The Brew Society, Leeds

Yet another Leeds venue that pushes the boundaries of what a drinking space can be. The WCG appears to give equal weight to a café bar and photography/film exhibition rooms. Housed in an interesting old brick building, it’s a mere stone’s throw from the Wellington Street entrance of Leeds station. The long, narrow interior features the bar at the front and the exhibition spaces to the rear. Curiously, there is also a second smaller bar behind the main one, but I suspect this is only used when functions and events are being held. The bar area is light and airy and features no nonsense dining tables and chairs. With several arty and media types tapping away at their laptops during my visit, the place had a quietly bohemian feel. The bar itself champions Yorkshire micros and two local beers were available on hand pump - Ilkley ‘Joshua Jane’ and Revolutions ‘E.P.’ (Beers from Saltaire and Roosters also feature regularly) Unfortunately, both seemed a little tired and something the barman said did make me wonder if they were being kept under a gas blanket. However, world bottled beers are also available, alongside wine and cocktails. Putting my disappointment with the beer aside, I enjoyed a stroll round a retrospective of highly regarded photojournalist Tom Stoddart’s work and came out feeling edified, if nothing else. The WCG is undoubtedly a quirky, individual sort of place and overall I rather liked it. I suspect I’ll be more than willing to give it a second chance when next in the area.