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.

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?

Brewery: Moor Beer Company [Bury Beer Festival on Friday I trammed into Manchester to meet up with a couple of good mates and have a few brews. After fuelling up on nasi goreng (beer soak of the gods, Fact) and noodles at Tampopo we headed for the Marble Arch.

A quick glance down the bar: a selection of Marble favourites and a stand-out guest pump-clip: Moor Illusion. This was the first time I’d seen any Moor Beer brew on draught, so it absolutely had to be done. The fact that it turned out to be a black ale was a definite bonus; I’m a big fan of the style, which blends the roast malt flavours of a porter or stout with the hop-character of a pale or golden ale. Moor explain the process better on their website: “Illusion is our latest creation, which is inspired by the awesome new beer style created in the States known as Imperial Black Ale. We really admire the profile of this new style but wanted a session strength version. We brewed ours at 4.5% instead of the typical 8%+…”

The result is extremely palatable indeed. A translucent ruby-black body and bubbly white head suggests a stout, but the aroma and flavour is all about the fruity freshness of hops over a roast-malt base, with a faint bitter coffee note playing nicely with the lingering dryness of the after-taste. The whole comes together in something that at session strength is incredibly refreshing and very easy-drinking. Moor Illusion is aptly named, too; the way the visuals contrast with the flavours makes for a pleasant surprise if you’re not familiar with the style. Highly recommended, and I’d love to see more black ales from other brewers.

We moved on from the Marble Arch after that one and the rest of the night played out as a re-visiting of a few dark and tasty favourites: Rudgate Ruby Mild at The Angel, a half of Acorn Gorlovka in Bar Fringe, and then a Dunham Massey Porter to finish at the Crown & Kettle. A fantastic evening, drinking great beer in excellent company and I’m hugely looking forward to the next one.

Brewery: Marble Brewery [The Marble Arch, Manchester

Jo and I enjoyed a rather excellent session in the Marble Arch last Saturday, in the company of our good mate Paul and random-Marble-Arch-couple (*) Chris and Anna (or, um, possibly Hannah – my hearing and memory aren’t what they were), two real ale fans over from Sheffield to visit The Marble Arch and The Angel.

I started the evening off with a pint of Marble Best (now sub-titled ‘In Memory of JP’ on the pump-clip); a rich, chestnut-brown bitter that’s packed full of orange marmalade flavours. I switched to Marble Lagonda IPA for my second – partly to keep Paul company, partly because I’d decided that I’d got my hop-head on – and that was just as tasty, fresh and sharp as it always is.

Time for a third pint and to my delight, when I got back to the bar I spotted that they’d just put a new one on: Marble McKenna’s Porter (or possibly McKenna’s Reprise Porter, I can’t quite remember the exact wording) – which clearly had to be done. It turned out to be a rather classic example of the porter oeuvre, with plenty of smoky roast-malt flavour and a sharp, bitter-coffee edge. Delicious, it was. Another one of those went down a treat afterwards and then I finished the session off with a Marble Chocolate, seeing as the Marble Dobber wasn’t on.

Oh, and I picked up these two little beauties for the beer cupboard as well:

They’re safely tucked away at the back, next to the Marble Special and Marble Decadence that I bought last year and still haven’t been able to bring myself to crack open yet…

Brewery: Marble
Location: Manchester, England
Style: Brown Ale
ABV: 5.0%
Version: Draught
Source: The Marble Arch, Manchester

A new Marble brew on the bar at the Marble Arch? Had to be done. Brew 1734 is (as I understand things) part of an ongoing series of experimental try-outs which have included the rather excellent Marble Brew 1691 strong ruby mild that I enjoyed so much a few months back.

Brew 1734 poured a deep red-brown with ruby highlights and delivered plenty of rich chocolate malt flavours, with hints of red wine & whisky and a slightly sour bitter-orange after-taste. It all started out rather nicely balanced and pleasantly drinkable, but I have to admit that by the end of the pint it had started to get a bit too sticky and cloying for my taste. So whilst I enjoyed most of my first pint of Brew 1734, I didn’t rush back for another, switching to a palate-cleansing pint of Marble Pint for my next one.

Maybe this one rolled out of the lab just a few months too soon? Because if they cranked up the ABV to something like 7% and stuck a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg in as well, I reckon Marble would have a cracking Xmas brew on their hands; a proper, spicy winter-warmer that would sit alongside the likes of Gouden Carlous Christmas without being at all abashed. What do you reckon to “Marble Cracker”? Quite a nice ring to it, I reckon.

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.

Jo suggested we have dinner and a couple of pints at the Marble Arch on Saturday and it didn’t take much to get me to agree (she had me at ‘dinner’, to be honest, ‘pints’ and ‘Marble Arch’ were icing on the cake). We were hoping to get there early enough to bump into MyBreweryTap.com‘s Richard Burhouse (@MyBreweryTap) and Rob Derbyshire (@BGRTRob) of Hopzine.com fame, but alas they got there earlier than we did and had already supped their fill and moved on before we’d managed to get into town.

