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?

Magic Rock Launch Night @ The Grove, Huddersfield 21.06.11

Last Tuesday night, I dragged my mate Andy over to Huddersfield for the Magic Rock Brewing launch at The Grove [warning: their website is decidedly Not Safe For Eyes at the moment]. It was just a half hour on the train from Manchester Piccadilly (with a tinnie of Punk IPA for company) then a short stroll through Huddersfield town centre to the pub.

We got there about five past seven; the place was already hammered and stayed that way until we left about 8 o’clock. In the meantime we chatted to South Manchester CAMRA’s John Clarke and sampled three of Magic Rock’s beers between us: Rapture (a dry, hoppy, 4.6% red ale), High Wire (a dry, hoppy, 5.5% pale ale) and Cannonball (a full-on 7.4% IPA that was sweet and not insanely over-hopped). Plenty to like in all three; definitely worth trying them all if you see them, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for their Dark Arts “surreal stout” in future.

We also spotted cask Thornbridge Jaipur down the end of the bar, so that just had to be done. But after an hour of rising heat and with the bar not getting any less busy we left The Grove – great pub by the way, about a dozen hand-pumps plus keg taps and bottle-fridges, we’ll definitely be back another time – we headed back to the station and called in at The Head of Steam for a refresher or two; Black Sheep Bitter for Andy and a mild from Phoenix for me (can’t actually remember the name of it – Black Magic, something like that? It was tasty, though.)

Suitably refreshed, we hopped on the 9.27 train and my plan was then to head home and get some kip, but Andy had another idea: the Port Street Beer House. I tired hard to stick to my guns, but he played the ‘it’s my 40th birthday at the weekend, we’re celebrating’ card and I was left powerless to resist. I’m quietly glad I did, because they had Hardknott Queboid on tap and it was lovely. A US-style double IPA weighing in at 8% ABV (I only had a half…) it was packed with rich, full, sweet-herbal flavours, but not too heavy on the hop-burn. I’ll definitely be trying that one again if I get the chance.

See the Magic Rock blog for an official report on the launch, as well as a detailed write-up from Neil at Eating Isn’t Cheating.

Brewery: Bewdley Brewery [Bewdley Brewery, was created in honour of the eponymous Mr Mucklow, the last commercial brewer in Bewdley and quite possibly a ‘journeyman’ brewer who travelled the area plying his trade at various inns and pubs. William ceased brewing in 1912, but during his time he was reputed to have brewed a strong, sweet dark mild at an OG of 1060, reputed to be the second strongest mild in the country*. Bewdley haven’t gotten their hand on an original recipe, but they’ve given a tribute version their best shot, and this 6% mild is the result.

William Mucklow’s Dark Mild might not be strictly authentic, but it certainly tastes like a beer that might have been enjoyed by the good folk of Bewdley a hundred years ago. Back then a ‘mild’ beer meant one that was brewed to be consumed fresh, within a relatively short period of time, as opposed than one that was aged (as detailed in Martyn Cornell’s rather excellent guide to British beer styles, Amber Gold & Black). Bewdley Brewery’s take offers a deep, mellow, chocolate malt profile with just a faint hint of coffee on the after-taste. It’s smooth, it’s rich, it’s entirely and dangerously drinkable; all too easy to forget that this one is a 6%-er.

All in all, definitely my kind of mild and nothing like the sometimes sour, often rather insipid modern-day examples of what tends to pass for the style. Maybe not quite as good as my favourite mild of all time – the truly excellent (and, sadly, long gone) Marble Brew 1691 – but definitely a close second and, as it’s still available – for instance, via MyBreweryTap.com and from Riverside Wines in Bridgnorth, last time I was there at least – technically the winner by default.

Give this one a go; if you’re a fan of dark milds, smooth winter ales, or beers with interesting back stories, then you shouldn’t be disappointed.

* Although I suspect Mr Cornell might have something to say about the strength of that particular claim…

Jo and I planned our visit to this year’s Great Northern Beer Festival with military precision. Friday 29th booked off work? Check. Early finish on Thursday 28th? Check. Trip to Tampopo to fill up on nasi goreng (one of the best stomach-lining beer-soak dishes known to man, bar none)? Check and double-check. Which meant that come 7.00 p.m. we were ready to hit the bar.

On the way in the door we paid our £2 deposit for a half-pint pot (a proper, Northern style half-pint pot, with a line to mark the half and enough room it he top for a decent head) and grabbed a programme. A cornucopia of Northern delights revealed itself, but which of the many fabulous-sounding beers in its pages were going to be available on the night? There was only one way to find out.

