The Beartown Tap. The main outlet for the real ales that Beartown Brewery produce. Only a short walk from Congleton town center,Railway Station & the canal.
The Beartown Tap is the main outlet for Beartown Brewery.
At anytime the Tap has five of the Beartown real ales and one guest ale from one of the many other micro breweries.To add to this fine selection the Beartown Tap also has cider from the barrel, a rotating belgium beer and Erdinger Weissbier all on on draught.
Only 200 yards from the brewery it is the meeting point for the Brewery tours.

If this was not enough for the most dedicated drinker the Beartown Tap has over 30 Belgium & German bottle beers. The ladies particularly like the many fruit flavoured beer that they serve & which a lot are taken in it's own special glass.

For customers comfort the Beartown Tap has a separate No smoking room & in the summer has the most beautiful beer garden where you can forget that you are only minutes from the town center.

It has over the years gained a very creditable reputation for the standard of the beers and the ambiance, but the only way to find out is come and try it yourself.

 
Below are some of the Awards that The Beartown Tap have won over the years but why not come in to the Tap and see the Awards wall where you can see all the Awards that Beartown have won from all over England
 

Macclesfield & East Cheshire Camra Pub Of The Season

2002

Macclesfield & East Cheshire Camra Pub Of The Year

2002 & 2003

CHESHIRE, MERSEYSIDE AND NORTH WALES

CAMRA REGIONAL PUB OF THE YEAR

2003 & 2004

You can find the Beartown Tap in all of these books

Click On Above Rooms To View Images

The Beartown Tap Beer Garden

The New Beer Garden that has been made at the rear of The Beartown Tap

Access to the garden is down the internal stairs

 

Beartown Tap

18 Willow St,

Congleton,

Cheshire,

CW12 1RL

Tel: 01260 270990

Licensee Steve King

Opening Times: Mon to Thurs 12-2 / 4-11

Friday & Weekend All Day

Come try some Beartown Beer
Below are people, societies or organisations that would like to be associated with this public house

Beartown Tap drinker Caroline Partner ran the London Marathon for the Spinal Injuries Association in a time of 4hrs 51mins 58secs

You can sponsor her at
Caroline Partner's Fundraising Page

   
 
BEARTOWN TAP HISTORY
History of Licensees
1848 Allen Stanley
1850 William Lancaster
1860 John Wallworth
1872 Henry Wood
1881 John Finney
1890 Joseph Stanway
1896 John Weir
1902 Joseph Holmes
1910 William Frodsham
1942 Mary Frodsham
1951 William Antrobus
1954 Frank Hulme
1961 William Bracegirdle
1965 Duncan Hall
1965 Terry Minshull
1967 Audrey Jones
1969 Frank Swan
1969 Cohn Cotham
1980 Martha Cotham
1981 Terence Barber
1989 Doris Haigh
1992 Dorothy Doorbar
1993 Stephen Nixon
1993 Phillip Meredith
1993 Pamela Thompson
1995 Winston Lea
1997 Andrea Piper
*1999 Stephen King
**2000 Stephen King
2002 Julie King
2002 Stephen King

Beartown Beer is the only one to drink

Previous names:

Grapes / Tavern / Grapevine Restaurant / Beartown Tap

The Beartown Tap have 6 on draught

Interesting facts:-

The name of the Grapes almost certainly refers to the innkeepers trade. In 1978 Dr Joan Alcock described the rectangular signboard which was supported by a bracket and attached to the wall.

The sign depicted a bunch of green grapes set against a white background.

In 1999 following a change of ownership, the face of the pub has been painted white and emblazoned flat against the pub wall and over the door is the new name 'The Beartown Tap' printed in red lettering shadowed with yellow on a black background.

On either side there is a bear depicted. The whole sign is framed in red.

There is also an ornate wrought iron mounted hanging sign which depicts a muzzled bear standing by a cask and holding a sheaf of wheat.

The name Beartown Tap is picked out in gold lettering above the bear and Quality Ales is written in gold underneath. The whole sign is mounted on a black background.

*From approximately 1997 the Grapes known as the Grapevine Restaurant was a wine bar up to November 1999.

In November 1999 the premises was purchased by Beartown Brewery Ltd, Congleton's own real ale brewery. Congleton's link with breweries goes back to 1272 when the town received charter status. Two of the most senior officers at the time were the Ale Taster and the Bear Warden hence the name of the new brewery.

** In November 1999 Beartown Brewery opened their first pub. The Beartown Tap was previously owned by Ansells Brewery Birmingham.

Mr Stephen King is the licensee of a real ale pub in Congleton. Mr King said the pub has become a traditional meeting place for people who like good ale and a chat.

The old pub games like dominoes will be encouraged. The pub is very traditional in style and there are numerous old photographs of Congleton displayed around the walls of the rooms.

The brewery produces several varieties of real ale, Kodiak Gold and Bear Ass at 4% and Black Bear and Bruins Ruin at 5%.

They have proved so popular with Congleton people that their ale can now be bought at the Queen's Head Park Lane and also at the Swettenham Arms in addition to their own pub.

Is this the first of many? If you recall, Robinson's started off with just one pub, now they are one of the few large independent breweries left.

I have it on good authority that there have also been ghostly occurrences in the pub, lights switching themselves off for no apparent reason. If there is a ghost however, it appears to be quite friendly and is thus free to roam the pub freely!

Beartown Beer is Quality

Extracts taken from "A PUB-CRAWL THROUGH TIME!" with kind permission from Lyndon Murgatroyd.