Rat & Ratchet, Huddersfield

A superb traditional town pub which has undergone recent, fairly sympathetic, refurbishment and prides itself on quality ale. There are many detailed reviews below so I won't repeat the details. Worth noting in addition are that there is a small television screen in the small area to the left which was being viewed by world cup footy fans on our visit but if you weren't in that area then you wouldn't know that there was a match on. The service was friendly with tasters offered by the very attractive barmaids and the atmosphere is generally very good with a number of fellow drinkers clearly being regulars. Mr. F notes the beers offered on the 12 handpumps below and I would echo that the James Herbert and Rat of Khan, both brewed on the premises by the Rat brewery, were excellent. A very good pub with very good beer.

This is a large multi award winning traditional pub situated to the west of Huddersfield town centre, just outside the ring road. It’s a brisk 20 minutes or so walk from the station. Outside the front door, a fascia sign on the wall tells us that “brewing originally began on site in 1994 and continued until 2004”. Brewing resumed in September 2011 under the control of Ossett Brewery. Above a grate nearby, a notice tells us that when steam is coming from this grate, it is because we are brewing. The notice goes on to tell us, in capital letters that, during this time, “the building is not on fire” Inside, we find one bar, but with a number of adjoining, different seating areas. It’s a bare boarded, split level, ale house style interior, with much wood panelling and traditional seating, including some padded settles. The walls feature much pub and brewery memorabilia, together with old photos of Huddersfield. A collection of music posters ( eg Bob Marley) and a pinball machine give the pub something of a studenty feel, although on my recent early Saturday evening visit, there was a good cross section of customers. It’s an unpretentious, drinkers pub, where beer and conversation very much rule the roost. By the bar counter, we see a fine collection of CAMRA award certificates awarded not only to the pub itself, but also to specific beers winning Beer Festival awards. A fellow poster on this site may be amused to learn that these specific beers included a beer called Rattus Rattus, which won an award at a Beer Festival in Scunthorpe. Above the bar, a circular wooden plaque resembling a barrel tells us that the pub was voted SPBW Pub of the Year for Winter 2013. There’s 12 handpumps which serve a variety of on site Rat Brewery Beers, Ossett Brewery beers and a selection of other local micros. A blackboard detailing the beers grades beers according to their colour ( A = Pale/ Blonde, B=Amber/Golden, C = Brown/Traditional, D=Dark Brown and E =Black) . Notably, on my visit, 8 of the 12 pumps were serving beers classified as either A, A/B or B, with only 1 beer in each of the C,D and E categories. The flagship beer, White Rat, ( an excellent tasty pint - £ 2.40p ) is classified as A and, notably, this beer seemed to account for around 50% of the total real ale trade during my visit. Other beers on included beers from Boggart, Great Heck, Salamander, Fernandes, Pied Bull ( Chester ) and Fullers London Pride ( which I think reflects the fact that Fullers have some kind of trading agreement with Ossett ). Beers were generally priced at between £ 2.40p and £ 3.05p, apart from one stronger Rat beer – Rat Against The Machine ( ABV – 7% at £ 3.70p ). The pub is a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular. If you’ve only time to do one pub in Huddersfield, I reckon this is the one to go for, but do note that, on Mondays and Tuesdays, it doesn’t open its doors until 3pm.