The Hop, York

A modern bar conversion with lots of distressed tiling and fake Victorian bar back, a substantial high-ceilinged interior which goes back to a pizzeria to the rear; live music events are held here too. Ten pumps plus Rosie’s [unreal] cider, my Ossett White Rat was as fine as expected, so perhaps the Autovac tray was empty. A good addition to a crawl, but perhaps not a place in which to linger; the use of the slops tray recycling system is something which would put me right off a return visit, but it does serve a purpose as a waiting room for the Blue Bell, opposite.

An Ossett pub in a very large former retail outlet,it's popular with a mixed age group with some seating to the front,bar left with a heavy wood bar back and ornate globes as lighting above the bar.The rear opens out to a high ceiling with a glass canopy while the walls have tiled affect wall paper and a small stage,with bench and high table seating before right at the back a large pizza oven.I made two trips in here on the day as there is free live music at the weekends ,which suits the large rear space. The ale selection was described on a chalk board at the front under a glazed tiled wall with Ossett Yorkshire Blonde (NBSS 4),White Rat (NBSS 4.5),Silver King,Butterley and Excelsuis seeming to be regulars.Guest ales were Hoptomist Pale,Bristol Beer Factory Independence and Wilde Child Brownie Hunter stout. On keg there was an Ossett Hell Rat helles lager and three Salt indie beers. That a very strong ale line up ,making this another must visit and a very strong 8. A great staging post for a visit to the Blue Bell opposite,allowing a group to drift in over time so as to not offend the local sensitivities.

Official site of The Hop - www.hopyork.co.uk

Official site of The Hop - www.hopyork.co.uk

The Hop is an Ossett pub with a high ceiling. There is a front bar area that was sparsely populated on my Monday evening visit, with a more open area to the rear that was much busier with an after-work crowd and quite a few people enjoying pizzas cooked from an open kitchen to the rear. With more time to spare than I'd initially planned, I decided to stop and have a pizza. I recall enjoying the food on my last visit in 2016, but for some reason it wasn't as good this time. I've seen nduja mentioned quite a lot recently in relation to pizzas and wanted to give it a go. Whether it was the nduja or the copious amount of beer I consumed during the day, I'm not sure, but my stomach wasn't the best the following day. To give the nduja the benefit of the doubt, I suspect it may have been the beer! On the subject of beer, regular beers from Ossett in here are Excelsius, White Rat & Yorkshire Blonde. In addition, they also had their Butterley & Treacle Stout. Ciders were Lilley's Mango & Weston's Rosie's Pig & Rosie's Pig Rhubarb. Craft beers were Salt Tweed, Loom, Jute, Serge, Huckaback & Ikat, Caps Off Rhys's Pieces & Turning Point Tangled Up In Blue. Still a good place to couple with the far more traditional pub experience of the Blue Bell across the road.

Continues to be a reliable place for a good pint, not to mention the excellent pizza. Swerving the Ossett ales for a change, I enjoyed a superb stout from Ainsty on this visit. Thoroughly recommended.