The Petersgate Tap, Stockport

Enjoyed our visit to this 2019 Good Beer Guide entry yesterday and found a very busy pub which was a big draw for those who liked their beers on the strong side as there were 3 Torrside beers on Destination Unknown 9.8% King Bugbear 9% and Dogs of War 10% and we were pleased to be able to buy 3 thirds to sample them. Really good let me tell you, including the Barley Wine one! Very friendly pub with a great atmosphere.

Much better than average micro - american style booths, large wooden tables, longish (for a micro) bar. An upstairs unexplored. Posters advertising future entertainment such as poetry reading. Friendly owner and punters. Hawkshead Windermere Pale in great condition.

For me this was a proper micropub despite their playing music at a reasonable level which was probably as much for the bar staff as anyone. I thought it was a Motorhead record but I'm sure Lemmy would have approved of these places. It's a modern long rectangular room with the small bar counter at the rear left. I didn't venture upstairs. There were six hand pumps but I only noted four of the beers, Oakham Black Hole Porter, Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout, Thornbridge Brother Rabbit and Hawkshead Windermere Pale. I went for the Black Hole Porter (£3.50) and Milk Stout (£3.40) both of which were in good nick. I thought this was a decent micropub.

The Petersgate Tap is somewhere that I walk right past without noticing if approaching from one side, yet it is blindingly obvious if you approach it from the opposite side. Visited on a recent Saturday afternoon and it was fairly busy downstairs, though didn't check upstairs. A chalk board on the back wall lists all the cask and keg options, and there is certainly plenty to go at. I had the Tyto (a stout by Squawk), Pica (oatmeal pale, also by Squawk), Red Velvet Barley Wine (Thirst Class) and Mangata (stout by Salopian). All were excellent and clearly quality is important here. My drinking partner had the Windermere Pale (Hawkshead) which slipped down nicely too. Didn't notice any food being served here other than bar snacks though I have heard that sometimes pies are available. Another place in Stockport town centre where I could spend a lot of time and end up particularly worse for wear as a result!

Opened in the autumn of 2016, this is Stockport’s first micropub which, rather unusually for most town centres, has taken the place of a former betting shop. The pub has quite a modern feel, reminding me more of a continental bar rather than a run-of-the-mill micropub. The walls have mostly been painted in a deep shade of red and there are sturdy new floorboards throughout. The servery is positioned to the rear along the left hand wall and has a somewhat characterless modern counter and bar back. Standard tables and chairs with a few low benches run down the right hand wall, with a few more seating options under the large front windows. The walls have been decorated with a lot of breweriana including some nice retro posters for various brands and there is already a sizeable pump clip collection behind the bar. Stairs lead up to a first floor room which has plenty of additional seating which was no doubt much appreciated by the locals when the large Pubs Galore contingent descended on the pub en masse. Food is limited to some high quality pork pies and scotch eggs sourced from an award-winning local butcher. A large blackboard on the rear wall lists the full selection of beers available, with cask options on this visit comprising Northern Monkey Sheephouse and Underdog, Hawkshead Windermere Pale, Rat Hai Karate, Thirst Class Hopfordian and Ticketybrew BBQ Red Ale. My half of the Hopfordian was in pretty good shape and the barman was a very nice bloke who stopped to chat for a bit despite running the place on his own that afternoon. This is essentially a micro pub that’s not particularly micro and bends the ‘rules’ a little to accommodate live music, occasional hot food and a few keg beers, none of which detract from what is a great little place to enjoy quality beer. A great little pub all round and a good contrast to the plethora of excellent traditional boozers around town.