A few beers in Manchester...

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Mala591
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A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Mala591 » Thu Apr 29, 2021 10:16 pm

Manchester is such a difficult city to recommend from the point of a tour of real ale pubs (formerly known as a pub crawl).

The ‘best’ real ale/good conversation pubs are scattered all over the place but these are some that I’ve frequented on several occasions and had a very enjoyable experience:

Sinclair’s Oyster Bar
Turks Head
Marble Arch
The Castle
Britain’s Protection
Peverel of the Peak

I’m sure there are many other good real ale/good atmosphere pubs that I’ve missed out on over the years and any recommendations to add to my modest list would be most welcome.

Vintage Claret
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Vintage Claret » Thu Apr 29, 2021 10:33 pm

Corbieres
Mr Thomas's Chop House
Cask
Rising Sun
Joshua Brooks
Ape and Apple
Last edited by Vintage Claret on Thu Apr 29, 2021 10:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Mala591
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Mala591 » Thu Apr 29, 2021 10:38 pm

31BD23FE-FD14-4351-8A79-B5FB7F5452F6.jpeg
31BD23FE-FD14-4351-8A79-B5FB7F5452F6.jpeg (71.45 KiB) Viewed 4134 times
Discovered this one tonight at the Britons Protection - Highly Recommended
Last edited by Mala591 on Thu Apr 29, 2021 10:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Mala591
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Mala591 » Thu Apr 29, 2021 10:42 pm

Edit

Mala591
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Mala591 » Thu Apr 29, 2021 10:55 pm

Vintage Claret wrote:
Thu Apr 29, 2021 10:33 pm
Corbieres
Mr Thomas's Chop House
Cask
Rising Sun
Joshua Brooks
Ape and Apple
Thanks vintage. Can you specify which area of the city they are in?

bodge
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by bodge » Thu Apr 29, 2021 11:04 pm

2 I would add to that list Mala are The City Arms just off Albert Square and the Lass o Gowrie just off Oxford Road, closest pub on your list would be the
Peveril.

Storming gaffs, the Britons would be my pick of those ale houses you listed..
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Devils_Advocate
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Devils_Advocate » Thu Apr 29, 2021 11:09 pm

Any of the Revolution bars but if I had to choose id pick the Deansgate Locks establishment
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by ChrisG » Thu Apr 29, 2021 11:35 pm

Mala591 wrote:
Thu Apr 29, 2021 10:16 pm
Manchester is such a difficult city to recommend from the point of a tour of real ale pubs (formerly known as a pub crawl).

The ‘best’ real ale/good conversation pubs are scattered all over the place but these are some that I’ve frequented on several occasions and had a very enjoyable experience:

Sinclair’s Oyster Bar
Turks Head
Marble Arch
The Castle
Britain’s Protection
Peverel of the Peak

I’m sure there are many other good real ale/good atmosphere pubs that I’ve missed out on over the years and any recommendations to add to my modest list would be most welcome.
If you start at Marble Arch, then as follows:
Angel
Crown and Kettle
Bar Fringe
Smithfield Tavern
Gullivers
Castle
Unicorn

Decent little half mile crawl in some decent boozers.

Edit: also sad to note that The Knott has closed down.
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Rowls
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Rowls » Fri Apr 30, 2021 12:44 am

Manchester is a struggle for real ale at times.

I’ve found a few hipster places serving half decent real ale among the sillier craft beers.

The only pub I always go back to is the Vine Inn which is behind the Wetherspoons pub called the Waterhouse, off St. Peter’s square.

Highly recommend the Vine. Never had a pint less than 7/10 for condition. Proper beer pub.
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Tw@ » Fri Apr 30, 2021 12:58 am

Beermoth and Marble Arch or visit Cloudwater brewery tap
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by ChrisG » Fri Apr 30, 2021 7:18 am

Rowls wrote:
Fri Apr 30, 2021 12:44 am
Manchester is a struggle for real ale at times.
Probably about 6 or 7 years out of date this comment, or it certainly was pre-covid.

Majority of boozers in town have at least a couple of cask lines, even as you say the 'hipster bars'.

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Vintage Claret » Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:12 am

Mala591 wrote:
Thu Apr 29, 2021 10:55 pm
Thanks vintage. Can you specify which area of the city they are in?
Corbieres and Chop house - St Anne's Square area

Rising Sun and Cask - off Deansgate (towards Oxford St end)

Ape and Apple - John Dalton St

Joshua Brooks - Princess St

Literally just around the corner from Joshua Brooks is Lass O'Gowrie but not sure if it's still open
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by CaptJohn » Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:32 am

Chester is much better. Old Harkers (Just off City Road on the Canal), Brewery Tap (Lower Bridge St) and the Pied Bull (Upper Northgate St) You'll get a good selection of real ales at any of them and in the case of the Pied Bull, they brew most of their beers in the on site cellar.

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Sproggy » Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:34 am

Rowls wrote:
Fri Apr 30, 2021 12:44 am

The only pub I always go back to is the Vine Inn which is behind the Wetherspoons pub called the Waterhouse, off St. Peter’s square.
Highly recommend the Vine. Never had a pint less than 7/10 for condition. Proper beer pub.
If you're going in The Vine it would be rude not to go in the City Arms next door too. They quite often have Moorhouses on.

