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Port Street Beer House, Manchester
Manchester
M1 2EQ
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about Port Street Beer House
I came to this place with high hopes as I had heard of it from when one of my local breweries had held a meet the brewer and tap takeover here some years ago. Those hopes were dashed completely on my late Saturday afternoon visit. As mentioned previously it's just a shop conversion and I didn't think one that was all that well done. I went for a pint of Northern Alchemy UK Hopped beer which I had to ask the disinterested buffoon behind the bar to top up which seemed to upset him somewhat. I had ordered a 4.9% ABV beer for which I was charged the ridiculous price of £4.20, looking at the price list revealed that the cheapest price for cask was £3.60. The beer turned out to be warm and cloudy and I was tempted to send it back. I thought better of that and took it out to the "garden" which is a small paved area at the back.
How this place got into the 2015 GBG is a mystery to me as I thought it was a rip-off and a complete waste of time.
Where did it all go so wrong in Manchester?
On 24th June 2015
- rating: 1
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about Port Street Beer House
A well reviewed pub and Mr. SignMan's review below gives plenty of useful detail.
It's an old shop done out in a modern, micropub style with wooden floors and steel furniture.
The welcome was non-existent and the impression given by both the staff serving on our visit was that customers were little more than an irritant with requests for beer met with a scowl.
The cask selection was good with the choices detailed on a blackboard by the bar which were: Mallinson's Extreme Amarillo, Buxton Moor Top, Squawk Pale, Thornbridge Hopton, Blackjack The OC, Redwillow Wreckless and Magic Rock Ringmaster. Unfortunately most that we tried, and we tried most of them, were cloudy and tired. We thought this might be because they had only just opened, it was just after 2 on a Friday afternoon, and nothing had been pulled off before our pints were served but some of the second pints were worse than the first ones.
There's an interesting selection of keg and bottled beers also available.
Having read and heard many good things about the Port Street Beer House, I was very disappointed. I may have been unfortunate and they were perhaps having an off day but, on my own experience, more staff training and better cellar skills are badly needed.
On 21st July 2014
- rating: 5
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Peter Rydings left this review about Port Street Beer House
If your into your foreign beer,s this must be the Best in Manchester well worth a visit but dont moan about the price of it if you want it got to pay for it
On 4th October 2013
- rating: 9
[User has posted 948 recommendations about 917 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about Port Street Beer House
I visited the Port Street Beer House late on Friday afternoon a couple of weeks ago when it was pretty busy with an after work crowd and a few wierdy beardies. The bar is located at street level where there is seating and the only décor are old pump clips that adorn the walls. On the first floor is a basic seating area with minimal décor and the toilets are located on the second floor which is a bit of a hike. Out the back is a small beer garden with seating that was hosting an organic Indian street food stall that was selling chaat. I was reliably informed that the name comes from the sound it makes when it suddenly evacuates the body.
This place is all about the beer as the bar supports seven hand pumps and there is an extensive bottled beer selection. Other than the chaat I didn’t see any other food advertised.
This place is popular and I’m sure that there are some interesting brews, but I prefer drinking in a proper pub rather than a place that feels like a church hall beer festival.
On 20th August 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5268 recommendations about 5236 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
david hammill left this review about Port Street Beer House
i`ve been using this fine pub since it opened and alway thought it very nice until recently we were over in manchester for a rugby match and tried to enter with rugby tops on only to be turned away and told NO football tops as there is no trouble with rugby fans this seemed a bit over the top and we were left unable to try there fine beers
On 2nd June 2013
- rating: 4
[User has posted 96 recommendations about 86 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Port Street Beer House
Easily accessed from the city centre, yet tucked away enough to avoid the masses, this is a well run venture in the ‘craft beer’ bar mould. Entering through a UPVC door that initially looks like it’s for the neighboring property, you find yourself in the simple, single room ground floor bar. The servery is sited on the right hand wall and the room is decked out with a good deal of seating, mostly slightly uncomfortable high metal stools, although there are some pleasant padded banquettes as well. The walls, as you might expect, are lined with pumps clips and rather surprisingly there is a garden accessed through a rear door, although the driving rain meant I didn’t pop out to explore. Upstairs there is a saloon with wooden flooring and what appeared to be a choice of more comfortable seating options than downstairs. A few enamel beer adverts line the staircase but otherwise the décor is fairly understated. Music was playing throughout my visit, but the bar was fairly busy, so it was a bit lost in the hubbub. There were a fair proportion of beer geeks milling about, which may be off-putting to some, but it doesn’t bother me and I had a good chuckle at the chap who brought his seemingly skeptical parents in for a drink and was trying to convince his mother to order a pint of Magic Rock.
