Burton Roadites had previously been able to buy a few select bottles of decent ale from the…read morewonderful Reserve Wines, but the Road had really been crying out for a craft beer shop. Enter Simon and Rob! These two beer lovers have gone with an elegant, minimalist aesthetic for their shop front, embracing the scene's move away from old-school design and towards something far more stylish. But don't worry, lovers of rustic chic - they've got comforting wooden shelves and crates of German beer stacked around the place, striking a nice balance between tradition and sleek modernity. This balance is reflected in the beers they stock - you can pick up all of your old favourites, while also choosing from a range which would get the hearts of hop-fiend beer nerds racing. Brilliant British beer, local ale, hop forward Americana, German lager, Belgian beer, Welsh cider, sweet fruit-flavoured beer, homemade pies, cordials... There's something here for every palate. The Epicurean has only been open for a couple of weeks, but already it feels like it's been on the Road forever. They've already hosted a couple of Meet the Brewers, so keep an eye on their Twitter and Facebook for upcoming events. Simon and Rob really do care about providing people with great beer, and, as the sign says, if you particularly want something that they don't have, they'll do their best to get their hands on it. You can't say fairer than that. (For a more detailed write up, you can pop over to my beer blog for a previously published full post about The Epicurean: http://rowanmolyneux.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/new-beer-shop-epicurean.html)

If I was to win the lottery, the Epicurean would be what my garage would look like! No joke - the…read morewalls are absolutely rammed with some of the finest beers on offer in the Greater Manchester area and it's somewhere that's obviously been set up by craft beer heads on a mission to make the place totally awesome! The nice thing about this place is that they have the 'amazing but standard' selections from breweries on this and that side of the pond but also stock all the different special varieties of the brand. For instance there must have been about 7 different types of Sierra Nevada on offer and closer to home the same amount from breweries such as Buxton, First Chop and Thornbridge - while still loads of room for smaller more boutique breweries! Ok so craft beer is never going to be cheap (with the news that hops are starting to run out and farmers can't keep up with demand, it's probably never going to go down) but I don't see the prices at the Epicurean being any more expensive than similar stores in Mancunia (you can buy cases in store of more generic craft beers like Longboard if you're having a bbq etc and want to save some cash) I went for the Buxton Imperial Black IPA - £2.75 - well worth the purchase, super rich and super hoppy and the FCB from First Chop which is another favourite at the mo - pretty good for £2.40! My wife was also pretty happy with her Timmermans Framboise - so it ticked all the boxes for our quality boozy weekend :-) Next time I'm in West Didsbury, I'll be popping in and picking up a few special bottles to enjoy!

Carringtons is no place for Lambrini girls and Fosters fans, but if you appreciate fancy beer, wine…read moreand spirits, you'll love it! An award-winning off licence, it prides itself on offering things that are a little out of the ordinary. So you can expect to see a great mix of beers from tiny local breweries, as well as hard-to-find world beers, like New York's Brooklyn Lager and San Francisco's Anchor Steam Beer. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable and are always willing to make recommendations. So if you take a trip to this boozy treasure trove, you could end up finding the beer of your dreams! I can't really comment on the range of wines and spirits available I'm all about the beer. But I'm confident that even the fussiest wine lover will be impressed! My only gripe with this place is that it closes far too early! Most days, they seem to shut about 7pm and they're closed all day Sunday. If they stayed open until 8 or 9pm, I'm sure they'd get loads more customers. I know I'd visit a lot more!

Healthy looking wine merchants on the approach to Didsbury Village…read more It wasn't that long ago that the place was to be purchased and transmogrified into yet another (and one can only presume) soulless bar. Thankfully, and for whatever reason (pressure group one imagines), this never happened and we still have this wonderful menagerie of booze. Not only do they stock a large range of wines (and I haven't yet managed to choose a dodgy wine, unlike what can happen at supermarkets with their constant 50% off deals) but they also sell a fascinating array of beers (majority of which are British Premium) and ciders and malt whiskeys. Always willing to make a suggestion on your behalf (try as I do, I still have an extremely limited knowledge of the vino) they'll work around your budget (which again is usually extremely limited!). Haven't been recommended a wine that's probably best off in the Balsamic vinegar section in Morrisons. From what I can gather, most of the wines are from within the 'old school EU'...which suits me fine. You just can't recreate the romance of a real corked French number can you? I must add that it's blinking cold in there (the interior resembles a Canadian lodge) and the guys who run are usually decked out in Arctic puffer jacketsbut I guess this is to keep the stock at a certain temperatureI should have asked, perhaps the boiler has never been fixed? There's a couple more Carringtons (one in Chorlton and one in North Manchester).