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Dark Cloud » Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:47 am

I disagree that Manchester is poor for real ale and absolutely all of the pubs listed or mentioned above are excellent (or were when I was last there) Off hand I was trying to think of others which have been missed. but the problem I have is that I go into lots of good pubs, but can never remember their names (I think it's something to do with the beer!)

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by RingoMcCartney » Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:57 am

Runaway Brewery open days on Saturday then a stones throw from Blackjack brewery (when then have theirs.) Up the street to Marble Arch, The Fringe. Long walk up to Cloudwater. Finish off at Port Street Beer House. Back to Burnley's finest , The Mighty Bridge.

What's not to like?
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Buxtonclaret » Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:01 am

Mother Mac's
Back Piccadilly St

Not been for a while now. Hope it's still going.
But anyone wants a taste of how pubs used to be ought to try it.
I've been nipping in the odd time for nigh on 40 years. It's barely changed.
Always a decent pint at a decent price.

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Rowls » Fri Apr 30, 2021 12:31 pm

I confess i don’t know the city well, hence I can only name the one pub.

I’m sure there are lots more

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by 775claret » Fri Apr 30, 2021 12:39 pm

Somebody further up mentioned The Crown & Kettle. It's under new ownership and management, both with a strong Burnley connection.

Well worth a trip up to Ancoats to sample.

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by clarethomer » Fri Apr 30, 2021 2:42 pm

The refectory - northern monk bar.

Down_Rover
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Down_Rover » Fri Apr 30, 2021 3:11 pm

Sproggy wrote:
Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:34 am
If you're going in The Vine it would be rude not to go in the City Arms next door too. They quite often have Moorhouses on.
There is huge local rivalry between the City Arms and the Vine. locals will generally drink in one and diss the other.

I have lived in Manchester for well over 20 years and the City is my fav. Ever changing selection of beers

The place with the largest selection of beers, and many good ones, is the Knott Bar next to Deansgate station

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by ŽižkovClaret » Fri Apr 30, 2021 5:11 pm

Buxtonclaret wrote:
Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:01 am
Mother Mac's
Back Piccadilly St

Not been for a while now. Hope it's still going.
But anyone wants a taste of how pubs used to be ought to try it.
I've been nipping in the odd time for nigh on 40 years. It's barely changed.
Always a decent pint at a decent price.
Lol ran a comedy night upstairs there back in the day. The room was used for that, and BNP meetings. It was admittedly debatable at times which events were likely to be funnier
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by ŽižkovClaret » Fri Apr 30, 2021 5:12 pm

Crown and Kettle is worth a look for the ceiling alone, burned and not

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by ChrisG » Fri Apr 30, 2021 7:58 pm

Down_Rover wrote:
Fri Apr 30, 2021 3:11 pm
There is huge local rivalry between the City Arms and the Vine. locals will generally drink in one and diss the other.

I have lived in Manchester for well over 20 years and the City is my fav. Ever changing selection of beers

The place with the largest selection of beers, and many good ones, is the Knott Bar next to Deansgate station
I'm afraid the Knott is no more. Hopefully the Brink will reopen soon though.

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by dougcollins » Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:03 pm

Is the Lass O' Gowrie still open? Apart from the ales they used to have cracking sandwiches.
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by ten bellies » Fri Apr 30, 2021 8:29 pm

Sir Ralph Abercromby on the back street behind the Albert Hall is also a lively pub with a few real ales on.

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Buxtonclaret » Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:19 pm

ŽižkovClaret wrote:
Fri Apr 30, 2021 5:11 pm
Lol ran a comedy night upstairs there back in the day. The room was used for that, and BNP meetings. It was admittedly debatable at times which events were likely to be funnier
Always seemed full of characters.
But like a live version of The Royal Family.
It's a rarity, these days, for a pub to remain the same sort of pub for as long as it has. :lol:

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Garnerssoap » Sat May 01, 2021 10:35 am

The grey horse used to be our boardroom. Until we moved offices and it had a nespresso machine. The law has gone to ****

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by bodge » Sat May 01, 2021 10:57 am

doug - it was open on March 14th 2020 as it was the last pub I was in before lockdown.

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by tarkys_ears » Sat May 01, 2021 11:59 am

If its a comfy old man pub you're after, look no further than The Deansgate.

As the name suggests its on Deansgate, next to that big glass building with the Hilton in it.

Mala591
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Mala591 » Sat May 01, 2021 1:21 pm

Referring to the Lass O’Gowrie.
No recent sign of life on their Facebook account, which is a pity because it was high on my ‘to visit’ list.

Vintage Claret
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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Vintage Claret » Sun Aug 29, 2021 12:06 pm

Update for anyone interested.

Was in Manchester yesterday and can confirm Lass O'Gowrie is open :-)

Joshua Brooks is under new management and there is no longer any cask real ale on offer, was expensive as well :-(

Popped into The Lost Dene on DeansGate to watch 2nd half of the City v Arsenal game as they used to have some decent beers on.

They only had one real ale on this time and it was rank- will give that one a miss in future.

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Re: A few beers in Manchester...

Post by Peter Loo » Sun Aug 29, 2021 12:53 pm

The Circus and The Grey Mare Inn are very close to each other near the Coach Station.

Spent an evening in one of them with 4/5 over from Europe who came to watch United.

Not much room and does get very crowded sometimes.

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