From Waterhouse to Bank to Beer House, Friday 02.09.11

Last Friday Jo and I decided to stay out in town and hit a few pubs. I was heading back into Manchester city centre from the Trafford Centre and met up with Jo (who’d spent a pleasant latter part of the afternoon in the City Arms with a book and a couple of halves of bitter) at the Wetherspoons’ Waterhouse branch. The plan was to go for food right away, but after a couple of hours’ worth of talking I was absolutely gasping, so I decided to grab a half before we moved on.

I was glad I did: the Waterhouse had Acorn IPA on offer. Very smooth, with a solid malt base and good, strong hop flavours on top, but not too dry or harsh. A damn fine example of the English IPA and at 5% it was reasonably quaffable. Good job, too: I really was gasping, and the half lasted all of nine or ten seconds… not my usual drinking speed by any means, but the stuff was very drinkable indeed.

After that little refresher, we nipped round the corner to Tampopo for a beer-soak Nasi Goreng and then thought about the best pub to head for a bit of a celebration (more about that at a later date). No competition, really; it had to the Port Street Beer House. But on the way, we decided to nip into The Bank on Moseley Street, just on the off-chance they had something interesting on. They did, too: Hopdaemon Incubus was on the bar. I’m a big Hopdaemon fan, so a half of that one really was a no-brainer. Bloody good stuff it turned out to be as well: sweet malt flavours and a sharp hop-bite on the finish, packed with a pleasantly surprising amount of flavour for a 4% session beer, and one I’d definitely have again.

For my second half, well, Nicholson’s had been having an IPA week, the tail-end of which was still available, so I went for a drop of Marston’s Old Empire. I’ve enjoyed this one in bottles before now, but alas this particular half wasn’t quite up to scratch. Maybe the barrel was getting on a bit or had been sat there all week or something, but I’m pretty sure the oddly sweet, barley-sugar notes and muted hop profile aren’t what this one was supposed to deliver.

Suitably pit-stopped, we moved onwards and upwards to Port Street. The place was jumping, as is the norm on a Friday night, and they had Thornbridge Evenlode on the bar, as part of their Breweters’ Week selection of beers. I was in a tasting and sampling kinda mood and Evenlode is 6.2%, so I only went for a half. But I ended up wishing I’d opted for the full pint: it was gorgeous stuff. A wonderfully smooth, rich, double-cream mouth-feel delivered a wash of lush cafe-creme and milk chocolate flavours. One of those deliciously, dangerously drinkable stouts I could happily sup all evening.

Alas, that was not to be, as by the time I nipped back to the bar, the barrel had run out. Which annoyed Jo no end, as she’d been after a half of that herself, to follow on from the Dark Star Over the Moon that she’d enjoyed for her first half. I had a sip of that as well: a sharp-sweet, dark bitter with lively hop notes bouncing on a solid malt base and a tangy, sultana-fruitcake after-taste. Very nice indeed.

Anyhow, for my next one I decided to re-visit a beer I’d sampled on my last Tuesday Stagger with my very good mate Andy: BrewDog Hello, My Name is Ingrid. At 8% this one is definitely a slow-sipper, although again, it’s a dangerously drinkable beer. Its a blend of sweet, fruity cloudberries, wrestling and scrapping with the sharp bitterness of an Imperial IPA hop-profile. The fruit definitely has the upper-hand to start with but then the hops come back fighting strong and it’s a contest that’s a real delight to experience. I read on the BrewDog blog that Ingrid had been brewed for the Swedish market, in which case I’m very glad indeed that PSBH managed to divert a barrel from Stockholm to Manchester. Lovely, lovely stuff; a prime example of BrewDog at their innovative best.

And for the final act of the evening, a beer that I’d had my eye on since I first perused the bar: Magic Rock Human Cannonball. With this one being a 9.2% double-IPA, I wasn’t sure whether to expect a detonation of ascerbic hop acids or a more subtle, structured, malt-backed salvo of rich, rounded flavours. So I was very pleased when the latter proved to be the case: Human Cannonball is a very well-balanced blend of highly complimentary marmalade hops and sweet toffee caramel malts. Smooth and very easy-drinking, quite reminiscent of BrewDog Hardcore in top condition. Altogether sublime and very highly recommended indeed; an excellent beer with which to finish a rather excellent day.

Picture Credit: Very cool Thornbridge Evenlode pumpclip pic borrowed from The Good Stuff, used with Leigh’s very kind permission. Everything else nicked from brewery websites.

