Manchester and beer

Oh dear. I've only just seen this, and I think my reply will be a little late for you. But FWIW, you could have had a look at one of the CAMRA branch websites, such as .

Right now, my favourite beer is Robinson's Old Tom, the famous 8.5 per cent winter ale, served (by the half pint only!) at the Castle on Oldham Street.

The Christmas markets are also on at the moment, with a few interesting German and Belgian beers on offer in Albert Square.

And we are eagerly awaiting the release of "Humbug", a new 7 per cent beer from Phoenix.

Me too. When visiting Manchester I always try to get to the Briton's Protection and the Peveril of the Peak, both near the Bridgewater Hall.

Simon

The Pev is this year's "City Life Manchester Food & Drink Festival Pub of the Year" (see ).

Not on Friday evening, it wasn't (it was the only Robinson's brew missing from the bar, although the pump with the turned-around clip may have told a story).

It is available at Wetherspoons too, as part of their Christmas beer festival, or whatever it's called. I had some in Leicester last week, and it was on at the Spoons on Leeds station a couple of hours ago.

Where's the Belgian beer, please, Joyce? I found Berliner Pilsener, Koestritzer Schwarzbier, draught Erdinger wheat beer, and Paulaner in the German "pubs", as well as a German-run pizza trailer selling bottles of Holsten Edel, but I didn't spot that. There's also an enterprising Frenchman selling draught Kronenbourg 1664 (yuk!) from the back of a Mercedes Smart!

The "pub" on the Christmas Market in Leeds is selling Holsten Pilsener on draught.

Now that *does* sound interesting :-)

I was in the Peveril last Thursday afternoon... considering how many of us there were, I'd hardly say that the welcome was warm. By the look of things, they couldn't wait to get us out and close up for the afternoon.

Things were much better (including the beer) in the nearby Rain Bar.

Dom

They do observe, shall we say, "traditional" opening hours there. (Unless United are playing at home, in which case they stay open a lot longer.)

Hm. No use asking me, mate, I couldn't even find the Swiss cheese stall without going round in circles for half an hour first.

I may be imagining the Belgian beer stall. That said, I definitely did /not/ imagine the Belgian Belly in Chorlton at the weekend - a veritable cornucopia of things Belgian, from beer to chocolate to cheese to charcuterie. I found a new (to me) Gueuze, Oud Beersel, which I plan to try out very soon. (More details at .)

Ooooh! If this is the one, I went to the brewery a few years ago and took loads of pictures, none of which I now have (due to relocation). The entry in Webbo's Belgian Beer guide is one of the most interesting I have ever read, and the brewery itself and the pub and the organ... have to say I can't stand the beer but then I don't like this style of beer anyway. I'd go back there tomorrow.

I thought that brewery had closed?

ICBW as it is a few of years since I was last there.

John B

According to the latest GBG they still close on Saturday lunchtimes except when ManU are playing at home. Given that Saturday is by far and away the day when "outsiders" are most likely to want to visit the pub, this seems like a rather cavalier attitude to customer service. The area near the pub is not exactly deserted on Saturdays and the nearby Rain Bar is certainly open all day.

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You can always try getting the train to Stockport (less than 15 minutes from Piccadilly)

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It was the first one I found. It was the Swiss flag and the mirror picture of the Basel tram that did it :-)

I forgot to mention the stall selling Bitburger on draught from Greene King kegs, and Jaegermeister at £19 a large bottle!

Now that sounds very interesting. Albert Square had Belgian chocs on offer though, too.

Indeed it is closed - both pub and brewery as far as I know - and the organ has been shipped off the the USA, I believe.

John C

Oh dear. My bottle must be a Very Oud Beersel then.

I looked for a Best Before date on the back. There's a blank space where the date should be.

The only other clue to the date is the bottle deposit - 20 Eurocents. That suggests that the brewery was still in business less than 2 years ago.

Excellent beer BTW!