The Grove Inn, Huddersfield

My favourite pub - only the Fat Cat in Norwich and the Sheffield Tap come close, and neither surpass The Grove. If you like real ale and craft beers (as I do) you can't really ask for more than 18 ale pumps including Gadds, Thornbridge, Brew Dog, Dark Star, Buxton and Magic Rock...to name but a few. The selection of beers on offer is incredibly well chosen and prices are very reasonable with real ale pints around �2.40 to �2.90 (prices work on an increasing scale of ABV). All beers are served in pints, halves and third of a pint measures - making sampling much more manageable.

In addition to the real ale there's also 20 keg beers and I'm told that the beer menu I was browsing contains over 230 bottled beers...but in honesty, with the range of draughts on offer I'm not sure why you'd drink bottle.

In short, a truly excellent pub.

Point to note: The Grove is one of the few pubs I've come across in the north that doesn't use swan neck pumps, sparklers or gas assist on its real ale. As a born and bred Yorkshireman I was very skeptical about this on my first visit, but the beer turnover is quick and the ale is kept so fresh the beer still always seems to have a good tight head (which I initially found quite remarkable!).

6 Sep 2011 00:35