The four stars are definitely warranted for this place as a music venue. In fact I LOVE it. Despite…read moreus getting hopelessly lost getting here and thereby missing half the set of the band we wanted to see, it turned out to be well worth our merry ground. There is ample space to park behind the unit, which is bizarrely located in a derelict railway arch that resembles an unofficial homeless shelter. As it turned out we weren't the only ones who were late due to the strange location. Many disgruntled friends had similar hide and seek adventures, only theirs cost them a few more quid in a taxi. One thing you need to be aware of before you go is that it is NOT the Raddison Edwardian! Wear warm clothing, and perhaps not your best tuxedo/evening dress, this place is basically a big dungeon with huge amps in one room and a makeshift bar in the other. The ceiling and walls near the bar area have something unGodly growing on them and the walls were very wet. Both of these I thought were cool features before realising that it wasn't in fact an artistic decisive deco rational endeavour. Once you get past the dirty wet walls and the strange fungus growing on the ceiling it's actually a fantastic music venue. The acoustics were incredible due to the large space and tunnel shaped interior of the main hall. The thing I loved about it was how different it was from other Manchester music venues. It had its own little charm, with tiny laser beam displays at the front as well as sniper like green/red lights emanating from the back which made it look like all the audience members had targets marked on their backs. All in all it was a very "cool" experience which kind of ended as soon as the gig. There was no hanging around and chatting in the hall. Everyone kind of wanted to get out of there, as an eery silence fell upon the empty music hall. I can envisage this being used in a future film project of mine for sure. It has magnificent production value for a horror/thriller film sequence. With its given name, it kinda demands it no?

Really shocked to find a wide variety of IPA's, East Coast and West Coast styles. Each one tried…read morewas delicious. Many English brewed IPA's are too malt forward, but, this brewery has done something different and you can taste it. Best beer in Manchester. They had a food vendor, but, we didn't try it. But, nice to have the option when drinking beers.

If you are near Manchester, England, it is definitely worth a visit to Cloudwatwr which raised the…read morebar for craft brewing in the UK. They make some crazy IPAs including some solid hazy varieties. The tasting room is large and it has a stage indicating they may have music at times. They have a small amount of snack items / food. The staff were friendly and eccentric. Oh and be sure to visit Track Brewing across the street. I'll definitely return someday.

I went here for the private party before Shebeen Festival, courtesy of the generous guys at…read moreBlackjack and Yelp. I'll just copy over what I said on the talk thread: What an amazing night having free access to the taps! I tried 7 different beers and they were all brilliant. And the food from Yakumama was outstanding - spicy beef empananda, crackling with guacamole, mushroom & quinoa croquetas and avocado and chocolate brownie...I cannot wait until they move to The Kitchens at Spinningfields this summer! Only downside was that it was absolutely freezing, definitely a space heater would have been in order! I imagine this is not a problem at all during the summer and it's a great place to spend a couple of hours below the railway arches listening to some good music and trying the beers right from the source!

When you combine great local beers served outside where they're brewed, delicious local street…read morefood, a DJ pumping out tunes that make you dance on your reclaimed timber bench under vertical gardens made of pallets, you get the Blackjack Brew Tap. The micro-brewery under a railway arch off Irk Street opened its doors to the beer-thirsty public at the weekend with both cask and keg options available. Wine, spirits and soft drinks were also on offer. Just outside the 'bar' were the dynamic duo Arepa!Arepa!Arepa! cooking up tasty Columbian food for the punters (http://arepaarepaarepa.blogspot.co.uk/). Their maize-based flatbreads complete with vegetarian or meat-tastic fillings are certainly a crowd pleaser - they can often be found at Levenshulme Market selling their wares. With the DJs twirling on the decks, the atmosphere was really buzzing, we all loved whiling away a good few hours there. As Nic R mentions, rumour has it that there will be more regular events taking place around the newly coined 'Beer Quarter', with other breweries due to move in soon. Watch this space, there's going to be a new hot-spot in our fair City of Mancunia ;)

This is one of my new favorite breweries in England - others include Verdant, Polly's, and…read moreCloudwater. This place makes some great quality beer and has some good cans to go. They are hitting their stride with nice collabs and starting to make some tasty stouts now. Tap room has lots of space in an industrial setting across the street from nearby Cloudwatee. Only negative I can think of is no WiFi and no food or snacks at all.

Manchester is spoilt on decent breweries close to the city who throw open there doors to the…read morepublic. We went here over the Christmas period for their independent and craft market and joint brewtap with Squawk Brewing. Only issue really is that the brewery is in a long arch under the rail line. So with some people in there and the markets tables it can be a little squeezy. I felt a little bad for the stall holders as mostly people were standing around enjoying a beer and there wasn't much room to check out the stall with ease. They had a really nice range of handmade gifts. I really enjoy Track's beers they are all very well balanced. Zoji there Black IPA was particularly good and was available on cask and keg. Lovely Choc/Caramel flavours on this beers as it warmed a little so my preference was for the less chilled cask version. They had some hot food on offer though I didn't have any it did smell particularly tasty and warming on this cold and wet day. With a replan of how they setup their open days they could make more use of the space. At any rate on this wet Winter day the brewery actually felt quite cosy.