Talking of which…On hand pump there was the aforementioned Magic Rock with their Curious and Rapture brews, plus Summer Wine Teleporter (£3.40) and Rouge, Great Heck Citra and Liverpool Craft Icon Dark. I tried the Teleporter, which I thought was reasonably priced for such a bar, and it was in absolutely fantastic condition. There were around 20 keg taps for ‘craft’ beers from the UK and further afield. A vast bottled beer range was set out in a beer menu with a nice mix of the well known and the obscure.
I’m not really familiar with Manchester’s pub scene, so I can only really compare this to the craft beer bars I’ve encountered in London and I have to say that this place compares very favourably. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but it’s a fine example of its genre and I’d be surprised if there is a better specialist beer house in the city.
On 12th April 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Peter Rydings left this review about Port Street Beer House
Never seen as many beers in one pub in my life had half of some sort of beer forgot its name they would only sell it in halves because it was so strong over 3 quid it cost glad it was only half it was sweet and thick a pint would have made me sick but will call regular when in the part of the city Its a must for you beer boffins to see
On 4th January 2013
- rating: 10
[User has posted 948 recommendations about 917 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
paulof horsham left this review about Port Street Beer House
Sufficiently low-key from outside that this reviewer walked past and was not entirely convinced on returning a while later (well, it was dark out). While it does look like a low-key shop from outside, it's more pub-like inside, the walls adorned with plenty of enamel plates advertising breweries from all over the world.
The bar features eight hand pumps given over to interesting micro and smaller breweries. They are also up-to-speed with the new wave of keg beers, as well as offering a sizeable beer menu with Belgium featuring heavily.
The small room downstairs is popular, but there's more room upstairs, as well as a beer garden (apparently - I wasn't going to venture out there on a freezing cold evening).
I liked the Port Street Beer House and I'd be happy to recommend it. I'd also recommend printing off Pubs Galore's handy map (or using some sort of phone/map thingy if that's your preference) if you're not familiar with the area.
On 17th December 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 453 recommendations about 425 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Simon Ward left this review about Port Street Beer House
Wow the people who run this place love their beers which shows in the quality of service and the range and quality of product. Clean, quality minimalist decoration looks good but doesn't feel comfortable to sit in on the ground floor. Well worth a visit when you are doing the circuit in this area though. Some of the customers and staff just take things too seriously, so it lacked a relaxing friendly atmosphere for me. This venue is on the expensive side, but when you are buying something out of the ordinary it can be worth it.
On 3rd November 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 7 recommendations about 7 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Port Street Beer House
A real ale and craft keg bar with a small interior , minimalist decor and a laminated wood effect flooring popular with a mix of customers,not just CAMRA diehards, who want to sample something out of the ordinary.There were seven handpumps,five in action on my trip offering Black Jack Stout and First Deal (£3.20),Crouch Vale Yakima, Hawkshead's Bitter and one I failed to note.The keg taps offered some knockout strength beers topped off by BrewDog Hardcore IPA along with continental lagers.There were some bar blockers on bar stools but the lack of furniture around the interior means you may have to venture upstairs with your pint to sit in the comfortable upstairs lounge or in the beer yard under a retractable awning.
A short walk in a straight line from Ducie Street Basin at the junction of the Rochdale and Ashton Canals,I would certainly pop back to see what interesting ales were available,with great quality assured.
On 4th October 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2730 recommendations about 2730 pubs]