Session Notes: The Marble Arch, Manchester, 01.01.12

There we were, sitting in the Marble Arch on Christmas Eve, supping our halves of Stouter Port Stout when Jo spotted a posted adversing the MA’s New Year’s Day opening times. Which gave her an idea…

Eight days later we were back again, for dinner (venison loin for Jo, pheasant for me, both delicious) and our first session of 2012, which covered the following bases:

Moor Amoor Porter 4.5% ABV
A rather delicious glassful of mocha sundae & toasted hazelnut flavors with a lingering dry finish. Great mouth-feel, too. Very pleasant indeed.

Marble Trial Lagonda No. 6 (IPA) 6% ABV
I’m guessing the Marble folks are testing out a few alternate hop-combinations for their Lagonda IPA? No.6 is blessed with bountiful big IPA flavors: predominantly a grapefruit dry-sourness, with a hint of honey keeping it all in check. Well-balanced and easy-drinking but with definite bite.

Marble Draft No.9 (golden ale) 3.9% ABV
Another example of the sort of sharp, hoppy session beers that Marble do so well. Pale gold in colour, hop-led, with dry citrus notes throughout. Similar to Pint, but with more of a biscuit malt character.

Marble Stouter Stout 4.7% ABV
A classic on the Marble list and with good reason. Stouter Stout is a classic bone-dry black beer with an almost charcoal-like character, off-set by just a hint of dark chocolate. One of the driest, tastiest stouts around.

Dark Star Festival (bitter) 5.0% ABV
Jo’s a huge fan of Dark Star Original and was happy to re-visit a half of its label-mate Festival: as last time, it was quite savoury and dry, with a spicy-nuttiness leading the flavour-charge. Very tasty, very drinkable indeed.

Marble Pint (golden ale) 3.9% ABV
The aforementioned king of the Marble session beers – indeed, one of the best session beers around, IMHO, right up there with the likes of Fyne Avalanche or Hawkshead Lakeland Gold – Pint was on top form on Sunday: light, refreshing, hoppy-sharp but with a softer, fruitier finish than some of Marble’s other session brews. Lovely stuff.

Marble Chocolate (stout/mild) 5.5% ABV
Marble’s show-stopping stout/mild (they describe it in their beer menu as possessing characteristics of both rather than being a blend of the two) was as tasty and more-ish as ever. Rich, malty, packed with just the selection-box array of flavors that you’d expect from the name. Not too bitter, not too sweet, a well-balanced, full-flavoured dark winter warmer. Rather fabulous.

How’s that for a cracking start to the year? Not to mention the birth of a new annual tradition, with any luck.

SIBA Great Northern Beer Festival in Manchester This Week

The headline says it all, really. The 2011 SIBA Great Northern Beer Festival kicks off at the Mercure Piccadilly (formerly the Ramada Piccadilly) Hotel in Manchester on Thursday and runs through to Saturday, with 250 cask and 100 bottled beers on offer.

Tandleman has checked the casks and is in charge of health and safety at the event so you know that beer and drinkers alike are in good hands. And it will all be served in the proper, Northern manner, with a sparkler on the pump for body and head alike, and a clean glass for each drink, which is quite simply the most civilised way of running a beer festival.

Jo and I had a great time at last year’s event, which was by far the best beer festival we’d been to to-date (and still is, unless this year’s can beat it). So we’ve done the sensible thing and booked Friday off work so that we can get on down to the Thursday evening session with our drinking trousers most definitely on and the prospect of a mere 50 yard stagger to the tram stop to see us safely home again

Anyone else planning on being there on Thursday evening? Drop me a note via the comments below and maybe we can say hello and have a beer on the night.

New North Manchester Ale Fest Kicks Off This Evening

As I mentioned back in August, the North Manchester Ale Festival, Manchester’s newest ale festival, is on this evening and tomorrow afternoon & evening at the Radcliffe Civic Suite, a mere 6 minute walk from the Metrolink station.

The beer list has a number of choice-looking items on it, with interesting-looking ales from the likes of Outstanding (one of the Festival’s main sponsors), Rudgate, Revolutions, Spitting Feathers, Williams Bros, Severn Vale, Tunnel, Two Roses, Wolf and a fair few more. Hopefully the setup will have gone smoothly this week and they’ll be ready to rock come 6 p.m. this evening. Jo and I are hoping to nip along and see what’s what at some point, so with any luck I’ll be able to report back before too long.