So instead we ended up chatting to half a dozen complete strangers over the course of the evening (topics of conversation ranging from bondage trousers and Stiff Little Fingers, to the relative acoustic merits of the Bridgewater Hall and the Lowry, via the best way to get to the Palace Theatre by car whilst avoiding the gas-main works that have buggered up the city centre for months) and had a bloody good time doing so.

There was ale involved, of course. And oh, my word, what ale there was…

On arrival, I headed for the bar to get Jo her customary half of Marble Stouter Stout and made a b-line for the Thornbridge Raven, which Rob D had mentioned was on earlier in the day. As it weighs in at 6% ABV I thought I’d just go for a half to start with, so I got myself a pint of Marble Pint at the same time, to ease myself in. But Jo finished up her stout and sent me back to the bar for another (along with our food order) and the Raven was so damn good – a dark, smoky, delicious black IPA with a lingering hop-bite – that I couldn’t resist a second. And that pretty much set the tone for the session…

Our food arrived just as we’d both gotten a pint of Marble Chocolate in and we feasted on char-grilled belly pork and black pudding (actually, the best damn black pudding I’ve ever tasted) with duck’s egg for starters, followed by sea bass served with creamed crab meat and spinach for Jo and turbot poached in red wine on creamed polenta with salsify sticks for me, and some lightly steamed greens on the side. Fantastic food, as always in the Marble Arch – we’ve eaten there a few times now and have never been anything less than blown away by whatever we’ve ordered – and it all went extremely well with the rich, tasty Marble Chocolate. Perhaps a dark ale or stout might not the obvious choice for a with-food beer, but the bitter-sweetness of the chocolate and roasted malts were very complimentary indeed to the satisfyingly meaty, beautifully cooked fish dishes.

After dinner we ordered dessert: another Marble Chocolate for Jo, whilst I decided to try a pint of Marble Brew 14. This one was a completely new to me (although apparently it went down rather well on the first #twissup pub crawl / blogger outing in Sheffield back in January. Brew 14 turned out to be a feisty session bitter that was all about the bitter oranges and big hops with a long, dry finish. Very, very good indeed and one I’d definitely have again.

At this point, Jo and I were thinking about winding down and heading home, so I opted for a quick half of Marble Dobber for the road. But of course, one half of Dobber is never enough and as I was heading back to the bar for another top-up, I spotted a new pump clip nestled among the array of Marbles: Thornbridge St Petersburg! I’ve been trying to track down and try this 7.7% ABV Imperial Stout for a while now, so this was just too good an opportunity to miss. And it was delicious: rich, smoky malt, chocolate and coffee, blended to perfection. A top-up of that one was absolutely compulsory, it would have been the very height of rudeness not to.

That really did finish the evening off for us and we weaved our way out the door to find a tram and head home for a nice cup of tea and a kip. Lovely, lovely evening and a fuzzy, fuzzy head the next day, but absolutely, totally worth it. I tell you what, it’s a good job we don’t live just round the corner from the Marble Arch, we’d never be out of the place.

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.

After the sushi yesterday evening Jo and I headed up to one of our very favourite watering-holes – and one of the very best in Manchester – the Marble Arch. Following a recent tip on Tandleman’s beer blog I was keen to try a couple of their lighter ales and my luck was in: the two I had in mind – Pint and Summer – were both available on tap.

I started with the Marble Pint which, at 3.9%, seemed like an ideal session starter. It poured a pale straw-gold colour and had a sharp, hoppy aroma, with a strong hoppiness carrying through to the flavour. There was a fresh, citrus-tang to the after-taste and all in all it was extremely drinkable and most pleasant indeed. Could have happily stayed on that one for a good while longer, but with a total of ten different ale pumps to choose from at the Marble Arch, the urge to experiment was too strong.

For the next pint I opted for Marble Dobber, a 5.9% hop-monster with a rich, hop-fruit flavour and a huge pink grapefruit after-taste. There was a slight sourness to it, although that mellowed over the course of the pint, and all-in-all it was absolutely delicious. Recommended if you’ve got a taste for stronger ales with a big character and plenty of bite. Absolutely delicious, but not one you could stay on all night. Not if you wanted to remember how to walk at home-time.

Time for one more before we headed off and I decided to go for the Marble Summer (another of Tandleman’s recommendations). This one was another light, pleasant pale ale, once again fresh and hoppy. It was quite similar to Pint, but Summer had a dry, biscuity finish rather than the citrusy zing of Pint. Once again, another highly drinkable session beer that I’d be extremely happy to sup all night.

Three very good beers indeed. And I’m sure if I’d tried the Marble JP Best, which was also on offer (iirc) I’d have been equally impressed. Meanwhile, Jo was drinking Marble Stout (smooth, mocha-flavoured, hints of vanilla, quite delicious) and Pictish Dark (stronger coffee notes, also very tasty). Both fine beers as well, good stuff all round.

