1887 The Brew Room, Blackpool

A sign above this prominent street corner bar indicates that this was once the Stanley Arms Hotel. More recently, it was called the Blue Room. Now it is the 1887 The Brew Room and is home to the West Coast Rock Brewery. The bar staff in here were probably the friendliest we came across in Blackpool. Maybe some of the other bars have to put up with a constant stream of tourists and holidaymakers. This one is a little off the beaten track and therefore will attract more locals. West Coast Rock beers on handpull were Oyston Stout, Tangerine Dream & Wonky Donkey. Guests were York Guzzler, Oakham Inferno, Goff's White Knight & Fyne Ales Avalanche. A boxed cider (Rosie's Pig) could be found at the end of the bar nearest the entrance, whilst there are also a number of taps for craft beers on the back wall of the bar. Offerings were Wild Beer Millionaire, Salt Huckaback, Lervig House Party & Pilot Mocchachino Stout. We enquired about a CAMRA discount and the barman went one step further and gave us some kind of employee discount! In all honesty, I wouldn't have been happy paying any more than the £1 my half of Oyston Stout cost. Perhaps the sour taste was the blueberries (it was supposed to contain) coming through, but I don't think so. I suspect the recent warm weather we'd had was the reason for the poor condition. My fellow drinkers ordered a different cask ale, but agreed that the quality simply wasn't there. Otherwise, I quite liked the atmosphere in here. It felt much more like a local alehouse than most of Blackpool's pubs. If they could get the real ales right, it could be one of Blackpool's best pubs.