Monday 28th January 2013

Bob Thompson

Some people have described the Treacle Tap as a micropub. I'm not sure, in reality it is on the borderline in size. It has a tiny bar at the back with a standing area and there are a few tables between that and the front door. On balance, it isn't, although it does only have about 27 seats, but it does sell spirits. However, its status is rather immaterial as we were here to try the beers. And, although the range of three befits the size of the pub, we tried all of them and they were excellent.

I was with Linda and I ordered a pint of Hand Drawn Monkey (Huddersfield) Monkeys Love Hops (3.8%) and the barman started to pull the pump and then declared that it was finished. There was about a third of a pint of beer in the glass and was clear so he offered it gratis, and it was fine. He immediately asked a colleague to change the cask and in about a couple of minutes I was being served Red Willow (Macclesfield) Headless Pale Ale (3.9%) which was great. We also had halves of the other two beers: Marble (Manchester) Bitter (4.2%) and Quantum (Stockport) Grimley's Brown Bombshell (5.6%) and it was sublime.

The pub does a limited amount of food, mostly pies. What is notable is the large number of events that are put on for the amusement of the customers. I was surprised to hear that they show a film every Tuesday night; the smallest cinema in the word? Sunday lunchtimes see an open acoustic session and in the evening there is a quiz.

Other unusual activities are foreign language conversational evenings. There's a different language every week, rotating on a monthly basis.

There's also a book club on Monday. Yet another was "Stitch and Bitch" which I'm sure is exactly that, but officially a knitting session, albeit with libations.

The pub has a sister operation in nearby Congleton known as The Young Pretender and I must visit one day. The Treacle Tap is a great little pub and I'll make sure I break a train journey from Manchester to London again to visit it and the other great pubs that surround it.

Important Information:

The Treacle Tap, 43 Sunderland Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 6JL
Tel: 0162 561 5938

Open: Sunday to Wednesday 12.00-23.00; Thursday to Saturday 12.00-24.00

The pub is less than five minutes from the railway station, which has local trains to Manchester. It is also served by Virgin Trains with two trains per hour from Manchester and Stockport to Stoke-on-Trent and London. It is also about five minutes to the Bus Station.