The Bridge End Inn, Wrexham

After busy Chester it was nice to come to what felt like a country pub with reasonable prices. When I arrived along with a few others we were all shunted into the small left bar as there was a funeral reception going on in the main one for one of the elders of the family that run this pub. I was happy to go along with this for the duration of my stay. I later discovered that the right bar is larger and that there is a small snug round the back. I noticed a Border Brewery mirror on the wall that made me wonder if they were the original owners. I dug out a really ancient North Wales beer guide to discover that it was once a Whitbread pub. Beers noted here were Big Hand Little Monkey, Marble Pint, Weetwood Best, Holden's Special, Fernandes Session IPA, RAT White Rat, Fat Cat Honey Ale, Wye Valley Bitter, Stonehouse Ballast Porter and later on McGivern Matt Black. I stopped here for a few and had the Honey Ale (£2.80), Holden's Special (£3.00) and Matt Black (£3.00) all of which were excellent. I liked this place a lot and would definitely return. It gets a very strong 9.

Exceptional pub with consistently good range of ales. A real drinkers' pub.

A cracker of a pub. An excellent beer selection and ideal if you're waiting for a train as its just round the corner from the train station. Beer garden at the rear.

This pub gained a lot of attention when it was named CAMRA National Pub of the Year for 2011 and made it into the final four the following year. Unsurprisingly, the pub now gets plenty of custom, both from a loyal band of regulars and from one-off visitors like myself, keen to find out what all the fuss is about. When I arrived early on a drizzly Sunday afternoon, there were already a fair few people in and it only got busier from then on. The building has a slightly strange position, sited some way below the level of the passing road, but it is very handy for the train station, which is just around the corner. The main bar is at the front of the pub, with the servery positioned on the back wall. There is tile flooring throughout and the traditional feel is created by dark beams and whitewashed walls plus a roaring log fire on the end wall. Seating opposite the bar is somewhat restricted, but the room opens out a bit, past a low dividing wall, into a space focussed around the stone fireplace with a couple of banquettes and some standard chairs serving four or five tables. A number of books have been stacked up on the partitioning wall and behind one of the banquettes, whilst a collection of old Mcgivern Ales bottles run above the fire. There is a second bar, but once I’d settled down next to the fire, there was no moving me. The genial landlord popped over for a chat not long after I’d arrived, before heading off to get some more firewood, and the other customers were a very friendly and chatty bunch, creating a lively atmosphere and nearly making me miss my train home. The pub has its own brewery out the back and produces the Mcgivern Ales which form the core of the pub’s ale range. Two were available on the bar when I arrived – an excellent Pyramid Porter and a fairly average pale beer, the name of which I forget. Alongside this were Lancaster Amber, Rudgate Ruby Mild and something from Mr Grundy’s. All the beers I sampled were in good shape and the other customers I spoke to were very complimentary about the pub’s cellarmanship. I had very high hopes for this pub based on the acclaim it has received in recent years, yet somehow it managed to exceed these expectations. I struggle to think of anything I disliked about this visit and I was left cursing the train timetable which restricted the amount of time I could spend here. In my opinion, this place fully justifies the hype and is well worth making a bit of effort to seek out. I’ve only given one ten out of ten on this site previously, but this pub fully deserves the highest marks.