I wasn’t sure quite how the Palace Hotel would work as a venue, but it turned out to be an excellent one: I had no idea there was a cavernous function room in the basement, complete with a suitably temperature-controlled cellar / bar at the back, which the SIBA folks had put to good use as a beer store in the week leading up to the event.

The main room was busy, with a healthy hum of cheerfully beery conversation, but it wasn’t horrendously packed by any means. We headed over to the bar, which took up most of one side of the huge room. I didn’t do a full count, but there must have been 30 or 40 beers on offer at a time, an impressive selection by anyone’s standards. But it’s been scientifically proven that human beings have great trouble making a decision when presented with more than 7 (+/- 2) options, so we narrowed it down a bit: focusing on the first quarter of the bar, we plunged on in and made our initial selection.

Jo started with Hexhamshire Blackhall English Stout, which was a lovely, almost opaque black and big on coffee tones, with a very dry after-taste. I went for the interesting-sounding Old Mill Yorkshire Porter, but I think something had gone wrong somewhere; either the person who served me poured from the wrong tap, or there was still some water in the pipes, or Old Mill have a bit of an odd idea of what a porter should taste like. Whatever the reason, the stuff I got was chestnut-brown, thin to the point of wateriness and almost tasteless. An unfortunate way to start the evening and I was quick to head back to the bar for a second attempt.

I opted for Great Heck Dark Force Treason Stout. Very dark, smoky flavours dominated, with plenty of liquorice, damsons and just a hint of charcoal. Just the sort of big flavours I look for in a hefty stout and a 5.4% ABV that gave it a pleasantly warming alcohol kick as well. Much, much better.

Next up: Prospect Dragon Ale for Jo, which turned out to be a well-balanced, tasty golden ale packed with root ginger. Jo’s a big fan of alcoholic ginger beers (I’ve been nagging her to do a comparison piece for me for ages) and she really enjoyed this one. I’d wandered further along the bar and had spotted Allgates Mad Monk, a 7.1% Imperial porter, which had won the SIBA strong ale award earlier in the day, and I just couldn’t resist. It was delicious. Lot of big, chewy, sugary flavours: toffee, brown sugar and molasses, all present and correct. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and would happily have sat and slowly supped a pint over the course of an hour or so.

After the Mad Monk I thought I ought to calm things down a bit so I went for a Coach House Gunpowder Mild. At 3.8% I was hoping for a refreshing, light, but tasty beer and that’s exactly what I got: slightly sweet with a fruity flavour. Very nice indeed.

After that I decided it was high time I tried the SIBA Supreme Champion beer for the year: Elland 1872 Porter (which was also named CAMRA Winter Beer of Britain back in January). Now this was what I expected from a porter: lovely dark, roast-malt flavours with a decent hop-bite; well-balanced and not too dry, with hints of both chocolate and coffee merging to mocha perfection. Quite delicious and definitely a worthy supreme champ.

By this stage of the evening we’d met up with a friend and a mutual acquaintance or two, so the company was as convivial as the beer was good. By now I’d moved on to Stringers Mutiny. Described in the brochure simply as ‘Large Stout’, this 9.0% ABV monster was a lovely, nearly opaque black in tone and was packed with big, sweet flavours: toffee, booze-soaked dry fruit, rich fruit cake and more than a drop of coffee liqueur or dark rum. Another delicious beer, thoroughly enjoyable.

Jo had sent also me back to the bar for something she hadn’t tried yet and I happened to spot a new addition to the range, one which we’d noted and asterisked in the programme earlier: Hawkshead Damson and Vanilla Stout. Not too strong at 4.5% ABV but packing the most incredible aroma of fresh damsons, with a huge, fruity-sweet flavour rippling through the smooth, roast malts, this one made a big impression in a very short space of time. Jo said afterwards that a half was probably enough though; flavours that intense could’ve been a bit much if they’d lasted to the end of a pint, she reckoned. But definitely one to try if you see it anywhere, especially if, like me, you’ve long-harboured a sneaking distrust of the whole fruit beer oeuvre. This one might help to kick-start the process of changing your mind.

At this point, they called last orders and I reckoned I was okay for one more, so I nipped back to the bar. I was sorely tempted by a repeat of Mad Monk, 1872 Porter or Mutiny, but I decided to play it a little safer and opted for an Allendale Winter Dunkel. I’ve been interested in trying more German lager styles since reading about them in Great American Craft Beer. The Winter Dunkel was light and refreshing with a good balance of fruitiness and roast malts. It was a pleasant end to the session, but I think I’d have appreciated it a bit more if I hadn’t tried the three big, boozy beers right before.

