UK Beer Scene – In Praise of the Beer Town

Several months ago I penned my list of what I considered to be the “best” beer cities in the UK. 

As with many such things, this report came loaded with my own, personal bias. This is because it was about what I, specifically, liked best about these cities, and why they are my favourite places to visit pubs and drink lovely beer. But it also demonstrated the shortcomings of such an endeavour, because it meant that some really good places to drink were overshadowed on the premise of me restricting the list to a top ten. 

This meant that Norwich, a brilliant beer city, and one loved by many, wasn’t written about at all, and that’s a tragedy really. I love drinking there, and while it’s not in my own current top ten, in reflection it just felt weird that it wasn’t included. Like a gaping, light-sucking void was left in the beer-universe, and I was responsible for its creation. Now I feel like I should hold myself accountable.

Recent travel has also taken me to such places as Preston, Chester and Derby — all of them technically classed as ‘cities’ — but none of them featured, crushed, as they were,  by the gravity of such places as Newcastle, Sheffield, and, of course, my home city of Manchester. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I feel like it’s a travesty of my own creation. Why should I, someone who enjoys specific cities, rob people of the chance to enjoy venues like Chester’s That Beer Place, or Preston’s Plug and Taps? I even had the audacity to miss Edinburgh. Goodness me. Kay’s Bar is one of my favourite places to enjoy a pint in the entire world. It could, and perhaps should have been included on that point alone.

What it also means is that we might just have to accept that, by and large, it’s a very good time to be a beer drinker in the UK. Our cities have had their intense, craft beer moments, and they have now mellowed and matured, offering a healthy mix of modern beer destinations, and proper pubs. Sprinkle in a brewery taproom or two and that, for me, is the perfect beer destination.

Which brings me to how we discuss beer towns. At the end of this article, by way of stimulating conversation, I am going to hang myself out to dry once again by revealing a list of my 10 favourite beer towns in the country. When I say this, I mean destinations that are classed, by law, as a town or market town within the UK. But instead of using “best” I am going to keep it to “favourite” and I feel like I should postscript this with: “so far”.

The problem with this particular list is that I have not yet drank beer in every town in the UK. So, while this is a list based on research and experience, it will undoubtedly miss some really good places in which to drink beer. Someone recently told me I should go to Wycombe. Wycombe! A good beer scene it may well have, but I am not sure when or why I might find myself there. Perhaps this is your opportunity to try and convince me. 

But there is a great deal of joy to be taken from day out in a great beer town. They have a different vibe to cities – everything is slower, more contemplative, and often you get to drink beer from breweries that you don’t see in big cities. Sales reps tend to stick to the big, urban areas, which often gives smaller breweries a look in once the relative population density has receded somewhat. You might also get to drink beer from a brewery you’ve never even experienced before. While the twin towns of Stanstead St. Margarets and Stanstead Abbotts are not included on my list, I did enjoy a fantastic pint of McMullen’s AK Mild in the Jolly Fisherman when I went to visit French and Jupps Maltings in 2024. That’s a beer I never would have experienced, had I not got out of my own regional bubble. 

Finding more unusual, often more regional beers is just one advantage of visiting a beer town. You also get to experience a proper regional flavour of an area that a big city centre could never possibly offer. Just take greater Manchester for example. If you travel anti-clockwise from Oldham to Rochdale, then on to Bury, Bolton and Wigan, great beer you’ll find, but you can also marvel as the accent changes by travelling just a few kilometres! By the time you reach Altrincham you can marvel at the fact that people don’t seem to speak with a Mancunian accent at all…

But the main reason to visit a beer town is that you might just surprise yourself by what you find there. Some of my favourite days out have been in smaller, quianter locations, and I’d encourage you to get out and plan a few visits for yourself. Here’s my list of personal favourites as a starter for 10. It’s by no means meant to be definitive, but I can assure you that each of these places will show you a really good time. 

10. Falmouth

Were it not for the presence of the outstanding Verdant brewery, (ok, they’re in Penryn, but Cornwall’s a big place and it’s close enough,) and its accompanying venue The Seafood Bar, Falmouth might just miss out on this list. But both are present, along with other excellent spots like The Front and Hand Beer Bar, plus unique to the town venues like Beerwolf (a bar and a bookshop) which means it just edges out the competition to secure its place on my list. Said with apologies to the residents of Royal Tunbridge Wells.

