Liverpool 2024 - first visits

We arrived in Liverpool about 6pm on a Sunday evening and battled against strong winds for the short walk from James Street station to the nearby Travelodge on The Strand, situated between the iconic Liver Building and Liverpool One bus station.

Azvex Brewing Company Taproom

After hotel check in, the first priority was to visit Azvex taproom which closes at 8pm on Sundays until reopening on Thursday. It was a blustery walk of just over a half mile and the illuminated sign led us to the door at Unit 16, Gibraltar Row.

The taproom end of the high-ceilinged industrial unit has a contemporary look with yellow chairs for long tables and higher grey chairs ranged along the bar.

Twelve beers are listed on black slates showing the beer style and price per pint or 2/3 pint, depending on style and strength. The range included Dockers Umbrella Helles Lager, The Cake is a Lie 12.5% ABV Imperial Stout and Mana-Wild Berry Smoothie Sour.

Tasters were available and we ordered half pints of Electronic Butterfly and Magnificent Tree Frog. The cost for the two pale ales, served in branded tumbler glasses, was £5.40. 

N.B. Due to medication affecting Tim's taste on this trip, there are no tasting notes in this post.

The stainless steel conical fermenters line one wall and other brewing vessels are in a central area of the roped off brewery area of the unit.

There is a tall glass-fronted fridge near the beer taps end of the bar where customers can select canned beers to drink in or take away. We purchased two cans of Electronic Butterfly to take away.

On this occasion, there was no opportunity to visit the nearby tasting room of Carnival Brewing Co as Unit 3, Gibraltar Row, as it usually closes at 6pm on Sundays.

The Captain Alexander

First visited after a battle against strong winds on the walk back from Azvex Brewery taproom, The Captain Alexander, opposite James Street station, was the closest pub to our hotel and became a convenient place for evening meals and breakfasts. The pub is named after Captain Alexander Allan who founded the Allan shipping line in 1819.

The entrance lobby and open plan interior featured original artwork by Martin Kavanagh and a number of interesting displays in line with the J D Wetherspoon practice. One display mentions that the unique carpet pattern was inspired by a photo of the interior of an Allan Line ship - S.S. Scandinavian.

Service was good and several guest ales, including Titanic Plum Porter, were available at the bar (£2.72 pint).

The next morning there were blue skies and we met up for breakfast with several others from our group staying at the same hotel. After another windy walk to visit RIBA North to see a film as part of the temporary Tate Liverpool relocation, we would rejoin the group at Peter Kavanagh's after a bus journey starting from Liverpoool One bus station. Alighting at the eastern end of Myrtle Street, we stopped to look in The Caledonia before walking south down Catharine Street as far as Egerton Street. 

We passed Canning Street, a principal thoroughfare in the Georgian quarter and would later return this way en route to The Belvedere.

The Belvedere

100 metres further along Catharine Street is the junction for Falkner Street. Head west here and turning north after 50 metres you will find the entrance to The Belvedere at 8 Sugnall Street. 

Tim chose Release the Pressure (Nightjar Brew Co, Mytholmroyd) from the four cask ales on the bar. Four years previously, Tom Anderson was serving at Liverpool's Ship and Mitre when our group visited. It was a nice surprise when tankard recognised Tom behind the bar at the Belvedere and reminded him of our previous meeting, mentioned in a Liverpool 2019 post which features the photo that Tim took of Tom with a copy of Ullage magazine. Tom is a brewer and manager of the Belvedere so it is not surprising to find that our group was happy with the beers served.

A blackboard on the opposite wall to the bar lists a range of craft beers and lagers. There wasn't any comfortable seating in this room so our group took our beers (and Tim's pork pie @ £3.50) to the larger room at the other end of the pub. Soon afterwards Tom carried in a bag of logs and lit a fire to warm the room for us.

Here's a photo of our group in the 'Smoke Room'. Dennis (right insert) had just departed when the main photo was taken with Les taking his former place between tankard and Bod on the left and Mark on the right. Although the plants on the window sill looked real they proved to be rather good plastic versions.

The classic interior of this listed pub, featured in the CAMRA National Inventory of historic pub interiors, is complemented with other tasteful additions like framed black and white photos of Liverpool life from recent decades. There is much evidence of etched glass both for the main windows and internally.

We also had the benefit of overhearing the conversation Les had with a local customer who coincidentally was also familiar with Reading, a town that most of our group are more familiar with than Liverpool. We were treated to an explanation of how politics has evolved in Liverpool including its Irish links, a black community established long before the 'Windrush generation', antipathy towards the police ('Bizzies') and until the mid 1970s and a more conservative outlook than other Northern cities.

