BeersManchester

“Wake up everybody no more sleepin’ in bed
No more backward thinkin’ time for thinkin’ ahead…..”

Hello. It’s been a long couple of months since the last blog post – that’s what running #VISBF does for you.

Every year, the blog has to go into a form of premature hibernation to facilitate the event – multi-tasking ain’t my thing…. and I normally give it a month before I dip my toes back in those shark infested waters. So it kind of surprised me when I felt the itch this morning.

If doesn’t surprise me that it’s a musical itch.

Music is a very personal thing. I am a bit of a musical omnivore, for me to be engaged, to buy in, a tune or song needs to move me. On an emotional or technical level. But mostly emotional.

Music is my crutch. It’s what keeps me moving. Something that I know I’ve said before in this space, but it remains true. It’s MY truth.

There is no telling as to what may move me. It could be something melodic, rhythmic, a line in a song that suddenly reduces me to a sobbing wreck. Anything. From “The Bottle” by Gil Scott-Heron, through “Johnny Was” by Stiff Little Fingers; “Stay” by Bowie to “1 Thing” by Amerie, I’m open to surprise and I frequently am.

But for a song to send a message, resonate and truly move me is something else. Something different. Which brings me to repeated listening to the classic “Wake Up Everybody” by Harold Melvin and The Bluenotes.

I’m a child of punk, post-punk and New Wave music. I was 11 when punk hit, back on the summer of 76 with a wall of noise, incoherence and snot. Snarling and raging. As an 11 year old, I dived in, attending my first gig in October 79 (The Damned at Mcr Apollo). But my early listening was more diverse, Motown, Northern Soul, Bowie, Bolan, Zeppelin.

But of all genres, I’ve always been drawn to soul. It’s there, in that word, Soul. It says it all. It encompasses feeling, emotion, consideration, compassion and – at base level – movement, dancing, letting go.

If pushed, I would say that my favourite artist of all time is Curtis Mayfield. The musical personification of consciousness. Yes, “Black Consciousness”. But I’m not Afro-American. I’ve not had those historical struggles. But Curtis told me through his songs. Go listen for yourself (Start with “Roots”), I mean “Move on Up” it’s known, but go dig. You’ll be rewarded.

But back to “Wake Up Everybody”. There are some magnificent songs in The Bluenotes canon. I mean “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”? Stone. Cold. Classic. Deny that and you’re lost, truly lost.

But this.

“Wake up all the teachers time to teach a new way
Maybe then they’ll listen to whatcha have to say
‘Cause they’re the ones who’s coming up and the world is in their hands
When you teach the children teach em the very best you can…..”

Verse after verse after verse. There’s a truth. A message. Written by McFadden/Whitehead & Carstappen, this is a world away from “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now”, this is a lyrical work of genius whose relevance was huge back in 1975, but that pertinence is only elevated in 2020. 45 whole years later. And it’s Teddy Pendergrass’ finest moment.

“The world won’t get no better
If we just let it be
The world won’t get no better
We gotta change it yeah,
Just you and me”

In the wake of the killing of George Floyd, I remember listening to a powerful playlist dj’d by DJ Jazzy Jeff and thinking how well the song fit amongst amongst the other songs and raps of protest at injustice and state violence. But – listening to it alongside the likes of “What’s Going On” & “Inner City Blues” – it struck me how little the sentiments in the song had dated. Unlike (IMO) the other two colossal tunes.

The other thing that struck me was that this song works as a timeless hymn against injustice and intolerance on all levels. Pointing out that there is a way to something better. If we work together. And never stop.

“Wake up all the builders time to build a new land
I know we can do it if we all lend a hand…”

Music is intensely personal. It’s like beer in the respect that you like what you like and should be able to without derision (unless it’s “A****a” by T*t* – some records are truly criminal). I don’t expect many will share my love of this.

But it’s my truth. This song moves me on ways no other does.

Is it wrong to be in love with a song?

