WHEN Birkenhead music venue Future Yard opened a year ago after lockdown restrictions began to ease, one thing they were determined to get right was the drinks offering.

And what an offering: open every day, the venue’s bar sells a superb range of local craft beers and brews, from the likes of Glen Affric, Chapter Brewing, Black Lodge, Cloudwater, Top Rope and Neptune Brewing.

“We’re keeping our suppliers as close to home as possible,” said co-owner Chris Torpey. “Partly because of our commitment to keep our carbon footprint as low as possible, but also because there are so many incredible independent brewers locally.

“Glen Affric are a craft brewery situated a stone’s throw from Future Yard, and have been brewing award-winning beers from their Birkenhead home for the past five years. We’ve teamed up with them on our house beer, Yard Pilsner, which is a classic pilsner with a biscuit malt body and zesty citrus layers.

“It’s been flying out which is lovely for us and them - we’ve been joking about needing some wheelbarrows to ferry it back and forth. The other great thing is we can just speak to them whenever we want and get feedback and we’re hoping to do some ‘Meet the Brewer’ events where people can come and find out more about their beer.”

With sunnier weather ahead (hopefully), Chris is looking forward to Future Yard’s huge outdoor space becoming popular again.

“We love being here on Argyle Street and we love people popping in and having a drink,” he said. “We’ll be programming things outdoors from May through to August with live music, DJs on Friday nights and some bar takeovers with some of the local brewers.

“It’s an amazing asset - when the sun shines it’s a complete sun trap. When you’re sat on those benches in the sun it’s hard to imagine you’re in Birkenhead!

“It’s lovely that people can come down to a show early, have a bite to eat and a drink and then wander in for a gig.

“The summer makes us think outside the box in so many ways - which is perfect for us!”

n futureyard.org