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Disappointment of the week with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about RedWillow
Modern shop conversion. It’s a large oblong room which lacks any real warmth though there's some nice touches such as parquet flooring and nice front windows alongside a stab at a modern faux Art Deco servery (with copper top) and bar back. Unusual colour scheme of greeny blue and gold with some wood trim - I imagine some good money was laid down on it all. Just two cask over four pumps. My Headless was OK but flatlining (NBSS 2.5). The barmaid was busy pulling through at least so maybe I got unlucky. Large selection of craftykeg and cans. Cash only, inevitably. It might work if you’re in a larger group but as a solo drinker I was happy to drink up and get gone. GBG23 listed. 6.5
On 28th February 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about RedWillow
ORIGINAL REVIEW May 2014
A very interesting addition to the Macclesfield drinking scene.A shop conversion by the folks at Redwillow Brewery,the interior has a high ceiling and a modern bar feel.The copper pipe work art installation as lighting is interesting ,although the zigzag copper piping to the urinals is a bit pretentious.Art for sale around the walls,three large banquettes along the right wall,sofas , high tables and the obligatory former cinema seats outside the loos complete the contemporary scene,you could be in deepest Hoxton not mid Cheshire.In such a large space,you could feel very alone if few punters were in ,but the excellent muzak maintained a good atmosphere with a range from classic Stones to The Cure.
The bar is also impressive with a screen detailing cask and keg offerings as in the Wellie in Brum,while the 14 kegs taps housed on the back wall had echos of the Euston Tap.The large bar back houses an impressive collection of 40 gins from around the world,the beer book lists lots of bottled beer options and a selection of teas.Food is essentially cold with charcuterie,cheeses and pates on offer.The six handpumps feature a real cider,three Redwillow ales and two guests.I was really disappointed that the owners didn't have the confidence to offer a wider selection of their excellent Redwillow ales,as this is the defacto brewery tap.Another disappointment was that all the real ales were at the lower end of the ABV scale,which may have been a ploy to force sales of the much more expensive kegged beers which did include some powerful and interesting brews.The keg products is priced by the third and half with many around £2.50 the half.I tried the keg Redwillow Shameless IPA ,although decent it would surely have been sublime on cask.A plus point is that the keg beers are neither exceptionally cold nor aggressively carbonated.
As my Thursday evening visit carried on,the bar started to fill up with a trendy younger crowd,it certainly seemed to be totty central,no bad thing.If you are in Macc this bar should always be on your list for a visit ,although you may need to be brave and cough up for some quality keg beers if you want to sup something truly exceptional.
UPDATE
The ale and beer choice is now entirely RedWillow,a decision I applaud because they are a very fine brewer.The beer menu was offering three casks,their Wreckless superb NBSS 4.5,while there are 10 keg options and a cider.I also enjoyed their keg Perceptionless and Breakfast Stout .There is a wide ABV and style mix which makes this a must visit when in Macc.Route 1 for me on my next stop in town.An upgrade is warranted.
On 8th October 2021
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about RedWillow
Upmarket brewery tap, with well-spaced seating in a sizeable bar together with a number of outdoor tables on the widened front pavement. Only three of the five handpumps were in use, offering their Headless (£3.49) and Wreckless plus the High Alpha from Blackedge as a guest. Nine of the 15 craft keg taps on the bar-back were also in use. Minus a point, though, for the erratic mandatory table service (a pandemic practice most other pubs and bars have abandoned).
On 17th September 2021
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Sam Hodgkinson left this review about RedWillow
One of Macc's more upmarket / liberal young bars. All craft ale so suitable for those who like their beer tasting like soap. Well run operation and decent crowd. On the pricier side.
On 12th June 2021
- rating: 7
[User has posted 12 recommendations about 12 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about RedWillow
Smart bar in an old, large shop owned by the local Redwillow brewery. Semi-circle comfy seats to the right and the rest mainly dining tables and chairs. Large screen behind the bar showing the available beers. Clever use of lighting makes this feel very comfortable and the huge windows are very girly friendly. All the handpumps were featuring Redwillow beers on our visit. We called in for one early in the evening and called back for 2 more later on. All the beers I had were in excellent condition and Ms CAMRA loved the red wine.