27th September 2016. 4:43pm.

Some details you never, ever, forget.

I’d just got off the bus from work. I was in the lead up to #ISBF3 – merely 2 weeks away in fact – and I was in a direct message conversation with a lovely lady about beer supply. (I retain the conversation – it’s an inextricable PART of me now)

5 minutes later, beer didn’t matter. I was vainly trying to resuscitate my son.

I have a notoriously poor memory for detail. But some things….. They just burn in, you know.

In just over 2 weeks, it will be four years.

These images are taken from an event I attended last night, hosted by START Inspiring Minds (the charity partners of #ISBF6 & #VISBF) at the rear of Salford City Hall. To commemorate World Suicide Prevention Day.

Because suicide IS preventable.

As someone who suffers ill mental health – and a survivor of bereavement by suicide (I believe that is the correct term) – I’m acutely aware of the impact that isolation can have on the psyche. That is one of the key factors (for me at least) in the lead up to clinical depression, self – isolating. Wearing that mask that everything is “normal”. When it’s not. It’s FAR from normal. And isolating yourself, hiding those feelings and thoughts, feels so, SO easy….

……. So much easier than talking.

And one of the lessons HAMMERED home (to me) last night was that talking. About suicide. About the darkness that is felt. And that talking is two way. Sometimes it needs initiating by a family member, by a friend. It’s SO ******g hard. But it’s so right. It can save lives.

I’m a talker. “No shit, Sherlock” my friends would say. But talking is what gets me through. It’s what I know works. It certainly works for me. And it was one of the key themes from last night. The statistics are grim – and judging from the local names commemorated last night, they’re not just men of a certain age. The number of women shocked me – but lives can be saved.

Another key theme was the stigma attached to suicide. The shame attached to thoughts of “the act” rendering people unable to talk about how they feel. But confronting how you feel, talking with someone (be it Samaritans, START, CALM, or a friend or family member) is the start. The start of learning how to want to live.

Shit. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t have many at all. If I did, that gobby little handsome git, that talented, giving left wingback would be asleep upstairs now. And yes, it goes without saying that I miss him every day. That hurt never leaves you.

But I don’t want that feeling again. Another part of my heart closed off, because a friend chooses the same path. Trust me, you wouldn’t want that either.

So talk. And listen. And talk again. These life skills are SO underrated. And so bloody important.

Last night won’t heal me. But I was astonished by the power. The power of words. In poetry, in song, in speeches. It was, quite simply, a magnificent event, put together by Bernadette and the team at START.

Powerful enough to drag these words out of me.

If you are in a dark place – and I know that some are – there are resources available. People you can speak to. When I notice a friend – or acquaintance – struggling, my number is proffered. And that’s not something I do lightly. But, you know what, I’d rather get that call at whatever time, than the possible alternative.

Don’t suffer in silence.

“Because We Are Your Friends. You’ll Never Be Alone Again……..”

I said I was done with SBR. But that is the final paragraph of an email sent to CAMRA branches, signed by Gillian Hough – Chair of Real Ale, Cider & Perry Campaigns on 12th August.

Hindsight. It’s a truly wonderful thing. As is proof reading. And brain storming. Because that one paragraph didn’t half cause some consternation. Amongst both members and those – like me – who (generally) consider themselves as allies. And – in my case – have been forward and passionate in defence of Small Brewers Duty Relief.

The whole thing was cack handed. It amounted to censorship of individuals. Something that can never be tolerated. And wasn’t, with a number of people resigning their memberships in anger. Just one of a number of recent faux pas (I won’t screen shot an image of “The Glass”) that reinforces the negative view  that some of the beer commentariat have about CAMRA. And yet, whilst indeed “wince inducing”, CAMRA HQ – even in their St Albans ivory tower – are not above the odd volte face.

What that initial email provoked was a bout of “fence sitting” and the restatement of a belief (by some) that CAMRA HQ (which should be regarded as a different beast from individual branches) was “in the pay” of some of the breweries that comprise the SBDRC. An unfortunate image indeed.