Manchester city centre is already blessed with a number of very fine pubs and alehouses: The Marble Arch, The Angel, Common, Bar Fringe, Knott Bar, The City Arms, The Crown and Kettle, The Bank, The Bull’s Head, and The Smithfield Hotel to name just the ones within walking distance of the tram that Jo and I drink in fairly regularly and I can remember off the top of my head.

Well, last Saturday Jo and I popped in for a couple of drinks at a newly opened establishment which I think already stands head-and-shoulders above the majority of the rest, and is surely set to be recognised as one of Manchester’s very finest: The Port Street Beer House. Here’s why:

First: the location. At the Piccadilly end of Manchester’s Northern Quarter, about 5 minutes walk from the tram stop in Piccadilly Gardens, it’s far enough off the beaten track to avoid attracting passing hoardes of alcopop-seeking teeny-boppers (is that the right technical term? I’m terribly out of touch these days). Perfect.

Next: the pub itself. From the highly polished wooden flooring (which is quite lovely) to the sophisticated decor, muted lighting, eclectic-yet-comfortable furnishings in the upstairs lounge and the light jazz playing softly in the background, it’s a very grown-up sort of space. Which is just the sort of space I like, seeing as I’m well over the hill and accelerating comfortably into middle-age. Again, perfect.

And finally, the beer selection. Oh, my word, the beer selection…

Five cask pumps, which on the night in question were offering beers (from left-to-right) by Dark Star, Acorn, BrewDog, Thornbridge and Prospect. Another ten or so keg taps; two more BrewDog, a couple of continental (Czech or German, I think) lagers, one American guest and some others I failed to make note of. And then a couple of six-foot fridges half full of bottled delights from the UK, Europe, the US and probably Asia and Australia as well, with another two pallet-loads en route, so I was told. To be fair I will say that some of the bottles in question sounded like they were a little bit on the pricey side. But then, quality costs, you tend to get what you pay for and we really are talking about the sort of beers that you definitely aren’t likely to see in many other places outside of their country of origin (again I forgot to note down specific examples, so I’ll make a quick list next time I’m in). Caveat emptor if you’re picking stuff from the fridges at random, is all I’m saying.

Anyhow, the first pint of the evening for me: Thornbridge Hark. A light, session strength golden ale, with bags of hoppy freshness up front and then a long, dry, biscuity finish. Very drinkable, quite moreish, easily the sort of ale you could stick with all night. Meanwhile, Jo tried a half of Dark Star M&M Special Porter. This 6.5% ABV, dark, rich porter was massively smoky and spicy (chorizo!) with sweeter liquorice to follow. Maybe a bit of a challenging flavour profile, but if smoked beers are to your taste then this one is definitely worth trying.

Next up, I chatted to one of the chaps behind the bar about just how bloody marvellous it was to see Brewdog Hardcore on draught and as a result ended up with a half from the keg. In bottles, this 9.2% ABV imperial IPA is pretty damn amazing. On draught it’s… just awesome. All the burnt-orange citrus flavour, dry hop bite and incredible tropical-fruit aroma of the regular version, but with a silkier, richer mouth-feel. Quite splendid. Jo meanwhile had gone for a freshly-tapped cask ale: Prospect one-twenty. At 4.0% ABV, this light malty ale with a dry, biscuity finish and a slight orange-citrus tang (think orange shortbread, but not at all sugary) was another excellent session choice. Jo said she could quite happily drink this all night and wouldn’t have complained if it was the only cask beer on.

At this point, I decided to step away from the monster IPA and renew my acquaintance with an old favourite: Acorn Gorlovka. This 6.0% ABV stout is smooth, dry and packed full of delicious flavour: high-cocoa milk chocolate (think Green & Blacks), with a lingering roast-malt finish and a faint coffee bitterness giving it a distinctly mocha profile overall. Very, very good indeed. And at this point in the proceedings, I brought Jo a half of Left Hand JuJu Ginger. Jo likes a good ginger beer, but this one turned out to be not quite gingery enough. It was cucumber-fresh and not too sugary (which is a good thing), with a tangy, lemony after-taste, but the ginger did’t linger (which is a bad thing…) and by the end of the half it was a case of lemon, lemon and more lemon. “Lukewarm lemon tea”, Jo concluded, and went back to the Prospect one-twenty for the rest of the evening.

