Superb. Never less than excellent beers and a great relaxed atmosphere.I had heard stories of the Baltic Fleet in Liverpool, but came across the pub by accident. Once spotted we made a beeline for it. What a great pub. The beer range was very good, all brewed on the premises. Got a guided tour from the very enthusiastic landlord/brewer. No argument on price for the beer, very fair. The bar food was a little over priced though.First comment after five and a half years patronage.Found this pub completely by chance,on my first weekend away in liverpool.Went in on the 28.11.09,and was greeted by Wapping rum-flavoured stout.Had several pints,then it was gone,so transferred to Blondie,which was also wonderful.What a gem of an establishment;if only there was one in every Town and City.The best pub in Liverpool,and the Country as a whole.

Went in here on a Saturday afternoon, (16/01). Superb pub with an excellent selection of beers behind the bar and a festival on as well. Everton v City match was that day, supporters of both clubs but good atmosphere. Would highly recommend to anyone liking continental / real ales. Didn't notice the decor as with another poster, I was probably too busy trying to take in the number of beers on offer.Had a belting time in here last weekend, no complaints whatsoever. Fantastic range of beers, decent food, football results on the tv (muted), can't complain at all. Will be back next time I'm over.There is no doubting the quality and diversity of the beers and ciders. Sadly the pub lets itself down on its interior. The Ship and Mitre desperately needs a refurb, and on my last visit the whole pub smelt like a urinal.

Gave this place another try and it's not too bad.

Although the previous comment about it being a "smart converted bakery" needs correcting.

Yes - it was a "bakers to the queen" aeons ago, but for many years was Kirklands wine bar in the 1990's, followed by several years as a strip club.

It still has a bit of a reputation and gets very busy at weekends; not helped by the fact that they employ bouncers/doormen at the weekends which is a "turn-off" for me.

Any pub/bar that has doormen is expecting trouble! Smart converted bakery in an area which is a hotbed of fine pubs. the old signage and curved windows are pretty splendid, whilst inside the large isngle room has an airy, smart but traditional feel, with its tiled floor and large bulbous bar lamps above the bar. Lots of wood panelling and small alcoves off the bar add to the pleasant atmosphere. Sky sports is shown silently on small TVs.
The pub really stands out for its beer range, with two Okells beers plus guests from microbreweries and an impressive range of Continental beers. Had a Salopian Hop Twister which was excellent, my pint of the day. A must visit in a city of fine pubs. Best described as a temple to beer, this is a simply magnificent place to explore all things hoppy. Okells beers are on, along with ever changing others, but for me, the real treat sits in the fridge - Chicago's Goose Island Brewery's Honkers Ale and IPA. Both of these are splendid beers and the IPA surely has to rank as one of the world's finest, an explosion of hops. Go steady on it as it's knocking on 6%, but boy is it good. A rare treat to find this beer.

A great find for us having recently moved to the Merseyside area. As others have noted, the staff here know their stuff and were on my visit, a busy Friday night, super-efficient. The wife liked her red wine too - recommened by the staff and served (sensibly as default at 175ml) in a nice oversized goblet to help with the nose (apparently, this matters to her!).

Highly recommended.

Very well presented boozer and decent beer, a bit chilly towards the back of the though which is the only place we could find a seat - this is because the smoking area is right next door to it and the smokers kept leaving the door wide open while it was minus two.

Had ordered before I spotted the bottled Raisin Beer in the fridge, shame it wasn't on tap.The best pub out of all I've visited in Liverpool. Cain's house serving there Mild, Bitter, IPA, Autumn Leaf (seasonal) and the legend that is FA (Formidable Ale). Well designed pub with a number of different drinking areas, plenty of space and generally pleasant surroundings. Extremely handy for Lime Street station. Many a time spent in here waiting for my train home from Lime Street which is a short 2 minute walk away.

Also a great place to begin a crawl as 400 metres away is the Ship & Mitre on Dale Street - one of several great pubs in this part of the city such as the re-opened Vernon Arms, The Lion Tavern, Railway and Rigby's. And not forgetting the Poste House tucked away down cumberland Street.