What the Government announced a couple of weeks ago has – by some ‘fence sitters” been viewed as a consultation on the proposals. It is definitely NOT that at all. It is  to discuss how the proposals are to be implemented.

How. Not “if”.

This needs to focus minds. Yes, as some have pointed out, people (myself included) have focused on the drop in duty relief (PLEASE use the correct taxation term. Not the SBDRC spin of “discount” or “reduction”. Stop. That. Shit. Now.) and ranted less on the conversion of the remaining relief to a “cash basis”. But no, that hasn’t been overlooked. And it IS an important detail of the review. But, get a grip of this. There is no “wait and see” about this. If you do that, you are – in my eyes – complicit in the destruction of livelihoods and Brewing businesses.

Personally – and this IS my personal opinion – there is (and never has been) room for “fence sitting” on this debate. Never been time to “wait and see” how the “review” pans out. The review has been completed! The time to act was 2.5 years ago. Do you think that the SBDRC were “waiting to see” how this review panned out. No. They were burrowing into Government.

I strongly suspected that they spent their time networking politicians. And if you want an influencer on your side, you want the biggest. How I wish I’d made the link between Rupert Thompson and Government. Realised that his MP was THE most influential Government figure, Michael Gove. I doff my cap to Keith Flett for the above piece.

Those calling for boycotts of SBDRC members products have been ridiculed as being “over the top”. I haven’t advocated that. I’ve been doing it for nearly 3 years. I’ve never understood the love in with breweries like Harvey’s, Fullers & Lees that some have indulged in. This recent love affair with “Traditional” Bitter and those that brew it. This attachment to Family breweries. Those same big breweries are those attacking smaller Micros. They are the enemy. Recognise that or don’t. But they are.

Back to CAMRA HQ.

The above missive was a welcome flip on the previous mess. It is clear. This is the start of CAMRA campaigning for choice. And the support of CAMRA – the focus and the weight that it can bring – is vital. It’s easy – and incredibly lazy – to treat CAMRA as an Aunt Sally, to beat with a stick when you hear something you don’t like. If you don’t recognise the influence and power that CAMRA can bring to bear – when engaged and focused – then you are a fool. If you don’t recognise the impact that CAMRA has had on beer worldwide, then you are equally foolish.

Read the above. That was emailed to those who signed the petition to reverse the changes to SBR. The language lifted and shifted from SBDRC propaganda. Swallowed by the Treasury. Hook. Line. Sinker.

If you had any doubt about what it going to happen, then that should remove the blinkers.

This fight for the future of beer is here (not the past – represented by the self-interested, profit hungry members of the SBDRC and IFBB (Independent Family Brewers of Britain). It is happening now. This is not a time to sit on the fence. Join in. Link arms with SIBA, CAMRA and the newly launched Small Brewers Forum. If you’re not going to fight to save its future, then get out of the way.

Or – in one of my favourite quaint phrases – “If you’re not going to shit, get off the pot”

SIGN THIS BLOODY PETITION. *drops mic*

Back soon. Jx

Bury. This town is embedded in my childhood and youth. From seeing Joy Division at The Derby Hall in April 1980 (merely a month before Curtis took himself away) to the fact – as discussed yesterday with Barbara – that approx 20% of my vinyl collection was purchased at the much lamented Vibes Records, Bury has its place in my cultural heart. A big place.

But it’s never been a destination for drinking for me. Yes, it’s got one or two places worth the candle, but I needed more.

Now, I think, I’ve got what I needed. What I – personally – was waiting for. And that, is located on Broad Street. Approximately a 1 minute walk from the bus station and Metrolink terminus. A little ray of sunshine awaited.

I’d heard whispers about James & Jen Smith (they of Brewsmith Beer) – and their partner, Dave – opening a Taproom in Bury.

