The Ale Stop, Buxton

Tucked away just off Buxton’s High Street, this might perhaps be described as a micropub, although then again perhaps the music playing from the record player behind the bar might preclude this. In all other aspects though, it had very much of a micropub feel to it. It’s been opened out internally, so it’s now basically all one room, although divided in to two halves with a corridor to the loos separating them. Décor wise it’s similar throughout with sanded wooden boards on the floor and plain white plasterwork on much of the walls, although there was exposed brickwork at one end and a couple of sections of wall which were very liberally adorned with old beer mats, which made something of a feature. A small fireplace with a woodburning stove was off to one side, and next to this was a bookshelf with a fairly random selection of books and an old “music centre” (for younger readers, a long device incorporating a radio, cassette deck and record player). A window in the adjacent wall gave a view in to a small room which appeared to have a very extensive selection of records as well as other audio equipment. It almost looked like a small studio. Beer choice was a little disappointing perhaps with only two of the four pumps in use, and both dispensing a golden ale, although the landlord did say he’d had a nightmare getting any more on for some unspecified reason. The two on this occasion were Brentwood Summer Virgin and Pennine Scapegoat. Ciders meanwhile were both from Rosie’s with their Wicked Wasp and Black Bar. Overall, despite the poor beer selection, I quite liked it in here and would be quite happy to give them the benefit of the doubt and check it out again if in the area.

The bar of the Ale Stop is found to the left where a short serving counter faces some seating along the large front window. The left-hand wall is covered in pop art and there’s a musical theme, I enjoyed the 90s Manchester scene music in the background. A decent collection of old pump clips are being amassed up the side wall of the counter that faces more seating found to the right. The locals seemed to prefer to ram themselves into the bar area, which gave me lots of room to spread in the right. A decent pint of Brew York’s Best was available alongside Intrepid Brewing’s Stanage and Solito Extra as well as Triple Point Brewing’s Citra. There were also two real ciders and I didn’t note any keg options. This is a basic place, but it’s welcoming enough so I’d pop back in if passing.

No ravers or loud music on our Friday afternoon visit, from the disco room in the corner. This pub does attract the local characters, who were all friendly and chatty on our visit and all liked a good sup of beer. The barman was proud of his feature wall near the bar, where he had glued a few hundred iconic images. He asked me to look for images of Fred Dibnah 35 in all dotted around the wall. Another wall away from the bar area, had a decent collection of pumpclips from all the beers sold over the last few years. Four handpumps serving Little Critters C-Monster citrus infused IPA, Dow Bridge D.B.Dark, Bowland Boxer Blonde and Leatherbritches Voodoo Child.

This is a very simple micropub in a bare boarded shop conversion which affords good views across the Market Square. The servery is in the rear left corner and has a timber fronted counter and modern shelving bar back with blackboards to one side listing the draught range. The end wall has been painted red and decorated with a mad collage of pop culture icons and comic book themed bits, whilst a massive pump clip collection fills the wall space in the corridor that leads to the toilets. There are hard benches under the front windows with some basic chairs in support and the right-hand side of the room has been given over to more seating in the form of chairs serving small tables. The walls here are painted white, with a bare brick section at the far end, that boasts a low fireplace and some shelves stacked with books and records. A few cool old LP covers have been framed and line the back wall, nicely complimenting the soul and funk soundtrack that was playing in the background. There was a pretty good ale range to pick from, with options amounting to Anarchy Citra Star, Acorn Plum Porter, Neepsend Gerovit and Little Critters Bentleys Bank plus three real ciders. My pint of Citra Star was very cloudy and not really my cup of tea and I found the reception a bit frosty and the modest crowd a little cliquey. I came away from here with mixed feelings, as I thought it was a decent space to enjoy a few pints from their interesting range, but I didn't feel all that welcome and picked a bit of a dud pint, which makes it difficult to work out whether I'd return again or not. I think on balance, I'd be prepared to give this place another try, but there were several other pubs in town that left a more favourable impression. Date of visit - 17th January 2024

Two room friendly micro. Four pumps of mainly local small breweries and no keg. The decor is a mix of standard pump clips on one wall but old comic book pages on others along with framed album covers. There’s a small room to the rear which has audio equipment and shelves of vinyl albums. It has a log burner at the far end which was very welcome on a chilly autumn day. Mix of furniture but not in the dreaded “harlequin” style.