all whilst in the most unusual and eclectic of surroundings, the Bridewell is another historic location, serving immaculately kept cask and some modern craft keg, whilst Albert’s Schenke is a larger beer hall style venue with a range of keg and cask available alongside a German style food menu.  If in doubt, the Head of Steam is only just up the road on Hanover Street from Albert’s and the Bridewell; always a solid bet for good cask or keg beer. 

​Further up along the dock road and near to the Liver Buildings, Carnival Brewing’s Taproom will be open during the BeerX event, serving a range of their beers and some from across the Irish Sea as part of a special event.

​Cultural Quarter
 
The Area set back from the waterfront, towards the main university areas of the city contains some remarkable pubs and bars, with many stocking some incredible beer and holding a wonderful atmosphere.  Venues like the Grapes, Roscoe Head, the Dispensary and the Keystone have a great cask beer line up, with the Keystone having plenty of craft keg to back their collection up. 

There are other quirkier and historically significant venues in the area too, that also do beer on cask; the likes of Outpost, Ye Cracke, The Pilgrim and Liverpool’s smallest pub, The Coach House are all nearby the bombed out church of St Luke’s.  Also in this area, the Philharmonic Dining Rooms has a wide cask selection and some salubrious surroundings to take in. 

​The Belvedere Arms has recently undergone some renovation and change of ownership, with that has come a refreshing of the beer selection; four lines each of modern cask and craft keg in rotation, supported by some standard continental beers and a very interesting small package beer fridge.  Peter Kavanagh’s Victorian Pub is also in this area, on the fringe of the city centre, hosting a range of traditional cask ales in a very unusual pub setting.

​Evidently, this list is not exhaustive and is not setting out to exclude any venues – there are plenty more shown on the map (HERE) and there are some exceptional venues which are over the water (such as Glen Affric, Black Toad and West Kirby Tap), up the coast along to Southport (including Beer Station, Trap and Hatch, Grasshopper and Tap and Bottles) just out of the city centre, with the likes of Black Cat, Little Taproom on Aigburth Road, Handyman Brewery, Haul and Crafty Swine all providing a great place to grab some cask or craft keg beer.  Please do drop us a message via the form (HERE) or on or social media channels (Twitter, Facebook or Instagram) if you want any more information – we’d be delighted to help.
 
Enjoy your BeerX experience, everyone!!

The main copper at the Peerless Brewhouse produce batches of between 4500 and 5000 litres, but with the adaptation of an old Grundy tank, some smaller batches are now available for Free Rein to access.  Brews will be between 800 and 1000 litres, meaning more experimental brews can be carried out to test demand for the styles they’ll be putting out there.  To date, there have been three styles brewed (Mocha Matari, Mama Loves Mango and Tectonic) but Steve is open to Imperial Stouts, Double IPAs and fruited sour ales being produced under the Free Rein branding.
 
When asked about taking the leap from small package 500ml glass bottles (for the more traditional market) into canned beers, Steve was again quite open to the reason for following that path:
 
“The market for craft beer is pretty well established now in kegs and definitely cans, so it seemed the sensible method to put small package there.  Currently, the canning will be carried out by Morrow Brothers in Preston who have also been doing the 500ml bottles for Peerless for some time now.  As a professional packager, they’ll provide comprehensive laboratory results to us for the ABV, dissolved Oxygen and a full suite of micro tests, so we can have more assurance on our product being treated right.”
 
Apparently the Free Rein brand and name came about to keep things simple, something of a case of ‘does what it says on the tin’ (no pun intended).  It allows the team to play about with recipes without being constrained with the conceptions of what Peerless Brewing is all about.  Peerless was started 12 years ago and at the time and Steve felt that there was a preconception from other more traditional brewing orientated marketplaces that it was a craft beer brand, but things move and evolve.
 
“I still personally prefer cask dispense as a go to beverage, but there is absolutely no doubt that is a massive thirst for beers that are outside the constraints of the cask beer marketplace.  The fact that we will only be brewing smaller bathes for canning and to go into kegs is the main difference in this.  You should be able to pick up some of the Free Rein beers in bars, pubs and bottle shops soon and they are available for both local and nationwide delivery through the website as well as direct from the brewery itself”.
 
You can order Free Rein beers online from here:
[ https://www.beersno42.co.uk/products/free-rein-mixed-case ]

In other news concerning Peerless Brewing, they have recently done some brewing under contract for an Aloe Vera beer.  The recipe apparently took some adjustment, but the end result is a pretty stunning Pink Guava and Dragon fruit flavoured Aloe Beer. 
​This is also available online, from here: [ https://aloebirra.co.uk ]
 
One final juicy bit of information that Steve parted on was alluding to another change of rein or perhaps, reign, with his ownership of Peerless Brewing and Free Rein:
 
“It’s no secret that Rose (Steve’s wife – ed) and I are getting older and can’t do this forever.  Both being in our sixties, we’re facing the inevitable that we’ll have to consider retirement at some point in the future.  So if anybody wants to come and run or buy a profitable and well established brewery with an excellent set up, kit and a fantastic staff then they should get in touch with us!”.
 
Bombshell.
 
Keep your eyes out for the Free Rein beers, which are landing on shelves and in fridges now!
 
The LBC.
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Follow Peerless on Twitter:  twitter.com/PeerlessBrewing
Follow Peerless on Facebook: facebook.com/PeerlessBrewing

 By marrying Indian vegetarian street food with the best of what the craft beer world has to offer, they have really created a unique place for themselves within the UK beer scene.
 
Bundobust has taken an admirable approach at each of their locations, choosing to augment their range of craft beers from the likes of Mikkeller, DEYA, Verdant and other heavy hitters from across the UK and Europe with a solid base range of beers from the region each brand is located in.  This confidence is their location and support for the local scene really does help create a diverse and stable scene for the UK.
 
This stability has offered Team Bundo some real confidence in themselves and their people, so much so that they have gone forth with launching their own brewery to produce tailored beers that are ultimately designed to go with their superb food.
 
The launch event saw the three sites in Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester simultaneously pouring three different beers brewed at their new site, located on Oxford Road in Manchester.  We were lucky enough that Committee Members Jack and Mike were able to head along and try these new beers and sample some food to test just how good the new venture is.
  
CHAITRO Is a 5% Nitro Chai Porter, creamy and full bodied from the nitrogen assisted pour.  The mouthfeel was very smooth, with roasty and chocolately notes from the malts and a generous floral and aromatic spice leading into a warm finish.  The team brews this with their own Bundobust chai massala and fresh ginger.
 
PEELA is a 4% Pale Ale. Designed for easy drinking, Peela is a hazy pale which is brewed with Azacca and Ekuanot hops. The mouthfeel was soft and fluffy and the hops impart massive fruit aroma and loads of tropical fruit flavour, such as peach, mango and pineapple.
 
Finally, DHANIA PILSNER  is a 4.8% Coriander Lager. Clean and crisp Czech-style Pilsner with a hit of
citrusy toasted coriander seeds.  The malts give a doughy and grainy malt base which works perfectly with the hopping and use of coriander to impact floral acidity.

​Fingers crossed for some more amazing beer and ongoing marvellous food output from the team at Bundobust; the Bold Street site in Liverpool is the perfect place to go and check!
 
Cheers!
​
#toomuchspicy
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Bundobust Liverpool is located at 17-19 Bold Street, Liverpool
Web: https://bundobust.com/locations/liverpool/
Tel: 0151 705 1688
Follow Bundobust Brewery on Twitter
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