Tap 'n' Barrel, Wigan

A poor visit for me - but I possibly just timed it wrong. Your visit may be more pleasant. Micro tucked away down a little pedestrian shopping street, oddly with an external speaker pumping Queens of the Stone Age out to the shoppers. Just going to be a list of complaints from me (a lover of pubs) so probably advise you to stop reading. 1) an unmmaned bar for an uncomfortably long period of time. 2) three real ales, all pales 3) the one I chose - Wensleydale Semer Water - was on the turn. I didn't attempt to take it back, having sipped about a 1/3 of it trying to work out if it was off 4) the large covered rear area, covered in conservatory style roofing, turns into a hot house that is too warm to sit in sunshine. On the positive, the available on a weekend only pork pie was enjoyed.

Micropub located adjacent to Wigan's bus station. It has a ground floor seating area with stools against a shelf along the wall and windows, with tables available either upstairs or in an outdoor courtyard to the rear. Hawkshead Windermere Pale is the regular beer. Guests were Abbeydale Moonshine & Phoenix Heywood Pale Ale, whilst ciders were Thistly Cross Whisky Cask & Lilley's Tropical, Peach & Strawberry. This was my first visit here and I agree with Quinno below. With limited time, we left out the Anvil and the Swan & Railway to ensure we tried the Tap 'n' Barrel. I will prioritise the other two next time I am in Wigan.

Mews-based micro which sends Googlemap into a spin. Not a purists micro, as there was loud music. Pea green walls and high stool wall shelf seating meant I wasn’t particularly enamoured on first impression, but the plentiful wall sockets were a plus. Three cask and the usual alternative offerings, my Abbeydale (NBSS 4) and Mobberley (3) justified its GBG’23 inclusion. Also some ciders, which seem to be oddly popular up here. Worth going if you haven’t been but I’m not sure whether I’d give up time at the fabulous double-header at the station on my next visit to Pietown. 6.5

Tap ‘N’ Barrel is in a nice location sitting in Jaxon’s Court behind a couple of picnic tables on the path out front. The bar is quite small with serving counter to the right that faces a beer shelf along the left wall with eleven bar stools. Another beer shelf is in the front window with a couple more stools. The six handpumps on the bar were drawing three Lilley’s ciders alongside another cider and two cask ales, Saltaire Brewery’s Cascade and Phoenix Brewery’s Arizona (Dry as a Desert). There are also five fonts for the craft keg. The governor here is obviously a rocker with rock music playing and guitars pinned to the walls as decoration. At the rear is a open plan seating area, but I preferred sitting in the bar. I couldn’t stay in here all night, but another pint is on the cards for next time I’m in town.

Visited mid-week in the afternoon. Six hand pulls at the bar, with three offering cask ales and the other three offering ciders. A premium keg selection was also noted, but nothing too crafty. At the time of my visit the cask ales were Phoenix Hopsack, Settle Jericho and Hawkshead Windermere Pale. Inside there are a few tables and stools in the bar area, picnic tables to the front outside, and a further half indoors half outdoors room to the rear with additional seating. Upstairs are the gents toilets and a further seating area. Service was friendly and I wouldn't mind paying another visit.