Vocation & Co @ Society, Manchester

Situated in the old Pitcher & Piano, this is one of Vocation's latest ventures. Similar to Assembly Underground in Leeds, but smaller. The main bar is facing you as you enter with a smaller cocktail bar to the right. To the left are 5 street food stalls selling a selection of different cuisines. As is usual with these type of places the seating is mainly on long, shared tables, although there is a balcony area with standard table and chairs. Pleasantly buzzy on my Friday afternoon visit, without being too crowded. 3 cask ales available, all from Vocation. My choice was Assembled With Care, a beer I had tried a week before in their tap in Hebden Bridge, is was just as good here. I liked it in here, it's just the right size and hasn't been found by the Mackie Mayor users (yet).

No major change since my previous review, however you now order at the bar. The QR code on the table still works for viewing the menu, but you can no longer order through there and you have to do it the old fashioned way. The venue is an Untappd Verified Venue so if you are an Untappd user, this is another way of viewing the beer menu. Four cask ales and 30+ on keg, a combination of Vocation's own beers and guests. There are usually some nice strong beers on keg, and I find one of these makes a nice finisher for the evening before getting the train home.

Called in on Saturday night. I was a bit concerned it may be rammed with it being the first weekend of trading but there were a few tables available so no problem. There were plenty of people in, but this is a big space so it didn't feel too crowded. We were shown to a table, scanned the QR code to check in, hand sanitiser is available, and a further QR code on the table takes you to the beer menu and online ordering system. Ordering was efficient, and there was certainly plenty to go at with four cask options and over 20 on keg. On the cask side there were two from Vocation, one from Squawk and one from Marble. A wide variety of breweries and styles represented on keg, including two Vocation Imperial Stouts (Imperial Honeycomb and Imperial Black Forest Cherry Stout, both at 10%). We stayed for a couple of drinks and a member of the bar staff checked back to see if we were enjoying the Imperial Honeycomb, and indeed we were. This is a great addition to the area and I can see this becoming a popular venue. Well worth seeking out if you're in this part of town. In addition to the Vocation bar, Society houses a cocktail bar and a couple of food outlets with a shared seating area, which could be handy if you get peckish. One I shall definitely return to!

Official site of Vocation & Co - www.vocationbrewery.com

Official site of Vocation & Co - www.vocationbrewery.com