Six Beer Links to 26.09.11

In which I post another half-dozen links to items of interest I’ve spotted around the Beerblogosphere since my last Six Beer Links post.

1. BrewDog Manchester y’say? Scroll down through that blog post and you’ll find out that the cheeky Fraserburgh chappies are pursuing a license on a premises on Newton Street about 50 yards from the awesome Port Street Beer House…

2. Harrogate-based chef Stephanie Moon has worked with Ilkley Brewery to create a Pint Chart that matches a selection of their beers with her ideal food choices. [via the Evolution of the Beer Geek in handy infographic form.

3. Boak and Bailey presented a list of Beers From Beyond the Grave… beers brewed from historical recipes. Looks like a fair few for the wishlist there.

4. Mr Simon H Johnson, rightly world-renowned for his tireless efforts as the globe’s foremost Reluctant Scooper has started a new blog for… other stuff. Some of it still beery and some of it Pearl Jam related, so that’s me hooked already, then.

5. Martyn ‘Zythophile’ Cornell’s latest delving into the annals of beer history is a fascinating look at the lost art of extreme-aged cask ale. Well worth a read, as always.

Marble Arch and Port Street Beer House, Manchester, 17.09.11

Last Saturday night, Jo and I had plans to meet up with our good friends Lucy and Murray in Manchester city centre. 5.00 p.m. outside Sinclairs / The Old Wellington was the usual nightmare of noisy teatime crowds, so despite there being a couple of interesting-looking IPAs (one of which was Adnams American IPA, the other I can’t quite recall) on offer at the Welly, we elected to de-camp and move on up to the Marble Arch instead.

Good decision. We got there just before the early evening lull, so it didn’t take us too long (with a little bit of strategic loitering, pouncing and relocating on the part of Jo and Lucy whilst Murray and I were umming and ahhing at the bar) to bag ourselves a table-for-four and settle in to a pint or two before we ordered food.*

I started off with Hawkshead Cumbrian Five Hop and it was absolutely marvellous. An explosion of huge citrus-hop flavours (the beer is a.k.a. ‘Citrillo’ so I’m guessing there’s Citrus and Amarillo in there for a start) with plenty of grapefruit, burnt orange and candied lemon peel on a solid malt base. The dry-sharp finish lingered for ages and the mouth-feel was rather excellent as well. At 5% ABV it wasn’t o.t.t. and I could happily have supped this one all evening, but dammit we were in the Marble Arch and there were new Marble beers to try!

So, next up: Marble Utility IPA No.5, the latest in the Marble Brewery’s ongoing Utility IPA series which, if I understand it right, changes slightly each time on account of their using whatever blend of hops they have to hand at the time. Something like that. Anyhow, No. 5 was a winning combination, whatever was in there. Another big, hop-heavy, mouth-feel-rich beer; this time with a more pink grapefruit citrus flavour and, whilst still bitter and dry, a slightly softer edge. Again, a lingering dryness and again, at 5% ABV both palatable and reasonably sessionable. This was the first of the Utility IPAs that I’d encountered, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for them in future.

After that, fortified by a starter round of mackerel paté and a main course of lamb rump with some truly tasty trimmings (including boulanger potato, which must be the dish that all potatoes aspire to from the moment they’re pulled from the ground) I decided it was time to try the Marble Rye, a.k.a. The Last Stronge Beer. I assumed this was Brewer Colin Stronge’s farewell brew and if so, then it was a hell of a going away present for the Marble’s punters. A 5.7% strong ruby mild (I think?) reminiscent of the legendary (to my mind, at least) Marble Brew 1691 Mild, packed full of spicy fruit cake flavours; rich and just sweet enough, with a slightly peppery edge and a tang of port wine, this one really was terrifically tasty, easy-drinking and very more-ish indeed.

Although for some reason, when I got back to the bar next, I decided to have a Marble Dobber instead. I guess sometimes you just can’t resist the lure of an old favourite,eh? As usual, Dobber didn’t disappoint: big hops all the way; fantastic.

