August - Beer Shop
The Beer Shop
13 Kingsleigh Road, Heaton Mersey Stockport SK4 3QF
The Stockport & South Manchester CAMRA Pub of the Month for August is the Beer Shop on Kingsleigh Road, Heaton Mersey. John Clarke paid a visit.
Dean Hilton has been, running the Beer Shop on Kingsleigh Road since November 2011. His background is in IT but as he moved into retirement he sought something that would not only occupy his time but could be combined with his long-time interest in good beer. He's been a member of CAMRA since the early 1970s, although his interest in beer doesn't stop with the UK.
However the Beer Shop has turned into more than a full-time hobby. While it's situated in a row of shops in a tucked away position the business is thriving with a 30 per cent year on year increase in sales.
A one room affair, with a bar at the back, shelves of bottles to the left and fridges to the right, the Beer Shop is a convivial place to have a drink. The red walls add a warm touch and there's plenty of seating (pus a big screen TV for major events). Cask beer is a major feature with between four and six available (and the useful website at www.ukbeershop.com will keep you up to date with what is on tap). These can either be drunk on site or taken away in three, five, ten and twenty litre bag-in-box containers.
While the cask beers are mainly local-ish, the bottled range features not only local offerings but also those from further afield in the UK as well as choice offerings from overseas. There is a notably good range from the two great European brewing nations of Belgium and Germany (including sour lambics from the former and smoked ales from the latter), while craft beers from the USA also feature.
The Beer Shop isn't in a location where good beer is thick on the ground - it's something of an oasis in the desert so come and join us on Thursday 27th August when we present this well deserved award. Buses 22 and 197 will drop you nearby from both the Stockport and Manchester directions.