Hand-crafted by volunteers, the wooden community pub is off to a flying start with great craft ales
On the opening night, to name just a few – Buxton, Burning Sky, Mikkeler, Vocation, Wild Beer, Track and, of course, Piccadilly-based Cloudwater Brew Co whose boss Paul Jones has teamed up with Jonny Heyes, brains behind Port Street Beer House, Common, Beagle and IndyManBeercon (now a month away), to form All Our Yesterdays to run the pub. Hence the handover.
Right up until the opening, head maker Joe Hartley and creative colleagues Ben Young and Jess Higham joined the bar staff to smooth out the rough edges to a project built entirely by volunteers using traditional building techniques and artisan crafts, led by a line-up of skilled practitioners. Now their time is up. They hope to continue the creative workshops Pilcrow has spawned in a building across the Yard.
It has been a revelation to see traditional skills often overlooked in modern society – from basket weaving to beer-pump handle making –passed on, connecting the local community within the space.
One talent the local community has never lost is the ability to sup. Now they have a crafty little bolthole with a splendid outdoor drinking area (a simple food offering is promised, too). Pilcrow beer quality is exceptional with premium prices to match, mostly £5 a pint and above, but that’s what you can get charged in The Beer House in an altogether less special setting.
Pilcrow Pub, Sadler's Yard, off Redfern St/Hanover St, Manchester M60 0AB