Twice I've been to Heaton Hops now and it's twice I've been bowled over by how immense it is…read more It's the sort of place you dream of opening yourself for you and your beer-loving friends to spend every evening for the rest of your natural life. They seem to always have a very decent selection of eight keg and two cask ales on tap (the pics on their Twitter account @HeatonHops is evidence enough of that); and are supporters of both local breweries and those from further afield. Their fill station is a genius idea - glass flagons with a choice of four keg beers for you to enjoy at home. They charge £10 for a deposit on the flagon, plus the cost of the chosen beer. In addition, they have a large range of local, national and imported bottled and canned beers on the shelves for you to buy and take away. Locally popular and certainly loved, owners Damian and Charlotte should be extremely proud of what they have. My friends and I are planning on making this a regular haunt!

Cracker little bar/bottle shop, shame it's so far from my doorstep, I just don't get out here…read moreenough. Always a good selection of beer on draught and their bottle selection is fantastic. People drop in on their way home from work to fill flagons from their specialised counter pressure system which is a sight to behold. Costs £10 deposit per bottle I believe but you get this back on return of the bottle, most simply exchange for a refill when they're back though. Can get a little squeezy as it's not the biggest store front (there is more seating downstairs) but it's enjoyable to sit in the window with a pint and have a chat.

Slightly expensive but a great selection of new beers to try.read more

On my way to Tib Street Tavern, with about 20 minutes to spare before meeting a friend, I popped…read moreinto Beermoth at about 8PM on a Saturday. "Hi, would you like a drink?" Why yes, yes I would! 30 seconds later, I've the immense pleasure of drinking about a third of a pint of a complimentary, and excellent, Dutch Saison. These guys clearly know their stuff. In one corner I overheard two (of course) bearded fellows discussing the distressing dearth of qualified beer bloggers in the UK, only one of which (apparently) has ever undertaken any palate training. Recommendations from staff are always spot-on and I think it's fair to say that Beermoth has categorically the best beer selection in all of Manchester, if not the North West. It's the only place other than Port Street Beer House, for example, that I've ever seen stock (any variety of) Schneider Weisse Tap X. Needless to say, I felt obliged to buy a beer from Beermoth after the freebie, and drinking it next door in the Tib Street Tavern (instead of buying a pint there) was one of the best decisions, if ever so slightly cheeky, that I'd made that evening. I really hope it's already super-dooper-obvious, but I'll state it one more time: the staff at Beermoth are all lovely, helpful and knowledgeable. If you like craft beer at all, go to Beermoth. Do it now (unless it's 10AM and they're not open, that would be silly). Pick their brains (again, not literally, that would be all zombie-like and gross) and buy a beer (or six). You won't regret it.

There comes a time in every young adult's life when they realise they're simply not a student…read moreanymore, and your standard 3 for £12 plonk or multipack beer from Bargain Booze ain't going to cut it. You need something special. Why, you're a grown-up, you've a good job, you pay bills, you rent your own place, you're in a proper relationship and you're having people over. You want these people to have something a bit different to remember your soiree by. Well thank you Carringtons for shouldering that responsibility. Walking around this shop is like being six again and cooing over the Pick 'n' Mix at Woolworths, only this time you know how much everything costs because you're paying for it yourself. Yep, the rush of guilt from tugging on Mum's hand and whinging at her way back then comes soaring over again. Anyway, during my first introduction to Carringtons, I had a request that was both specific and vague in equal measure. I needed local beers, European beers, some nice Prosecco and a good gin. I had bugger all to worry about in the very capable hands of Rosco. He immediately packed up a couple of bottles of Prosecco into a box for me, took me round the shop pointing out some great beers, and when it came to the gin he said, 'Can you come tomorrow or do you need this for tonight? We've got a Brockmans delivery coming and that's great gin.' I was most certainly free the next day, and any yelper who made it to the Yelp Summer Stunner (http://vimeo.com/28057905) will know how amazing that is. Thanks to the introduction from Carringtons, we brought Brockmans to the Manchester masses! They've a spot in Didsbury Village too, and they're certainly the place to go if you love your Brewdog beers (I know several Mancunians who do). The service is great, the staff are knowledgeable and they love what they do. Can't say fairer than that for a great independent booze specialist!