On 15th March 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3223 recommendations about 3134 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about RedWillow
Having unintentionally found myself in Macclesfield I thought I would give this another try. Overall I found it a lot better with a more "normal" clientele and most of the cask offerings coming from Redwillow. I went for their Wreckless (£3.40) which was excellent. Score increased from 5 to 7.
Visit Jan 2015
I really didn't take to this place at all. It felt like I was back in London in some trendy hipster dump in Islington's Liverpool Road.
It's a bit like one of Antic's sillier offerings only with a polished finish. For example there is a Belfast Sink in the Gents, but it was pristine. If it were an Antic pub it would look like it had been rescued from a skip.
This is supposed to be an outlet for the Redwillow brewery who produce a large selection of cask ales of various strengths and styles but here the five hand pumps had one solitary beer from them, the low ABV Headless (£2.90). The other four beers didn't look very interesting. I didn't even bother to go through the keg offerings as they were clearly just one big rip-off.
The only thing that saves this place from a dismal score is the fact that their one Redwillow beer was in excellent condition and not overpriced. The Treacle Tap around the corner or the Spoons across the road are much better options. This was the worst pub of the day by a mile.
On 15th November 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
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Real Ale Ray left this review about RedWillow
No Monday drinkers club here, as the pub is shut on a Monday. Note also on a Tues, Wed, Thurs, the pub opens at four and the rest of the week opens at 12. As mentioned below, the pub has a good selection of beers, 15 keg and 7 ales. I went for the Willow Mirthless, which had a good taste to it and was in tip top condition.
The interior is modern and trendy with suede booths over on the right, the bar front was finished in copper panels and the ceilings were painted red, blue and gold. The pub was moderately busy on our visit, which was ok for service.
On 14th August 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
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Al Bundy left this review about Redwillow
I actually thought this place was ok. A decent selection of real ales.
On 17th July 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about Redwillow
The Redwillow is a modern and attractive bar opened by the RedWillow brewery on the site of a former shop.
It's well laid out, feels comfortable and has many interesting, clever and unusual features which Mr. F describes below.
Inevitably given the contemporary nature of the place, the clientele is mixed and it seems to be something of a hit with Macclesfield's younger imbibers although they aren't necessarily in the majority. Most people had though scrubbed up well, us aside.
The bar runs across most of the left hand wall and is extensive, as it needs to be for the range of drinks offered.
Cask beers: six traditional handpumps had on RedWillow Heartless 4.9%, Feckless 4.1% and Headless 3.9% as well as Arbor Ace in the Hole 3.8%, Abbeydale Deception 4.1% and Gwatkins Silly Ewe cider 4.5%. The Heartless is a stout which went down well enough but this aside, the cask selection is low strength.
Keg beers: These are drawn from taps on the back wall numbered with roman numerals I to XV and on our visit were:
I: Birra del Borgo - Cortigiana 5.5%, II: Arbor - Doodackie 5.5%, III: Northern Monk - New World 6.2%, IV: Anderson Valley - Boont 5.8%, V: Fourpure - Oatmeal Stout 5.1%, VI: Arbor - 2014 7%, VII: Quantum - Small Beer 3%, VIII: Burning Sky - Saison 4.2%, IX: Tiny Rebel - Hadouken 7.4%, X: Anderson Valley - Hop Ottin 7%, XI: RedWillow - Homeless 4.2%, XII: West - Red Mungo 4.9%, XIII: RedWillow - Shameless 5.9%, XIV: Ross on Wye - Rubric (cider) 4.8% and XV: Vineyard - Prosecco 11%.
That's quite a choice with some well respected breweries in addition to RedWillow represented as well as some punchy beers. The Shameless IPA was very good although not as good and much more expensive than the cask version and the New World IPA was excellent but again expensive. Having only really tried Brewdog's keg products, this selection and it's quality was something of a revelation for me but I'd still have preferred the cask versions where available.
Both the keg and cask selections are listed on an easy to read screen behind the bar so it's easy to choose what to go for next whilst enjoying what you have.
There are also 50 gins available and a spanish ham hanging up behind the bar.
There's clearly a focus on keg products here but my experience of them was very good and it would be very easy to spend a day here trying the various beers, gins and nibbles. I'd happily return to do just that.
On 27th May 2014
- rating: 9
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]