And – if you know them – you’d understand my sense of anticipation.

Before I go further, you need to understand something. I don’t say things that I don’t mean. And there are a number of reasons that I respect the Smiths.

The most important is that they do things right. And they are uncompromising in that. They won’t do things just for the sake. It’s all or nothing.

And I like that. So I knew that this venture would be right. Right up my street. Broad Street.

Did I expect anything less?

Walking through the door, details taken, tables appropriately – safely – spaced. Did I expect anything less? Wooden floor, bare brick walls, beautiful inlaid tile work (thematically throughout the bar). Just lovely.

Did I expect anything less?

I saw friends to the left, a brief wave. The promise of happy face to face, human, conversations. Laughter.

But my focus was – for a change – laser like. Brewsmith Bitter.

I hadn’t had this beer for too long. Pin sharp. Plentiful hoppy. Refreshing. Did I mention sharp? Quite why this beer isn’t in the same conversation as Pint by Marble & Sonoma by Track its quite beyond me. This is one ******* delicious and classy beer. A local classic.

Pints of Cascade and NZ Pale followed. Both excellent – with a marginal preference for the Cascade. An underrated hop, all too frequently dismissed in favour of other lupuloid fun. But it shouldn’t be.

Woe, woe and thrice woe. My visit was all too brief. But before I left, I had to have a pint of my favourite Brewsmith beer – and one of my very favourite dark beers. Oatmeal Stout. For me, another local classic. Rich. Roasty. Dry and bitter of finish. Another bloody lovely beer.

That’s enough about the beer. What about the place, eh?

Well. It’s bloody lovely. Single open space, but kind of a two roomed feel, that open brick wall and wooden floor gives a classy minimalist feel. Well thought out and well laid out. There are plans for artwork from local artists (and Bury imagery) to adorn the walls. That localism sits well and the time and place feels right.

The place just has a lovely feel to it. Easy and relaxing from entering to leaving. Excellent and friendly service, great beer, plans for local food traders to occupy the kitchen at weekends. All local. All bases covered. All my personal boxes ticked.

This is one fabulous bar for Bury. Dave, James & Jen have created a little gem here and no mistake.

Did I expect anything less?

No. I really didn’t.

It formally opens on Friday. I’d go if I were you.

(With sincere thanks to Kate for the better of the photos!)

In so much as I am not employed currently by a beer business, I am not within the beer industry. Merely an interested observer, looking from the outside in.

What I do for a living is Data Analysis. I find and receive information, research that information to assess its veracity, compare it with other information, then draw conclusions based on that information.

Which is why – unlike the bulk of the beer Commentariat – I wasn’t “blindsided” by the Government announcement on Small Brewers Duty Relief last week. The people behind the SBDRC (Small Brewers Duty Reform Coalition) and BBPA (British Beer and Pub Association) are ruthless businessmen and entrepreneurs, some self – identifying as the latter, rather than being beer people.* They are politically connected, savvy individuals. They employ – collectively – PR operatives. They care about money. And that the Micro Brewing sector is – bit by bit – making inroads into volumes.

Yes, some of these businesses are “generations old” family owned entities (Harveys, Lees, Holts etc), but several of the bigger players are formed over years of Merger & Acquisition Activity (a phrase that may be repeated later….) and themselves have been “acquired” (see Fullers and – more recently – Marstons) by Multi-National conglomerates.

But – despite the repeated spin coming from a number of angles – many of these companies (in a UK sense) cannot be described as “Small”, or even “Medium sized” breweries. They are big businesses. With profits in the £Ms – as you will see below. These companies – by dint of their additional membership of the BBPA – operate hand in hand with those Multi-National conglomerates that they (with their piteous and mendacious whining) claim are “squeezing” them. Think Asahi, ABInbev, Carlsberg, Heineken, Molson Coors….. List of members here

Now then. If you are going to complain about profitability and growth etc….. then don’t whine when you’re making 7 figure profits. It’s a SERIOUSLY bad look fellas. Especially when you’re screwing the Micro’s.

