The Albion, Warrington

A large building which looks a bit run down from the outside (empty signs, peeling paint) and the lack of lighting inside didn't help. A big place, knocked around a bit but retains three separate rooms (sports bar to right) via a tiled floor corridor. The left lounge is a bit blandly sparse but sports a nice set of jumbo bottle green leatherette banquettes. After being eyed with a bit of suspicion I got polite service. Four cask on from Northern micros and regionals. My Merlin Mythic IPA in great shape (NBSS 4) as befits the GBG listing. A shame it wasn’t brighter and livelier. Beer quality gives it a 7.

Due to scaffolding being up outside the Albion it didn’t look very inviting as I approached last week, and I wondered if it was actually open. Thankfully it was, and it was actually quite busy with locals blocking up both bars, which I found surprising for late on a Tuesday afternoon. Fortunately the eagle eyed barmaid spotted me through the crowd so the wait for a beer wasn’t long. The bar I was served at supports four hand pumps that were all drawing local ales. There were also standard and premium keg selections. The two entrances, from Scott St and Battersby Lane, both lead to a tile floored central lobby that is faced by the aforementioned L-shaped bar. There are several rooms accessed from this lobby, including one at the front where all the women and children had assembled whilst their men talked business at the bar, like a seen from a bygone age. To the left of the bar is a pool table and televisions are located throughout. I didn’t visit the second bar.

Large Victorian corner pub, which has won a Camra Community Pub of the Year award. This is a multi room pub which has a decent looking display of original mosaic floor tiles when entering the pub from the main entrance. It also has a couple of marble fireplaces and original bar counter. The main attraction for us was the friendly and chatty manageress, who was very helpful guiding us through their four handpulled ales and giving us loads of samples. She even put a fresh beer on whilst we were and brought us a glass into the lounge for us to have. Four handpumps, Ossett White Rat, Merlins Wizard, Mobberley Summit and Saltaire Citra. The new beer on was Jolly Boys Brewery Jolly IPA.

Located on one of the roads leading out of the centre of Warrington, cut off from the town centre by various retail park developments, the Albion is a very large, multiple room pub that has the feel of an old hotel or inn. The pub is centred around a drinking corridor typical of many Northern pubs of this ilk, which has access to the bar and numerous side rooms. The corridor has a nice decorative tile floor, with detailed mosaic features in the porches, and a smart, curved bar counter in front of a traditional bar back. There was a modest crowd in on my early evening visit, but almost all of them were frequenting this space, stood around, or perched on a stool at, the bar counter. To the front right, there is a rather cramped looking little public bar where most of the remaining customers had congregated. This room has limited, basic seating, mostly under the front windows. Over to the left, a large square room can be found with banquettes around the perimeter and a large open space in the centre. A pleasant fireplace on the end wall suggests the room might be cosier than it initially appears, in the Winter months at least, whilst elsewhere, a TV screen was showing a live rugby league fixture. Beyond this, also on the left-hand side of the building, an almost identical room appears, with the same furnishing arrangement, an elaborately framed mirror above the fireplace and a TV screen, this time switched off. Much like the other rooms, the walls have been painted in a rather sterile neutral shade and decorated with a few bits of contemporary art. To the rear end of the corridor, a smaller looking room has been given over to a pool table, with minimal seating and a large Andy Warhol-style print on the back wall. Commentary from the evening’s big rugby league fixture was audible from just about all parts of the room and I suspect were the match not on, music would’ve been piped through the pub in its place. I could only see four handpulls on the bar, one of which was unclipped, leaving a choice of George Wright’s Elixir and Pipe Dream and Lincoln Green Marion. I plumped for the latter and was served a fairly ropey pint by a very personable old-school barmaid at the wallet-friendly price of £2.65. I felt this pub had a lot of potential but was probably in the wrong part of town to capitalise fully. The building is clearly very impressive but has been given a bland make-over that robs it of much of its character, whilst the beer range is well intentioned but was lacking in quality on this visit. I’d be prepared to give this one a second chance, but with Warrington’s better pubs clustered in the town centre, it’d would take a bit of convincing to head out this way again.

This Victorian pub looks slightly uninviting from the outside but that is far from the case once you are in. Multi-roomed, there are 2 serveries serving 2 of the 4 rooms. 4 handpumps on the bar with real ales from Cheshire breweries today with beers from Merlin's, Stockport, Pied Bull and Beartown breweries today. A friendly welcome on this mid-afternoon Friday visit made for a pleasant hour. Worth seeking out if you're in the area.

Since Mark, Gill and Kevin took over, this pub has improved beyond recognition! There are now a number of real ales with regular beer festivals, excellent (I believe) lagers and real cider. The redecorations included the creation of a library/study room for those looking for a quiet drink while retaining the pool table. It is also an official meeting place for the "Sons of the Desert" - the official Laurel and Hardy Fan Club. All-in-all, a must visit pub.