After that we decided to move on in the general direction of Piccadilly station, with an almost inevitable stop-off at the Port Street Beer House. There I cast my eye over the selection of “Jocktoberfest” Scottish ales on offer and, eschewing the temptations of Fyne Jarl, opted for a half (just a half, mind) of BrewDog Abstrakt:06, which I’d spotted on my last PSBH visit the previous Tuesday, but not tried then for strategic, mid-week session restraint reasons.

I’ve tried the bottled version of this one and thoroughly enjoyed it (but not blogged about it quite yet), so I couldn’t really pass up the chance to sample the keg version. And it was lovely. A “triple-hopped Imperial Black IPA”, it was full of herbal cough-drop, liquorice and coffee flavours with the rolling, fruity profile of a slightly sweet, fortified wine. I sat and sipped that one for a happy half hour before we called it a night, rolled out the door and headed for home.

Another selection of great beers from two of the very best (and two of my three personal favourite) Manchester pubs. Another great session in great company. Cheers, Lucy and Murray, very good indeed to see you. Let’s do it again soon!

* From the Marble Arch’s new Autumn menu, which I have to say is pretty fantastic-sounding throughout. They really have excelled themselves this time around, with a selection of (apart from the puddings, as you’d expect) mostly gluten-free dishes (whether that was intentional or not, we’re certainly very happy that’s how it turned out) and I fully expect that we’ll be back to try the rest of it before too long.

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.

That Perfect Session Beer Moment, Courtesy of Hawkshead

You know the Moment I mean. When you glance along the bar and, with fingers crossed, opt for something with a reasonable ABV – maybe a best bitter, maybe a golden ale – and the bar-person hands you a pint of liquid perfection. It doesn’t happen all the time, alas, unless you’re exceptionally lucky or your local landlord or landlady is extremely good at cellar-work; more often you’re handed a pint of uninspiringly flat, flabby brown beer. Which is why when you do have one of those Moments, it tends to be memorable.

My last such Perfect Session Beer Moment happened last week, at The Angel in Manchester. It was a Tuesday night, the place was fairly quiet and I was waiting for my mate Andy to turn up for one of our midweek sessions. I spotted the Hawkshead Lakeland Gold pump-clip, thought about it for a moment and decided that yes, I would give it a go to see if I could re-live a few fond memories of the hour or so Jo and I spent at the Hawkshead Brewery Tap last October.

Naturally, I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as on its home turf, so I was pleasantly surprised when it was actually even better. I was moved to tweet at the time that it was in excellent nick, but that didn’t really do it justice (Andy was glaring at me and muttering darkly about tweeting in public so I had to keep it short). It really was about the best stand-alone session pint I’d had in a long time. The pour must have been perfect (kudos to the lass behind the bar; relatively new to the job, so either a very quick learner or riding her beginner’s luck with aplomb) and watching the foaming head slowly settle to a thick, tight white cap was a joy. I would have taken a photo (hell, I would have shot a short video) if I thought the lads at the bar wouldn’t have booted me out for being some sort of geeky weirdo.

And the taste? Bitter nectar on the tongue, sharp dryness at the back of the throat, lingering malt tones balancing the fresh, grassy hops perfectly. Excuse me waxing all lyrical, but I’m getting misty-eyed just thinking back to it. Goes without saying we stopped for another before wandering off to see what the Port Street Beer House had left in their US Beer Festival line-up.

As I said, probably the best pint (or two) of bitter / golden ale I’ve had since my first drop of Fyne Avalanche last year and the best general session-strength pint since Wharfedale Aztec Dark, which I enjoyed back in April, also at The Angel. No coincidence, that: they really do keep their beers very well indeed. Well worth a visit next time you’re in Manchester.

Once Around the Northern Quarter, Manchester 25.06.11

Saturday night, time to hit the town. First up: a visit to the new Korean place on Shude Hill to take on solid sustenance. Baekdu has a slightly stark look, but the chairs are comfortable, the clientèle mostly Korean students (always a good sign when a restaurant is frequented by a lot of people who really know the cuisine in question, I reckon) and the food is very good indeed. Well, actually, the salmon salad I had as a starter was a bit of a let-down; I was expecting something Korean and interesting, but instead I got mostly iceberg lettuce and a few lumps of salmon sushi, garnished with… salad cream. But Jo’s chicken skewers were very tasty and the main courses – beef bibimbab for Jo and spicy, stir-fried, thin-sliced pork for me – were excellent. Food done, it was time for a beer or four.

