Liverpool

IMHO you are better aiming for either the Dale Street area [Ship and Mitre, Dr Duncan's, Rigby's] or the Hope Street area [Fly in the Loaf, Cracke, Everyman].

Not sure about the Baltic, the CC is not what it was and as for the Vine, when I walked past on Friday last it didn't appear to have changed in a way that made me want to go inside [bouncers, wailing, etc].

HTH

also worth a go in the Hope St area - Blackburne Arms (still not been, but heard good things, suggesting it might be the gastropub that The Monro has IME never quite managed to be) & The Belvedere - (previously closed, NI listed, couple of decent well-kept beers & fresh pizza). I love the slightly mad feel of The Cracke, The Everyman is great for food, and a pleasant place to get a pretty late decent pint. I've not been to The Swan, Wood Street, but it's supposed to be a bit of a rock music haunt, with very good beer. Quite nearby, there's also the 35- year-GBG-listed & NI-listed 'Roscoe Head' - beer range can be a bit dull, but a beauty of a pub & very friendly, IME.

As to the Baltic - I spoke to the owner recently, but didn't ask. A friend was there a couple of weeks ago & it was open - I read in the local CAMRA mag that they were closing in late Aug, & having a 3month refurb (closed all that time?) why not give them a call to find out?

FYI there's a nice piece from TheDailyPost by Guild Of BeerWriters award-winning, Mike Chapple -

it was only published on 28thAug & makes no mention of the refurb closure.

If you do the Dale Street crawl instead, I'd definitely second TheS&M & DocDunc's, but I've never had a good experience in Rigby's (I know it gets very good mention, so maybe I've just been lucky with my warm beer and surly staff! - I will give it another go) but another recommendation would be The Lion Tavern (63 Moorfields) good beer, lovely pub (NI-listed again! check out the 'cupola') great cheese board, etc.

Oh & there's a food fest on at the mo & local CAMRA are involved, so there's a local beer passport scheme & a beer-tasting as part of the Hope Street festival on Sunday daytime - should be good.

My only other comment is not to agree to meet up with friends in Matthew Street on a Saturday night - not my cup of tea - hen & stag nightmare! - even the decent pubs. ho hum. anyway, enjoy! cheers MikeMcG

3 months seems like a heck of a refurbishment! Let's hope it doesn't re-emerge as the Baltic Wine Bar and Brasserie to cater for all the wealthy flat dwellers in Albert Docks nearby.

I hope ot, but I doubt it - there's more info in CAMRA's (ahem, national award-winning) MerseyAle mag -

see

My guess (& it really is just that, but if I see Simon or Stan, I'll ask) er, as I was saying . . . my guess is that it will only be closed for a wee while, then they'll perhaps open & close parts as they're being refurbed.

rumour has it the food on offer is going to change a bit - poss a bit more modern, but from what I heard, still good hearty decent pub food. cheers MikeMcG

I spotted more info about the food online -

from

"Fydle's gourmet barbecue has grown out of a love for providing friends and family with quality charcoal grilled food.

take over the food at Liverpool's only brew pub. This will initially be for lunches and weekend breakfasts and brunches, but will soon offer evening service. An extensive and exciting menu has been planned. We look forward to seeing you in The Baltic Fleet."

cheers MikeMcG

The Dispensary is another good one, and not far from Lime Street station either.

...and is very much a port of call on the way to/from the Hope Street area. I had dinner in the Blackburne only last Friady and all four of us were impressed by the food. I found the beer a bit of a disappointment after my previous visit where I had a pint of Bateman's XB to die for. This time they had Deuchars and Cains on offer, and the Cains was not what it could have been, though not exactly bad either. I certainly got a half dozen excellent dry-hop burps that tasted better than the beer did on the way down.

I've not been in the Lion for a long time, but can certainly recommend the architecture!

heard some rumours of ropey beer at The Dispensary recently, but not been for months myself.

ah, I was going to have lunch soon, but now I've read that, I think I'll leave it for a bit ;~)

beer quality is IME always superb - range is really pretty good too, esp for a pub co. pub (incl a mild & guests) - friendly place too. MikeMcG

I know that poiltesse oblige and all that, but I always find Cains burps quite delicious. The ones on Friday had the aroma I expected to detect as I drank the pint, but couldn't. Also Walkers beers all those years ago had much the same ...aftertaste. I put it down to dry hops, but I'd appreciate a fuller explanation from anyone who has experiened the phenomenon and/ or who understands the processes involved.

don't know if I can answer the physiological bit exactly, but I know Cain's dry-hop a lot of their beers in cask.

I never burp very much with real ale - the wind tends to (ahem) blow elsewhere sometimes though. cheeers MikeMcG

ISTR Walkers were dry hop brews too, and the effect was much the same, hence my conclusion. Good ale has a reasonable amount of gas in it, so a gentle brup from time to time is hardly unexpected... however, the other kind of wind to which you refer is yeast-related and I'd rather not go into discussing the effects of the tertiary fermentation.

In article , snipped-for-privacy@googlemail.com writes

S&M is having one of its beer fests from 26 to 30 Sep. 70+ beers and 5 ciders. The event is open (no ticket required) as far as I am aware, but gets very busy.

CAMRA Wirral is having its annual beerfest in the Pacific Road theatre, Birkenhead, a 10 minute train ride or 20 minute ferry ride from Liverpool city centre, from 18 to 20 October. The theatre is a five minute walk from Hamilton Square station or Woodside ferry terminal. Well worth a visit. Ticket only event - see website for ticket outlets.

See you there! (hic!)

Update on the above is to say that I have enjoyed a couple of sessions in the Lion recently, and concur with Mike 100% on the quality of the merchandise. But what happened to the Railway next door?

It still is, but under new ownership and the trainy stuff has indeed gone. Choice of beer is limited [Black Sheep and the other Black Sheep], and atmosphere is not what it was. Last time I was in there few customers were drinking ale. We won't be going back. :-{