Anyway. Back to Rupert….

“We strongly condemn the current campaign of intimidation supporting the request, which runs against the normally friendly and collegiate nature of brewers…” It’s strange isn’t it. How people might be offended by attacks on the businesses and companies they hold dear… Hardly “collegiate” behaviour, eh Rupert.

Hogs Back made a profit in 2017 of £270,927. In 2018 they made £349,567, up £78,640 on the previous year. (Source here) I don’t personally know a brewery that wouldn’t envy being “squeezed” to such a profitable extent. All that whilst investing

More of that “struggle”, whilst conniving with their profitable friends to strangle Micros almost at birth. Forgive me if I shed no tears.

Now then. The British Beer & Pub Association (or BBPA). The organisation which comprises of the biggest brewers in Britain – mostly members of SBDRC – (with the exception of Brew Dog), cheek by fattened jowl with the International Beer Monoliths. ABInbev, Asahi, Carlsberg, Heineken & Molson Coors

Yes. Yes. I’m sure they will be celebrating…. But wait… “…. it hopes the measures announced today will BUILD on the success of SBR….” Errr….. And as for those “long standing distortions….” that’s the Duty relief Emma. That many of your members campaigned for, benefitted from and now want to have removed from others….. That was brought in to assist small brewers who didn’t have the economies of scale of – what are now – er…. YOUR MEMBERS! Jesus may weep……

Remember those profit figures from Harveys earlier? They would probably cover the profits from every Micro in the Greater Manchester area. And then some. Again, Crocodile tears. As for their “best intentions”? Worthless hypocrisy.

Right then. I’m done. This whole SBDRC thing has exhausted me. I’ve been ranting for almost 2 and a half years (not weeks….) into – what has seemed to be a void. Now that void has been filled by beer writers. Journalists if you will. With far greater profile and reach than I.

I haven’t the patience of Steve Dunkley – and you REALLY need to read his thoughts on this, he’s quite forensic. I’ve a full time job. And a (Virtual) beer festival to organise. I’ll remain an outsider. Looking in. With interest.

Go read. Go get organised. And save your Independent Breweries. And be kind to one another.

Back Soon. Jx

You don’t need me to tell you how brutal Lockdown has felt, eh?

Like many, I’ve been fairly cautious in stepping out and socialising. Looking for those businesses and traders who take seriously the health and safety of both their staff and customers. The best local businesses do precisely that.

Which is why, on my first venture – socially – into Manchester, I opted for Runaway. Knowing Mark, Sam, Oli & Josh, I knew that this would just BE right. That caution would be exercised appropriately.

AND the beer would be exceptional. Because that’s what Runaway do. Exceptional, consistent beer.

I met my dear friends Jock (and later Caroline & John) at Mackie Mayor for a beer at “Jack In The Box”, the Black Jack bar. And my first experience of ordering via apps.

The app was well designed with the ability to order from any of the food & drink vendors and have it delivered to your table. Swift service (we ordered food too) and excellent pints of Track Sonoma, Redwillow Weightless and a delicious Black Jack Pale followed.

All due protocols were followed and the service was superb. If this is the shape of things to come, bring. it. on.

Relaxed. Friendly. Service. Isn’t that what you want?

We got to Runaway just before opening time at 5 and were showed to our table (we booked a few days earlier) and I was quickly tucking into a beery crush of mine. A pin sharp and hoptastic Table Beer.

Mark and Sam & the team have done a great job with the Taproom, it has been my favourite in Manchester for some time. Plenty of tables and space on the mezzanine level, with a birds eye view of a working brewery.

However – aside from ‘one in, one out” access to the facilities, this view was denied its. All seating being outside on a balmy – if cloudy – Mancunian early evening.

