So Long Britain, Brussels Calling

My last day in Manchester was just a partial one, as my flight back to the continent was leaving late in the afternoon. My plan had been to ditch my bags at the train station (it is a short train ride to the airport from there) and find a few more CAMRA recommended pubs and do lunch before heading out. I must admit though, I found the CAMRA listings for the city a little confusing. Greater Manchester is divided up into neighbourhoods, as are the listings, but without a very detailed map, it can be a bit daunting to find any of these places. My usual other route was to look up the local CAMRA chapter's website and find out which local spots won Pub of the Year. I struck out with this too, as they did not seem to be as organized as some of the other regional websites I'd visited, and there were no listings as such. So, I just had to follow my nose.
Aware of the nation wide Real Ale & Cider Festival going on at the Wetherspoons chain, I decided on their Picadilly Square location for lunch. From Oct. 27th to Nov. 14th, they were presenting 50 real ales and 10 ciders, all for the astonishing price of 1.85 pound per pint. Of course, these were to be spread out over the course of the festival, 6 beers and 2 ciders available on any given day. The place was humming, as it was after all, a good time for Sunday Brunch, and many patrons were there doing just that, not even interested in the beer and cider on offer. But my, if you were there for a pint, you even could get three 1/3 pint taster glasses of 3 different real ales or cider for the price of one. Needless to say, I was in.
As with most British pubs, you order everything at the bar. So, I went for a spicy Thai Noodle Salad (there's that Asian thing again) and 3 tasters. The first was Woodforde's Once Bitten (4.1%) a lovely copper coloured best bitter, rich in fruity aroma, presenting a palate of sweet malt, warm spice with some citrus notes, before drying out into a very pleasing finish. Number 2 was an international brew, from the Lion Brewery in Sri Lanka, the head brewer traveling to Marston's to make this beer fresh for the festival. Lion Stout (5%), was a very smooth and very dark beer, with a complex aroma of coffee and chocolate, leading to a rich, fully flavoured palate, with a silky mouthfeel, hinting of roasted malt and liquorice in the long finish. This went especially well with my spicy Thai lunch. Next came Shepherd Neame's Cinque Ale (4.1%), a new best bitter that is deep chestnut in colour, with an appropriately hoppy character balanced against a nice fruity palate resulting in a pleasantly dry finish.
My next round brought me to Brewdog's Edge (3.2%) (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 31) a fine and exceptional rarely made mild. The next one was interesting, Batemans Wheat Dreams (4.6%), a new and unique, British wheat beer, brewed exclusively for this festival. Clear gold in colour, with a very floral aroma, refreshingly light with notes of lemon and grapefruit bitterness on the palate. Last but not least was Everards Coppernob (4.5%), another rarely made best bitter, copper coloured with a spicy floral nose, a smooth fruity character balanced against some malty notes and a long, dry finish. With a little time left, I also tried the two still ciders on offer. Westons Marcle Hill (5%), is a gold coloured medium cider with well balanced, smooth and fruity flavours and a crisp, bittersweet apple finish. Broadoak Perry (7.5%) was the other, rather pale coloured with a true pear aroma, medium sweet and followed by a dry finish. This was CAMRAs 2009 winner in its Cider & Perry Competition. Very drinkable.
Next, I made my way to the one CAMRA listing that was easy to find, the Picadilly, right on the Square and close to the train station. I got sidetracked along the way (another interesting CD shop) but managed to have enough coins left in my pocket for one last pint. And that is all that was on offer anyway. The Picadilly is a large rambling bar, with many rooms and was very busy with the day-after MAN U crowd, many also waiting for trains and the like. Of the 3 real taps, only one had any beer left. It was Brains Dark (3.5%), a tasty classic dark brown mild. Smooth creamy mouthfeel, with a thick tan head that coated the glass all the way down, sweet malt tones with a subtle hoppy bitterness submerged beneath a mix of roasted malt and caramel, hints of bitter dark chocolate, with a dry, smooth and well balanced finish.
And finished I was! I retrieved my luggage, made the 20 minute trip to the airport with plenty of time to negotiate my way through the very large and busy terminals, to catch my Brussels bound flight, where I will spend the next three days wrapping up this marvelous adventure before finally heading home to Canada!

