The Magnet, Stockport

Very well reviewed so I'll focus on the salient points. The Magnet is a very comfortable pub with a great atmosphere and fun bar staff. Even better it has a phenomenal range of beers. On our visit the following was on cask: Light Ale - Thornbridge Wild Swan, Track Sonoma, Ossett Yorkshire Blonde, Blackjack Jack in the Box Blonde, Sureshot The More it Stays the Same, the Less it Changes, Salopian Oracle, RedWillow Weightless, Saltaire Hop Selecta!, Thornbridge Jaipur DDH. Medium Ale - Purple Moose Millstone. Dark Ales - Blackjack Pail, Steelfish King of the Mild Frontier. That's some choice with plenty of renowned and local breweries represented. Everything we tried was in top condition with tasters freely offered with even a hint of indecision shown. If that isn't enough there are three permanent kegs on, 2 lagers and a cider, alongside nine changing kegs with brewers including Northern Monk, Deya, Verdant, Anspach & Hobday, Track and Burning Sky represented on our visit. These would have had a look in most other spots but the quality cask range held our attention. Absolutely superb.

The left hand bar at the Magnet is long and thin with the bar counter up the right facing seating that runs up the left hand wall. The counter supports two banks of five hand pumps as well as six craft keg alongside Becks and Thatcher’s Gold cider. At the rear is a sunken area that houses banquettes, a pool table, dartboard and jukebox, which was playing some background music. A television screen listing the draught choices also includes another four cask ales and four craft keg that are found in the right hand bar. This bar is shorter and much quieter with seating front and rear adjacent to the bar and to the right up some steps to a carpeted seating area. Some stairs lead up, but a plastic chain suggests this area is off-limits. This is decent pub with a vast choice of ale, so unsurprisingly it was quite busy during my recent Tuesday evening visit. Friendly staff and well worth a look.

Visited on Saturday evening, and not much has changed since my previous review. Around 14 hand pulls for cask ales, most of which seemed to be in use. Many keg options too, and everything is listed on a screen near the bar. This is clearly a popular pub and it can be difficult to get a seat, but in my experience people come and go and something usually becomes available. This was the case on Saturday night so we made the most of it and stayed for a second drink. Both the cask ales I had were in good condition. There are several rooms in this pub, plus a strange covered outdoor area to the rear. The only downside to this was that this is the outdoor area the smokers use, and there was an open window in the back room meaning that all the smoke came straight back in the pub. Still, it tolerable and not enough of a problem to detract from the ales. Definitely one to include for any fan of real ale or craft keg.