The Piccadilly Beer Mile

Best time: Saturday from 1pm, when all five are open (Steelfish opens at 1pm). Friday from 2pm or Thursday from 6pm also work. Avoid Monday to Wednesday, when Balance and Steelfish are shut. Opening hours change, so check each venue before you set off.

The stops

1. 

   Sureshot Taproom

   4 Sheffield Street, Manchester M1 2ND · Manchester Piccadilly (rail and Metrolink), about 5 min via the station car-park stairs

   Railway-arch taproom under Piccadilly station, next door to the Sureshot brewery founded by ex-Marble and Cloudwater brewer James Campbell. At least ten keg lines and two cask, new releases every Wednesday, DJs and big-screen sport, with Nell's pizza to collect from a couple of doors down. The taproom's current timetable is Monday to Thursday 5pm–10pm, Friday and Saturday noon–midnight, Sunday noon–10pm.

   Open in Google Maps

2. 

   Balance Brewing & Blending Taproom

   Unit 10, Sheffield Street, Manchester M1 2ND · Manchester Piccadilly (rail and Metrolink), about 5 min

   Manchester's specialist mixed-culture brewery: barrel-fermented wild and sour beers made with British, often foraged, ingredients, poured at source alongside guest pales, lagers and cider. Open Thursday 5pm–10pm, Friday 2pm–10pm, Saturday noon–10pm, Sunday 2pm–8pm.

   Open in Google Maps

3. 

   Cloudwater Brewery Taproom

   Unit 9, Piccadilly Trading Estate, Gidding Road, Manchester M1 2NP · Manchester Piccadilly (rail and Metrolink), about 8 min; New Islington Metrolink about 12 min

   Cloudwater's taproom beside its brewery behind Piccadilly station: 20 draught lines and two cask, all drawn from a 3°C cold store under the mezzanine, plus barrel-aged releases, a shop and street-food traders most Fridays to Sundays. Open Monday to Thursday 2pm–10pm, Friday and Saturday noon–10pm, Sunday noon–8pm.

   Open in Google Maps

4. 

   Track Brewing Co Brewery & Taproom

   Unit 18, Piccadilly Trading Estate, Manchester M1 2NP · Manchester Piccadilly (rail and Metrolink), about 8 min

   Big, bright taproom inside Track's working brewery, across the road from Cloudwater: 20 keg and three cask lines of its freshest beer (Sonoma pale ale is the classic), a beer garden, and Slice Culture pizza made on site. Saturday-morning brewery tours with a straight-from-the-tank pour. Open Friday and Saturday noon–10pm, Sunday noon–8pm, and from 2pm on weekdays.

   Open in Google Maps

5. 

   Steelfish Brewing Company Taproom

   108 Temperance Street, Manchester M12 6HR · Manchester Piccadilly (rail and Metrolink), about 8–10 min back to the station

   Small, beer-first brewery taproom that opened in December 2025 and was named Best Newcomer 2026 by Central Manchester CAMRA. Three cask and six keg lines of Steelfish beer and local guests, a well-stocked fridge, and huge cheese butties and sausage rolls until they run out. CAMRA lists Thursday 6pm–10pm, Friday 2pm–10pm, Saturday 1pm–10pm, Sunday 2pm–8pm.

   Open in Google Maps

Start at Sureshot and Balance, two doors apart under the Sheffield Street arches, then cross to Cloudwater and Track on Piccadilly Trading Estate and finish at Steelfish on Temperance Street, about 8–10 minutes from Piccadilly station.

Food: Nell's pizza (click and collect) next to Sureshot, Slice Culture pizza inside Track, and street-food traders at Cloudwater most Fridays to Sundays. Steelfish only does snacks.

Cloudwater is closed on Tuesday 20 October 2026 and opens at 6pm on Wednesday 21 October 2026 for the Women in Beer Awards.

Want more? Port Street Beer House on Route 2 is about 10 minutes' walk north of Sureshot.

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Manchester: Craft Beer Tasting in the Northern Quarter

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