Pub of the Season

Pub of the season AUTUMN 2022 OLD POST OFFICE, ADLINGTON

The Pub of the Season for Autumn 2022 is one of three awards being given this quarter, and as you’d imagine, there has been plenty of deliberation and quality control (drinking!) going on behind the scenes by CAMRA members and the committee in concluding the winner, which is the OLD POST OFFICE in Adlington, brewery tap of Escape Brewery, who have exploded onto the scene in recent years.

As their strap-line, “From Dream to Reality” infers, this is business based on passion and determination, bound together by friendship and a common aim. Three friends, Phil, Dave and Adam came

ADAM & DAVE

together through a love of home brewing, initially in a garage, and this then led to the opening of Escape Brewery in February 2019. With a passion for real ale, they came up with the name, which is meant to symbolise an “escape” from the daily grind but as we know, there’s an awful lot to do in running a brewery and just 12 months before the pandemic hit this was always going to be a challenging time. Speaking to Dave about his role recently, it’s clear that multi-tasking is in the blood; not only is he one of the brewers, but he also does deliveries, looks after the cellar at the pub and regularly serves behind the bar when the need arises.

Escape Brewery produces traditional cask conditioned beers across a range of styles, with a “gentle nod” to modern-day tastes and it’s fitting that their first commercial brew was named Erik Weisz, real name of the great escape artist, Harry Houdini. I recall this being served in the White Bull in Chorley town centre in late 2019. It is a cracking beer and afterwards I started to look out for it on handpumps across the area, but six months later, the country went into lock-down. Not to be deterred, the brewing continued, and their beers were delivered to homes across the region both quenching thirsts and securing the brewery’s growing reputation during a period when they were unable to do so through the usual pub outlets… they were real “Lockdown Heroes”.

Just two years later the brewery moved to new larger premises and rumours started to circulate that they were planning to open a brewery tap in the old Post Office on Chorley Road in Adlington, and so it came to be, when the pub opened in December 2021 close to the Elephant & Castle and across from the former Ridgway Arms (now Tesco). The conversion is superb, giving the place a very traditional feel with its wooden clad walls. It’s a cosy pub and whilst on a weekend it can get busy inside, the addition of a beer garden to the side and rear, with views across the King George playing fields to Rivington Pike means there is plenty of seating and it really is a great place to while away a few hours in the late autumn sunshine.

There are three cask ales on handpumps serving Escape Brewery ales with additional keg lines for craft ales from smaller Northwest breweries such as Rivington, Chain House and Twisted Wheel, as well as quality lagers, cocktails and ciders on offer. The fourth handpump has now been turned over to a changing cider for the summer months on a trial basis (with Hogan’s French Revelation being on during our recent visit). Depending on how this sells, they may revert to using this for a dark beer in winter. Pies from local award-winning baker, J. Greeley & Son are regularly served and prove a great companion to a pint of Escape!

It’s been a short but extremely eventful journey so far for the business, and with plans afoot to increase capacity and their footprint across the region, we’d do well to keep our eyes on this one…blink and you may miss something new! Our congratulations go to everyone involved at the brewery and pub, as this really is a well-deserved team effort. The Pub of the Season presentation will take place at the Old Post Office on 20th October at 7.30pm. Please do join us to discover what the fuss is all about and enjoy some fabulous ales in a great environment.