A quite superb Mushroom Pizza followed – from the reliably excellent Honest Crust – sooooo tasty…… and the excellent Runaway beers continued to flow. With Pale (my favourite keg beer) and delicately delicious Rhubarb Spritz followed by a fabulous “Rise Like Lions” Chocolate & Chipotle Porter (which might just be the best keg beer I’ve had this year – being a sucker for the Dark Side.

With exceptional venues like GRUB nearby (again, booking required) and the excellent Beatnikz also on Red Bank, (with – hopefully – Black Jack Tap, soon) this little Green Quarter has its critical mass of excellence, with no real need to go elsewhere – especially with The Marble Arch reopening soon.

For now, start with Runaway. This unassuming little slice of beer heaven. For me anyway.

Back soon. Be kind to one another.

Jx

Sometimes, that light at the end of a tunnel is an oncoming train.

Over the last two years, I’ve written a number of posts regarding the machinations and dissembling of an organisation named the Small Brewers Duty Reform Coalition (SBDRC for short) – in order – Read here, here, here, here, here & (gasp) here. Yes, I became a tax nerd. But – at base – I detest underhandedness. Sneakyness. Envy.

All of which are hallmarks of the SBDRC.

To be honest, although silence worries me, I’d forgotten about the sneaky bastards. The pandemic can have that effect on you. You reach for positives. And after over 4 months of struggle for breweries (even more, when you consider how bad business in January and February can be for independent breweries and pubs), Green shoots were starting to peep through the concrete.

And just when you could begin imagine breweries – and pubs – coming out of enforced hibernation, this.

I’ve published the membership list of the BBPA elsewhere. It closely matches that of the SBDRC – with the additional “heft” of Heineken and the big Pubcos – to the extent that they are almost one and the same. But let’s nail one lie dead.

They – the BBPA – are decidedly NOT “the leading trade association representing Brewers….” that’s SIBA. An organisation that – speaking as an outsider – has started to talk the talk better, since the appointment of James Calder as CEO.

To make this change at ANY time will hurt breweries. To do it during a pandemic, when breweries have struggled for 4 months to find a way to keep their heads above water, when they’ve been tested – both creatively and mentally – like never before. It’s simply heedless. And destructive. The straw that breaks the proverbial back of the camel.

The SBDRC presented themselves – and their proposals – as reasonable…..

“Our proposals seek to restore progressive beer duty and promote growth in a sustainable way……………Yet the relief a brewer receives at 500hL is the exact same as the one ten times its size. This is not progressive and needs to be addressed. The current 50% threshold at 5,000hL also prohibits normal merger and acquisition activity…… “

And there we hit – to my eyes – the nub. That members (or at least some) of the SBDRC viewed the Relief as inhibiting them in buying competitors. For that is how they see successful Micros. Competition. To be absorbed into The Borg of Big Beer. Because – chip by chip – they eat away at the volumes of the Big guys.

I’ve covered – in more detail – the mendacity and the usage of the darker arts of PR of both the BBPA & SBDRC in those other posts. What – other than my opinion – is contained within those posts is public record material. Data supplied by members of the SBDRC themselves. So I’m not doing that here, I’m not calm enough.

I’m just hoping that the Crafterati love affair with the likes of Fullers, Lees & Timothy Taylor stops. Now. They are regiments of the enemy, be in no doubt. I haven’t touched a drop of their beers from first reading about the SBDRC. And recognising the threat.

Look at the lists of their members (SBDRC & BBPA).

Boycott their premises and products. And those of the companies that they own.

If you care enough, write to your MP. It isn’t difficult.

And, if you are a brewery – despite any reservations you may have – join SIBA. On your own, you have the voice of a mouse. Collectively however…..

It’s almost like I needed a reminder of what the inside of a pub looks like….

