Based underneath the railway arches near Piccadilly Station, Manchester's online distributors Beer Merchants are opening their doors to the general public from Saturday, December 10.

Better known for their online sales of reputable craft beers, the former storage warehouse is now transformed into a bottle shop, bar and music venue.

Open tomorrow from 12pm to 7pm, beer fans will be able to drink in and take away some of the best beers from the UK and across the globe, while listening to live jazz from 5pm-7pm and snacking on some classic pub snacks including scotch eggs, pork pies and pickles.

Beer Merchants are calling this the Growler Shop - named after the air-tight drinking vessel that will be used to take away beers. According to the Beer Merchants, The name growler is said to have come from the 1800’s when people would use pails to take beer home and the CO2 escaping from the pail lids made a growling sound.

(Image: GRUB Facebook)

Will Evans is running the Beer Merchants' Growler Shop. “The idea is that people can come here and get a beer that you wouldn’t normally find in bottles or cans and take home a few pints of it," he said. "We use a special filling system that eliminates all oxygen (beer’s worst enemy) from the bottle ensuring the beer will be good untouched for up to 60 days”

“We’re committed to helping people drink better beer and we hope to see a time soon when it becomes normal practice for people to pop into their local bar with a few empty growlers at a time to pick up pints of beer to enjoy at home or on a picnic. The great thing about it is that there is zero waste as the growler gets washed and re-used every time”

And with GRUB Christmas Food Fair taking place just two doors away inside Alphabet Brewery, it looks like North Western Street is the go-to area for foodies this weekend.

102 North Western Street / @beermerchants