The Greater Manchester 25: Initial Research
In the interests of supporting the local brewing industry I've decided to attempt to track down and try a couple of beers from each of the 25 independent breweries currently operating in Greater Manchester, as listed in the Good Beer Guide 2010. I realise that to some ways of thinking this may make me a ticker. I've been called worse than that, I'm sure.
I finally got my hands on a copy of this year's Good Beer Guide a couple of weeks ago - in the end I cancelled my Amazon order and followed Ed's tip, re-ordering from The Book Depository - so now I have the full list of 25 Greater Manchester breweries at my fingertips, and they are:
- 3 Rivers
- All Gates
- Bank Top
- Bazens'
- Boggart Hole Clough
- Cellar Rat [no website]
-
Danetown[no longer brewing - see comments] - Dunham Massey
- Green Mill
- Greenfield
- Holt's
- Hornbeam
- Hydes
- J.W. Lee's
- Leyden [no website]
- Marble
- Mayflower
- Millstone
- Outstanding
- Phoenix [no website]
- Pictish
- Prospect
- Robinson's
- Saddleworth [no website]
- Shaw's [no website]
A cursory scan shows that I've definitely sampled beers from a just under half of the list to-date: 3 Rivers, Boggart Hole Clough, Dunham Massey, Holt's, Hyde's, Lee's, Marble, Outstanding, Phoenix and Robinson's are all in the bag and I've got rough tasting notes for a few more somewhere in my notebook, I'm sure. Thanks to last week's shed research) there are a couple from Bank Top and Leyden waiting for me in the beer cupboard as well.
It shouldn't be too tricky to track down beers from most of the remaining breweries; they're bound to turn up from time to time at places like the Marble Arch (they had a Millstone beer on the other week, but I didn't have the list with me so I didn't realise it was one I was keeping an eye out for), the City Arms or the Trackside.
That just leaves the slightly trickier ones: Cellar Rat beers are brewed using spare capacity at 3 Rivers in Stockport and tend to just turn up in local beer festivals. The Dane Town brewery is apparently on hiatus whilst the brewing operation at the Lowes Arms in Denton is re-established, unless they're contract brewing via Hornbeam again. [Update: Tandleman and John Clarke tell me that Danetown is officially defunct now - see comments]
[Incidental note to the
Related posts:
Might be trickier than you think. I don't think Cellar Rat are brewing any more. 3 Rivers I think have gone tits up, not sure about Danetown.
I've had all the rest except for Danetown. I think I haven't had that but who knows?
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Danetown are officially defunct. 3 Rivers are in liquidation but something may emerge from the ashes (phoenix-like, if you get my drift). I hope to find out more about Cellar Rat this weekend - some time next year the Cellar rate beers may be brewed in the cellar of the Magnet in Stockport.
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Unless there's an extremely small brewery operating in some very remote corner of the country I'm quite certain I've sampled beer from every brewery in Northern Ireland, and with a couple of them, their complete range.
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@Tandleman, @John C - Grim news on the 3 Rivers front. Thoroughly enjoyed their Delta Dark Mild earlier this year. I'll strike Danetown off the list in the meantime - thanks for the update.
@Ed - I take it you've tried the beers from Strangford Loch brewery as well? Contract-brewed in England at the moment, as I understand it, but I think the GBG said they had plans to open a brew house over in NI at some point.
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Had a good beer from Holt's recently, can't remember the name though. And Marble's Lagonda is fantastic! This list should tempt me over the Pennines in the not too distant future, a much healthier list of breweries than Leeds has.
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Hey I am thinking of making the switch to all grain and saw on beer advocate that you did 2.5 gallon batches (which I am thinking of doing). Do you have any pointers? Any good recipes that you think I should try?
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@Mark - If you're heading over Manchester way, just get a taxi from Piccadilly station (or walk up the road from Victoria) to the Marble Arch and park yourself there for a Saturday afternoon / evening. I guarantee you'll love it. Although bear in mind the place can be hellishly busy if City have played at home the same day. Failing that, there's the City Arms (near the Town Hall) or the Bull's Head (right next to Piccadilly station) or a few other places slightly further afield - the Knott Bar (another Marble pub), the Britons Protection are both in the Deansgate Locks area. And The Bank isn't bad (it's Nicholson's pub) if you're near Manchester Art Gallery.
@Darcy - Sorry, I think you might have me confused with someone else..? Not actually a brewer myself (chance would be a fine thing, eh?)
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Aye, I've had three from the Strangford Lough brewery (note spelling :) ) and very average they are too.
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Terribly sorry, Ed old chap. Didn't mean to impugn the Loughiness of Strangford there. A very fine Lough it is, too - I've crossed it on a car ferry, and everything... :)
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I have now established that Cellar Rat is (temporarily at least) defunct.
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Cheers, John.
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