I have a confession to make. I completely failed in my mission to get down to the National Winter Ales Festival, although a token effort was made: my mate Howard and I met up in the city centre on Friday night and wandered on down to the New Century Hall. We got as far as the 7.00 p.m. Queue of Doom outside the venue: out the door, round the corner and a couple of hundred yards up the street.

We overheard the bloke in the yellow jacket saying to someone who’d just joined the line “about an hour, mate”. I reckoned he was being optimistic, it looked like they were operating a one-out, one-in system. And who the hell was going to be leaving the place with the evening still so young? It didn’t take us long to reach a mutually acceptable verdict on the situation: sod this for a game of soldiers. Stand outside in the cold for an hour, not drinking? When Manchester is full of great boozers… not a chance. To the pub crawl!

We started out at the legendary Marble Arch, home of the Marble Brewery. The place was packed (most probably with fellow refugees from the NWAF queue) but we managed to squeeze our way through to the bar. Howard’s eye was immediately caught by the Pictish Porter which, despite the Scottish-sounding name, is brewed just up the road in Rochdale. And it was fantastic: rich, thick (almost chewy) with a lovely deep, deep brown-black colour and a creamy white head, bursting with chocolate and coffee flavours. Highly recommendable and a great pint to start the evening with.

Indeed, I could have happily stayed on that one all evening, but my eye had in turn been caught by the Marble’s own Port Stout and I’m very, very glad it was. Wow. What a beer! Deep black with a tantalising aroma, a rich, creamy mouth-feel and bursting with flavour again. Unlike some port-flavoured beers I’ve had in the past I could really taste the rich, fortified wine flavours, and even detected a few tannins, perhaps? Once again, I could have happily stayed on that one all night, but by now the pub was absolutely hammered with NWAF refugees, so we decided to stick to the original pub-crawl plan and head off.

(On the way out through the crowd, I squeezed by a bloke dressed up in a foam-rubber beer bottle costume. “Nice jacket,” I said. “Cheers,” he said. “Just tell him he looks like a bloody idiot,” said his mate on the other side of me. “We’ve been doing it all night.”)

Next stop was The Angel, another highly-regarded boozer that used to be called the Beer House, which was rescued from demolition and converted into something of a gastro-pub. Although it was standing-room only, at least we could get to the bar. We ordered a pint each of the pub’s own Angel bitter, which turned out to be very nice indeed. Tangy and fresh-tasting, lots of hops and citrus. Didn’t take us long to sup those (whilst listening to Mark Lanegan and Isobel Campbell duetting on their ‘Ballad of the Broken Seas’ on the stereo, which was a definite bonus) but by that time a couple of mates of Howard’s from work had been in touch to say they were installed in the Hare & Hounds down the way, if we fancied joining them.

We did, although we came close to regretting it. Yes, we got a seat, but the place only had a choice of Holt’s bitter or the usual cooking lager options. Howard asked if they had the Holt’s beer-of-the-month on and got a blank look for his trouble, so the Holt’s bitter it was. Which is alright, if you like that sort of thing, or in an any-port-in-a-storm situation like this one. But luckily everyone agreed that a move round the corner to the English Lounge was in order.

Cue waves of reminiscence from yours truly: Jo and me and all our mates used to drink in that boozer every Friday and Saturday night back when we were students, back in the days when it was called the Hog’s Head, they had four or five real ales on tap and another five or six gravity-dispensed straight from the barrels behind the bar. Oh, and a bar-billiards table, which was probably the major attraction. Happy days… oh, yeah, I had a pint of Hobgoblin in there. As Tim said recently, it’s one of those reliable old favourites that you can seldom go wrong with, and was a definite improvement on the Holt’s.

After that, Howard’s mates decided to call it a night (they’d been out since five p.m. and were beginning to feel the effects) but we I decided there was definitely time for one more. So we headed down to the Bull’s Head, opposite Manchester Piccadilly station. I’d not been in there before either, although I’d heard good things from several friends. We both had a pint of Ringwood XXXX Porter, which although not quite as intense and interestingly-flavoured as either the Port Stout or the Pictish Porter earlier in the evening, was still a very good pint indeed.

And it was certainly good enough for a repeat visit. So when Jo and I went out with our mates Andy and Dawn on Saturday night and we ended up in the Bull’s Head after a quick Thai meal, I started with another pint of XXXX and then stayed on that one for the entire evening (via a quick swig of Wychwood January’Sale for research purposes – not bad, would be worth re-visiting), with Andy and Jo keeping me company for the duration. Taking a bit more care to sample the flavours this time around, I was sure I detected a tang of blackcurrant or blueberry in there, as well as a more traditional nutty-malt finish. A very nice drop indeed and a good session beer. Well worth dropping in the Bull’s Head for a jar if you’re in the vicinity of Manchester Piccadilly any time soon.

As for the beer festival failure… next time I’ll just have to get my strategy right: book an afternoon off work and go down for an after-lunch session. Either that or put my name down as a volunteer and lug some furniture around or something. I’m sure that must get you an evening pass or two to put to good use, eh? Tandleman? Eh?