After reading that a recently opened 'Micropub' had won Liverpool's best pub of 2014, I was interested to see what the difference was from regular pubs. On a trip to Manchester last month, I got to visit one in Chorley. The Shepherds Hall Ale House matched the Micropub Association's philosophy of keeping it small and simple. The former florist shop had a tight behind-the-counter space, where glasses were hand washed, maximising the area given over to tractor-like seating. There was no distraction from televisions or music, and the emphasis was on conversation. There was also no keg beer and the focal point was the 5 real ale hand pumps. I enjoyed the experience and can understand how the Micropub numbers have increased to over a hundred so quickly. Minimalistic and focused bars serving focused customers that don't require any bells or whistles. While they have the advantage of being able to change the use of a premise relatively easily and without having to purchase an expensive pub licence, I couldn't help wishing that we had a few bars like this over here. They are filling vacant shop units and providing much needed outlets for local microbreweries, being completely free of any tie to macros. Does anyone else have any experience of, or ideas on Micropubs?
