Manchester Round-Up

Just a quick round-up of some of the other pubs visited whilst in Manchester.
Then I'll get back to safer territory round Oxford-way, where I don't get my Holts and Hydes mixed up!

Returning from Eccles, where I finished the last post, I alighted the Metro at St Peter's Square and called in to the Britons Protection. 
This was the morning sunshine photograph, snapped as I predicted a return visit later...

The Britons Protection (50 Great Bridgewater Street, Manchester, M1 5LE)
I made my way into the small front room, with bench seating underneath the windows and four small tables and stools facing the bar.

Beers on offer on this occasion included a Saltaire stout, Pennine 'Amber Necker', an IPA by Three Brothers and two ales from the local Black River Beer Co.
I went for the Black River 'Passion Fruit Pale', which may not be a proper beer but had that refreshing touch that I was craving at the time.

An L-shaped corridor leads around the back of the bar, past a serving hatch, to two more rooms.  This corridor has some fantastic tiling, whilst my heritage pub guide tells me the "massive urinals and tiled walls in the gents are worth inspection".
So inspect I did, although refrained from taking urinal pictures this time.

I initially arrived in Manchester in a pretty persistent downpour of rain.
The kind of weather in which you need big pink monsters lurking next to office blocks to brighten things up...

My first point of call was to a Heritage pub that I thought I'd been to before, but it turns out I haven't.
Probably because much of my time spent in Manchester was as a fresh-faced student and WhatPub tells us that the Hare & Hounds 'appeals to the mature customer'.

The Hare & Hounds (46 Shudehill, Manchester, M4 4AA)
Dating to around 1800, the pub was remodelled in 1925 and has pretty much stayed the same way since.  A corridor along the side connects a front door on Shudehill and back door on Salmon Street, expanding in the middle to create a drinking lobby.  The bar, with glazed glass screens above the counter, also serves the basic and comfortable front and back rooms.

Holts bitter, in fine form, at £2.70 a pint.  I can't complain about that.

The Halloween decorations reveal just how long it's taken me to write up this trip... 

    

So, into the Northern Quarter where foolhardy strong craft beers would tempt me in Beatnikz Republic...

Beatnikz Republic (35 Dale Street, Manchester, M1 2HF - web)
Located in an old office building, this place has an impressive entrance, up a flight of steps at which point you have to decide if your vice is flat whites in Idle Hands to the left or double-IPAs in Beatnikz Republic to the right.

Coffee shop or craft bar conundrum

Beatnikz gets into the Good Beer Guide by having a run of three hand pumps to one side of the bar.  These cask ales were reduced to £2.95 when I visited, which did make me wonder how much of it they shift when there's 20-odd craft keg concoctions leaping out at you to be picked from the colourful beer menu. 

I visited twice, finding it a nice comfortable place with great beer range, although it was quiet on both occasions.

Second time around it was end-of-evening and I was making a beeline for the Holy Goat Brewing 'Goatsmoker', a proper heavyweight smoked beer weighing in at 12.7%.
(Actually too strong in my humble opinion - the only smoked beer you ever really need is a Schlenkerla).

Just around the corner is the Manchester outpost of Northern Monk Brewing Co from Leeds.
Not that I could find it.
I walked past twice, before realising the local builders had cunningly hidden it so as to keep all the chocolate caramel biscuit porter to themselves.

Behind there somewhere

Northern Monk Refectory (10 Tariff Street, Manchester, M1 2FF - web)
Uh-oh.  A dangerous beer list, both for my sobriety and wallet.
Lots of tantalising things on offer here, ready for you to join the Untappd elite on the 4.5 rated West Coast IPAs and pastry stouts.

Having come across the wonderful morbidly named Sudden Death brewery on my German explorations, I picked their collaboration with Sweden's Duckpond - 'Djooz', a chewy, piney double IPA which I very much enjoyed.

That's two heritage pubs and two craft bars - now for something that sits somewhere inbetween...

Crown & Kettle (2 Oldham Road, Manchester, M4 5FE - web)
This is an old pub that dates back to the early 19th century, spent a period closed in the nineties, then re-opened in 2005 after an extensive conservation project.

There was a DJ spinning tunes in the corner, a decent mainly youthful crowd, and screens showing the beer list - around four on cask, with more on the kegs.
I ordered some Italian-style street food ('inspired by Naples, crafted in Ancoats') and a stout on cask from Brew York.
'Fairytale of Brew York 2021' is a Christmas beer - a very, very nice 4.9% milk stout,  but far too early for a Christmas beer!

The real marvel in the Crown & Kettle is the ceiling...

Wow!

Shame I didn't get to see any live music on this visit - my noisy psych rock gig in Salford was cancelled just a few days after I brought a ticket.
I had to make do with the musical history depicted on the side of buildings...

And after the initial rain I was happy to get some sunshine and blue skies in which to explore the city centre and take a few photographs...

Finally, following a week of solid pubbing in Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire, here's what I'll be drinking for the next week or two...

Cheers! 🍺