Pub News Contributors: Rob Ashe, Steve Downing, Steven Mulholland, Tony Morgan

Cavern Pub, opposite the Cavern Club has two Ossett beers on cask at £4 a pint, one of which is a house beer named Cavern Ale

Carnival Brewery have opened a brew tap on their premises in King Edward industrial park, which is situated just off the dock road (Bath Street), a short walk from the IOM ferry terminal. Both cask and craft keg will be on sale and the brew tap will be open at weekends. Carnival brew speciality beers such as Macau Oat Cream Pistachio Pale.

Greene King are developing the large building between Lidl and the Crown on Lime Street as the Lime Street Tavern

Denbigh Castle, Hackins Hey, is due to open late March. Fiona and Dominic Hornsby who run the Bridewell and previously managed Doctor Duncan’s, Rigby’s, the Dispensary and the Fly in Loaf have bought a long lease on this pub situated next door to the Hole in Wall. They have reverted to the original name, Denbigh Castle, which dates back to the 1970’s. the pub then became Walters and then Jupiter’s. Expect a similar beer range to the Bridewell, with cask ales from Kirkstall, and bars on two floors. If anyone has old pictures or stories of the Denbigh Castle, Fiona and Dominic would love to see them, please send to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

The Masonic Hall bar on Hope Street, opposite the Pen Factory, is being run by the Liverpool Arts society and is now called the Liverpool Arts bar. Rock the Boat and Big Bog beers are often on sale on the four handpumps. Various arts events will be held in the bar including music, plays and open mic nights etc.

Turncoat gin (run by ex brewer of Liverpool Craft) have opened a bar in the Albert Dock called Turncoat, which has many craft keg beers on but unfortunately no cask.

The Pi Bar in Mossley Hill has closed, due to dispute over rent costs. The Pi had been one of the top ten pubs in the Liverpool branch from what pub scores, so had qualified as an entrant to the Pub of the Year.

The Little Tap Room, Micro Pub and Distillery, on Aigburth Rd opened on the 13th March.

A new micro pub called Jaxon’s opened on the 14th February. It's situated at 21 Longmoor Lane Fazakerley, Liverpool 9 and was much needed in this area of Liverpool where real ale outlets are sparse. Some CAMRA members turned up for the opening night when they had three very good cask ales on: Old School Mild, Panzer Pilz from 4T's Brewery and Think About It Pale from the local Brewery Black Lodge. There was also Two Lilley's ciders Cherries & Berries and Apple & Blackberry available at £3.50 a pint. Jaxon’s has very friendly staff, board games and a dart board.

Cask reopened on Wednesday 19th Feb. and is being leased by Patrick and Eric, a son and father team with prior experience in the trade. Nothing has changed (ex-cept the opening hours), they are still selling four real ales (including one dark) dur-ing the week, increasing to five (with the one dark) at the weekends, there will also be one real cider. As well as wine they are now selling champagne, and their range of bottled European beers may well change from what was on offer previously (Leffe is now sold, for example). The decor has remained unchanged, and they are continuing the successful acoustic nights on the first Tuesday of each month. The main change is they now open on Mondays and have extended their Opening hours to Mon-Fri 3pm to 10pm, Sat/Sun noon to 10pm.

Last year the Four Ashes had a charity rounders match against fellow micropub, The Corner Post. Customers of both pubs made up each team and thoroughly enjoyed the game. This year plans are being made for a return contest, this time in a game of Crown Green Bowls, bring it on! Their chosen charity is CHICS - Children's Cancer Support group - based in Alder Hey. They exist to support children with cancer and their families. All the volunteers who run the charity have all been personally affected by this issue. The money raised for them pays for days out, Christmas parties, theatre visits and time away in the Charity owned caravan in the Lake District. So far the fabulous customers of The Four Ashes have raised over £7,000 for this very worthwhile charity.

Volunteer Canteen. The “volly” gets a facelift. Over recent months, the Volunteer Canteen in East Street, Waterloo has had a bit of a makeover. The exterior has been repainted in a neat black, white and gold colour scheme. This includes the date panel on the first-floor front elevation. which originates from the 1924 refurbishment when Higson’s brewery took over the pub. Inside, a wood burning stove replaces the previous fireplace with the original surround being retained. The fireplace wall has been repainted in a pale blue which very effectively draws attention to the space. At the lounge servery entrance, much of the clutter has been removed from around the doorway, revealing the woodwork and the beautifully coloured glass panelling. It has also had the effect of brightening up the area by allowing more light through. The team running the “Volly” must be commended for this upgrade to the pub, especially at a time when many pubs show serious signs of neglect. It is very pleasing to see all the features which make the “Volly” a great pub are retained, the Higson’s branding is still evident on the exterior windows and on the internal glazing panels and if you visit, sit and take in the surroundings and look for the small details such as the Lancashire rose motifs on the 1924 seating, and the match strike panels near the fireplace surround. There are very few pubs like this with largely unaltered interiors. They deserve to be appreciated, preferably slowly over a pint.