SALT. THEN MORE SALT

July 2026. Saltaire.

Mrs RM had scoured the internet for advice on what to do in Saltaire at the end of our (very short) leg of the Cask Camino and found 1) Salt Mill and Hockney galleries, 2) Roberts Park, 3) SALT Beer Factory.

Not much mention of the characterful grid of cobbled streets built by Titus for his workers,

and seemingly all named after his children.

So, SALT it is then. But which one ?

Well, the one in a converted tram shed with pizza, I guess.

The pizza and TV sports SALT Beer Factory & Kitchen brings in quite a crowd, but with trade mainly Madri and Pino Grogio it’s sadly not enough to turn over the cask Ossett beers brought over from, er, Ossett.

Just as on my first visit in 2015 (when it was Hop), the White Rat lacked the coolness and sparkle that makes it a go-to beer across West Yorkshire.

But what fool goes cask in a heatwave ?

Head out the secret door and find a second What Pub CAMRA entry in the same complex,

a weekend opening fun pub housing the SALT brewery, trestle tables, and families and toddlers playing shuffleboard.

And a chilled 8% keg DNEIPA, whatever that means.

We only shared a half, but that 8% Tram improved Mrs RM’s mood instantaneously.

“We needed a bit of Coldplay” says Mrs RM. “It’s the Verve” I correct. Are they any different, really ?

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

6 thoughts on “SALT. THEN MORE SALT”

  1. Been reading up about ol’ Sir Titus. Didn’t allow “beershops” in his magic kingdom but at least there was an off-licence. Are there many pubs in Saltaire now, apart from modern brewery taps etc?
    Sir Titus also paid for the first lifeboat in Orkney, where I will be in just over a week’s time.

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    1. The actual area of workers cottages is quite compact, like Bournville and Port Sunlight I guess. Fanny’s Ale House is just outside the grid, as are most of the new bars like SALT and a few micros. Close to Salt Mill itself is a bar called “Don’t Tell Titus”, appropriately !

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    2. Hi Bill, there’s the Salt Cellar, just down a bit opposite Fannys, the Cap and Collier micro, round the side of the keg only Bierhuis, which is diagonally across the big junction from Salt/Tramshed.

      Just along the main Rd towards Bradford is the great Ring o Bells, then further along Triangle micro.

      Back to the Shipley rd, not far from Fannies and Salt Cellar towards Shipley is the great Beehive, plus a few more to go at in Shipley, Fox, Junction, Saltaire Brewery Tap and Reconnections…

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  2. Ps I had a couple of Salts beers this week, amazingly in Hayle and Penzance, while 404 miles from home, on holiday in St Ives, where I also saw in the Pilchard Ale House micro, they had cask Peculier Assasin, which the keg and canned version is brewed 0.9 miles away from me….
    So much for locAle

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    1. You’d think CAMRA were in favour of drinking beers produced locally, but it seems they really want you to discover a beer you’ve never heard of before, whether in a pub or a beer festival.

      Alpcalypse is SALT’s attempt to claim some of the Neck Oil market now Punk IPA is virtually dead.

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      1. That was one of the ones I had, the other, I think, was Jute, a sort of hazy pale/IPA types thing ??

        Both cool keg types in hot hot sun….

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