In conclusion: Jo and I had a fantastic time and between us sampled plenty of excellent beers. We didn’t make the return trip on the Friday or Saturday so there were probably a fair few equally excellent ones that we missed out on, but we felt we’d definitely gotten our money’s worth. We’d only been to a one proper beer festival before now – the first Altrincham Bottle & Cask back in 2009 – and this one was a definite step up. Huge congratulations to Bar Manager Tandleman and his stalwart crew of willing and extremely able volunteer servers on an extremely smoothly-run operation. If more beer festivals could guarantee the same sort of high-quality delivery, speedy service and excellent range as this one then we’d definitely make the effort to go to more of them.

Brewery: Marble
Location: Manchester
Style: Strong Pale Ale / Strong Ruby Mild
ABV: 5.7% / 6.0%
Version: Draught
Source: Marble Arch, Manchester

It’s always a pleasure to walk up to the bar at the Marble Arch (actually, I could stop this sentence right there) and find they’ve come up with a new draught ale. So it was double the joy on Saturday evening when I spotted not one but two new brews to sample. It was the start of the evening though, so first things first: a couple of pints of Marble Pint, please. It’s one of those quintessentially British beers that manages to pack a flavour-punch despite weighing in at only 3.9% ABV, so it makes for an ideal session starter. And – ah, what the heck- a sample-sized half each of Beer 57 and Brew 1691 Mild.

Marble Beer 57 turned out to be a strong (5.7% ABV), full-flavoured pale ale. Not as dry and hoppy as the Pint and slightly darker in colour, it’s much closer to Marble Dobber in character, just slightly sweeter. Very pleasant, very palatable, very drinkable. Goes great with food as well (the pan-roast chicken was especially good on Saturday). I’m just not sure how likely it is to become a Marble regular, given that it is so Dobber-like, so if you’re interested in sampling this one, it might be worth seeking out now, in case it’s not around for long.

Now then, Marble Brew 1691 Mild. A strong (6t.0% ABV) ruby beer that you really should try if you get the chance. Jo and I were both completely blown away. It’s a quite lovely shade of burnt umber (my pic was taken at the end of the night so probably doesn’t do it justice) with a spicy-sweet aroma. Jo hit the nail on the head when she said it’s like eating a tiramisu from the top-down: the first flavour that hits you is a rich, creamy chocolatey digestive-biscuit, with a light dryness to follow, finally giving way to a lingering after-taste of sweetish sherry or semisecco marsala wine. Absolutely gorgeous stuff; definitely one of the tastiest beers I’ve sampled all year. If strong, sweet beers are to your taste then you should definitely seek it out.

Brewery: BrewDog
Location: Freserburgh, Scotland
ABV: 1.1%
Version: Bottled
Source: BrewDog

Regular visitors to the beerblogosphere will most likely be familiar with the story of this beer’s creation, but in case you missed it: BrewDog were taken to task by the Portman Group and much of the mainstream media over the strength of their (exquisite, superb) Tokyo* Imperial Stout. In response, they announced the creation of Nanny State, an “Imperial Mild”, weighing in at a mere 1.1% abv but uber-hopped up to an incredible 225 theoretical IBUs (International Bitterness Units – 20-40 or so being the usual for a bitter ale). A gesture of defiance, a deliberate slap in the face of the over-bearing, over-ignorant, over-reactive powers-that-be and a beer that – in its current, young, green state at least – I’m sorry to have to report I thought was unpleasant to the point of being pretty much undrinkable.

There, I’ve said it. An undrinkable beer from Brewdog – not a phrase I ever expected to type on this blog, I have to admit. Largely as a result of BrewDog’s sterling efforts (Hardcore IPA, Punk IPA, Chaos Theory IPA) I’ve learned to love big, hoppy beers; a style I wasn’t anywhere near as keen on this time last year. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I opened my bottle of Nanny State, but based on the last Imperial Mild that BrewDog released – the challengingly bitter but still quite suppable How to Disappear Completely – I think I was expecting a beer I could likewise learn to love after a bottle or two, however viciously ascerbic it might turn out to be.