Anyone attending a Phil concert who wants a half-time pint should try this (after letting the brass section get their beers in). Charming but secluded (just off Hope Street), with outdoor drinking thats not on a main road or next to the bins (rare in Liverpool) it's a local sited at the point where Liverpool changes from shops and student bars to houses, and had a local atmosphere. Given the pride that John O'Dowd shows in The Lion, he'll be spending a lot of time working on the tatty interior, although the 4 handpumps and proper European lagers on draught and bottles remain. The Peter Kavanagh - Belvedere - Phil - Fly - Dispensary - Swan is one of the best and most varied pub crawls you'll get, and is nicely downhil after The Phil.Went here on Saturday for the Cider festival (also held at the Everyman bistro which didn't impress me).

I've never been to the Belvedere and wasn't too impressed on my first visit. Had a pint of Hecks scrumpy (from the barrel as part of the cider fest.) Was a bit pricey, and, like when I went to the Everyman, I was only person drinking cider (not good when you consider this was a cider festival).

Interior of pub very bland and untidy. Not very welcoming, especially the bar area which looked very shabby.

Didn't take any notice of what the regular ales are on tap. Can't see myself returning here. As mentioned below this pub has now been taken over by the landlord of the Lion Tavern. In the advert for the pubs in MerseyAle he asks for people to bear with him as the pub is refurbished. The refurbishment has obviously started but there’s still some way to go in my opinion as the outside is particularly shabby, in fact the other half didn’t want to go in at all. Inside it’s a very olde worlde two roomer with a fine old wooden bar in the right hand room. The room on the left has what could be described as an eclectic mix differing styles of chairs and table, there’s also a couple of Bob Dylan posters but apart from that the walls are empty. Four handpumps on the bar two serving beers from the Betwixt brewery. I had a pint of the Betwixt Skyline which was very good. It’s good pub that will no doubt improve again over the next few months.

Visited on a Saturday evening to watch the football, (as recommended by someone in the Ship & Mitre down the road). About four hand pumps on including a Rum Porter from Boggart brewery. Friendly staff, nice decor (part trendy bar / part posh old house) and good beer.A welcome edition to the Dale Street crawl. 6 handpumps including one of my favourites - Reverand James as well as Fruli Strawberry Beer. Traditional decor with a bar at the front leading to a lounge at the rear which is quite cosy with red velvet seats & large mirrors. Last stop on Friday's initial exploration of Liverpool's boozers. Quirky sort of place, with a sloping main bar (a bit disconcerting after a few) and great big pillars. Place continues with a room out the back. Stand-up drinking predominates in the front bit, where there is plenty of space, and that's fine by me. Yet another place in Liverpool for decent and less frequently encountered beer. Good mix of customers (a group of five blokes in black leather jackets, roll-tops and thick glasses, were straight out of Shoreditch central casting) and efficient staff. A bit pissed by this time, I found enormous interest in the huge map of Liverpool's docks on the wall under the TV screen......

Well worth a visit

The best place to watch football in Liverpool - multiple TVs, multiple tuners to avoid fixture clash problems, 3PM Saturday games, good atmosphere without the prat/scally problems many others suffer. Beer is excellent - Cains owned pub (previous reviewers please note) so most of their range with 4 guests, one a dark such as Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby or Hawkshead Stout and some good bottled beers and Weston's Cider. Wood panelling and glass give an excellent mini-gin palace effext, busy most evenings but a quiet place for a shopping pint on footy-free days. Dave the manager can be a bit grumpy, don't tell him you think Benitez is doing well for a start. Should have mentioned it gets crowded in here when they show footy on the TV. Probably due to the good selection of ales and that it doesn't attract the scally element that you get in other city centre pubs and bars! Not a bad place to start if you are after Cain's beer and happen to be up that end of the city centre. There were three Cain's ales on when I visited including dark mild. Also two or three guest ales on handpump. Interior is interesting, made up largely of old chemist shop memorabilia (hence the name I suppose). Bar staff not the friendliest but efficient enough, didn't take long to get served even on a Saturday night.

