Aug 7 2013
Beer & Music (Pubs with Jukeboxes Pt2) 06/08/2013
After a couple of days “drying out” following the Marble 125 celebrations at The Marble Arch, I had all the excuse I needed when Col let me know he had the night off (he works nights). So we found ourselves embarking on a beery adventure, burning with optimisms flame! (Any XTC fans out there? No? I’ll move on….)
Having decided to find a few more pubs with Jukes, the best place to start, is with (IMHO) the best Jukebox in town. Which also happens to be in a cracking bar. Cask.
Cask is a wee bit like the Tardis. Small and blue on the outside, but deceptively spacious on the inside. Located at 29, Liverpool Road on the edge of the trendy Castlefield district, It’s like a little slice of audio heaven with one of the most eclectic jukeboxes I know. In my opinion, it has no rival in Manchester.
On striding in, Col & I were confronted with 3 ales (the bar being immediately in front of you as you enter via the corner doors). Col went for the Celt Experience beer Iron Age, I chose Citraville APA (3.9% abv) from Ole Slewfoot Brewery from North Walsham, Norfolk (a brewery I was yet to taste) the other beer being from Dentons’ own Hornbeam (Summer IPA). The Citraville (as the name implied) used the citra hop to create a gentle grapefruit citrus aroma and a mouthful of restrained pithy grapefruit hop with a touch of biscuit sweetness for balance. A cracking start on the beer front indeed.
I have been in this bar plenty of times, but not frequently enough recently. However, on each occasion, I had never had a seat beyond the bar area. Tonight, I boldly went where………. The place really opens up in this back room, in more ways than one. There is a lovely canopied patio area / beer garden outside which was well populated and quite a few tables with comfy chairs in here. And BOOKS, games as well (Connect 4 anyone? No? Cowards!!!) a brave book selection as some of them were of recent vintage, proven as Col perused the James May & Oz Clarke beer book!
Whilst not exactly being a multi-roomed pub, the three distinct areas (including the beer garden) provide a little something for everyone. As stated, the beer was superb, the tunes? Great Juke with plenty of roots reggae, loads of eclectic indie, bit of rock, a really good selection and my shout for best in town. My tunes were Odessa by Caribou from the Swim album (a surprise & a particular favourite) and Morning Rain from Manchesters’ own I Am Kloot from the Natural History album. Tunes both!
By this time, we had been joined by my arch nemesis (also enjoying an Ole Slewfoot) and it was time to move onward….(via the excellent chippy next door!) to….
Now a Manchester institution located at the top end of Deansgate near the junction with Whitworth St, famed both for its beers and the superb food served, The Knott is justly popular. With the 3 of us striding in on this sunny evening (yes, this IS Manchester. Honest!), we headed straight for the bar. Another good selection including beers from Oakham (Green Devil IPA), Magic Rock (High Wire) and Hawkshead amongst others. I went for a beer I was yet to sample from Hawkshead. Bitter.
A golden beer with a lightly floral nose (reminding me of the Sorachi Ace hop) led to a refreshing light fruity beer with a nice floral and bitter dry finish. A lovely beer for a summers evening.
For those unaware, The Knott is built into a (still working) railway arch which accounts for its vaulted ceilings. Another single room with a multi-room feel, the room opens up as you pass the bar. Plenty of ales and craft beers to satisfy the most discerning…….. The tunes in here were Wide Eyes by Local Natives from the Gorilla Manor album (superb!) and Next Girl by The Black Keys from Attack & Release. Superb tunage (IMHO of course!)
At this point, we had a bit of leg work to do. Walking up Whitworth St and bypassing the many arch inhabiting bars thereon, we walked past the Hacienda Apartments and bemoaned the loss of that once great club, when, on nights like these, some wag would always open the rear door onto the canal and cool down in the murky water!
Turning up the back streets, bypassing Font (sighs!) we were destined for another railway arch, this time occupied by a bar I was yet to try.
Slightly disappointingly, the theme was sacrificed at this juncture. No Juke. However, there was a very energetic, almost skiffle, band on giving it their all, so we stuck with it. Thetwo ale choices in here were both from Blakemere from Northwich in Cheshire. Navajo & Pinnacle. I plumped for the Navajo. A mistake. If that was supposed to have hoppy citrus notes that is. I asked for a swap for Pinnacle, but for a moment, thought I wasn’t going to get one. However, it was replaced for a Pinnacle and I retired to the outside bench seating content. (With the band still banging out the tunes!)
Being inside a railway arch, the bar opens out to left and right as you approach the bar. The performance stage is to the right of the bar as you enter. Quite a nice wee place really with a rep for live music (which was for free BTW) but with DJs at weekends. Glad I popped in.
