Hop & Vine, Hull

A cellar bar that is easily missed as you walk by, but you really shouldn’t miss this one. It is and has been for many years one of the best pubs in Hull, formerly run by a Santa Claus lookalike but now under the care of another beer lover and expert. Four pulls of a constantly changing range of mostly Yorkshire beers in fine condition. It also has draught Pilsner Urquell. Not a big place, a square room furnished with original Gaskill & Chambers bench seats, a tiled floor and hop plant decor.

Cellar bar only opening 5 days a week and not open until 4pm on a Tuesday, which happened to be the day of my visit. After a lengthy wait for a bus and then an equally lengthy journey from the northern suburbs of Hull, I was desperate for the toilet. I think the friendly landlord and his 4 customers found it amusing when I asked if I could head straight to the gents! Fully relieved, I was faced with a choice of 5 cask ales - Blue Bee Triple Hop & Tha'll Tell Us Nowt, Brew York Maris The Otter, Brass Castle Bad Kitty & Yorkshire Heart Hearty. The first 4 were on handpull, with the Hearty unusually in a bag-in-a-box. My Triple Hop was enjoyable, but it was only when I came to sit down that I also noticed a decent cider list - Tutt's Clump Scrumpy & Jazz, Purbeck Katy Perry, Biddenden's Medium & Dry & Heck's Perry. The pub is situated in the basement of a Georgian terrace and with the loss of the Whalebone, it has to be one of the best if not the best pub in the city.

Facebook page of Hop & Vine - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Hop & Vine - www.facebook.com

Formerly a wine bar, apparently, and it could easily still be mistaken for same if you don't venture down the narrow flight of steps. As compact inside as the exterior would suggest - almost a micro-pub in fact - with just enough for a narrow counter and a limited amount of seating. Four interesting real ales on offer, including the local Crystal Porter from Crystal Brew. Well worth seeking out.

Small real ale and cider cellar bar. Alehouse feel, with unusual wooden bench seating (see Grove, Leeds) and dried hops strung around. Four pumps with three on; Rudgate Battle Axe, Crystal Brew Black Pearl (very good nick) and Hop Studio Pale (good). Worth doing.

I like the comment below that compared this downstairs cellar bar to one of those small family run English bars you get in Spain, as the white washed walls with their archway entrances with the Guvnor standing in situ behind the small serving area at one end certainly give that feel. But fortunately the aforementioned white walls are covered in beermats and the large chalk board details Ales and Ciders and not San Miquel by the schooner and English breakfast at 3 Euro’s. Obviously run by someone who knows his beers there are three available on the bar with another three settling in the cellar at any time. For our visit Crystal Brew Black Pearl (£3.20), Rudgate Battle Axe (£3.10) and Hop Studio Pale at £3.00 for a pint were available, and the Black Pearl was spot on. According to the chalk board this place is now up to 1137 different real ales since opening and the locals would be interested in the fact that Rudgate Rooibos Tea, Crystal Brew Anzac Pale and Cottage Porter were settling in the cellar. Unfortunately bugger all use for those of us for whom this was the last stop of the day before high tailing it back to the train station to get our connection back down to the smoke. However if fortune ever finds me back in Hull in the near future I wouldn’t hesitate to look up the Hop & Vine again to see what’s on.

A small little basement bar, that was formerly a wine bar, now offers four cask beers. It's quite cosy in here and had it not been time to head for the train station would have complimented my pint of Hop Studio Pale with more of the same.