Had a big argument with the missus in this place but a few hours and very pleasant pints later we were ok with each other again. I think the beautiful decor helped.Went in for a meal on Friday. One girl serving in a full restaurant, waited 15 minutes for a drink and 40 minutes for the meal, which was pretty ordinary and had clearly been sitting on a hot plate waiting to be taken to our table. Then went sownstairs and it took about 10 minutes to get servied at the bar. Won't be returning.Probably the most ornate pub in the country - solid marble urinals in the gents twin rooms called Brahms and Liszt - I'm a sure lots of others have given a far greater detailed description. Had the Cains and one from that small brewery where the blokes who own it are on the labels/pumpclips with a red nose on. Beer was an improvement on the past but still not quite top notch. It is however another one of those must visit establishments

Not noticed the Gent's smell in the pub, and £2.70 is similar to other good pubs in Liverpool (you can get cheaper if you want to drink rubbish in a dump or a Weatherspoon's barn with their legendary atmosphere), so disagree with Grizzlygus completely. 7 hand pump beers and a draught cider, great Scotch range (fancy a 50-year old?), a tourist attraction for its interior (CAMRA historic pubs guide cover star). Busy 5-7 on Friday with office drinkers, and Friday and Saturdays with pre-club drinkers (opposite Moorfields Station), occupation levels vary wildly at other times. 6 inch pok pies a meal in themselves, Dylan society, book clubs, board games club (personal interest declaration) all meet here. My local, and there's plenty of competition in the area.Another ornate pub though on a smaller more sociable scale. Hawkshead Bitter was nice and quaffable to start the day with.Saturday was my second visit here. The ale selection was ok- Spitting Feathers Thirst Quencher, Beartown Bearskinful, Adnams Bitter, Youngs Original and Deuchars IPA. Meantime LPA and Lees Bitter were pulled through while we were there. Cider was Westons Traditional Scrumpy and Addlestones. The interior of this place is very nice, with plenty of tiling and a nice ceiling in the back room. The separate drinking areas are all very pleasant. Definitely needs to be part of any Liverpool real ale crawl.

Carlurmston's comments are an excellent summary of this unique establishment. I add that the juke box is NOT heavy metal, or are The Ramones, Dead Kennedys and Bob Dylan part of that genre? It's a rock juke box, and what you get to hear depends on who's been putting the money in. Unfortunately, as downstairs is a single room it's not the ideal place for conversation - it's possible at the window end with raised voices, but if that's what you want there's better places neaby. Sadly, beer quality has slipped over the last few years, and despite the excellent range, great staff and lively atmosphere this is a problem for me. Also worth a visit to see the exotic bikes usually parked outside, as no proper biker would leave Liverpool without visiting.cracking boozer good selection of real ales great staff and the best juke box in a liverpool pub. bouncers kept an eye on our bikes when we were on a flying visit, and had many a great night out been many times on footCalled over on Saturday. Still the same old Swan.. good selection of REAL beer and amazing prices. Phoenix Hopsack for £1.90.. (prefer Arizona.. but beggars can't be choosers) Even the bouncers are nice guys. Any complaint??.. all the stairs to the toilets are a little awkward after 5 or 6 pints, but I guess theres not much they can do about that.
9/10

Not impressed with this place.

Went to the Cider festival here last Saturday. Was expensive, interior of pub/bar very dull (i.e. no daylight - due to no windows).

Was supposed to be a cider festival but I was the only person drinking cider. Was surrounded by lots of middle class people eating food, and upper class arty student type people.

Will give this place a miss in the future, mainly due to the lack of atmosphere and expensive prices. Modern cellar bar under the Everyman Theatre that is very popular with a certain type and age of people, you know the type, over 50 but still think they’re trendy. The beers on offer on Saturday were exactly the same as reported by blue scrumpy over a month ago, so maybe they don’t change much. I had a pint of the Betwixt Storr which was very good. Interesting lights and loads of cactuses? cactii? Either way there’s a lot of them around. There’s also a function room which was hosting a 60th when we were there. The place was packed to the rafters and very, very noisy. It’s OK in here though.I found the Everyman a bit dull and uninspiring. It did have 3 real ales on - Betwixt Storr (actually a lager), Landlord and Cain's Bitter, in addition to a real cider - Weston's Traditional Scrumpy. There was also plenty of seating. But the fact it is downstairs means there is no natural light and the surroundings are fairly boring. Given the proximity of The Philharmonic, I doubt we'll be visting here too often in the future.

