Belfast:

A Guest Review by my friend Sam, cheers Sam!

Kitchen Bar

I was born in Belfast but have lived in England for 46 years. When I stopped going back regularly in 1983 there was no Real Ale to be had in pubs in the centre of Belfast. In fact, very few people went into the city centre. Imagine my surprise when I returned for the first time in 30 years, 5 years ago, and attended the Belfast Beer Festival! Going over for a couple of days at the end of May, I determined to see the state of play with real ale in Belfast City Centre. All visits were in the afternoon.

The first pub I tried was The Kitchen (website), near the main shopping centre in Victoria Square. It is a modern looking pub with half used for food service and sport on the TV. There was one handpump, serving Whitewater Maggie's Leap, a full bodied bitter at 4.7%. Priced at £3.80, was an enjoyable pint. 

Later in the afternoon I tried The Bridge House (website). This is a typical Wetherspoons pub. Prices were very reasonable, but I was disappointed that there were no local beers on. I had a pint of Pickled Mouse from the Arundel Brewery. At 4.1% it was the weakest beer apart from Doom Bar and Ruddles. 

On the second day, after a visit to my old neighbourhood, I visited The John Hewitt (website). This is a small pub in the Cathedral district. Lunchtime is geared for food, but they do have music advertised in the evening at weekends. Again there was only one handpump, serving Yardsman American Pale Ale, a light and refreshing beer brewed by the Hercules Brewing Company in Belfast. 

I then tried McHughs (website), a pub in the oldest building in Belfast. This building is the back room of the pub, and the rest is fairly modern. This pub also had only one handpump serving Whitewater Maggie's Leap. As with all the beers tried, it was in good condition. 

On the third day, I had some time to kill before getting the bus to the airport, so I went in The Crown (website) on Great Victoria Street. This pub is famous for it's interior with original booths. It also has a fine selection of real ales. I tried another Whitewater beer, Copperhead, a hoppy beer with a touch of citrus at 3.7%, although at £4.70 a pint it was on the expensive side.

The Crown tends to get very busy at lunch times, so I went next door to Brennans (facebook page), which had no real ale, but served Maggie's Leap on tap at £4.30 a pint! This is a Typical Belfast pub serving traditional Irish food. 

At Belfast International Airport, I went to one of the bars through security. They were selling Maggie's Leap on keg for £6.30 a pint! I suppose that is one way to counter air rage!*

Overall, I was disappointed by the choice offered, although I only visited city centre pubs. There are a number of breweries in Northern Ireland brewing real ales, so it is a shame more are not repreented in Belfast.

Cheers Sam, and many thanks, Maggie certainly leapt at you plenty!

*Or cause it! (ed) 😉