The Excelsior, Liverpool

This is a traditional pub that seems to be popular with students. Six hand pumps are split across sections of the bar counter in two rooms, with Landlord and a stout from Ossett in the front, and a hazy pale (not advertised as such) from Big Bog called Hinkypunk, featuring a pump clip in fuchsia, in the back room. (There's another room further back than this.) My half of the pink one was ok, but really nothing special (NBSS 2.5, £4.70/pint). This is a pleasant pub, with plenty of light through the windows on two sides, even in January. Memo to self: avoid Big Bog.

The Excelsior has a U-shaped serving counter that faces seating along the etched front and left-hand windows as well as seating across the rear wall that separates the bar area from a strip of split level seating in the rear. The older people in attendance were in the bar area with some background music and muted Sky Sports tennis on the screens, but the rear area was busier with a younger crowd who were doing a quiz. The mix of parquet, bare board and tiling in sections on the floor led me to believe that this pub was knocked through at some point to create the large high ceilinged bar area that now exists. The counter supports six hand pumps that were drawing Weetwood’s Cheshire Cat, Brian’s Rev James, Doom Bar and Kirkstall’s Black Band. Premium and craft keg options were also available alongside Carling. The service was polite and there was a decent crowd for a Monday evening so I’d pop back in again if passing.