The Caledonia

I liked the feel of this pub but unfortunately neither beer I selected really hit the spot. Melwood Discovery was merely ok and Blakemere Deep Winter just a little better.
One unusual innovation here was a cold beer vending machine. The beers available were all common foreign lagers, presumably available in cans, but such a contraption in a pub is something new and interesting to me.

The Caledonia is a deliciously quaint little pub, located on the precipice of Liverpool’s Georgian quarter, with an impressively diverse selection of real ales, spirits, and premium lagers.
The pub changed hands a few years ago, after it had been on the verge of collapse, and the new owner has made live music an integral part of the Cali’s manifesto. Impressively, it hosts several free gigs a week, covering everything from jazz to skiffle to bluegrass. These gigs have always been of a high standard in my experience, and depending on the night, the atmosphere can often be electric.
However, on another night, it will likely be you, the bar staff, and a solitary old drunk making up the whole population of the place — if you don’t play close attention to their listings, a night in the Cali is somewhat unpredictable. However, even during its quieter hours, it’s a safe bet for an enjoyable quiet pint, and the audiophiles among you will still be able to enjoy quality music of a similar vein through the pub’s PA system.
Aside from its strong attachment to music, the pub also prides itself on being Liverpool’s most dog-​friendly pub, a policy that it promotes almost aggressively. While in some respects this is admirable, it’s not such a bonus if you’re not keen on canines. I personally find being around 3 or 4 dogs while I’m drinking a little disconcerting, but I guess that’s down to personal tastes.
It’s very easy to have a good night in the Cali, whether you fancy losing yourself in some foot-​stomping traditional music, or just joining a friend for a quiet drink and putting the world to rights. It just depends what kind of an evening they have on the cards, so check the listings before you venture out.

The Caledonia is pretty much the very definition of A-​OK. It has a few good beers on tap, but nothing mind-​blowing. Its in a serene location with a decent layout but this often leads to it being deader than Kennedy. It’s open and welcoming, but in the same way a Big Issue seller is open and welcoming.
The most redeeming feature I can remember from my last visit was the corking blues music that was dripping with oily melancholy out of the speakers. Even though the barmaid (i.e. the only other person in the building at the time) had just put it on for her own sake, it gave a deliciously cinematic depression to the proceedings.
The Caledonia’s other redeeming feature, of course, is the fact it made me use the word ‘corking’.

It is a painful process to witness but the Cally is slowly going down hill and has been for some years now. If you can imagine the life of a pub as that of somebody growing up, The Cally has long since left behind its boistrous, rebellious teenage years and seems to now be steaming ahead into old age years before its time — probably exacerbated by a drug and alcohol fuelled youth!
Once again the pub has changed hands just before it looked like it was on the edge of closing — not for the first time. But it looks as if the back to basics approach has taken another step towards nondesciption. The place has a clean open feel to it but with a lack of discernible character or atmosphere and a basic choice of bar it no longer has the identity that made this place so distinctive and unique only a few years ago.
The Cally is not a bad place to drop in for a drink and makes a good fuelling station along a Catherine St pub crawl with Friday evenings seeming to be the best night for a lively atmosphere.

The Cally is one of those pubs where there could be something or nothing going on, and its pretty much the luck of the draw. I’ve been there when there are jazz nights and the atmosphere is electric, and when there’s only been 5 people in there including the staff.
Acting as a local to many arty and student types, the atmosphere is relaxed and pretty much anything goes. Far more lively in the evening than the daytime, it seems to be the sort of place where networking occurs by accident because the bloke across the bar went to school with your cousin and you should all stay in touch and meet up same place, same time, tomorrow night. Its a little bit in need of a refurb but if it did it would probably lose its charm. This is somewhere to stumble across when in need of a low-​key night that is bound to turn raucous.