Really great pub. I had been there before.
I opted for a Cantillon Kriek bottle. A beer nigh on impossible to find here in Detroit.
Super helpful staff and great atmosphere.
Would visit here on every visit to Manchester.
I went here for the private party before Shebeen Festival, courtesy of the generous guys at Blackjack and Yelp.
I'll just copy over what I said on the talk thread:
What an amazing night having free access to the taps! I tried 7 different beers and they were all brilliant. And the food from Yakumama was outstanding - spicy beef empananda, crackling with guacamole, mushroom & quinoa croquetas and avocado and chocolate brownie...I cannot wait until they move to The Kitchens at Spinningfields this summer!
Only downside was that it was absolutely freezing, definitely a space heater would have been in order! I imagine this is not a problem at all during the summer and it's a great place to spend a couple of hours below the railway arches listening to some good music and trying the beers right from the source!
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When you combine great local beers served outside where they're brewed, delicious local street food, a DJ pumping out tunes that make you dance on your reclaimed timber bench under vertical gardens made of pallets, you get the Blackjack Brew Tap.
The micro-brewery under a railway arch off Irk Street opened its doors to the beer-thirsty public at the weekend with both cask and keg options available. Wine, spirits and soft drinks were also on offer.
Just outside the 'bar' were the dynamic duo Arepa!Arepa!Arepa! cooking up tasty Columbian food for the punters (http://arepaarepaarepa.blogspot.co.uk/). Their maize-based flatbreads complete with vegetarian or meat-tastic fillings are certainly a crowd pleaser - they can often be found at Levenshulme Market selling their wares.
With the DJs twirling on the decks, the atmosphere was really buzzing, we all loved whiling away a good few hours there.
As Nic R mentions, rumour has it that there will be more regular events taking place around the newly coined 'Beer Quarter', with other breweries due to move in soon. Watch this space, there's going to be a new hot-spot in our fair City of Mancunia ;)
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Walking to Black Jack Brewers feels a bit like you're heading towards a horror film set. Or as if you're about to imminently become the victim of a crime of some sort. Having parked under the huge bridge around the corner, the area was completely deserted on a friday night as I walked towards the distant cheery noise. The commotion was coming from Sham Bodie, a brilliant comedy monthly shindig I highly recommend you check out. The set up was incredible, gazebos, barbecues and a bar serving (what I hear) great beers. The place was packed and there was great atmosphere. The isolated nature of the venue actually turned out to be a strong point. There was a special and strange combination of an inclusive/exclusive atmosphere. Inclusive, since the event was sold out and there was a great crowd of like minded people and exclusive since it was away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre on a friday night.
There was live music from Glass Tides (My favourite Manchester band) and comedy by (amongst others) the brilliant Norris & Parker who are performing at the Edinburgh Fringe next week. There was also a hot dog eating competition and the atmosphere was nothing short of amazing all night. I strongly suggest you check out an event here in the near future, you won't regret it.
What an amazing concept!! A brewery opening its taps to its fan punters once a month and inviting street food genius and super hip DJs along.
Blackjack beers are amongst the best beers made in Manchester and the UK (although this list is now getting very long indeed, and we're all the better for it).
The guys had most of their beers and more from other local breweries on offer and Arepa! Arepa! Arepa! were there to make sure we keep nicely fed. The DJs were playing some seriously cool tracks and it all allowed us to forget that we were under a railway track in a dodgy part of Manchester instead of on a beach bar in Miami.
I hear more exciting news are in the pipeline for this idyllic spot so watch this space!!
Beer tap, Saturday, hooking up with friends I hadn't seen for a while - Sounds like a perfect afternoon to me.
The plan was just to stay for a couple but we must have been here for a few hours - with so many good beers to choose from, we were spoilt for choice. I particularly enjoyed the offerings from Blackjack, Arbor and Wild - really tasty and served at fairly low prices in 1/3, 2/3 and Pint servings.
This brewery tap is open each last weekend of the month from Spring time and as well as having street food, they have good tunes and plenty of out and indoor seating (good job as the rain hammered it down by mid afternoon)
Looking forward to heading back here soon!
Stumbled across this place whilst having a boozy wander around Manchester, and luckily we happened to visit on a weekend it was open, and sunny. Great little place with a great range of beers, just wish we'd stayed later to sample some food and the DJ. Only downside was leaving a deposit for the glasses; with so many good beers to choose from you could easily have one too many and forget to hand your glass back. Looking forward to another visit next month, if you're an ale drinker then it's definitely worth a try, just check opening times to make sure they're open.
Fantastic beer in a wide range of styles to suit a variety of tastes. Free brewery pickup is a welcome bonus and the staff are lovely and friendly.
A great place. Amazing beer a d it's very welcoming
Cracking brewery, decent tap when it's open. Would have liked more of their cask range available as only one on when we went mid April but the Smithfield tavern covers that pretty well!
Lovely beer, great food and friendly service. Only downside, no heating, so dress up warm!!
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This northern quarter Manchester pub has a magic entry atmosphere wher couples can drink good real ales and eat a great range of food
The reason why this pub will not get 5 stars off me today is because the beers is too expensive and there is a cashless ideal to it by the owners which in inhibits people who are vunerable like myself to use if not with somebody who can be able to pay
Saturday 30th December 2023
This great brewery massive lively vibrant pub next to the Smithfield in Manchesters northern quarter tonight served 8 blacjack ales on handpump and was absolutely full with people of all ages enjoying them self's
It is a great place to drink real ale as it always has been on my visits
The beers have now lowered in prices by owners, so i gladly give this establishment now the full 5 stars
Saturday 13th April 2024
Yet again, on our trip to Manchester, we had to visit this spacious eating pub
This place not only serves a fantastic choice of Black Jack's hand pumped ales serves ace good has a delicious atmosphere inside and the following is a grand clientelle
The owner and bar staff are posted and professional
This place, in my view, for real ale is an essential place to drink in when in Manchester
Beers sold in venues close by.
I love their beer, but we made a special trip there during a visit to Manchester after reading their opening hours and description on google - unfortunately we were told that they are a functioning brewery and only operate as a tap House once a month or for private parties, so a wasted trip. We have visited several tap houses at breweries in the past, so I don't know why the guy thought it weird we were there to drink. Don't let that put you off their beer though. Obviously the star rating is irrelevant so I put 4 not to skew the average, but really disappointed to waste so much time hunting it out on a short trip. Sort your hours out please!
Nice beer and, the evening we were there, there was a Portuguese food track that had amazing wraps. The only downside is that you need to exchange money for tokens to buy beer. They give you the money back if you don't spend them all, but it's always easier to directly pay at the bar.
Great suntrap. Excellent cask and keg . Staff will guide you, if you're not sure what beer is for you. Good chill out place. Friendly customers.
Regularly head down here for their monthly brew tap. Seriously good beers from the brewery and a range of other breweries. Always good music played by a range of local musos and normally got some great food on the go to - arepas, pizza, BBQ, Greek kebabs etc from some of the local st food vendors. Dead friendly , dead cool. Worth venturing out of town to hunt down.
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