If you're tired of smart price vodka and wine in cartons just labelled 'Australian Red Wine' then I…read morecan definitely recommend a trip to Carringtons. Stocking a range of boutique beers, handpicked wines and high-end spirits there is something here to suit all tastes. It may be a little bit pricey, as has been noted, but for that special occasion, gift or even a little treat for yourself (Just a couple of well-deserved bottles of Konig Ludwig Weissbier) Carringtons is perfect. The staff are knowledgeable about what they're selling - I know because I once worked at an off licence at home and I had absolutely no clue about what I was selling. I can sense the genuine opinion in their voice. They're not pushing three for twos or trying to make you buy lager by the case, they are happy to make recommendations according to your budget and personal taste. They run wine tastings and even a blog, how many branches of Threshers or Bargain Booze do you know that can say that.

Corks Out is my favorite wine shop in Warrington. They have all of the old world classics, but also…read morestock renegade new winemakers that are challenging the way things have always been done. I love to go in and give them a region, a style or something I want to pair with and just see what they recommend. Something (or sometimes three things) catch my eye!

Ok the bottom line with Corks out is that their selection of Wines is great. They stock wines that…read moremight not be available anywhere else, without hurting the wallet too much. Whether you are a wine buff or otherwise Corks ut has something to offer. The staff are very helpful, and more than happy to take you on a journey of discovery of a new spirit or wine, giving you good information about its history and all that hoopla. Very very interesting, such a shame I dont drink wine, but the experiance of visiting with a friend was really interesting, and I can imagine it would be a ball for wine buffs and wine lovers alike.

A true West Didsbury institution, Reserve pride themselves on making wine accessible to everyone…read more I must admit that the concept of going into a specialist shop and being met with floor to ceiling shelves of wine can seem daunting to many at first - but the guys here are excellent at finding out what you like and making suggestions if you're not sure. Every bottle on show has a colour-coded label below it, so you can easily see what price bracket it is as well as the actual price. Some have additional 'tasting notes' so you can find out more about them. Alongside the innumerable bottles of red, white, rosé, sparkling wine and Champagne they also stock various spirits, bottled beers, cordials and even Japanese sake). They regularly host tasting events in the shop - look out for these advertised on Twitter (@ReserveWinesUK) or sign up for their regular newsletter via email. There's something on their shelves to suit everyone, and they only sell quality produce from around the world. I know for a fact that they taste them all beforehand so you can be assured that they meet their seal of approval! Tip: Every bottle they sell is also available to buy via their website or over the phone. Tip: You can also find Reserve at Altrincham's Market House and Bents Garden & Home in Glazebury near Warrington.

There's nothing better than a good independent wine shop to serve the local vino buffs. I'm not…read morepretending to be any kind of connoisseur myself but it's obvious to anyone with a vague interest in wine that the Reserve Wine Shop is a smart choice if you're looking for something different. There's a great emphasis on family-owned wines and unusual labels here, which have obviously been painstakingly sourced and tested for quality. Amongst their favourites are Bouscasse, Pacherenc 'Brumaire' 06, Amirault, Bourgueil 05 and Mount Horrocks, Semillon 05. Beyond high quality wines, the shop also sells spirits, beers, and champagnes. A lot of the products are priced reasonably too, with special offers often posted on a blackboard outside.

I only made a fleeting visit to The Beer Shop in order to buy some brews to drink at home. The shop…read moreitself is not much to look at from the outside, not having similar levels of styling as some local rivals such as Bottle or Heaton Hops, but as the old saying goes "You can't judge a book by its cover" so I strode on in anyway. Inside there are a few tables where you can sit and partake of one of the beers they have on tap, or presumably crack open any one of the numerous bottles they have on the shelves - once you've paid for it, of course. In terms of range, there didn't seem to be too many available on the taps but that wasn't an issue as I was after booze to go. That, though, was a tough decision. There was a good range of beer here. Whilst the other bottle shops in the area tend to have quite a good range of local beers, I can't recall ever seeing them stock some of what I consider the classics and which I "cut my teeth" drinking at uni - Trappist ales like the Rochefort 12 etc. That was a good hit of nostalgia for me, but in the end I went for a couple of cans of Beavertown (Neck Oil and 8 Ball) as well as a FlyingDog IPA and a Weird Beard Excel Spreadsheet Ninja, which at £11 for the four came in at a bargain price. The gent behind the counter who served me was polite and friendly, and also seemed to really know his stuff despite looking as though he'd spent the day both serving patrons and sampling the goods himself. (Though, be honest, if you owned a bottle shop could you resist the odd one or two?) The only downside to The Beer Shop is that it's kinda not really near anything else; it's off the beaten track, as they say. If you're wandering past and fancy a swift pint, then it's definitely worth a pit stop, but I'm not sure I'd set out specifically to visit. (Aside from having to go back and get a couple in whilst seated. For Yelp. You understand.)

The range is endless. Craft beer, ales, cider n more. Just leave it to Dean. He'll sort yr taste…read moreout!