Those of our group who departed after only one beer also missed out on some live music after several musicians cleared a space for themselves on the other side of the room for a practice session. Using bound folders of music and lyrics their repertoire included: The Night Before (Beatles) Just Dropped In (Kenny Rogers et al) and Make Me Smile (Steve Harley / Cockney Rebel). 

The Belvedere hosts an Unplugged Open Mic night on Thursdays and a blackboard lists regular events on for other nights of the week.

Daylight was fading by the time the rest of us departed The Belvedere (photo above) and set off to meet up with Dennis and Jon at the Roscoe Head (previously visited by Tim in 2019). The fire had not been lit and after a beer there and some discussion about where to go next we settled on The Engineer / The White Hart as our next destination although this would involve retracing our steps to some extent.

The Engineer / The White Hart

The two pubs linked by a shared central conservatory area opened on 16 January 2024. They were not marked on Google maps yet but thanks to intelligence received by Dennis and Jon about the expanding 1936 Pub Company in Liverpool we knew to head for 23 Hope Street.

The Guide, Liverpool link has a report about the opening by the 1936 Pub Company which also operates The Vines and the Queen of Hope Street.

It is also possible to access both pubs from the entrance to The Engineer on Arrad Street which runs parallel.

Our group walked through the White Hart and the conservatory and found a ground floor table in the Engineer. There is a mish mash of furnishings and decorations (with twin themes of hand tools and alpine skiing) and a separate bar, with four cask ales, in this space.

If the beer range at The Engineer is not to your taste it is also possible to choose from a wider range of cask ales in the White Hart and take one back to your seat.

Tim was happy to see a framed Babar print at balcony level where there are several 'snug' rooms.

Beers may be served in dimple glasses at The Engineer which has branded beer mats to remind you which part of the pub you are in!

It was surprisingly busy on a Monday night for a pub which had only just opened although it had recently been featured in the Liverpool Echo.

From here we would make our separate ways to the next rendezvous, Doctor Duncan's, on foot or by bus.

Doctor Duncan's

Doctor Duncan's is now a Mikhail Group pub that operates several bars in Liverpool including The Brewery Tap in Cains Brewery Village. It's located at 1 St John's Lane, facing St John's Gardens between St George's Hall and the Ship & Mitre.

It was quiet on this Monday evening, a day when the pub's kitchen is closed. There is a Victorian pharmacy cabinet display inside and our group were seated in a dimly lit rear section of the pub.

There is another antique pharmacy cabinet mounted on a rear wall.

Alfred Waterhouse was the architect for the building which was completed in 1898. A room on the other side of the central bar has the original ornate tiles from the building's original use by the Pearl Assurance Company. After taking some photos, Tim and Meg soon departed in search of a pub with food but would return to Doctor Duncan's on Tuesday afternoon for a drink with Mark before his train back to London and their visit to the nearby Walker Art Gallery.

Earlier on Tuesday, after breakfast at The Richard John Blackler, the group had crossed Lime Street in the rain and headed to Ma Egerton's Stage Door, located at 9 Pudsey Street, directly behind the Liverpool Empire theatre.

Mark, Les, Jon and tankard pictured in the pub with a strong theatrical theme. Lancaster Black and Whakahari (Purple Moose) were the only two cask ales available. The piped music was played at quite a loud volume and the selection included Don Henley - The Boys of Summer.

The redeeming features of the pub for Tim was the art nouveau style fireplace (although not lit) and the interesting theatrical displays.

This post complements a Liverpool 2024 - revisits post mainly featuring Peter Kavanagh's, The Roscoe Head, The Vernon Arms and the Lion Tavern.

Quinno in Vilnius

A guest post by Quinten Taylor, Pub data and Beer scores coordinator for Reading & Mid Berks CAMRA (2023) who is on Twitter as @SirQuinno. [Photos by Quinten Taylor & Tanya Kynaston]

Baltic beers – Lithuania

Welcome to part two of the Baltic beer blog! In my previous article I focussed on Latvia (Riga). Today it’s the turn of Vilnius (the locals pronounce it Vill-nus – no need for that random ‘I’!) in Lithuania.

Vilnius was certainly more mysterious than Riga when it came to pre-trip research and I wasn’t necessarily expecting much but I ended-up pleasantly surprised by the beer scene and even more surprised by the place itself – I really fell for it and it’s immediately in my top 5 revisit list.

Background

Like Riga, there’s plenty to see and do in Vilnius aside from drinking. It’s a different vibe here though – in the picturesque old town it’s much more laid-back and with far fewer Western European/Anglo tourists. 