A faintly rank odour emanated from the bottle when I opened it – not the best omen, but understandable considering the top-heavy hop content – and although the beer poured a pleasantly deep red-brown, my first sip dispelled any notions that this would be one I could even finish, never mind drink again. It was thin to the point of being watery and the flavour was dominated by a vegetative sourness that had more to do with stewed grass clippings than a clean, hoppy-freshness. The overall impression was one of cold coffee. And not ‘cold coffee’ as in “Extra shot mocha frappacino, hold the whipped cream, please”, either. More like “How long has this cup of supermarket own-brand instant been sitting here? Three days? Oh, well, I’m sure it won’t hurt…”

Seriously. It was really, really unpleasant, to the point of being downright nasty. I struggled manfully on for another couple of sips, then headed for the kitchen sink…

Caveat time: this one could have gone off in the bottle, of course. Plus, as I mentioned, it is still a very young beer, and based on Pete Brown’s description (in Hops and Glory) of the way changes in hop-profiles can affect the flavour of beer over time, I’m planning on saving my second bottle (I bought two, just in case) for at least six months, and then I’ll re-sample and re-visit. I have no idea if a 1.1% abv beer will survive six months intact, but it can’t get much more undrinkable than it currently is, so I’m willing to give it a go.

But something about the whole situation is still bugging me and I have questions.
Assuming the bottle I opened hadn’t actually gone off, is Nanny State supposed to taste this bad? And if so, is that a gag too far? I’m a huge fan of BrewDog’s brewing and I enjoy their hugely tongue-in-cheek philosophy. I cheer every time they send a two-fingered salute in the direction of the hypocritically ineffective Portman Group and all the other engines of Nanny State-ism, because it’s fun to see them take the piss out of self-righteous, pompous kill-joys. But surely they shouldn’t also be taking the piss out of their paying customers as well?

By all means, show the Nanny Staters that you can easily brew a small beer that still tastes great (you just choose not to). And yes, if you want to, have a laugh at their expense by brewing something weak but undrinkable just for the publicity of it and then send them all free samples. But in the latter case, where’s the sense in flogging it at £2.50 a shot to your loyal fans and customers at the same time? Has the Punk attitude gone so far that BrewDog have decided they don’t need loyal fans and customers any more?

Brewdog’s own take, back when they first announced the beer, was:

“Nanny State is an extraordinary little beer. It contains more hops than any other beer we have ever brewed. There is over 60 kilos used in our tiny 20HL batch. It contains more hops than any other beer ever brewed in the UK. It has a theoretical IBU of 225. It is jam packed with our favourite hops and already tastes amazing.”

Okay, I guess I’m wrong about the deliberate nastiness. Ah well, chalk it up to my novice palate, perhaps. And anyhow, one bad experience with Nanny State isn’t going to be enough to turn me against BrewDog or their beers – I have half a beer cupboard full of BrewDogs and I’m looking forward to all of them – but I will admit I’m a little less enamoured of them than I was before I opened my bottle of Nanny State. And I’ll be taking their next gimmick-beer with a much bigger pinch of salt.

Nanny State around the Beerblogosphere

• Barm had better luck with it than me, over at I Might Have a Glass of Beer
• Mark Dredge came to pretty much the same conclusion as me and says so over at Pencil and Spoon (“…it’s just too bitter to be drinkable and the whole point of a 1.1% beer is for it to be drinkable”).
• Gunmakers landlord Jeffo wasn’t at all impressed either: “It was dark brown and flat as a witch’s tit. It tastes harsh and astringent. It wasn’t too thin – a surprise – but there wasn’t much else but that unpleasant hop flavour … So, in short, I think this is rubbish.”

Anyone else tried it yet? Please do comment…

Jo and I were in Nottingham this weekend for Fantasycon – the annual highlight of our social calendar – which was held at the Britannia hotel, just up the road from Nottingham Castle and The Olde Trip to Jerusalem. It would have been rude not to pop in for a jar while we were there, so I did, twice.

The Old Trip had a selection of half-a-dozen ales on offer. I started, on visit number one, with a couple of pints of Rock Mild (3.8% abv) from the Nottingham Brewery; a dark, sweet, slightly chocolatey mild that was perfectly palatable and went down extremely nicely on top of the rather fine curry we’d had just before.

The next day I nipped back with a few friends (while Jo had a strategic nap) and this time decided to give the house beer one more go. Olde Trip Ale (4.3% abv) is brewed for the Olde Trip by Greene King and Ed first posted tasting notes on this one back in June last year. I’ve encountered it a couple of times with rather disappointingly mixed results.

