Craft Beer in Manchester

Sandbar, 120 Grosvenor Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M1 7HL - Visit now

Sandbar, just off Oxford Road in Manchester, is a well-loved watering hole, with a great selection of ales and some pretty irresistible  stone-baked pizza.

Marble Arch Pub, 73 Rochdale Road, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M4 4HY - Visit now

Before I was introduced to Marble Beers, I mistakenly thought real ale was exclusive to middle-aged men nursing pot bellies beneath Iron Maiden t-shirts. Way before the trustafarians began slapping £7 price tags on tiny cans of uber-local beers scrawled with cartoons, Marble were producing the best stuff in town at an unbelievably reasonable price. They’re still good value and easily remain one of the best in town. The Arch itself is a beautiful pub with a food menu almost as appealing as its beers. You can also find Marble on Thomas Street and in Chorlton.

Port Street Beer House, 39-41 Port Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M1 2EQ - Visit now

Ideal for the true beer aficionado, the wide-windowed Port Street has an unrivalled selection of speciality ales – from seven handpulls, eighteen draft lines and over a hundred bottled beers – to be enjoyed in its ground floor bar, upstairs lounge or small beer garden space at the back.

GRUB Manchester, 50 Red Bank, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, M4 4HF - Visit now

Manchester’s legendary independent street food festival GRUB has found a permanent home behind Piccadilly Station, open every weekend and the choice of craft beer here can be superb.

BrewDog Manchester, 35 Peter Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M2 5BG - Visit now

Ahh BrewDog, the brewery the media love to hate. Okay, you now find their beers filling the fridges of Tesco and the publicity stunts got a little old, but the beer is good and their bar on Peter Street is a nice spot.

The Smithfield Market Tavern, 37 Swan St, Manchester, M4 5JZ

While it looks a lot like a traditional pub, you won’t find a sticky floor or the smell of stale beer. What you will find is darts, billiards, skittles and an excellent line-up of ales.

The New Oxford, 11 Bexley Square, Salford, Manchester, M3 6DB - Visit now

The Pilcrow, The Pilcrow, Sadler’s Yard, Hanover Street, NOMA, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M60 0AB - Visit now

The Pilcrow is “the pub that Manchester built” – over 10 months of volunteer workshops. Beautifully constructed, it’s an unusual community boozer in the new NOMA district.

Cask, 29 Liverpool Road, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M3 4NQ

Not strictly “real ale” specialist and certainly not the first choice for local brews, but it’s impossible to argue with Cask’s selection of continental beers. If you like yours bottled and north of 8%, look no further.

Beatnikz Republic, 35 Dale Street, Manchester, M1 2HF - Visit now

Beatnikz Republic Brewing Company is a microbrewery based in Manchester which has focused on innovative and high-quality beer since 2017.