I conquered a bar challenge in a friendly Hessle pub

A pint of Hop Sessions 011 at The Pourhouse
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


There's no doubt the folk of Hessle have a fair few locals to keep them hydrated.

One of the pubs in the town is The Pourhouse. The craft beer pub and bottle shop in Prestongate has a great following among town residents, and I just had to check it out.

Though from the outside it looks insignificant in size to the towering Treehouse opposite, the bar/shop is a deep unit. There are plenty of seating benches too, though I was a bit too early in the day for these to be filled up. A family filled up a table close to the bar, and a pair of dog walkers with their initially skittish lab came in for a sneaky pint and were having a catch-up with the staff.

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While the pooch started to come around as I inched towards the bar, the options were plentiful. Plenty of local breweries, with the majority from Brew York - with the Hop Sessions 011 calling my name. The pub has a clean and modern interior and, with the nights drawing in and the weather outside looking a bit miserable, the subtle fairy lighting makes it feel fittingly autumnal.

The IPA didn't even touch the sides. As I went to return the glass, I saw the ultimate bragging right challenge - to 'split the G'.

The challenge is to, in one motion, drink a pint of Guinness to the G on the glass. Though some might say that anywhere in the letter is the aim, it's realistically to the line itself. The reward? A free refill. Challenge accepted.

Though I've often tried and, more often than not, failed, I felt my luck was in. Right in front of the barman, I nailed it. The barman, in disbelief, prompted the family to turn round and say: "What, he's never just done that?" - peak main character syndrome achieved.

The Pourhouse in Hessle
The Pourhouse in Hessle

While the refill was being poured, with my smirk of complete contention, I got speaking to the barman. Tom told me that he's been here since day one, just a few months before the Covid pandemic started. The bar kept its head over the water, and probably got its name out locally, by doing beer deliveries in the first lockdown. Before long, we were then going in-depth about local breweries, some of the best-rated beers that have been and gone in the bar and some of the outlandish high percentages we've seen.

There's an ever-growing collection of pump clips turned decorations - something that is a constant amongst crafty spots like this - and a nearby pub came in and dropped off a tap screw top to add to their collection.

While I could've chatted to who probably was the most welcoming barman I've met in a long time, I couldn't distract him too long from the job on hand as the place was starting to fill up. As I supped off and said my ta-ras, I even shook hands with Tom.

The Pourhouse is open Tuesday-Thursday 4pm-11pm, Friday 1pm-11pm, Saturday noon-11pm and Sunday 1pm-10pm.