Franconian Beer Message Board

OT: Barry in Manchester - the final installment!

Posted by Barry on 2013-08-28 11:49:39

And thank goodness say some! I ended the last piece saying 'Still left to do: a couple of my old locals: probably Andy Black's in Ringway for some Robbie's and the Griffin in Heald Green for my first Holt's.' Well, I made them! Visited the Griffin on Sunday night and sampled a delicious pint of their bitter. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind, that over many years, Holt's Bitter is by far the best and most consistent pint in Manchester (and also, generally, the cheapest). Ok, it may not be the hoppiest (though quite hoppy) but it's consistent blend of maltiness and hoppiness beats the rest (IMHO). Griffin was also serving something called 'Two Hoots', described as a Golden Ale. Now in my mind, a Golden Ale is a slightly stronger but less hoppy version of a bitter but this was decidedly hoppier and reminiscent of the IPA that I tried last year. Anyway, I liked it enough to have a second pint (I don't drink halves in Holt's pubs). Sunday was a truly beautiful day so we visited Andy Black's (old City player and ex-landlord, aka the Tatton Arms, Moss Nook)with brother and sister-in-law. This is another pub that I've been going in for more than 50 years. It's been slightly modernised but still retains a lot of its old feel. Anyway, the weather was glorious so we sat out in the garden, which is right under the flight path for Manchester Airport. Strangely, the Robbie's Unicorn Bitter was off, so we first tried their Dizzy Blond (pints of course - I don't drink halves in Robbie's pubs), which is made with Amarillo hops (according to their website). We (Pete, J. and self) didn't think much of it(rather thin and tasteless), so moved on to Hartley's Cumbrian Way. For me, the closing of the old Hartley's Brewery was a tragedy as it produced some really distinctive beer (specially XB) but, now being owned by Robinson's, the beers are brewed in Stockport. The CW was ok-ish but nothing special. In fact, I don't think Andy's was at its best as Robbie's tasted much better elsewhere. So, for our final day, we made the short trip to Stockport (see above), which was, again, one of my old stamping grounds. Stockport is a pretty old-fashioned sort of place (others would say run-down), which means that it has a number of unspoilt pubs. The first we visited was the Swan with Two Necks in Princess St, which is in Camra's inventory of little altered pubs. It is well worth a visit, as it really is a classic. Anyway, we had an excellent pint of Unicorn (don't know why it has to have a silly name, Robbie's bitter was ok) and this was in top form. This is J. s all-time favourite beer and, when it good form, it nearly equals Holt's as a classic Manchester Bitter - but not quite! Next we visited Stockport's historic indoor market to buy some Lancashire cheese - beautiful tasty, sharp stuff - why can't you get cheese as good as this in Germany? While there, I noticed a stall selling bottled beers (High Peak Beer Co.) and this led to a long conversation with its proprietor (whose name I didn't get - sorry). He sells over 250 different bottled beers and is extremely knowledgeable about the microbrewery business in the UK. Really recommend a visit. More later. He advised a visit to the nearby Arden Arms, another Robbie's pub and also very unspoilt. Here I was intrigued by a beer called 'Elbow'. The helpful and friendly barman told me that the beer was 'designed' by members of the Manchester band of the same name! Again, it was ok but nowhere near as good as their Unicorn. So, we wended our way home home stopping for one last pint of Holt's bitter at the Griffin while waiting for our takeaway curry, which was pretty indifferent. Back at the in-laws, I couldn't wait to sample the two bottles bought in the market. Let's start with something completely unknown to me, a beer by the mini-micro Quantam Brewery of Stockport: U.S. Saison. As I understand it, the Saison beers of Belgium don't constitute a distinct style (a bit like Franken keller beers?) but, nowadays, the term has been collared by US micro's to describe a light hoppy beer (like pinching IPA!). Well, this 'saison' was very hoppy and 5%, so too strong for Nick and a bit too centred on hops without malt for me. But first I tried (at long last on home soil) a bottle of Mallinson's Simcoe, one of their single hop flavours. Not a million miles different from the Saison, I believe Simcoe is a Washington state hop probably related to Cascade. I've now had a chance to sample a few of these new-style hoppy beers and I've come to the conclusion that they are ok in small doses but really lack the character of old fashioned bitters. When I've tried to brew hoppy beers, I've tried to make sure that they retain a maltiness, which I think gives them more depth. Really, the Mallinson's falls into this class - good in its own way but really lakcing a bit in all round quality. Anyway, it's all a matter of taste. I really enjoyed sampling beer in my home town: it's been great to sample a lot of new beers and see that some of my old haunts still survive more or less intact. However, I think that the new brewers would bear in mind that consistency and concentration on fewer beer types would be helpful. So endeth the lesson! Next, back to Franken and the Forchheim story.

OT: Barry in Manchester - the final installment! by Nick B. on 2013-08-28 15:41:39

OT: Barry in Manchester - the final installment! by Barry on 2013-08-29 01:22:33