About Tap Tourist
A little guide to the best craft beer in and around Manchester, made by a local who's drunk a fair few pints in it.
What it is
A little guide to Manchester craft beer
Tap Tourist is a guide to the independent breweries, taprooms, bars, pubs and bottle shops that brew, pour and sell good beer in and around Manchester. Not the ones with the biggest marketing budget, the ones worth the walk.
Born and bred here, or just off the train at Piccadilly? Filter by what you want to drink (IPA, stout, sours, gluten free), what you need (a beer garden, a dog-friendly boozer, somewhere quiet for a natter) or just what's nearest and still open.
And it's not just town. Some of the best beer is a tram or a bus ride out, in Salford, Stockport and beyond, so they're in here too.
Who's behind it
Hi, I'm Jason
I live in Salford, just over the Irwell from town, and I've spent more evenings than I'd care to count in the pubs, taprooms and bottle shops in this guide.
I build websites (opens in a new tab) for a living, and Tap Tourist is the one I build for me. Every place in it is somewhere I'd happily recommend.
It's a one-person job, and I keep it current by checking every place's opening hours, website and Google listing every week, and by hearing from you when something changes.
Spotted something wrong, or somewhere I've missed? I'd love to hear about it.
Why it exists
Started in lockdown, to help the pubs
Tap Tourist started in spring 2020, when the pubs shut their doors and nobody knew when they'd open again. Overnight, Manchester's breweries and bars turned into takeaways, delivery services and online shops, and it was hard to keep track of who was doing what.
So it started as a list: who was delivering, who did takeaway, who sold vouchers to spend once it was all over. A way to keep money going into the places that make this city's beer what it is.
The pubs came back, and so did the pints, but the guide stuck around. It's here for the same reason it started: to send people to the independents and keep them busy.
- 138 Places
- 23 Areas
- 6 Collections
- 7 Guides
How we choose places
What gets a place in the guide
Not every pub with a few taps makes it. Plenty of places pour a decent pint, but we're after the ones worth getting the tram for: where the cask is looked after, the lines keep changing and whoever's behind the bar can tell you what's good. It's a short list on purpose, so you can trust what's on it. Here's what we look for.
Beer comes first
Somewhere that takes its beer seriously: cask looked after properly, keg lines that change, fridges worth a browse. Not just the big brands.
Independent wherever we can
Independent breweries, bars and bottle shops first. A place tied to a bigger brewery can still get in, if the beer stands up.
Checked every week
Opening hours, websites and Google listings are checked automatically every week, and anything that looks off gets a look by hand.
Closed, not forgotten
When a place calls last orders for good it moves to the RIP collection, with who's trading there now.
