Bank Top Brewery Ale House, Bolton

If you're walking to this pub from the town centre then be prepared for a steep climb up especially if your unfit like me. Once here, however, it is worth the gasping for breath. Inside is nice enough and the 8 handpulls made for a welcoming sight. As you would expect Bank Top beers are a priority. A good variety of styles was welcome, as was the beer, any beer after the walk to be honest. I liked it here and at least its downhill back into town.

Following the success of the Bank Top Brewery's first ale house in Astley Bridge, this second pub opened in late 2013 in the former Brown Cow pub, purchased from Punch Taverns. I never visited the Brown Cow, but I would imagine drinkers will struggle to recognise the new premises which seems to have been given a thorough refurbishment in order to create a smart, modern two roomed ale house. You enter through a frosted front door bearing the brewery logo, into the main bar area with a new, curved servery sited in the rear left corner. A couple of tables and chairs are arranged opposite the bar with more seating under the front window, but ultimately this is a fairly functional space notable only for the row of barstools which allowed one group of drinkers to successfully obscure everyone's view of the entire row of handpulls. The right hand side of the pub has something of a lounge feel, with carpeting, lots of curved banquette seating hugging corners and jutting out into the room as well as a few low stools and standard chairs all of which can cater for a fairly decent number of customers. The walls have uniformly been painted white with minimal visual distraction - just a few photos and a metal sculpture. Windows at the front and back of the room are new and also branded with the brewery name and logo. A door to the rear leads to a patio but the pouring rain and howling wind put me off exploring further. I visited prior to a match at the nearby Reebok Stadium (15-20 minute brisk walk) and was surprised to find the place relatively quiet and I was able to find a seat without any difficulty. The star of the show here is undoubtedly the beer, with a large range of Bank Top ales showcased. The choices on my visit were Dark Mild, Old Slapper, Pavilion Pale Ale, Sweeney's, Flat Cap, Port O Call, Gold Digger and one other that I gave up trying to identify between the bar blockers. A guest in the shape of Raw JR Best Bitter rounded out the handpulled ale options. The first pint of mild I ever tried was Bank Top's Dark Mild, so I thought I'd give it another go to see if it was as good as I remember and I thought it was a fine pint in great condition. I was quite excited to visit this relatively new venture and whilst I wasn't disappointed with the beer, I thought the place was really lacking any character or charm, which I hope will come over time as the place beds in. Certainly worth a look if you happen to be in Horwich though.