This time around though it made a much better impression on me: rich, smooth, malty and fresh-tasting. I must have been lucky and encountered a particularly good batch. (Quick name-dropping aside: Steven Erikson had nipped out for a pint with us and he was quite taken by the Olde Trip – pub and pint both – as well).

I also had a pint of Greene King’s seasonal Autumn ale, Bonkers Conkers, on a recommendation from my mate Mark Newton. Bonkers Conkers was a light (4.1% abv), nutty, pale / brown ale; another easy-drinking, entirely palatable beer that helped to set me up a treat for an evening back at the hotel quaffing bottles of (the oh, so terribly-amusingly-named) Piddle in the Hole from the Wyre Piddle brewery, which wasn’t a bad drop either.

It was a great weekend of catching up with old friends and shooting the breeze, made all the more enjoyable by some thoroughly decent beer. I think Fantasycon 2010 will be in Nottingham again and I for one can’t wait. Although I might be having a word with the committee about asking the hotel to source some bottled ale that doesn’t try to patronise its customers as they order it. Let’s face it, the joke’s pretty bloody thin, eh?

Brewery: Rudgate
Location: York, England
ABV: 4.4%
Version: Draught
Source: Automatic, Bury

After a couple of pints in the Trackside yesterday afternoon (one each of a perfectly pleasant Green Jack‘s Lurcher Stout and an absolutely incredible Outstanding Stout) Jo and I headed round the corner to (probably Bury’s best eaterie) Automatic, part of the Met Theatre / Malt Bar setup run by Bury Council (iirc).

I was delighted to discover that they had CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain 2009 on tap, and thoroughly enjoyed a couple more pints with my meal (I had the fishcakes, followed by a rib eye steak and chips, seeing as you ask, and very tasty they were, too).

Rudgate Ruby Mild was a vision of loveliness for starters – a dark chestnut colour shot through with those eponymous highlights – and tasted absolutely delicious. Waves of warm, rich maltiness, with cherries, dark chocolate, a hint of sherry sweetness and none of the sourness that I’ve noticed in a fair few milds; all delivered on a wonderfully rich, smooth mouth-feel.

All in all: a quite fabulous beer that I wouldn’t hesitate to quaff all night, given half the chance (easily good enough to tempt Jo away from the Guinness for her second as well). If you’re within striking distance of Bury town centre, I suggest you hot-foot it down to Automatic, or the Malt Bar next door, before the barrels are drunk dry.

Brewery: Wolf Brewery
Location: Attleborough, Norfolk, England
ABV: 4.8%
Version: Bottled
Source: Sainsbury’s

I fancied a cheeky mid-weeker on Wednesday and there were a couple of beers that I picked up from the Sainsbury’s real ale promotion that I wanted to try early in case they turned out to be worth stocking up on at promo prices. I actually started off with the Allgates Brewery Porteresque, but unfortunately it had gone off in the bottle, so I reached for the Wolf Brewery Woild Moild.

This one turned out to be just fine. It poured a lovely dark chestnut with a ruby tint (very Hobgoblin-esque, actually) and to start with there was a sharp, almost acid bite – although this mellowed as the beer went on – with an underlying sweetness (hints of green apples, dates, brown sugar, dark chocolate) and a slightly bitter finish that reminded me of rooibos tea.

Overall it was very pleasant indeed and definitely one of the more interesting milds I’ve encountered to-date – more flavoursome than both the Dunham Dark and Phoenix Monkey Town that I tried at the Altrincham Bottle & Cask Festival at the weekend, for instance. I’ll be keeping an eye out for other Wolf-themed beers in future.

Jo and I made the trek down to Altrincham on Sunday afternoon for the Altrincham Bottle & Cask Festival. We hadn’t been to a beer festival for ages, and although the normally straight-forward trip across the city was stymied by the tram re-fit in Manchester city centre, we thought we’d make the effort and give it a go.

This was the debut year for the festival, which was organised by Le Trappiste Belgian Café Bar. As a result, there was a big range of interesting-looking bottled Belgian beers on offer, alongside a wide range of traditional ales from a number of local mainly local breweries. It was held in Altrincham’s market district, in a covered area that was half full of market stalls and half full of kegs and tables. By the time we turned up at about 3.00 p.m. the venue was already heaving, and things didn’t seem to get any less crowded as the day went on. Undaunted, we paid our £4.50 entrance ticket (10% CAMRA discount, there), picked up our commemorative pint glass, invested in a tenner’s worth of tokens and headed for the beer.