Famous Liverpool boozer that should be a priority on any beer trip here. The vintage Bass sign and the attractive half-tiled exterior are a good sign. Once in, the layout is peculiar, with an L-shaped corridor leading into a large, open space around a corner. Off the corridor are several splendid snugs, one with its own access to the bar. These have always been occupied on my visits but I hope to visit them soon. The large opened out room has a curious mural of a battle scene from Georgian times I imagine. Lot of knick knacks and pub-ana to look at, but the decor is generally bare-baords with lots of wood. Always a good atmosphere and a cracking jukebox to top it off.
Onto the beer, never had a bad pint, and microbreweries feature strongly across the 5 handpumps. On my last visit I eschewed Copper Dragon to try the Rudolph's Razz, a pleasant copper beer. Always worth a visit and one to prioritise in Liverpool. In an area full of great pubs so ideal for a crawl. Quality boozer, friendly staff & locals. well worth seeking outOne of a number of backstreet locals in this area of Liverpool. This is another real ale haven. It has multiple drinking areas, including a large outdoor area surrounded by housing. Ales on yesterday during our visit were Slaters Owzat and Top Totty, Spitting Freathers Thirst Quencher and Dark Velvet Mild and Allgates Mild at Heart. Wem Cherry Bomb was also added during our visit. Biddendens Cider is also available.

Tucked away down a backstreet, maybe a bit pokey, although cosy and with definite character. Good range of beers but a bit too frothy for my liking (typical southerner’s complaint). Locals not the most welcoming (typical Londerner’s complaint in Liverpool). Not as good as the Ship and Mitre. wonderful pub, beer and staff! A visit here is a very rewarding experience.What more can I add - friendly staff, excellent beer (tried a strong mild from the lakes) and a perfect multi-roomed small backstreet city centre local the like of which has almost disappeared. One of the very few pubs to have been in every edition of the good beer guide and on this visit rightly so. This place is a must for those who like proper pubs with real ale and real people behind the bar.

Slightly disappointed after visiting here - the interior is nicely olde worlde but the beer isn't really up to it. Only one available when I was there.Wonderful journey back to gentler and more civilised times. Had Banks Bitter and presumably a guest, Everards Blonde which was very nice. Splendid interior listed in CAMRA National Inventory; the buildings and garden at the back need attention however. I went to Maghull station on Merseyrail and was guided by the friendly locals on the bus to this mecca, though the Liverpool to Southport bus 300 passes the door. Sadly I think the service finishes about 2000 so check when planning a trip.
The oldest pub in Lancashire (The real Lancashire that is, not the council area that masquerades under the same name and covers approximately half the area), this place is unmissable. The thatched roof, heavy oak door and tiny windows give you an idea of what is inside. To the left is the tiny bar counter, more like a hatch, with usually 2-3 real ales. Brains was in good form on my visit. The floor here is flagged and a real fire burns in the corner in winter. To your right is a corridor leading to two more heavily beamed rooms, the far one also with a real fire, and furnished very tastefully in mid-20th century style. All of this helps give the pub its deserved place in CAMRA's National Inventory of pub interiors. The atmosphere here is always tremendous, and it gets quite busy later on at weekends. It really is worth going out of your way for. About 10 miles north of Liverpool just off the A59, and accessible by bus. Go!

Spent most of last Friday afternoon in the back room here with a bunch of mates where we enjoyed a three course Christmas meal which I washed down with 6 pints of Okell's Bitter. The whole visit was excellent.
Second visit here, still a great place. Good beer choice inc bottles from far and wide. Ate here on first visit & was good.Large open Okells pub, and at 11.50 there were already a few fellow Colchester fans here. Had a pint of the Okells bitter which was pleasant, and the staff were very friendly, the young lad serving asked if I wanted the sparkler off as one of my fellow fans is a stickler for non-sparkler beer – but my motto in the North is when in Rome.. Landlord (presumably) an Everton fan had a chat about our 5-0 defeat in the cup in 1971. Good pub and 7.5/10. Visited 26/9/2009