First stop, the Marble Arch. One of my three very favourite Manchester pubs and a regular session-starting location. We timed it just right, hitting the early evening lull, and managed to get a seat. Up to the bar, and there was no question whatsoever what we were both going to have: Marble Ginger Stout. I was moved to tweet at the time that it was **bloody gorgeous** and I stand by that. A deep, rich mouth-feel, with semi-sweet, dark chocolate & vanilla-cream flavours to begin with; then a lingering, dry-sharp root ginger finish. The bastard offspring of a dark chocolate brownie and a ginger nut biscuit, in a glass. Also the best draught stout I’ve had in quite a while, bar none. One slight snag: I thought the pump-clip said 4.2% but on closer examination that turned out to be 6.7%. So, not a session-swigger. But still, I could happily have supped a few more of those over the course of the evening… before sliding slowly under the table with a stupid grin plastered all over my face.

Instead, we erred on the side of caution and upped-sticks to The Angel, favourite Manchester pub #2. Marble Ginger Stout was always going to be a tough act to follow, but to be fair the Bowland Black Dragon Porter had a good go. An ebony body with ruby highlights and a tight white head was promising. Dry, biscuity malt flavours with a raisin and chocolate finish was a result. Very drinkable, quite sessionable at 4.5%. Jo went for a Pictish Ginger (I think that’s what it was called). She’s very particular about her ginger beers is Jo. She’s sampled many, disliking the ones that are basically fermented ginger pop (too sweet) or anything with too strong a clove flavour (sorry, Marble Ginger and Big Ginger as well) and she declared this one a good ‘un. Again, we could’ve stayed for a couple more at The Angel (there was an IPA that looked interesting), but we had a stagger-plan, so onward we went…

…to The Castle Hotel, on Oldham Road. This place has a decent rep as a bit of a node on the Manchester real-ale scene, but for some reason we’d never been in for a pint; maybe because the last couple of times we’ve been past on a weekend night it had been hammered. Saturday wasn’t so bad; we managed to find a seat and then I sidled up to the bar to peruse the range of mainly Robinson’s beers on offer. I got Jo a Hatter’s Dark Mild (pleasant enough, if not exactly amazing) and I was going to have a half of Old Tom, but instead I opted for a pint of the Robinson’s Crusoe. A seasonal beer, apparently it’s a “double-hopped” golden ale, but it I’m afraid it wasn’t particularly hoppy, or particularly malty, or for that matter particularly good. I ended up wishing I’d stuck to my original plan, but there you go. You live and learn. The pub itself was nice enough, although far too warm. We’ll probably come back and give it a fresh go another time, maybe on a Friday afternoon or some other quieter time.

Onwards again, and this time to favourite Manchester pub #3 (the order changes, by the way, depending on which one I’m sitting in and what’s in the glass in front of me) – The Port Street Beer House. The usual bewildering array of cask and keg ales and draught beers to choose from. Jo went in search of seats and I got her a Dark Star Festival; a deep chestnut coloured ale that was very pleasant indeed. I took a little longer choosing my own and, after consultation with the bar-fella, eschewed the cask Thornbridge Jaipur (which took some willpower) and eventually decided on a half each of Odell IPA and Hardknott Queboid.

The former was very nice indeed, even better than the bottled version that I sampled a while back, with a big, orange-citrus hop aroma and a smooth, clementine hop-blast leading the flavour-charge. It was cool and refreshing, just the right drop for an increasingly-muggy Saturday night. Alas, I think the Queboid had turned. When I sampled it on Tuesday it was beautifully fresh but by Saturday it was a very different beast; sour on the tongue and with a faint whiff of Stilton about it (and not in a good way). I reluctantly took it back to the bar and the bar-fella graciously swapped it for a half of cask Jaipur* with nary a quibble. The Jaipur was as Jaipur pretty much always is: a hoppy blast of liquid sunshine and a pure joy to end the evening on.