I’m not a religious man. The opposite is true really. But if I was, I’d describe organising The Independent Salford Beer Festival as my penance for past sins. Like a “slightly” more stressful “Three Hail Marys, Two Our Fathers and a wotsit……”

This year, that penance hurt me round about early March *Checks emails* (the 13th to be exact). That was the day that I sent out the initial invitations to supply what WAS to be #ISBF7. The replies started to arrive within minutes. And all were looking forward to the event…. But more than a handful had a suffix to the message. A proviso. A phrase that was repeated “…. if we survive”

Of course. Covid-19 has wrought profound sadness and grief. The loss of family and friends is a truly terrible thing. Of all people, of that I am perfectly aware. But from a business perspective, it brought home to me the fears of many associates and friends in this business. The entire hospitality sector was in state of fear. Pubs, bars, cafes, restaurants, all boarding up like Florida beachfronts in the face of hurricane season.

However, after a week or two, things – the feeling – started to change. There was a distinct sense of determination (in some quarters), like a survival instinct had kicked in. Fight or flight. And many businesses, breweries and bars in particular, started to think about adapting their MO. Sensing that not all was lost….

Breweries that package beer in bottle and can started to think about diverting production, getting beer out to independent Micro pubs – themselves adapting to an off sales and delivery ‘model’ – setting up direct Web sales, regulations compliant deliveries. But breweries that only produced cask ale were faced with the heartbreaking thought of pouring entire brews and cold store stocks down the drain. I speak as someone who – yearly – pours fabulous beer down the drain at the end of each ISBF. It brings real tears to these eyes.

Then I heard of breweries starting to “Bag in Box”. A common thing in Cider, but not so in beer.

The day that delivery (above) arrived, I danced like a fool. Pictish “Brewers Gold”. It felt (and tasted) like a dream. A classic session pale. And that night I slaked a month long thirst on one of my favourite beers. Nectar.

With breweries increasingly bottling & canning, actually BREWING again, it felt like Spring was on the way. OK, maybe not the end of this social winter, but the blizzards were now reduced to flurries.

There is an increasing feeling of positivity. That there is a light to reach out to. That survival isn’t just possible, but a realistic prospect for many, certainly in the area I call home.

And in my area, there are three businesses that I want to applaud. Three businesses that not only haven’t given up, but have maintained. And reached out to others. Helping. Sharing. Lifted.

Marble. In particular, the owner, Jan Rogers. In those incredibly dark early days, the reaching out on social media work advice on how to deal with “The Man”. With HMRC and other arms of Government. Advice on how to deal, entitlements, that all wasn’t lost. Brava.

Jason & Jules Bailey at GRUB. For keeping going. For advice. Help to small businesses. Small street food vendors might just get through this because of these two. For delivering draught beer and food across the area. And the most lovely Chicken Katsu from Sutikku..

Last – and buy no means least – Cloudwater. For being quick to reach out to smaller local breweries and availing them of the use of their well established and successful Web sales facility. That’s collaboration. And Mancunian.

Stay safe. Shop (and drink) independent. Shop local.

Be kind to one another. Jx

Like most people I know, I started drinking underage.

Memories of nursing two halves of Guinness, aged 14, at a Joy Division gig (08/04/1980 at Derby Hall, Bury), a sneaky (and squeakily ordered) half of Carlsberg at The Apsley Cottage pre my first ever gig (Damned, October 1979, Machine Gun Etiquette tour)

I have some very clear memories of my Real Ale adolescence too. They involved  guys I first met in a god forsaken prefab in Trafford Park. And those work colleagues introduced me to places I’d otherwise never have found (John Fishwick RIP – I owe that man),or have taken years to discover.

So we start with my first Xmas do. In 1984. The beer – and pub – landscape would be unrecognisable to most now. Beer in Manchester City centre was mostly Wilson, Tetley’s, Robinson’s, Marstons, some Boddingtons and – bizarrely, given the brewery location – no Holts. In short, variety was in short supply.