I blame my early-doors dalliance with Hardcore for what happened next: a pint of smooth, hoppy, malty and delicious BrewDog Punk IPA – again, imagine the bottled version, but then add a good 50% to the quality of the mouth-feel. It was cask rather than keg and I have no idea whether it was old-recipe Punk or new-recipe Punk, but whatever the case, it was high-quality stuff and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Then I went for a pint of BrewDog Zeitgeist – their Czech-style black lager. 4.9% ABV, packed with burnt coffee flavours and possessed of an incredibly refreshing hoppy bite. Lovely stuff once more and I was very glad indeed that I’d been able to try three BrewDog favourites on draught, be they cask or keg, old recipe or new, they were all very, very good indeed. Then there was one more half of Gorlovka for the road and then Jo and I called it a night – a truly excellent night – and headed for the tram back home.

So, what do I think of Manchester’s newest specialist beer emporium? Frankly, I absolutely love the place. I’ll be closely following developments on the Port Street Beer House blog and keeping an eye out for new beers announced via their Twitter account. And whilst I’m sure Jo and I will still frequent our other favourite drinking places on a regular basis, if our visits don’t more usually turn into stops en-route to an end-of-the-evening session at the Port Street Beer House, I’ll be quite surprised.

I know I’m nowhere near the first beer blogger to suggest this (not by a long chalk), but fantastic as it is to sip and savour a huge, dry-roasted imperial stout or a gob-smacking, palate-shrivelling double-IPA, sometimes there’s nothing like a few good session bitters to see you through a pleasant evening (or two) of pleasant company down the pub.

A couple of weekends ago I was lucky enough to enjoy not one but two classic cases. On the Friday night I went out for a few jars and a chin-wag with my mate Andy. We started off down the Knott Bar, where I sampled a Titanic Port & Starboard (a 4.2% deep red-coloured ale with a rich malty main-flavour and a hoppy after-taste), followed by an Acorn Barnsley Bitter (3.8%, light, dry and hoppy). After that we wandered off to the Rising Sun, where we had a Leeds Best Bitter (4.3%, perfectly pleasant if not hugely remarkable) and then we nipped in for one more at the City Arms, where I had a Batemans G.H.A. Pale (another 4.2% hoppy and drinkable if not exactly amazing beer).

End result: after a couple of hours of chat and four pints each, we decided to call it a night. Personally I was feeling fine and dandy and nowhere near the worse for wear in the morning despite the 8-unit-or-so (technical) binge drinking session I’d indulged in the night before. So on Saturday I had no problem whatsoever heading out with Jo for date night at The Angel. The place is under new management and they’ve recently opened an upstairs dining room, which is where we sat to enjoy a particularly fine meal (red grouse for me and baked gurnard for Jo, both of which were delicious and are highly recommendable), accompanied by a couple more session bitters.

First up was Williams Bros Fraoch Heather Ale, which I’d only encountered in bottles before (a few years ago) and which turned out to be very good indeed on draught. Quite malty and slightly sweet, with a pleasant, light bitterness on the after-taste, it went down very easily indeed. Jo liked it so much she stuck with it for the rest of the evening, but I’d spotted a couple of others I wanted to try, so I switched to Redemption Urban Dusk, from a relatively new addition to the London brewery scene. This one was a 3.8%ABV dark bitter with a strong burnt-sugar flavour and plenty of malt. A very tasty dark beer that I wouldn’t mind trying again some time.

After that, I decided I was in the mood for something a bit more experimental, so I opted for a half of Hornbeam Lemon Blossom, a 3.7% pale ale that promised lemony freshness and turned out to taste like mildly alcoholic lemon curd; there was lemon zest in there, definitely, but the whole thing was carried along on a slightly stilton tang. Not entirely unpleasant, but not one I’d rush back to, either. And then I’m afraid I fell off the session wagon, because I’d spotted the big, boozy (6.6% ABV) Wensleydale Porter on draught at the very start of the evening and I’d been itching to try it ever since. Delicious it was, too: a big whack of roasty malt flavours, shot through with blackcurrant and fruitcake, with a nicely dry finish by way of contrast. A pint and a half of that one (Jo had the other half, having been tempted herself) and we called it a damn good night.

The Saturday before last, after starting the evening off with a curry and a couple of bottles of Black Sheep Ale at our favourite curry house (the Lime Tree in Prestwich), we (Jo, myself and our friends Andy and Dawn) headed up to Bury to visit the Trackside (we were there just before Tyson, by the sound of things).