The Pinnacle was a 4.4% nice Brown Ale. Creamy and nutty and with a nicely bitter hoppy finish. A nice pint. By this point, Mr Anonymous had joined us from his evening exertions and (with Font close by) batted his sad puppy dog eyes, desirous of some “craft”. I must be getting soft in my old age! Off to Font we go then……
Font
(pic : curryandbeer.co.uk)
Hardly a chore of course! No juke but as usual, great tunes. Obviously not as busy as at weekends, the bar was easily gained as my eyes lit up! Pale Ale by Five Points Brewing! Easy decision that then! Gold and slightly hazy. A sharp grapefruit and fruity mango nose on this puppy. Grapefruit upfront in the mouth with a touch of malt sweetness for balance. A short bitter and hoppy fruity finish. This was packed with flavour, far more than any beer at 4.4% abv has a right to. A really zingy refreshing beer. Beer of the evening for me.
Short walk to the final destination of the evening, past the Thirsty Scholar to its neighbour…
The Salisbury
Not been in here for 20 odd years! Used to be a really good boozer this, with reliable selection of good ales. Located on Wakefield Street, just down a dip off Oxford Road, you could easily miss this. Handy for Oxford Rd train station though, as steps lead up to it from outside the pub!
Another single space with a multi room feel. Bar and some seating to the left on entry with the room stretching out ahead. There is a rare red cloth pool table to the right facing the bar. The jukebox (unfortunately digital and modern in design) has a distinct rock/metal bias. This does have a rep as a “Rock” pub. No bad thing! I grabbed a pint of All American Summer Pale from Caledonian at 4.1%. The beer was uninspiring. IN good condition, with a vaguely fruity nose and flavour, NOT what I was expecting from the words “All American”. Hops were called for, and unfortunately were not present in sufficient numbers for me. Nice enough, but bland.
(Yum!)
A nice relaxed feel to the Salisbury. Tunage from Led Zep (Misty Mountain Hop – Classic) and AC-DC (Back in Black). I was a happy boy. It has changed drastically over the years, but was relaxed enough, even if the beer range was somewhat….generic. Robinsons, Everards, Caledonian etc…
Being a school night, I had to drag Col away toward the chariot, sadly by-passing the siren call of Elland 1872 in Paramount (sob!)
Friends, music & beer. A good evening.
Beer of the Evening was Pale Ale by Five Points Brewing (Closely followed by the Citraville APA by Ole Slewfoot)
On that note…’til next time…
Slainte!
Aug 12 2013
Two Yorkshire Favourites – Yorkshire Ales & Revolutions Brewing
“So girls like that above described are not to be so easily bribed, (With a white frock and a ring)
Punch the clock and in time you’ll get pulled apart, If you’re married on paper and not in your heart.”
The Greatest Thing – Elvis Costello (LP – Punch The Clock)
My darling Atilla has family in Lincolnshire. Each time we travel to visit, presents a temptation for one such as I. Our usual route takes us within 10 miles of a certain beer shop in Snaith. Yorkshire Ales. Last Monday, Atilla humoured me yet again. Even better, was the fact the Adrian & Vicky opened the shop to facilitate my purchases!
It is a pretty little shop is Yorkshire Ales, located in the quaintly named “The Manor House” on Selby Rd. It’s only a small premises with 2 open rooms. Downstairs is the payment area with some non alcohol locally sourced items for sale. Upstairs however, is where the goodies are to be found!
The thing that struck me about the shop is the ethos. Ales. From Yorkshire. Simple, but effective in these times where “locally sourced” is a virtue. From the moment I first visited the shop (back in February – seems MUCH longer ago!), we just got on. Nice people Adrian & Vicky. Nice people indeed. I look forward to my visits, always intending to buy “just the 1 case” but always buying more!
This visit was to collect some bottles they had kindly put by for me. In particular, Speyside Siberia by Ilkley Brewery and New World IPA by Northern Monk. A limited run of 700 bottles of this beer which has its origins in the collaboration beer initially brewed in conjunction with the esteemed beer writer Melissa Cole. I LOVE Siberia (the beer – not the gulag riddled Russian state!), it remains one of my favourite beers. I couldn’t miss out, could I? (Review may follow, later this week)
Given the fact that both my darling Atilla and my hound remained in the car, the visit was, by necessity, a short one. One of these days I threaten to stay and chat longer, but on this occasion, Adrian & Vicky were spared that ordeal!
I was going to pick up a copy of Great Yorkshire Beer by Leigh Linley (the writer of the excellent “TheGoodStuff” blog), but I couldn’t bear to take their last copy! To assuage my loss, they contacted Andrew from Revolutions (my next stop) and arranged for a copy there.