* It occurred to me afterwards that they actually had keg Jaipur as well as cask, so I could’ve done one of those taste-comparison thingies. But to be honest, I couldn’t be bothered. It was the end of the night, and I only had room for a half after all of the above (Korean food is surprisingly filling, especially when you’ve finished off your wife’s bibimbab for her). Maybe next time, eh?

American Beer Festival at the Port Street Beer House, Manchester

Since opening earlier this year, Manchester’s Port Street Beer House has quickly staked its claim as one of the very best pubs in town, with an ever-changing roster of quality cask ales, draught beers and fridges jam-packed with tasty (albeit pricey, it has to be said) bottled delights and a developing roster of events and special occasions.

The latest addition to the Port Street calendar is their first American Beer Festival, which kicks off tomorrow. The PSBH always has at least a couple of US beers on draught, but it sounds like they’re really pushing the Trans-Atlantic boat out for the festival, because here’s what they’ve got lined up:

On offer throughout the festival there will be cask, draught and bottles from Anchor, Brooklyn, Caldera, Coronado, Dogfish, Flying Dog, Goose Island, Great Divide, Indigo Imp, Kona, Left Hand, Maui, Odell, Rouge, Saranac, Sierra Nevada, Sudwerk, Uinta & Victory. The festival runs until the selected beers have gone!

The opening event is sold out, but I think there might be tickets for barbecue on Sunday July 3rd. I’m hoping to head on down towards the end of the week, myself.

See portstreetbeerhouse.co.uk/blog for more information.

Update 29.06.11 The PSBH has posted an update with a stocklist of the beers on offer so far… mouth-watering, no?

Six Beer Links to 25.06.11

In which I post a half-dozen links to items of interest I’ve spotted around the Beerblogosphere since my last Six Beer Links post.

1. I really like the sound of Summer Wine Brewery‘s ‘The Benz‘: SWB brewer James says: “‘The Benz’ is going to be different to say the least, it’s a pitch black mild come stout at 5.2%, a soft roast bitterness, low hop bitterness profile finished with an insane amount of dry hopping just to mess with your head.” I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for that one.

2. Likewise Black Harry from Thornbridge, named after a local highwayman. “Thornbridge’s Black Harry use Pale Ale, Crystal, Black and Oat Malt. The Hop is Hallertau Northern Brewer. The beer at 3.9% is dark, refreshing and very drinkable. It has a fruity aroma with notes reminiscent of raspberry, a light creamy body and a long nutty finish.” Sounds delicious. Here’s hoping it ends up at the Port Street Beer House before too long.

3. Stuart Howe continues to innovate and create as well. The Sharp’s head brewer has posted details of his latest fascinating-sounding brew: “an amber beer fermented very warm in an open tank with abbey yeast … then racked into casks with a blend of wild yeast strains only one of which survived to do anything. The beer has been rounding off for the last 3 years in the cellars and tasted very good when sampled yesterday.” Blimey, I’ll bet it did. “Wild Amber Massive” will be available at the Stratford-Upon-Avon Beer Festival, if you’re heading down that way.

4. Still more unbridled creativity, this time from Tim Anderson – 2011 Masterchef Champion and former manager of premier London Beerhouse The Euston Tap – who has been brewing and cooking up at BrewDog. He’s designed and brewed “a 7.5% Miso, Toasted Walnut & Sorachi Ace dark lager” which will be called ‘Mr Squirrel’ and “Tim will be returning to Aberdeen in around 8 weeks time to launch the beer he brewed and also to put together some more treats in a Japanese inspired Musa beer dinner.” Not for the first time (and, I suspect, not for the last) I really, really wish I lived a lot closer to Aberdeen…

5. Still with BrewDog, they’ve announced that the 2011 BrewDog Photo Competition is now open for entries. Prizes include beer vouchers, dinner chez Brewdog, etc. “All you have to do is capture a moment when BrewDog is present and send it on over to us. The only rule for the photo is that it must contain something BrewDog.” Closing date July 13th.

6. And sticking with photography, Rob from one of my favourite beer blogs, Beer Lens, tweeted a couple of weeks ago that he was planning a trip to Manchester and could anyone recommend a few pubs to try. I @replied and suggested The Angel, The Port Street Beer House, and a few other places. Rob has since featured two Marble pubs on the blog: The Marble Arch and 57 Thomas Street . I reckon he’s done them proud there.