You should always do a free walking tour and the two we did with Vilnius Free Walking Tours were great, with the Undiscovered Vilnius stroll being a real highlight with an excellent guide in Ugnė who took us through the various architectural ages of town, finishing-up in the Šnipiškės area – a real contrast of aged wooden houses just behind the ultra-modern skyscraper quarter. 

The tour route also crosses a road with lady traffic lights! Tours start from the picturesque Cathedral Square; whilst you’re waiting, go find the floor tile which marks the end point of the Baltic Way – a human chain of approximately two million people spanning 430 miles across the three Baltic states in 1989 as part of the pro-independence movement from the USSR.

Other interesting stops include the Museum of Illusions which whilst pricey was good fun and also was notable for clearly displaying the post Ukraine invasion antipathy towards Russia – the flag against every translation had been blacked-out. 

At the Money Museum (free, ironically) you can see a huge coin pyramid - a Guinness World Record holder! 

Plus many other oddities and a grumpy security guard.

A day trip out to Trakai to see the lovely small town and beautiful castle is highly recommended. There’s a regular bus service but be warned, there are small multi-stopper minibuses which are for locals only and you’ll be clearly waved away on a busy day – don’t rely on Google for your times! The tourist buses are clearly labelled ‘Trakai’. If you do get caught out on the return leg there’s a neat little bar (Alynas, which sells said brewery’s beers) in the modern bus terminal complex as well as a large and well-stocked supermarket.

On a sunny day, we sat in a swing overlooking the water which made for a bucolic few minutes. We ate a punnet of super-fresh strawberries from the supermarket at the bus terminal whilst waiting for the tourist bus to arrive, having been caught out by the locals' minibus scenario!

A hotel tip; we stayed at Hotel Vilnia which was fabulous – reasonable rates for excellent rooms and a buffet breakfast fit for a king (pro-tip - bag as much fish in you as you can, great margins!). The huge park opposite (Bernardine Garden) is really well cared for and a is a wonderful stroll on a sunny days. 

Take a trip from there up to the Three Crosses for a superb view of the city.

Beer and bars

Less well-developed than Riga when it comes to craft beer, the Vilnius scene is a bit more traditional in outlook but there are plenty of interesting places if you are willing to put the effort in – and occasionally go off the beaten track. 

The old town is a bit of a warren, so expect to take a wrong turn at least once! Prices are very reasonable, slightly cheaper than Riga in all. Most places are bar service and those which are table are mentioned as such. I’ve added a rating to guide you to what I think are the ‘must-do’ places if time is tight. Most capital-dwelling Lithuanians under the age of 40 speak decent English but there’s less immediate fluency than in Riga, and the older generations can’t really communicate in it, so be prepared to use Google Translate and hand gestures. Usual rules apply – learn a few key words in advance and you’ll have a smoother ride.

Alaus Biblioteka - Trakų g. 4, 01132 Vilnius

Fancy a guess at translating the name? Yes, it’s ‘beer library’. Not immediately obvious from the street, you need to go up a couple of flights of stairs to locate the bar which indeed is done-out in an athenaeum style. 

The bottled range is ordered by style with each having its own compartment – there’s a picture on the far wall which indicates what lives where. 17 taps with around a 70/30 split in favour of local brews. 

There are two excellent seating options – the tiny balcony (don’t look too closely at the state of repair though) and, behind a secret door, a private room which looks like it seated a dozen or so. A laid-back atmosphere, with nobody in a hurry. Rated 8.5

Alaus kolonėlė - Rinktinės g. 55, 09207 Vilnius

A 30 minute walk from old town out into the modern Vilnius where the locals live (the 33 bus can be taken at a very reasonable price for a 10 minute journey). It’s located next to a thundering main road in a modern colonnade overlooking out-of-town megastores and doesn’t look over-promising on approach. 

However inside is somewhere you might feel you recognise – it’s a quasi-micropub, basically. Fairly homespun but not without a bit of charm. There are a good number of lesser-spotted Lithuanian brews here, a number with a traditional farmhouse bent. Service is friendly though beware that being this far out of the old town means that the English will likely be as pidgin as your Lithuanian. The locals clearly thought us interlopers slightly peculiar but everyone rubbed along and we enjoyed it enough to stay for a second round. Apynio Barzda Su Kanapėmis by Biržų Alus was a stand-out; brewed with cannabis seeds, we had it for comedy value but it was actually a really nice, nutty brew. Rated 7.5

Alaus Namai - A. Goštauto g. 8, 01108 Vilnius

Another local’s redoubt, just off the bank of the Neris river (which makes for a pleasant stroll back into the old town). This is another subterranean bar which is surprisingly large and is set-up akin to a Bierkeller in feel – fairly dim and lots of wood. Aimed at the middle-aged male sports crowd, there’s nonetheless a good range of interesting local beer to try. 