So, who wouldn't say yes to the chance to spend three hours visiting all three of Marble's pubs in…read moreManchester AND get to look around their brewery? Ok, maybe people who don't like beer. Or walking. Or using the trams. But they wouldn't be reading this review anyway. I just happened to see on Twitter that Marble had collaborated with Manchester Guided Tours (http://www.manchesterguidedtours.com/) to run the 'guided walk' for a measly £15 per ticket, so I snapped a couple up and a fellow beer fiend/workmate and I counted down the days. We started at The Marble Arch (http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/the-marble-arch-manchester) where we had a half of Chocolate Marble and a short verbal history lesson about the pub, then it was a wander down the hill to the railway arches where they housed their brewery. It's not in the nicest area of the city, so it was no wonder there were no signs advertising what was hidden inside. Once the metal shutter was opened and we stepped in, we were met with a pretty sleek and clean interior. The secret meth kitchen in Breaking Bad immediately sprang to mind... Cue 30 minutes of smelling different malt and hops, sampling freshly brewed Lagonda directly from the tanks (supervised, obviously) and having a wander around to check out how they make some of the best beers in Manchester. A terrific stop on the tour, which carried onwards to Marble in the NQ (http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/marble-manchester) for a half of Pint and finally, via tram, to Marble Beerhouse in Chorlton (http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/marble-beerhouse-manchester) for another Lagonda. Pure bliss.

The Gasworks Brew Bar is located on Peter Street in Manchester, around 1/4 of a mile away from…read moreDeansgate Railway Station. From the outside this place does look nice, and inside it is okay, albeit this overall feel was ruined by the floor inside which was really slippy, and it felt like poor and cheap flooring. The service here was also poor, as I walked in, I wasn't greated straight away and it was hard to get a waiter's attention, eventually I did and he slowly walked over to me. Despite advertising gluten free bread outside, he told me they had no gluten free options at all which I was shocked. He blamed it on a new menu being introduced in 2 weeks, but in my opinion if they are advertising things they have not got for a prolonged period that is false advertising. I wasn't just told there was no gluten free bread, I was told there was nothing which I also highly doubt and feel the staff member was slightly lazy and just wanted to get rid of me which was a shame, this is the main reason I feel this place deserves a single one star rating: False advertising and awful service, with the slippy and sticky floor also being influencal in my decision

The Gasworks Brew Bar is the latest venue from the team behind The Dockyard bars in MediaCityUK and…read moreSpinningfields - and this place is seriously vast. The First Street area of the city has been crying out for a pub since its inception and the two Dockyard pubs have really made positive additions to their locations, so optimism was high on hearing the news they'd be opening here as well. It gets its name from the former Gaythorn Gasworks on which it's built, with industry being the inspiration behind its interior. At the bar, you'll find local beers from the likes of Brightside and ShinDigger alongside the lacklustre-yet-still-hugely-popular lagers. Wine and 'Docktails' (*cringe*) are available for the non-beer drinkers. It differs from its sister bars by having an in-house micro-brewery, so you can enjoy a pint of their house brew Refractory Pale Ale. There's word that local brewers will be creating collaboration beers with them in the near future too. The food menu is almost identical to that of The Dockyard, with classics such as burgers, hot dogs, ribs, wings and Sunday roasts. Some friends and I came here before a gig at Gorilla and it was seriously heaving (it took an age to be served at the bar) - but we managed to bag a table and things got a lot better after we'd eaten! Expect it'll continue to be very busy due to its proximity to HOME, but it's sheer size should mean you don't have to wait too long for a table to become free. A good edition to the area.

A Sunday brew tap welcomed me to the Manchester Brewing Co for the first time. It was a real family…read moreaffair with children enjoying themselves with face paint and toys while their parents sampled the beers. These local breweries are becoming increasingly popular and the brew taps offer a great way to sample the local produce. The beer was great - interesting flavours. The ladies serving were delightful and smiley - particularly welcoming and clearly enjoying themselves. Let's hope their location quite far out of town doesn't keep people away. Definitely another positive addition on the Manchester drink and food scene

Good beer, welcoming people, can't wait till The end of the…read moremonth to go again maybe this time have some of the street food.

Seven Bro7hers has been set up by, you guessed it, seven brothers (Keith, Kit, Guy, Luke, Daniel,…read moreNathan and Greg McAvoy) and is one of the newest Manchester craft ale ventures. Their microbrewery, in the Worsley area of Salford just a short distance from MediaCityUK, recently began producing beers which you can buy at nearby bars The Dockyard (http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/the-dockyard-salford) and Lime (http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/lime-salford?osq=Lime+Bar). At the moment they have their flagship beer, an India Pale Ale, plus a Watermelon Wheat beer. Their intention is to eventually sell seven staple beers, with a range of seasonal brews to be launched throughout the year. They have big ambitions, if the popularity of their launch evening was anything to go by. I'll certainly be keeping my eyes open for their bottles, knowing fully well they've been filled less than 20 minutes' walk from my desk!

A fresh new business run by a super friendly family, based in Salford. There are - surprise…read moresurprise - seven brothers (and incidentally, four sisters too) in the family and the brothers got themselves together just eighteen months ago and decided to set up their own brewery. Why not?! Each last Friday in the month, their in-house tap room opens to the public with beers and bands a-plenty creating a relaxed yet thoroughly entertaining afternoon and evening.