BrewDog Manchester, Manchester

Very minimalist bar that's trying to be achingly trendy and failing in my opinion. It's all bare brick and heating vents and piping in the ceiling etc which is de rigeur for a Brewdog. There's a pinball machine in here, but it wasn't working. There's a few dining tables and things which look like they've been bought from IKEA. Only keg on the bar of course as is normal for Brewdog and lots of pamphlets etc extolling the complete bollocks that is their mission statement. I tried a pint of the Zeitgeist. Freezing cold, black as the ace of spades and yet totally tasteless. It might have tasted of something given a couple of days to warm up. At £3.95 a pint it's a total rip off. This was the joint cheapest beer on offer as well. They charge quite a lot more for 2 halves than they do for a pint. Been now, tried it, thought it was crap, won't be going again.

Modern bar in what is probably termed 'Neo-industrial' but actually means lots of raw concrete, bare steel girders and a bit of brickwork. One medium-sized bar downstairs, with a balcony area above and a rather plain outdoor bit at the front. However has to be credited with an extreme range of beers as is normal for Brewdog, although watch the prices of the silliest ones. Shame that they insist on gassing everything, but still some very nice beers. OK for the novelty value but there are better places.