It was an overcast and damp Scottish morning as I left my hotel to walk to the train station for my journey to Manchester. I have been very lucky with the weather, knock on wood, just about everywhere in my travels this fall, but today the rain was a sign that it was time to move on. The train was on time, I had a reserved seat facing the right direction and it wasn’t long before the overcast skies lifted and gave way to the beautiful green British countryside. Three and a half hours later I found myself at Manchester Picadilly Station, a very busy hub, and the street maps just outside the station’s entrance indicated to me that I did not have far to walk to find my hotel. I wandered through China Town, some high end shopping areas, a couple of crowded city centre squares and then crossed a bridge over the River Irwell into Salford. How odd, I thought, the thriving economy of the town centre giving way to boarded up buildings and closed businesses just like that. I would have started to get worried had I not been able to spot my hotel sign shining in the near distance, only a couple of blocks away. The hotel was fine and in fact, just far enough away from the noise, hustle and bustle of the very busy downtown to guarantee me a couple of good night’s sleep, which I was indeed in need of.
The night was warm and I had passed what appeared to be a very popular downtown hangout with a sign out front offering a number of real ales on cask, so I made my way to the Old Wellington Inn, another pub in the country wide Nicholson’s chain. Large, historical and right in the centre of town, the building that is now the Old Wellington was built in 1552 next to Manchester's market square. In 1996 an IRA bomb exploded nearby, injuring 200 people and badly damaging many of the surrounding buildings, including the Inn. The area had to be totally redeveloped and the pub buildings were dismantled and carefully rebuilt about 300 meters to the north, at their present location. One of their bars (and there were several) offered 5 daily rotating and 3 regular real ales on tap. Always on, but already gone on this very busy Friday evening were Timothy Taylors Landlord, Jenning’s Cumberland and Lancaster Bomber. No problem, I should start with something I don’t know, I thought, and blindly picked an absolute stunner, Copper Dragon’s Golden Pippin (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 29). I could have gone outside and joined the throng on the large patio enjoying the beautiful warm night air, but that would have meant drinking my delicious real ale out of a plastic glass. Instead, I stayed in, wandering through the cavernous buildings and checking out the two rambling floors of other rooms. On the far side of the adjacent building was a ‘ lager and cider’ bar, with perhaps a dozen or so sparkling and fizzy beverages on offer there. I liked the fact that they kept them separate. Upstairs was yet another smaller bar, with a smaller selection, but pouring Samuel Smiths from Yorkshire and a few other things too. Impressive!
I made my way back to the real ale bar for a second selection. This time it was J.W. Lees Dark Ale (3.5%). This independent brewery has been making beer in Greater Manchester since 1828. In fact, this cask brew turned out to be a very delicious garnet hued, beautiful dark brown mild with a moussy tan head, light body and a lovely balanced palate featuring hints of dried fruit, chocolate and perhaps a tiny tinge of orange peel that sits on your lips through the long lingering finish. Yummy! I could have stayed longer, but the place was packed and I had my heart set on a curry or something spicy and not the pub grub that seemed to be mostly on offer here. So, I found my way back to China Town and settled on a lovely little Schezuan place, where I was not disappointed. For a night cap I visited a Joseph Holt tied house on the way back to my hotel. Joseph Holt is something of a Manchester institution, a family-run brewery dating back to 1849. They supply about 100 pubs in the area, as well as run 126 tied houses of their own. They make real cask ales, as well as a line of regular tap beers. They had a very nice Bitter (4%) on, when I dropped by their Cathedral Gates location. It was deep gold/copper coloured with a creamy even head and a fresh fruity nose. Some initial sweetness on the palate is quickly overtaken by a lovely drying bitterness in the middle, balancing towards a small bittersweet finish. It has a silky mouthfeel and beautiful halo like lacing that follows the beer right to the bottom of the glass. Holt had a few other brews available, and also offers a seasonal for every month of the year. But it had been a long enough day already, so I thought I’d save something for Saturday and stumbled back to my hotel.