Tom's Tap, Crewe

A kind of brick built warehouse situated to eastern side of the railway line, just north of Crewe station. It's a place that I've seen many times from the train and hoped to get to one day. However, it's a good 20-minute yomp from the station on foot. We decided to take a taxi, which took just as long, given the driver took us straight into a traffic jam. He'd also never heard of the place, which seemed a bit strange for a driver based in the town. Walking into the right-hand side, the bar is immediately in front of you. Menus on the bar list the extensive beer and cider selection. The menu does not specify if any of the beers are cask, but I'm fairly sure they were all keg. Similarly, some ciders were still and some were sparkling. So, you may have to ask a few questions. Off to the left was a separate room with more seating, whilst there is further seating outside, some of it undercover. Beers from Tom's Tap themselves were Table Beer Citra, Mango Ice Cream Pale, Crewe's Control, You're Gonna Need A Bigger Moped, ESB, Mighty Stout, Dark Mild, Tamerlane Heritage IPA, Crewesch, California Common, Hillbilly Engineering - Citra, Orange Peel Wit, Return of the Chadi & 2022 Barley Wine. There was also a collaboration with Staggeringly Good called Megalodon Moped. Guest beers were Neptune Wooden Ships & Meer & Thornbridge Lukas. Ciders were Ascension Shimmy, Pilot, Dance Commander, Punk Lemonade, Jewel Runner & Star Rover, Ross-on-Wye Somerset Redstreak/Major/Foxwhelp, Raison D'Etre, Ellis Bitter 2022 & Three Bitterwseet Blend, Nightingale Discovery & Kent Cider Company Sicilian Lemon Cider, Toffee Apple Cider, Strawberry Cider & Elderflower Cider. With other pubs/bars to visit in Crewe and not much time for a drink, I tried a couple of ciders I'd never had before. Both were in good condition, despite the large selection and the reasonably limited opening hours of the bar. So, they must get a decent throughput of customers. Although everything is kept fairly cold. This place isn't exactly a comfortable pub, but its excellent beer and cider range is enough of an attraction for me. I suspect I'll be back here one day to try some more.

Typical micro-brewery tap in a light industrial unit, and in this case just over the West Coast Main Line from the town centre. However, despite the rather uninspiring surroundings, it was doing good business early on a Wednesday evening. With 30+ of their own and guest beers and ciders available, the choice was huge, but with no handpumps, it is anybody's guess whether any of these are real ale from KeyKegs. However, I certainly enjoyed my Dark Mild (£3.60).

Official site of Tom's Tap - www.tomstap.co.uk

Facebook page of Tom's Tap - www.facebook.com

Visited on Friday just after 5pm. No cask ales but a massive selection of keg taps are on the back wall - too many to take in - although this is mitigated by screens in both rooms showing the menu. The menu is also available via their web site (https://www.tomstap.co.uk/home/on-the-bar/) which can be handy for planning your next drink without having to crane your neck at the rotating menu on the screens. There is also a fridge containing bottles and cans. Their own beers feature, of course, plus a decent number of guests including ciders. There are two payment points at the bar, one is card only and the other is cash and card. When I went up for my second drink I was asked if I wanted to set up a tab if I was staying for a few, which I thought was a nice touch. Clipboards on the tables have a list of what events are coming up and details of meet the brewer events and food vans etc. At the time of my visit there was a street food van outside but I think it depends what day you go and the traders may well rotate (that was certainly the impression I got from the "what's on" information). There are two rooms plus a large outdoor area and a marquee. Music was playing with a raised area in the second room hosting large speakers and a DJ deck, which I felt was a little unusual for a brewery tap, and the music was a bit heavy rock / metal for my taste but nonetheless was not too intrusive. There is a single basic toilet, as is typical for this kind of setup. I'd happily go and give it another look.

Facebook page of Tom's Tap - www.facebook.com

Official site of Tom's Tap - www.tomstap.co.uk