BrewDog Liverpool, Liverpool

Paid my first visit to this branch of BrewDog this decade. They advertise as being open until 11pm on a weekday evening, but at 10:30, they were cleaning up with just 2 other customers in. They reluctantly agreed to serve me! A typical branch of BrewDog which is quite spacious. Although I've only ever seen it busy at weekends when revellers spill over from Liverpool's late night drinking area which is not too far away. The all keg range was BrewDog Black Heart, Shore Leave, Rattle 'n' Rum, Dog L, Glacier Point, Sandman, Dead Pony Club, Punk IPA, Gluten-free Punk IPA, Hazy Jane & Wingman, Windswept That's A Moray Stout, Weekend Project Death By 500 Cuts, Moersleutel K9 Chocolate Stout, Anderson's Sloepy Seconds, Vault City Vaukt Dweller, Rodenbach Fruitage, Black Lodge Like We Did Last Summer, Kuehn Kunz Foggy Skyline, Renegade Paradise Lost Paradise Found & Hawkes Urban Orchard Cider. Not feeling particularly welcome or comfortable I opted for a third of a strong beer (Dog L) before beating a hasty retreat to the Roscoe Head for a much more welcoming and traditional pub experience.

Official site of BrewDog Liverpool - www.brewdog.com

Official site of BrewDog Liverpool - www.brewdog.com

A big dark shed serving strange beers in various measures. I adventurously opted for a third of Mango Manotee at £2.65. this tasted more like a juice-based cocktail and didn’t even vaguely resemble beer. It’s not for me. Even as a student I never liked these bars at all to be honest, they are gloomy and unsociable and the quirkiness just feels irritatingly contrived. But craft connoisseurs may love it. Noisy arcade games are available if you want to relive your childhood for some reason.

Opened in November 2014, this is a typical craft beer bar that will be familiar to anyone that has visited any of Brewdog's other venues. The bar has a large open plan interior with bare floorboards throughout, lots of exposed pipes, wiring and ducts and large shop-style windows along the front. The front part of the room has been set up as a simple seating area with lots of tub chairs, benches and rather uncomfortable looking metal-framed chairs. Comfier looking banquette booths run down the right hand wall and the main space is broken up a little by a couple of L-shaped booths with high triangular backs. The servery has the usual cinema board beer lists on the wall behind it and comprises a concrete counter and a back room made from an old shipping container. A single, long high table runs opposite the bar with lots of high stools and effectively screens the bar area off from the rest of the room. There is a little bit of extra seating in the space that runs back to the right of the bar, mainly benches arranged around the kitchen hatch. The room is dimly lit but makes use of fluorescent lighting to create quite a nice chilled-out look, although the left hand side remained resolutely gloomy, lit only by a few fridges packed full of bottled beer, possibly for take outs. Music was playing but this was lost under the hubbub of a busy Saturday evening crowd. I counted seventeen Brewdog beers on the taps including Punk IPA, Hardcore IPA, Casino Rye Ale, Kingpin, Jet Black Heart, Dead Pony Club and 5am Saint. A total of twelve guests rounded out the draught options, with beers from the likes of Jolly Pumpkin, Beavertown, Kernel and Siren among others. I tried the Beavertown Gamma Ray, which was lovely but rather pricey at £5.05 The staff seemed able to cope with the large crowds at the bar very well and were knowledgeable and helpful to those seeking a bit of guidance. Brewdog have moved into most major cities around the UK and the quality of their bars seems to have generally improved over time. The Liverpool branch follows that trend, being a fairly restrained example of the chain that picks up on the positives that have made their other bars work well. It's obviously pitched at a younger crowd and priced over the odds, but if you fancy pushing the boat out and trying some top-end craft beer, this is the place to come.

A decent Brewdog. Quite light with all the glass doors to the front and not that busy. I had Electric India at 5.2% - priced at £2.40.