The Emporium strikes back to basics

Small but perfectly formed, the Ale Emporium is a winner
Ale EmporiumAle Emporium
Ale Emporium

Revenge is a dish best served cold, opined Khan (Fantasy Island’s Ricardo Montalbán) in the 1982 Star Trek sequel The Wrath of (aforementioned) Khan.

And maybe it is. I couldn’t say, for sure.

What I can say, and with some authority, is that The Rat of Khan is an ale best served just a critical couple of degrees below room temperature.

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Couldn’t put an exact figure on it,and happily don’t have to.

The good people taking care of the beer at Ale Emporium in Fylde Road have got that covered.

Pale blonde, crisp and hoppy, cooked up by the Rat Brewery (an offshoot of the Ossett Brewery) in Huddersfield (a town which is about as far from Fantasy Island as is possible without venturing into outer space), perfect Spring drinking – we’ll meet again.

And quite likely in said pub (formerly the Bitter Suite), a nearly new little gem stashed on the left flank of The Ferret.

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Will not be long before this place welcomes me back, of that I am certain. Indeed, a better place to take pause of an early midweek evening after eight long hours in the belly of the beast (work) it is hard to envisage.

Bright and clean, scrubbed panels and boards, big windows, simple wooden but comfortable seats and stools, they’ve managed to make what is actually a fairly small space into one which feels airy and cool.

No music (when I was there, but am given to understand there are regular live nights), instead a reasonably healthy 6pm Tuesday crowd satisfied their senses with amiable natter, pool (a decent table round the corner) and the contents of their glasses.

Approaching the pump-laden bar (no point telling you the guest list, suffice to say huge and ever rotating) for a sequel of my own I decided to keep things rodent and tapped the Mole Catcher.

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By Wiltshire’s Moles Brewery this spicy, coppery 5% beast had a great bitter tang went down well enough that an unscripted sneaky half was snapped up 10 minutes prior to departure.

A pub for every cask fan to put on their beat, and with food just around the corner (hopefully best served hot) I can only recommend you make the trek.

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