Manchester - Centre of the Universe

I have to admit that Manchester has always held a special place for me in my heart and soul. It is one of the UK's largest cities, though the city itself has a population of only about 1/2 million, the larger municipality of Greater Manchester is over 2 1/2 million people. It is also a centre for the arts, music, sport, education and business. First settled by the Romans around 79 AD between the Rivers Irwell and Medlock, it was a slow growing, quiet place through the Middle Ages, until the beginning of the 19th century, when the Industrial Revolution took hold during the Victorian era. This shot Manchester to the forefront of growth and commerce, truly becoming the world's first leading industrialized city. A major centre for textiles, factory building ran rampant; the steam engine and railways were developed here, expanding trade; and Manchester grew from a township to a mill town to a city in a very short period of time.
As well as boasting one of the best football teams, Manchester United, this city has been at the forefront of British music for decades. If I were to sort my own not-small music collection into where the bands I like come from, the majority would be from Manchester. The Buzzcocks, Joy Division, The Fall, New Order, The Smiths, Oasis, The Hollies, Herman's Hermits, The Chemical Brothers to name but a few, covering all genres and eras of modern music, and they have had major a influence on styles worldwide. As such, the live music scene is still a very vibrant one, and as many places in the world turn towards buying music digitally online, Manchester is still a city where one can spend days combing through CD and record shops, looking for and finding rare and unique morsels of great music. That said, it was one of the main reasons I had come to Manchester, and I was not disappointed.
After spending way too much time and money on this other addiction of mine, it was time to chase down some more beer. Back in Bristol, I had run into a couple of fellows (at the Seven Stars no less) who told me about a trio of pubs on Portland Street in the downtown core of the city. The Grey Horse Inn, The Circus Tavern and The Old Monkey are all basically next door to each other, and so I started there.
The Grey Horse is a Hydes Brewery pub, a family owned regional brewer since 1863. They have 70 of their own pubs, supply 300 free houses and contract brew as well. Two small open adjacent rooms surround the bar and the tiny place was packed. I soon came to realize that Man U was playing in the afternoon and many fans were in town in preparation for the big game against Tottenham. The bar featured 4 real ales, and as this was Saturday, October 30th, I went for the Hubble Bubble (4.4%), with a black and orange ghoulish looking label, an obvious seasonal for Halloween (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 30). This is an old traditional English pub that has survived in the centre of the downtown shopping district, and many patrons were sporting their teams' jersey and talking up a good game in anticipation of the big match later in the day. It looked to me that some early starters might not even make it to game time.
I soon went next door to The Circus Tavern, another anachronistic little traditional pub, even more focused on football, if that is even possible. Every possible space in its two small rooms and the crowded tiny bar, walls and ceilings alike, were covered in photographs of footballers and funny or odd visitors of one sort or another. This bar was full as well, and bartender Alysha told me that the party was just getting started, as she poured me a Tetley's Bitter (3.8%), the only real ale available. Tetley's is a large brewery in Leeds, now owned by the Carlsberg Group, the beer being a classic Yorkshire bitter with a smooth hop character, truly a session ale. I was soon shouldered out of the bar and I found my way to the corner, where the larger and more comfortable Old Monkey is located. Though starting to fill up with football fans as well, I had the opportunity to actually sit down and enjoy the October seasonal of this Holt tied house. Touchwood (4.3%), is a gold hued bitter with a fruit inspired nose, a creamy clinging head and evenly balanced palate displaying some sweet malt notes, and featuring traditional English barley but using US hops for a bit of finishing tang. This pub had been recently renovated and was the more modern of the three, actually serving food, should anyone want any. Three real ales were available, plus 8 others on regular taps and a large selection of bottled products as well. Being close to China Town, I indulged my cravings for Asian once again (this time a delicious Sushi lunch) and carried on with more shopping.
Later on I found Corbiere's, a funky little basement bar on the dead end Half Moon Alley, with a really cool jukebox offering Presley to Marley and everything in between. They had Bazens Brewery's Pacific (3.8%), a pale gold, off white head, some fruitiness up front, but with a gentle bitterness through out, well balanced and fine celestial lacing and a long, lip-smacking finish.
It was dark by then, Man U had defeated the Spurs 2 - 0, and the streets were now filling up with costumed revelers ready to party the night away. I found my way back to the Old Wellington, too late for another new, the real ale bar had been practically drunk dry, but managed a pint of Jennings Cumberland (4%) as a final beer of the day.
Jennings is a large national brewery, using traditional Maris Otter barley malt, as well as Fuggles and Goldings hops. This real ale is gold hued with a creamy white head, starting with some subtle fruitiness soon giving way to a smooth almost imperceptible bitterness. There were hints of understated toffee-like sweetness hidden in the dryish finish. The evening was still warm enough to sit outside, but the place was starting to empty out as people moved on with their Saturday night. And so did I.
Another great day at the centre of the universe!