So, with a car full of beer (well, nearly!) I set off for the glamorous environs of Castleford. And Revolutions Brewing
Revolutions Brewing started to make their excellent beers in late 2010. I could have sworn that I’d had them earlier, but that must have been before I sold the DeLorean! Following a previous visit to Yorkshire Ales, I picked up a couple of bottles of Manifesto Stout. And was smitten. For me, (in bottle at least) easily the equal of Dark Arts by Magic Rock – a beer that I love. I needed to get more.
After picking up a couple more bottles from Bierhuis of Ossett, I got the taste. Then, on a stroll following a recent MTB at Port Street……I located some draught at Soup Kitchen! Clash London Porter spotted at Soup Kitchen. A lovely beer. Some time later, I went for a little stroll around Manchester with Andrew, one of the brewers. A kindred spirit on many levels, music, beer, politics.
This brings me to the ethos of Revolutions. And why they chime with me. Excellent, balanced, flavourful ales all themed around music. With beers named for Kraftwerk (Braun ale!), The Beat (Beat Red), The Clash (London Porter) Devo(lution – Amber Ale). All bands of my era, all bands I love. They even made a special beer named Unknown Pleasures after the great Joy Division debut album! All the beers also have alcohol levels commensurate with a music format. So 3.3% – 33RPM (Remember them? Vinyl LPs?); 4.5% – 45RPM; 6.0% – C60 (Mmmm Tape Cassettes!), the odd one out being EP at 3.9%. But with an EP being half way between a single and an LP……..geddit?
Another good bloke is Andrew. Before he departed from The Crown & Kettle, he invited me to pop in when next in the area. Who am I to refuse? Luckily, this particular Monday was a brewing day! The only request I had, was for a nearby chippy for good old Yorkshire Fish & Chips – in order to sweeten to diversion to Atilla! See below!!!
(The Mash Tun – NB The shovel – ready to shovel out the spent grains – Damn Hard Work!!!)
As I pulled up outside Unit 8, the smell of pale malt was in the air. Mmmmmm! Popping out to meet me, Andrew told me they were brewing a session pale ale, which, by this time was in the copper. The smell was lovely!
A quick beery chat and a swift tour. Revolutions use an 8 BBl (Beer Barrel = 36 gallons) mash tun, with the kit originally being installed by PBC Installations of Bury (owned by the legendary David Porter). They currently brew 6 times a month and with the kit they have, alongside the space they occupy, have plenty of room for expansion.
(Fermenting Vessels)
They now occupy 2 units and have plenty of space for storage. There were lots of empty casks ready for filling and quite a stash in the cold store with a number of “swaps”. This was how I managed to stumble across the Clash in Soup Kitchen, that having been a swap with Rob from Black jack. Another thing I have to thank him for!
They make lovely, well-flavoured ales here. But, having only sampled them in bottle, we are missing a trick here in Manchester. This is damn good beer that we don’t see enough of over here. The push starts here! Speaking with Damian O’Shea (@TheAleManMcr) at his excellent stall at Castlefield Market last Sunday, he seemed keen to grab a few over here. It will be nice start. I’m also hoping that Andrew & Mark can pop over later this year for a possible MTB – I’ll keep you posted, of course!
One of the reasons I came, was to restock! So I selected a mixed case of 12 to add to the stock from Snaith – with the accent on Manifesto! The only problem I had was not enough money for all I wanted to take! Hence the 12 limit.
(A small selection!)
For the second time on the same day, I was asked if I was going to the Great British Beer Festival. For the second time I pretended not to be jealous! I suppose that’s the hard bit about brewing. The PR bit!
It was a brief visit, but a pleasant one. I would enjoy Revolutions beers whatever. They are simply excellently made, balanced tasty beers. It just helps that they are made by a nice bloke! (And I STILL think he’s a top bloke. Even though the chippy was shut!)
A swift drive back and a penance to pay. Dinner to be bought. Payback time!
On that note…’til next time!
Slainte!
NB – Oh yeah. The lyric at the top…..Keeping in mind the Revolutions ethos, they recently collaborated with Stuart Neilson from the North Riding Brewpub on a Double IPA “Punch The Clock” at 7.8% abv (Anyone remember 78RPM?) – I may start every post with a lyric now!
By BeersManchester • Uncategorized • 0 • Tags: Beat Red, Brown Ale, Clash London Porter, Devolution, Identity, Ilkley Brewery, Kraftwerk, Manifesto, Melissa Cole, Revolutions Brewing, Siberia, Speyside Siberia, Yorkshire Ales