The Craftsman Company, Aberdeen

If you like the sort of place that has a strong aroma of roast coffee, serves 'breakfast' until 4 pm and is unacquainted with the concept of a pint glass, then you will strike lucky here... For anybody else less young and trendy, you will find a broad selection of craft beers in a full range of styles from up to 16 taps in the pleasant surroundings of a 'L'-shaped corner bar with light decor and large windows under a towering ceiling (although it quickly became rather gloomy as the daylight faded). However, it all comes at a hefty price, e.g. £4.00 for my schooner of Winter Star from Northern Monk.

This is a new craft beer bar with a prime location in the centre of Aberdeen. The place actually had more of a coffee bar feel to it when I visited, as various office workers poured in at the end of their working day – I would estimate that there were more people enjoying hot drinks than those drinking alcoholic beverages. The pub has an L-shaped layout with a servery following the same shape in the rear corner. The bar has a grey wood panelled counter front and a kitchen hatch in the bar back. Walls throughout the room have matching grey wood panelling with stone and bare brick uppers. Fairy lights are draped in all the windows and old crates, barrels and a spinning wheel have been piled up on the ledge above the front door. High tables and mismatched stools fill the space directly in front of the bar whilst standard tables and chairs plus the odd bench or two run around the perimeter. An enormous beer board on the left-hand wall acts as a bit of a focal point for the room and is handy when trying to work out what you want to drink. More large boards above the bar detail food offers and the full range of coffee options. A large dresser on the back wall adds to the coffee house feel thanks to jars full of various coffee beans as well as some stylistic additions such as an old set of scales, potted plants and the inevitable whisky bottle collection. The buzzy post-work atmosphere was quite nice and made up for a dreadful drippy soundtrack that was a real downer. There is no cask ale here unfortunately, so I was left to choose from ten craft keg taps, one of which was out of action. The nine remaining beers were all from Fierce or Brew York breweries and I ended up with a pint of Fierce Easy Shift which was pretty unmemorable and served up by a disinterested barman. This place hinted at a bit of potential but I really couldn’t shake the feeling that this must be what it feels like to drink in a Starbucks or similar such place. Aberdeen has some perfectly good craft beer bars from Brewdog and Six Degrees North, so it’s difficult to see where this place fits into the local beer scene. I was glad to have popped in, but can’t really imagine making a return.