Back in the 'Fax

In 2025 four beer aficionados from Oxford headed northbound to Wigan to explore the pubs, eat pies, and visit the beer festival.  As it was a rip-roaring success we decided to head out on our travels again in 2026 - Gareth, Tanya, and myself cruising up the M1 in Chairman John's shiny new motor, rock soundtrack in full swing, on our way to Halifax.

In 1858 Charles Dickens visited and declared it "as horrible a place as I ever saw".
I'm not sure for how many years the average visitor would have agreed with Mr Dickens, but more recently Halifax has morphed into a West Yorkshire gem.
Museums, an impressive list of big musical acts playing at the Piece Hall, a craft beer bar never more than a few minutes away...  All they need is for some Hollywood folks to buy the football team.

We arrived just after 2pm, dropped our bags off at the hotel, then set out to explore the town.

Starting in the Victorian Arcade where the charity shop will fill all those gaps in your Genesis VHS collection...

It's also where you'll find a Good Beer Guide-listed craft bar under the skylights...

Dukes (16-18 Market Arcade, Halifax: Town Centre, HX1 1NX)
Set over 2-floors, Dukes is colourful, with pot plants in some very tricky places to reach for watering, skateboards on the wall, and a couple of shelves constituting a spicy sauce shop. 
Seating is of the non-traditional variety with more cushions than some would appreciate...

The cask choice was porter or bitter from Weekend Project, pales from Two By Two or Rivington.  Plus lots of keg including an imperial stout that stopping me looking any closer lest sensibility go out the window at the first hurdle.
I stuck with the Weekend Project 'Talisker Bay East India Porter', just breaching the fiver mark at £5.10 a pint.

It was superb and served in great condition in Dukes branded glassware.  Extra points for bespoke beer mats too.
And what a soundtrack they had on - Richard Hell, X-Ray Spex, Babes in Toyland, Crass... it's enough to excuse that pink and green paint job.

Moving on from Dukes, we were heading to a second micro, but popped our heads into the Piece Hall first for the blue sky picture.

The Piece Hall opened on New Year's Day 1779 as a cloth hall where local weavers could sell their wares in one place.  It originally consisted 315 rooms over three floors surrounding the large open court yard.
Now Grade I listed and refurbished magnificently, it serves as a summer venue for an impressive line-up of outdoor gigs.  We were several weeks too early for Shed Seven opening the 2026 programme, so went to the pub instead.

Meandering Bear (21-23 Union Street, Halifax, HX1 1PR)
This micro has been open since September 2019 and is named after a local legend, the story etched onto one of the walls within the pub.
Back in 1913 a couple of bears escaped their enclosure at Halifax Zoo.  One of was quickly apprehended, whilst the second 'meandered' for an hour-and-a-half.
I wonder if it gave up having decided Halifax was as horrible a place as it ever saw?

The pub is set over two levels with the bar up a couple of steps to the rear.  Five hand pumps served a best bitter from Brass Castle, two options from Wishbone Brewery of Keighley, and two from Beartown Brewery, Congleton.

Plus plenty of tempting keg.  Here's the full list on the beer board:

A Beartown 'Kodiak' for me, the brewers' flagship pale ale, made with German hops and some nice biscuity malts, all making for a thoroughly pleasant pint served in top condition.
We grabbed seats on the high-backed cushioned bench at the far side of the smart room, a rare outing for Shuggie Otis on the sound system.

Glasses emptied and returned to the bar, we moved on to somewhere all of us were all looking forward to: the Halifax taproom of Hebden Bridge's Vocation Brewery.

Vocation Brewing Co. (13-17 Alexandra Street, Halifax, HX1 1BS)
Vocation are almost certainly the best known of the Calder Valley breweries, rapidly expanding from humble beginnings in an old chicken shed on the edge of the moors in 2015 to a current capacity of 55,000 barrels a year, their cans a regular sight on supermarket shelves.
Their Halifax tap opened in 2022, the site previously housing a music venue, The Lantern, killed-off by the pandemic, and a micropub called The Alex.  Prior to that the Art Deco building was part of a cinema.  Instinctively I'd rather be able to drink in a micro then pop next door to watch bands in a music venue, so Vocation better be good.