Talk about a tricky decision when I got to the bar. The Trackside is usually a good bet for a dark beer or two, but last Saturday there was a choice of four, plus assorted bitters and pale ales. I started off (possibly a little rashly) with a pint of Acorn Gorlovka Imperial Stout; a gorgeous, coffee-rich, smoky stout that weighs in at a session-hefty 6% ABV. I sampled this one a few weeks ago at the Marble Arch, in a more cautious half measure. Possibly I should have saved that one for later and stuck to the halves as well, but I think I must have had a rush of blood to the head and besides, the night was still (fairly) young. That one went down very nicely indeed (although probably far faster than it should have) and so it was back to the bar, this time for a swift half of Rossendale Pitch Porter. Not quite as robust as the Gorlovka, although still a respectable 5% ABV, it was another very pleasant roast-malt experience and definitely one I’d be happy to repeat.

After that I made my first tactical error of the evening: instead of joining Jo on the Dunham Dark – a smooth, slightly sweet mild with a light touch and only 3.8%% ABV, I instead opted for a bottle of Robinson’s Chocolate Tom that I spotted in the fridge. I’ve tried both the Old Tom and Ginger Tom before, and I’d always promised myself I’d have a go at the Chocolate version, after Ed gave it a write-up a while back. This was clearly the opportunity I’d been waiting for, so I went for it. Bad move. I’m not sure whether it was because the bottle had been chilled, or the beer was too young, but in any case it was far, far too sweet for even my sweet tooth to enjoy. If Marble Chocolate is Green & Black’s in a glass then this was Dairy Milk by comparison and I’m afraid there was little else to notice or to recommend it. If I ever see a bottle on sale I might grab it and put it away for a while to see if it ages at all well, but I’ll be definitely steering clear of drinking it out of a fridge again.

My second tactical error of the night involved sending Andy to the bar for a half of Dunham Milk Stout. I should have known better: Andy doesn’t really do beer by demi-measures and came back to the table with a large half (two halves in a single glass, if you catch my drift). Which was a bit of a shame, because I’d already sampled some when Jo got a half in an earlier round and whilst I was interested enough to give it a decent go, I didn’t really want to invest in a full draught. It was… okay. Considering Dunham’s beers usually rate ‘damned good’ to ‘excellent’, I was a bit surprised at how ordinary this one tasted. A bit thin, nothing in the way of defining characteristics or stand-out flavours. I’m no milk stout expert, I admit, so maybe it’s actually a cracking example of the style, but if you ask me their Dunham Porter and Dunham Stout are much, much better. By this stage Andy was back on the bitter instead of the stouts and I had a glug of whatever he was drinking (it might have been Dark Star Sunburst, that rings a bell) and very tasty it was, too. Ah, well.

So, there you go: another great selection of beers at the Trackside, which is pretty much par for the course for those guys. We’ll be back, and it won’t be too long before we are, either.

A good friend of mine came up from London on Saturday, so I thought I’d take him to the best pub in Manchester: the Marble Arch.

If you’re from round these parts then you might scoff at my casual handing out of the ‘best pub…’ accolade; I’m sure you’ll have your own favourite and I’m not intending to denigrate any of our city’s other very fine watering holes. But honestly, if there is a better pub than the Marble Arch around these parts then I haven’t found it yet (and please feel free to leave suggestions in the comments if you think you might have).

My friend (also called Darren) and I got there around four in the afternoon, and a serendipitous table vacancy opened up just as we were arriving, so we settled ourselves in for a few pints and a good catch-up. I went up to the bar and came back with two pints of golden, crystal-clear Marble Pint, one of the tastiest, freshest pale ales you’re ever likely to meet. We started talking – setting the world to rights, as you do – and soon finished off the pint of Pint and decided to move on to Marble J.P. Best; a classic best-bitter that’s not quite as hoppy as the Pint, slightly stronger on the malt and still extremely refreshing. It definitely went down a treat.

T’other Darren is a big Belgian beer fan and haunts a few of London’s Belgian brasseries when he can, so he perused the Marble’s beer menu with an expert eye, picking out a beer he’d heard of but not yet encountered down south. I forget the name now, as they were unfortunately out of stock. Instead, my eye was caught by the Phoenix Thirsty Moon, so we opted for a couple of those instead. Again, it was another quite delicious bitter, but in this one the malt had been turned up a noticeable notch; it was rich, sweet and pleasantly warming.