We’d both checked out the guest list in advance and so we both made a b-line for our particular first-choice beers. For Jo, that was Bollington Oat Mill Stout, which turned out to be a rich, smooth, coffee-flavoured stout that was deceptively easy-drinking for its 5% abv. Very tasty indeed. Meanwhile, I’d legged it round to the top end of the other aisle in search of the holy grail: Thornbridge Jaipur. I’ve been hoping to encounter Jaipur for a long time now, especially as I’ve apparently narrowly missed it on a couple of occasions, so this was a pretty big moment for me and I went for a full pint to make the moment last. How would it shape up? Would it be worth the wait?

It certainly was. Even with the slightly flat gravity-pour, the first mouthful still unleashed an explosion of fresh flavours, with huge hops leading the way, with a rich malt backing it up and a slight honey-tone on the finish. Jaipur reminded me very strongly indeed of the Marble Dobber that I tried on Friday (and which was also on offer in Altrincham). They’re both big, bold, beautiful beers though, but where Dobber is distinctly citrus-sharp, Jaipur is a little smoother on the after-taste. But yes, I was very glad indeed to have tracked Jaipur down at last and I’ll be re-visiting as often as possible.

But variety was the name of the game yesterday and there were plenty of now beers to try, so Jo and I moved on. Next up we decided to double-team a couple of milds. Jo picked the Dunham Dark, whilst I opted for Phoenix Monkey Town Mild. Dunham Dark turned out to be a pleasant enough, slightly sour mild. Bit thin on the mouth-feel but otherwise quite drinkable. I preferred the Monkey Town myself: it had a slightly odd, burnt-match aroma and again it was a bit on the thin side, but there was a pleasant nuttiness to the after-taste. Again: quite pleasant and drinkable, but I’m not sure I’d rush back to either of those.

Next up we both went for the Dunham Porter, after a glowing recommendation from local photographer and beer enthusiast Adam Bruderer (@doncaosdelanada on Twitter) who was volunteering behind the bar. It was a damn good call as well – a smooth, rich mouth-feel carried a delicious blend of mocha flavours, with a very slight smoky-sweetness on the after-taste. Jo declared it to be liquid tiramisu and I reckon she hit the nail right on the head there. Lovely stuff, cheers Adam!

Jo took a breather for the next one (or did she go back to the Oat Mill stout? Details a little hazy…) while I decided to give another Phoenix beer a try, so I opted for a half of Arizona. This one was a pleasant, drinkable pale ale, but it didn’t really seem all that remarkable. Maybe one that would be better sampled on draught? Jo was back in the rotation for the next one and wanted to try something lighter so she sent me round to the Bazens section, where I picked up half a Pacific Bitter and half an Argent Pale Ale. The Pacific was dry, smoky, lightly hopped, bitter and quite refreshing. I only had a taster of the Argent – which has been brewed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Opening Times, the Stockport and South Manchester CAMRA branch newsletter – before Jo drank the rest. From what I remember, that one seemed like another fairly typical, easy-drinking, slightly anonymous pale ale. Probably a good session beer, but it didn’t knock my socks off.

By now we were getting close to about 6.00 or so – curry time – so we said farewell to Graham and Steph, a lovely couple from Altrincham who we’d never met before but had been quite happily chatting away with for the past couple of hours. They gave us the benefit of their local knowledge and steered us in the direction of a couple of good curry houses, but first we had a last half-pint voucher to spend. A swift re-visit to the Dunham Porter? We thought that sounded like the best option…

All in all then, a rather fantastic afternoon’s drinking and chatting and above all, an excellent selection of beers. Beer of the festival? On a joint verdict we’d have to go for the Dunham Porter – a truly delicious beer that I’ll be keeping an eye out for in future (and I think they might sell in bottled form in the Manchester Market micro-bar). Of course, the Thornbridge Jaipur was a very close second and if I’d been drinking that one from a full draught setup then it would probably have edged out the Porter. But then, who knows? Maybe one glorious night they’ll have both of them on in the Trackside (with Outstanding Stout and Marble Dobber alongside) and I’ll be able to test my theory.

Very well done indeed to the organisers from Le Trappiste and the relevant CAMRA branch(es). Jo and I had a great time and will definitely aim to come back next year. Although, if anyone who’s likely to be involved in setting up next year’s event is reading though, could I offer a quick suggestion? A bit more elbow-room and some indoor seating really wouldn’t have gone amiss. Looked like the landlords were only letting you use half the market hall, but if you could prevail on them to allow a bit more breathing space next time, that would be grand!