We were taken by the wonderful collection of carved wood fonts and some comedy fake handpumps. Beware that the owner speaks about as much English as you do Lithuanian and the place is a Faraday Cage as far as mobile signal goes, so be prepared to point and gesture – probably best visited at a quieter time so you don’t annoy the locals by holding up the service. There’s a laminated menu, which is of limited use unless you have Google Translate on your phone. We got lucky on our first round with two exceptionally good dark beers from the Trakai-based Pilialaukis – Pinčius and Pekla. Less so on the second, where one tasted of ullage. Rated 6.5

Banks of the Neris river

Alinė Leičiai - Stiklių g. 4, 01131 (table service) / Leičių Bravoras - Didžioji g. 18, 01128

OK so a warning to start with. There appears to be two venues which share the brewery beer and must be owned by the same people; a streetside restaurant (Alinė Leičiai) and a bar (which I assume to be the brewery - Leičių Bravoras) the latter of which is tucked away over the crossroads, through an arch, in a courtyard. 

Google Maps seemed confused and so were we. In the end the bar was closed so we popped into the restaurant (Alinė Leičiai) which is a traditional rustic affair. 

To our disappointment most of their beers weren’t actually on! Jolly service at least from the barrel shaped young man who struggled to deal with the stereotypical haughty French tourists. The food looked very hearty – we’d have eaten there had we been staying for an extra day. Rated 5 (but the brewery bar may well be much better for drinking)

Beer House - Mėsinių g. 4, 01130 Vilnius (table service)

Our first stop, located in the old town. A tidy mid-market place with polished dark wood and a central European feel. A bit of confusion about getting served as despite there being a huge bar it turned out to be table service. The proffered menu had a fair list of world beers to have a go at, though most brews would be familiar to the seasoned Euro-toper and were concentrated around the Benelux/Germany area though a few standard Lithuanian beers were listed as well. Fancied a Flemish and the Rodenbach Classic was one new to me. We ate here and the food was decent, if somewhat aloof on the service. Rated 5.5

Būsi Trečias - Totorių g. 18, 01121 Vilnius (table service)

Traditional rustic bar with a Germanic feel. They brew their own beer - nothing to write home about - but the win here is the food which is fantastic hearty fayre at very reasonable prices with friendly service (try the Witch's Tears and you won’t need to eat again for the rest of the day). 

There’s also a huge library of board games. Whilst this sits in the old town, it felt like they don’t get too many English-speaking visitors. A good atmosphere – if only the beer had been a bit better… Rated 7 (or 9 if you eat!)

Craft & Draft - Gedimino pr. 5, 01103 Vilnius

Located in the upmarket shopping streets of Vilnius, this is a subterranean brewpub. Very modern and upmarket inside with surprisingly few customers as well. We tried three of their own brews, none of which particularly pulled-up any trees. The dark beer I wanted was off, and that seems to get better reviews. However on a hot, stifling day, the cool cellar was a welcome break! Rated 5.5

Girta Bitė - Gedimino pr. 5, 01103 Vilnius

OK something a bit different for you. This is a bar which specialises in mead which Sir Doris wanted to try. Upmarket place, very modern and appealing to the moneyed, trendy crowd but in we went anyway! 

Main reason for visiting was to try the flight of meads which ranged from mellow to rocket fuel, but all rather enjoyable in a silly way. Rated 6

Nisha craft Capital - L. Stuokos-Gucevičiaus g. 9, 01122 Vilnius

Like a hipster version of a bijou brown café, this is located close to the gorgeous Bernardine Garden and Three Crosses, so an ideal pit-stop. There’s a good range of taps and bottles with a satisfying breadth of countries and styles. Unfortunately we only got a few minutes in here as we left it a bit late in the day, but I’d have happily stayed for seconds any other time. Rated 8.5

Špunka (Savičiaus Špunka - Savičiaus g. 9, 01127 / Etmonų Špunka – Etmonų g. 3, 01305)

There are three branches of Špunka (no giggling at the back!) in town and we tried two. They follow a fairly similar pattern (although each has its own individual character); basic, rustic feel with a younger person’s atmosphere. Around 8-10 taps majoring on Lithuanian beer, with pretty much the same range in each, though the beer does change over the course of the month by the looks of it. 

You can find beers from Lithuanian craft stagers like Dundulis and Širvėnos bravoras. Pick of the bunch was a Širvėnos brew featuring birch and matcha tea – an odd but satisfying combination! Rated 7/7