By now we were feeling distinctly sociable – chatting to the folks on the next table about the demonstrations in the city centre – and we decided that before Jo joined us and we ordered food, we’d have one more go at the Belgian section of the menu. Darren picked out a St Feuillien Tripel and it turned out to be a delicious and extremely drinkable golden Belgian with very rich malt flavours that weren’t at all over-powered by its 8.5% abv.

Jo arrived mid-way through our goblets and we quickly ordered food (Cornish gurnard for Jo, venison for me and the Marble burger and chips for Darren – all absolutely delicious) and then we ordered another round. The time had come for a stout and so we opted for the Marble Chocolate; a rich, warming, dark-cocoa laced beer with a great body and a gorgeous mouth-feel. It’s dangerously more-ish, too at 5.5% abv. Beautiful.

By this point Darren was declaring himself full and happy, but I’d seen one more beer I really wanted to try. Having enjoyed Acorn’s Old Moor Porter recently, I just had to have a drop of their Gorlovka Imperial Stout. It was quite different to the Marble Chocolate, with a much more pronounced coffee and liquorice flavour, but once again it was dangerously drinkable, even at 6% abv. Probably a good job I just had a half, all things considered.

As we departed the Marble Arch I cast a longing over-the-shoulder glance at the Marble Dobber pump, but I’d sampled its ample delights before and – even though it had taken the top prize the Manchester Beer Festival the day before – I knew our paths would cross again, so I was content to let it lie.

The evening wasn’t quite over yet. We headed back to our place and I cracked open one of my precious stash of BrewDog Tokyo and poured it (ever so responsibly) into two glasses. Darren made all the right appreciative noises about this truly terrific beer and then we finished off with a wee dram of cask strength Edradour, just to send us nicely on our way.

The next morning, we (I say ‘we’, I mean ‘Jo’ – I was in no fit state) drove Darren back to Piccadilly station (this time sans riot police thronging the streets), chatting about the previous evening’s beers on the way. Darren’s favourite had been the Phoenix Thirsty Moon. Mine (Tokyo aside) was probably honours even between the Marble Pint, the Thirsty Moon and the Marble Chocolate, although frankly, they were all rather excellent and I wouldn’t hesitate to re-visit any of them.

So, there you go. A pretty much perfect session at the best pub in Manchester? In my opinion, yes. Can’t wait to get back to the Marble Arch for another.

My Dad stayed with us for a couple of nights earlier this week (he’s an IT Trainer and had a two-day client visit in Hyde) and he remembered to bring over those promised bottles of Acorn Old Moor Porter. We shared a bottle on Monday evening after coming back from a pub meal (and a couple of pints of Wells Bombardier) and it was very pleasant indeed, but seeing as he left a couple more bottles with us, I’m hoping to give it another sampling and write up some proper tasting notes before too long.

While in Asda he also picked up a couple of bottles of Hambelton Ales‘ Stud – a “robust beer” brewed with pale and chocolate malts which sounds rather interesting – and one of Rudgate Battle Axe (a bitter that once again includes pale and chocolate along with crystal malts).

My Dad very generously left those three behind as well when he headed back to Leeds and has promised to pick up some more Old Moor if he sees it next time he’s shopping. Good bloke, my Dad :)

One of the benefits of letting folks know you write a beer blog is that on occasion your nearest and dearest will spot a couple of interesting-looking ones and report back with the info. Or, better still, they’ll actually buy the beer and bring it to you. No, seriously, I’ve seen it happen. Like the time my missus came back from Aldi with a couple of bottles of Wychwood – one Blonde Wych, one Black Wych if I remember rightly. And then just the other day, I was on the phone to the folks when my old man said, apropos of nothing much:

“Do you like porter?”

“Um… Bears, woods? Pope, Catholic? Sorry, yes. Yes I do.”

He then went on to explain how on a trip to his local (Crossgates, Leeds) Asda deli counter he spotted that they were decorating the front of the cold meat display with a number of bottles of ale from the Acorn Brewery. And among them he’d spotted their Old Moor Porter, a “full bodied victorian style porter with hints of liquorice” that was a near-miss for the Champion Winter Beer of Britain last year.

So he stuck a bottle in his trolley, took it home and… drank it.

Okay, so he hasn’t quite got the buy the beer and bring it to you bit down pat just yet, but I do have a promise of a couple of bottles at the weekend if he gets to Asda again by then, or in a couple of weeks’ time if not. And at least I know in advance that it’s “smooth, creamy and delicious” (guest mini-tasting-notes from my Dad, there) so that’s another one to look forward to.