Crafted, Bradford

Much larger than its nearby competitors, the Beerhouse is a relative newcomer. One large room with distinct seating areas to the left and right. The bar covers the entire rear wall of the pub. There are lots of industrial office bits and pieces around the place such as punched card drawers etc similar to those that I remember using when I worked at an engineering company many years ago. A mixture of seating with some comfy, leather look seats around the outside and some bright, older chairs and tables in the middle. 6 handpumps with a decent selection of ales on them including a couple from Orkney on our visit. My pint of Orkney Raven was in good nick and the other half had a glass of Pinotage that she declared the best wine she had during our day in Bradford. Overall, I liked it and will visit again. Ms CAMRA loved it, so if I'm with her next time we'll definitely be coming here. :-))

A large single room with an expanse of exposed brick and the remains of a fancy ceiling, industrial style electrical conduit and a job lot of angle poise lamps adding to the slightly funky decor, the furnishing is a mix of stylish modern with older chairs repainted in primary colours. The counter stretches the width of the rear wall and is home to six pulls with mainly local and small, although Shepherd Neame had made the trip up from Kent, there are a few keg taps which I didn't take too much notice of but definitely more than a few national and international names. The staff are enthusiastic and know what they're about but the beer quality although fair, isn't quite up to the levels required in this street of bars. It's also a bit less spartan than a couple places up and down the street.

The Beerhouse is yet another fine addition to the booming North Parade / Independent Quarter drinking scene. Opening in late March 2015, after an eight month refurb of a former furnishings shop, it’s the brainchild of the team behind The Boathouse, Saltaire, and promises ‘Craft beers, Yorkshire cask ales and home cooked food’. Internally, it has an open plan, industrial canteen like feel, with its exposed air con pipes, bare brick walls, parquet flooring and a plain white tiled bar back. At the bar there were six hand pumps on the go, offering Black Sheep Bitter, Landlord, Old Peculier, Saltaire Blonde & Stateside IPA and Slightly Foxed ‘Howlin’ Fox’. On trying the latter two, both were in excellent nick, with slick service from the friendly, enthusiastic young bar staff. Considering the proclaimed commitment to ‘craft’ beer, one thing that did surprise me was the rather pedestrian choices on the keg pumps, namely Staropramen, Coors and San Miguel. However, as one of my beer buddies observed, they may well want to get punters through the door, before developing the range. Although, ‘build it and they will come’ is more my philosophy. Food is at the gastro end of the spectrum, with starters around £5-6 and mains £10-11, but as none of our party tried it, it’s difficult to give an indication of quality. A lively atmosphere when we called mid-afternoon on a Saturday. To say it had been open less than two weeks, it felt very established and comfortable. I can see this one rapidly becoming a must visit when in the town. On first impressions - excellent.