Xmas Eve

I can tell you the exact moment that Xmas 2010 started. It was early in the evening of December 24th, when I suddenly realised that I was sitting in my favourite pub (The Marble Arch, Manchester), with my favourite person in the whole world (my missus, Jo), listening to one of my very favourite songs (‘Vagabonds’) by one of my all-time favourite bands (New Model Army), whilst supping a rather excellent pint of beer (a rich, fruity, roast-malt chocolatey Marble Port Stout), which the lass behind the bar had recently informed me was completely free of charge (I think the Marble Arch has an annual tradition, or an old charter, or something). Now, if that’s not my own personal idea of Xmas perfection, then I really don’t know what is.

And that was just the start of the evening. From there I moved on – not wanting to abuse our host’s hospitality too much – to a full price pint of Ossett Winter’s Tale; a 5% ABV dark-amber ale with a thick tan head and a rather lovely mouth-feel. This one delivered a rich, malty, chocolate base note, with a lightly spiced, dry finish. It was very pleasant indeed. Jo and I weren’t able to stop too long as the trams stopped running at nine, so we just had time for one more after that. Earlier in the evening I’d exchanged season’s greetings with Opening Times editor John Clarke, so what with him being a big fan of the Belgian beers, I asked him for a recommendation from the Marble Arch’s bottled Belgians menu.

John had no hesitation in suggesting I go for the St Feuillien Triple, an 8.5% ABV golden Belgian and in John’s words, “the best triple in Belgium”. I’d already tried this one back in October last year at another Belgian-loving friend’s recommendation, and I had no hesitation in giving it another go. St Feuillien Triple delivers a huge flavour-burst: massive hops up front with a sweeter note dancing on top; grapefruit sharpness followed on, with herbal, faintly liquorice, slightly medicinal highlights. A quite delicious slow-sipper to savour.

The one minor disappointment of the evening was the blackboard at the end of the bar, which was advertising draught halves of Marble’s Chocolate Dubbel. But when I asked, I was told they’d run out earlier on and now only had the 750ml bottles left. So there was only one thing to do: head on home and crack open the bottle that I’d been saving since I bought it back in November. It was another big, boozy, deliciously dark beer, packed full of rich cocoa flavours and smooth as silk. I happily sipped that one over the course of an hour or so whilst catching up with a few Xmas specials on the telly box. Lovely stuff, highly recommended. I can see another couple of those coming home with us next time we visit the Marble Arch, if they’ve got any left by then.

Xmas Day

Round about two of the clock, as I stood there in the kitchen – elbow-deep in sprout-trimmings, gluten-free stuffing mix and streaky bacon rashers – I realised something was missing: a glass of beer. So I reached for a bottle of Hook Norton Twelve Days, which I’d picked up in Selfridge’s earlier in the year. Dark, chocolate malt flavours characterised this 5.%% dark ale, along with lighter, spiced highlights. It was quite delicious and the perfect accompaniment to Xmas dinner (lemon, garlic & thyme chicken, with all the trimmings). An all-round winner in the winter warmer stakes and far too good to only drink at Xmas. I tried to stock up the other day, but Selfridges in Manchester had run out. Somehow I’m not surprised.

After dinner, it was time for a drop of Harveys Tom Paine Ale. This 5.5% ABV golden amber ale was packed full of tangy, sweet, orange-citrus hop flavours and light spices, as well as honey, marmalade and perhaps the faintest hint of whisky-smoke. Very tasty indeed; a rather excellent after-dinner palate refresher. Next up: Hook Norton Old Hooky. This one is a darker, maltier, but no less refreshingly tasty cousin of one of my personal faves, Hooky Gold, and it’s one that I’ll definitely be buying again when the opportunity arises.

Later in the evening, after a round of family phone calls and a bit of a sit down in front of the telly, it was time for Xmas pud. And what better to accompany that than a glass of Het Anker Gouden Carolus Christmas? This 10.5% ABV Belgian seasonal special was a glorious riot of sweet, fruity flavours; with its rich, dark-sugar malt base and an explosion of cherries, dark berries and ripe bananas it’s definitely one for the sweeter-toothed palate. Jo thought it tasted like highly alcoholic Vimto. I thought it tasted like liquid fruit cake. Either way, it was delicious and almost as good as the draught version I’d enjoyed at the Marble Arch last Xmas. And yes, it went fantastically well with our Xmas pud and brandy cream.

Boxing Day

Another day at home with not much to do but eat, drink and be merry in front of the TV. After a couple of regulars – a Fuller’s Bengal Lancer and a Black Sheep Ale – I reached for a couple of seasonals that I’d saved over from our trip to Beer Ritz in Leeds back in December ’09.

First up – accompanying the traditional cold meat with bubble and squeak dinner – was Ridgeway Very Bad Elf. As far as I know, this 7.5% ABV dark ale is brewed primarily for the US export market and I think it’s one of a few ‘Bad Elf’ variants. It turned out to be quite a bit lighter that I’d expected – golden amber rather than darker brown – but it still had a smooth, luxurious mouth-feel and a warming chocolate malt-sweetness, plus hints of sherry or maybe whisky. There really wasn’t much hop action from this one at all and the alcohol hit was noticeable but not at all harsh. All in all, another deliciously, dangerously drinkable winter warmer. One for the keep-an-eye-out-for list, most definitely.

Finally, I finished the evening off with Hepworth’s Vintage Christmas Ale. Another boozy, 7.5% ABV winter ale, this one poured a mid-amber colour and had a slight sour edge to the underlying sweetness – maybe from the herbal flavours, cloves in particular, in the mix – over a malty base, with good hop notes and a light dryness to the after-taste. It was pleasant enough, just not as great as some of the others I’d tried. Of all the Xmas beers I tried this year, I think this is the one I’d probably give a miss in future.

So there you have it: three days’ worth of relaxing and feasting, helped along by a selection of (mostly) terrific beers. That’s what I call Xmas!

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.