9. Kendal

Oh, Kendal, perennially on the cusp of greatness. The Old Grey Town happens to be one of my favourite places to go on a pub crawl, with the added bonus that it’s adjacent to the Lake District, but not actually in it, so it feels less touristy compared to spots such as Coniston or Windermere. My must visit spots include Fell Bar, The Ring of Bells, Indie Beer, and my personal favourite, The New Union. Kendal is also replete with lovely breweries including Lakes Brew Co, and Gan Yam (and it’s worth timing your visit so that their taprooms are open for business when you’re there.)

8. St. Albans

Worth visiting for a stop in Ye Olde Fighting Cocks alone, St. Albans is easy to reach from Central London, and once you arrive you’re in trad pub paradise. Once home to the headquarters of the Campaign For Real Ale, you’ll soon see why. From The Mermaid, to the Six Bells, if you don’t like drinking nice pints of bitter in a cosy pub setting, you probably will after you’ve visited this nook of Hertfordshire. 

7. Stockport

It wouldn’t be a Matthew Curtis List™ without some incredibly flagrant local bias, so please allow me to tell you now that Stockport, where I live, is brilliant. It should probably be higher up this list, but I am doing my best to showcase some restraint. But you shouldn’t if you decide to visit, which you should begin by making your way up to the Magnet to enjoy its 14 cask lines before descending the hill to enjoy delights such as The Petersgate Tap, The Runaway Brewery Tap, The Arden Arms, and much more besides. For a local tip, nip into the Market Hall and grab a cold German lager from Wine Boy between venues.

6. Harrogate

There are a lot of Yorkshire towns that could easily vye for positions on this list, and that is because people in the White Rose county are very demanding when it comes to their ale. Harrogate is an excellent example of this, perhaps best represented in the wonderfully cosy Little Ale House. For me, it’s always provided the perfect bedrock for any visit, which usually also includes a visit to Major Tom’s Social, a jaunt out to Rooster’s Brewery Tap, before tacos at the Paradise Tap. 

5. Lewes

I am counting down the days until I next get to visit Lewes. I’ve always much preferred it to the busier (yet still excellent for beer) Brighton, largely because of how easy it is to walk between its many excellent pubs – although I should also state that some steep hills are involved. I love the Brewers Arms, the Snowdrop and the Gardeners, plus the quartet of Harvey’s Brewery pubs, with the Rights of Man perhaps being my favourite among them. Plus there is a healthy modern beer scene here too, with both Beak and Abyss breweries having taprooms locally.

4. Macclesfield

One obvious omission from this list is Buxton – which is a town definitely worth visiting. Take it from me, however, for a premium beer experience you are better off on the other side of the moors, in Macclesfield. For starters, it’s home to The Castle, one of my favourite pubs anywhere. Then you’ve got one of the best breweries in RedWillow (plus other locals including Bollington, Storm and Wincle). That’s before you’ve hit R&G’s Beer Vault or The Waters Green Tavern, or one of the many other pub delights Macc has to offer. The term is overused these days, but this place really is British beer’s hidden gem. 

3. Reading

Reading is a funny place because it’s a town that feels like a city, and probably should be classed as a city. But it’s not, which is why it features very high up on this list. It’s also home to The Nag’s Head, an S-tier pub that makes a visit to this particular place worth it alone. But you should also explore so you don’t miss curious delights like the Alehouse, or the excellent (and sparkler friendly) Fox and Hounds. I’ve not been back since Siren brewery opened its fancy new bar on Friars Walk, but I look forward to it, as then I can go back to all the other places I mentioned too. 

2. Burton upon Trent

Burton is a funny old place. Once a powerhouse of the British brewing industry, the large factories owned by Carlsberg and Molson Coors still dominate vast portions of the city centre, but for me Burton has always felt like a town on the down, rather than the up. And yet, on my last visit, most notably to the Burton Bridge Inn – home of Burton Bridge Brewery – I felt a sense of renewal. It helped me see some of its other classic pubs, like The Coopers Tavern and The Devonshire Arms, in another light, and then realise there are probably too many good pubs to mention in this town. In fact you’d struggle to do them all in one day, but I reckon it’s worth checking out The Burton Ale Trail, and giving it a shot.

1. Halifax

Hear me out: Halifax is a ridiculously oversupplied destination for great beer that has absolutely no right to have so many outstanding beer venues in such a small area. There are more beer bars here, such as Duke’s and Københaven, and that’s before you’ve got into the trad pubs like The Big Six and The Three Pigeons. It’s almost exhausting, and that’s before you can easily nip over to Hebden Bridge in one direction and Bradford in the other and continue your chose-your-own beer adventure in any way you wish. It really is a shining jewel in the UK’s beer crown. The only thing I want to know is: when are you visiting, and can I come too. 

— Matthew Curtis