We started in The Hare & Hounds on Shudehill, a pub that – physically – has barely changed a paint flake. And it’s all the better for it. I adore the fact that I can drink in a pub first opened in the 1770s. Back then, it was a Tetley pub. In fact, it wasn’t that long ago that the ‘Huntsman’ logo was still on the exterior wall

The pub remains beautiful, with the most exquisite tile work across the bar area and the front room. The pub had – and almost uniquely in the city centre, still has – the feel of a “Local”. Back then, on that Friday evening, 35 years ago, it was rammed with people guzzling Tetley Bitter and Mild.

We moved on. To a Manchester landmark – but back then, it was “another pub” – The Marble Arch. It felt like a long walk up Rochdale Road, but in reality it’s less than 300 yards. There was no brewery back then (we were 10 years or so away from that historic installation). It sounds like heresy to say this, but – at that point – it was “just another pub”. Albeit, one that had recently been turned into a “freehouse”. At that time, “The Arch” was yet to bury her claws into my consciousness. The next pub was one that claimed an early place in my heart.

The Harp & Shamrock was one of the smallest pubs in Manchester. It was legendarily “tucked away” in the (then) warehouse district – what have since become luxury apartments. It was tiny, with two rooms (both ‘petit’) with the main bar in the room to the left, which, whilst itself small, still managed to accommodate a well used dart board. It was a Marstons pub. And that thing about being ‘tucked away’ meant that it didn’t get much attention when it stayed serving “after hours”.

The Harp & Shamrock was my first real “pub crush”. These days it would be regarded as a Micro Pub, given its size. It was always friendly, the beer was always excellent (Marstons almost qualified as “exotica” in those days). Later on, the pub was bought and renamed “The Pot of Beer”. It became locally known for its Polish bar menu – the food was ace. We’d travel as a team at lunchtime from Old Trafford to sample its delights.

I loved that place. Now long closed – the building, strangely (given the surrounding development of the Angel Meadow area) still remains functioning – the building is a bit of a fantasy of mine. Just give me an 8 figure lottery win and I’d get that pub back….

From there – and it had been a long day / evening – we were nearing the end. And, fortunately, it was a short walk along New Mount Street, left onto Ludgate Street then right onto Dyche Street to a pub that has gone through some changes in the intervening years – including two name changes. You’ll now know it as The Angel. But back then, it was The Weavers Arms.

According to the exceptional “Manchesterhistory.net” website, this pub has been called “The Weavers” since – at least – the 1850s

Before it’s “transformation” into the freehouse that was “The Beerhouse” (where it was created as an open plan pub, the Weavers was (technically) 3 roomed, with a small “Snug” type room at the rear, with a larger room to the front with an upstairs performance space. (On that night, the legendary Manchester Bluesman Victor Brox was playing upstairs)

We went in the Snug, which – despite its size – managed to accommodate a pool table (a rarity in the City Centre). That pool table ended up covering a “tired and emotional” colleague before we finished……

The Weavers was a straight up Tetley pub, bustling with Friday night custom and an excellent pint of Tetley Bitter. Pool was played – no doubt unsteadily – beer was further consumed and the evening, for me at least, ended here.

For me, I preferred the pub as The Weavers. But then, I love multi – roomed pubs. Yes, it had the “Robert Owen Brown” years of gastro pubbery as The Angel and the pub feels run down and an almost “awaiting an offer from developers” kind of feel, but that’s “progress”

This post is a bit of a love letter to people who’ll never read it. My first colleagues in the Civil Service. They introduced me to now long gone pubs like The Castle & Falcon, The Coach & Horses, The White House, places I may never have experienced if it wasn’t for Hig, Fish & Co.

I owe those fellas. Johnny Fish passed away a few years back (I only heard after the event) and the last time I saw Hig was wobbly at the bar of The Marble Arch about 6 or 7 years ago.

These fellas were my educators, both in work and in beer. And – like I said – I owe a debt.

And yes. Even after only a month, I miss pubs. I’ll be raising a glass, virtually, with friends, tonight. But it’s not the same. Back soon. Stay safe. Jx