Yep...not bad.
Busy with a Thursday evening post-work crowd, it has a light, high-ceilinged main room with modern decoration and friendly staff.
It boasts twenty-four beer lines, six of which are cask...all but one of those 24 pouring beer on our visit.  Tough to pick just the one, especially when I could see Jamaican stout, French farmhouse ale, and Belgian IPA alongside more familiar Vocation fare.
I was sticking with sub-5% cask - in this case the 'Victorian Porter'.

Those Victorians sure knew a thing or two about making dark beers.

I got around a reasonable number of pubs and bars during my last stay in Halifax in November 2021.  One place that demanded a revisit based on beer quality and choice was the Victorian Beer Cafe.  In fact, we liked it enough to rock up on their doorstep on each of our three nights in town.

Victorian Beer Café (18-22 Powell Street, Halifax HX1 1LN)
This stylish bar has been open since 2014 and has racked up a fair few awards over the years.
My dull exterior picture doesn't do the place justice.  Unassuming from outside, there are a warren of brown wood-panelled rooms within.  A wander around the corner from the bar reveals distinct areas on different levels with brickwork walls and bookshelves; corners with comfy armschairs in which to relax with your pick of the extensive range of beers on offer.

That vow to stick to beers under 5%?  Hmmm...the presence on cask of Thornbridge 'Imperial Stout' from the Union, weighing in at 7.7% scuppered that.
Technically, I reckon it's a couple of percent under what 'imperial' should really be.  Not to take anything away from a delicious smoky, chocolatey dark brew. 

I like curveballs on pub crawls, which is why I'm waiting in anticipation for Life After Football's next curated day out.
Meanwhile, Chairman John's curveball was a 'cask ale not available' city centre sports bar with an historic past...

The Old Cock (Old Cock Yard, Halifax, HX1 1DS)
It may not look it, but The Old Cock is one of the town's oldest pubs with bits of the building dating back to 1668.
It's notable for the fact that the Halifax Permanent Building & Investment Society were formed here in the meeting rooms.  They'd go on to become the Halifax Building Society, just about to disappear from our high streets if Lloyds get their way.

The Old Cock has had a modern makeover inside, detracting from the remaining historic features. Lots of TV screens, some garish wallpaper, too many light fittings, dreadful pop music.  None of which was putting off a decent evening crowd of folk.
With no cask on offer we settled on Caffrey's Irish Stout all round.

Right.  We needed a proper pub.
This looks like it will fit the bill...

Royal Oak (2 Clare Road, Halifax, HX1 2HX)
Hi-vis.
Cask hand pumps.
Busy pool room.  Darts on TV.
Cushioned bench seating.  That'll do!

The Royal Oak dates back to 1931 when it was built incorporating timbers from HMS Newcastle. It's a cracking pub and an antidote to anyone jaded with craft beer and micros.
I ordered a pint of the Wensleydale 'Dirty Deeds' (done dirt cheap?).
Photographic evidence also suggests I was impressed by the ceramic urinals in the gents.  Such photos are a side-effect of imperial stout. 

 

It had been a long time since a lunchtime pizza stop en-route in Ossett.  Peckishness led us to Wetherspoon's Barum Tap (17 Rawson Street, Halifax, HX1 1NX) where we ordered far too much food.
Did John really manage to get 18 onion rings, or am I imagining that.
My pint of Goose Eye 'Golden Goose' was okay (NBSS 2.5) - one more beer than I really needed on the first evening, but I needed something to wash the Curry Club fare down with.

I'll finish with daytime pictures of the Barum Tap, complete with the West Yorkshire constabulary at the door keeping their eye on Scunthorpe United fans arriving in the town.  

There were a few more venues in Halifax to tackle on subsequent evenings, whilst the plan for the days ahead was a trip to Hebden Bridge and a trip to Leeds.
You need a good Spoon's breakfast with extra beans, sat up on the balcony, to tackle big days out like that.