A new craft beer shop called The Beer Inn has opened in Southport on the same site of the former Inn Beer shop. Andrew Brown reports

A new craft beer shop has opened in Lord Street in Southport town centre.

The Beer Inn has opened its doors at 657 Lord Street on the site of the former Inn Beer Shop. It is owned by Nik Weatherby, who opened the successful Forty Seven cafe and bar in Kew last year.

The new venue offers a comprehensive range of beers and lagers from across Europe. It also offers a variety of other drinks, such as ciders and wines.  Nik and his team have carried out a major renovation of the premises and are looking forward to being able to offer food soon as well.

Nik was a huge fan of the original Inn Beer Shop when it first opened, owned by well-known local couple Peter and Pam Bardsley. He is determined to build on its reputation for a huge choice of beers, carefully sourced and selected from all corners of the world.

He is also keen to support local products too with a great choice of beers on offer from the likes of Southport Brewery. Outside tables and chairs on the historic Lord Street boulevard allow visitors to sit out and enjoy the sunshine while sipping a nice cool beer or two.

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Nik said: “This area of Lord Street, this part of the ‘Northern Quarter’, is really busy now, with us here, along with other places such as House Of Ivy, Lords, Ra Bar and others. It’s quite a nice little area. It’s a good group of places that you don’t get anywhere else. It’s nice and relaxing, we get a really good crowd here.

“The Great Himalayas restaurant is very popular too, we get people coming in here for drinks before or after their meal. When we open the doors, the smell from there is amazing.”

Nik has been working hard on the character of the Beer Inn, taking the best of the past and adding his own new ideas. He explained: “We really wanted to go back a little to how this bar was when it was the Inn Beer Shop.

“I used to enjoy coming in when Peter and Pam ran the bar. This was Southport’s first micropub. It was brilliant at its peak. It was always a place I loved drinking in. It was a real shame when it shut. I was really pleased to be able to open it again. We have got lots of IPAs on sale, with more coming in every week.

“We have got the biggest selection of European beers in Southport with beers from Germany, France, Belgium and elsewhere. We want to be able to offer people as much choice as possible. We have around 30-40 different IPAs, German pils, Weiss beers, Belgian lager, stouts, and much more.

“We have lots planned for the future. As well as food options, expect to see quiz nights, and real celebrations of events including The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June and Oktoberfest in October.

“For the Jubilee, we are going to get some tables to put out at the front of the bar, with lots of Union Jack bunting, and a real selection of English lager and ale. For Oktoberfest, I am getting a Bavarian Oompah band in, staff will be dressed in lederhosen, it will be lots of fun.”

This article first appeared in Stand Up For Southport