April - Baker's Vaults
April's Pub of the Month - The Baker's Vaults
Market Place, Stockport, SK1 1ES
The Stockport & South Manchester CAMRA Pub of the Month for April is the Bakers Vaults in Stockport's Market Place reports Brendon Hall.
In the seven months since it has opened the Baker's Vaults has grown to be quite a fixture on the Stockport real ale scene. The pub has grown from strength to strength, bringing drinkers and life back to one of Stockport's most picturesque areas, the old Market Place. Under the guidance of Robinsons Brewery the pub underwent a huge transformation to make it much brighter and more welcoming (a little known fact is that the bar is made up of doors salvaged from the recently closed Stockport pub institution, the Tiviot). The transformation appears to have worked; the pub is generally bustling with drinkers most nights of the week, no mean feat in Stockport on a wet Tuesday night in January!
With a nod to it's heritage the Baker's has placed a large emphasis on hosting live music, with dedicated Blues nights on Tuesday evenings and Soul/Jazz afternoons each Sunday. What better way to spend a Sunday than with a pint, some live music and a snack from the pub's own range of gourmet hotdogs?
The beer selection doesn't disappoint - unusually for a Robinson's pub there are four hand-pumps for guest ales, supplied by Stoke on Trent's Titanic Brewery. Cider drinkers are catered for too, with Weston's Old Rosie on permanently. It's rare indeed to see Robbies beers and guests co-existing together, a feat only seen elsewhere at the Castle Hotel on Oldham Street in Manchester (it isn't a coincidence that both are run by the same owners). Quality of beer is also good, the pub having recently received a Cask Marque accreditation.
Looking at the bigger picture, the new-look Baker's Vaults has brought life back to Stockport Market Place. Anything that attracts both regular pub-goers and newer younger drinkers back into the heart of their town for a night out must be a good thing. It is hoped that the rise in the number of drinkers will spread to other pubs in the local area and give Stockport Town Centre the kick-start it has long needed.