I generally focus on old traditional pubs here. But there is a craft beer movement in the UK producing some quite good beers. Here are two fine examples in Rainhill (Merseyside).

Skew Bridge Alehouse. Located in the town center, this micro pub opened in 2016 aiming to make it onto the prestigious British beer drinkers bible, the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. They made it in 2018 and have been in every issue since. In a nod to history and the heritage of the village the pub derives its name from the nearby Grade II listed Skew Bridge, which carries Warrington Road (the main road in the village) at an angle across the Liverpool to Manchester train line. Built by George Stephenson (of The Rocket fame) in 1829, it was the first of its kind to carry a road over a railway. I tasted all of their offerings (all very tasty) and settled on the Blonde Vixen from Wily Fox in Wigan. Delicious and refreshing on a warm English afternoon.

Across the square is The Hop House. A nice little bottle shop and tap house with a great selection of bottles from the UK (some nice ones from Wales!), Belgium and Germany. I had a great chat with Rick the owner about beer styles and beer history. As usual I tasted several beers and chose The Crushinator from Top Rope Brewing (Liverpool). A delicious hoppy IPA, and 6.5% abv - very rare in the UK!

Having these fine brews available in a small village like Rainhill shows that there are definitely more than just Real Ales to choose from in the UK!