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Late last summer, after pretty much a full year of trying to organise a day trip to Manchester, my friend Mike and I finally succeeded in this seemingly impossible venture. It was a sunny Saturday when we caught the hour-long train from Sheffield. Our main goal was to visit the Whitworth Gallery, but naturally we also wanted to sample some of the fine breweries the city has to offer. Located on the other side of the Pennines from Sheffield, Manchester is currently the third largest metropolitan area in the UK, and it has a rich history of cotton and manufacturing. But it’s also a really fun city to visit, with lots of stuff going on.
As we walked down from the train station to the gallery, it was already after 12:00, and we thought perhaps we’d have a bite to eat before continuing on to the art. And the Oxford Road location of Bundobust Brewery seemed a perfect choice of venue, because Mike had already told me about their excellent vegetarian food.
When we walked in we found a large room with long tables, a bar at the far end, and evidence of brewing all around. Before we perused the menu, we started off with two halves of beer. I first had a taste of Peela Pale Ale (4.0% ABV, Bundobust), which was a perfectly acceptable choice for the first half of the day. But on a sudden olfactory whim I decided instead to go with a half of Rock Coppice Pale Ale (4.8% ABV, Nothing Bound Brewing Company, Bewdley, Worcestershire). This pale ale was brewed with Citra, Nelson Sauvin, and Mosaic hops, and it was zingy and very zooey! Yep, that definitely describes it. Being faithful to the brewery we were now in, Mike went for a half of Durant New England White IPA (6.0% ABV, Bundobust), which was richly, um, floral in sort of a hoppy way.
We then took a seat at the end of a long tall table, where we decided to share a voice of five small Indian Street Food plates, two of them from their new Indo-Mexican menu. Our choices were impressively good: Paneer Tikka, Egg Burghi, Okra Fries, Achari Tofu Tacos, and to-die-for Corn Chaat, accompanied by an unbelievably light and airy puri. Oh my god, we were both in heaven: everything was so truly delicious. The menu is all vegetarian as well, and I honestly believe that food this good has the power to convert many diehard carnivores. Sadly the five dishes were way too much for the two of us to finish; so seeing as how we really were not equipped to carry leftovers around with us for the rest of the afternoon, we could easily have done with ordering just three or four dishes. Oh well, knowledge for next time. But what a great start to the day.
As we rhapsodised over our food, we saw that we were surrounded by large brewing vats, and there was another room with more brewery equipment as well as plenty of Bundobust t-shirts and hats. Established in 2021, Bundobust also has locations in Leeds and Liverpool.
After our meal we headed on to the gallery to see the art and the grounds. We then stopped at the Manchester Museum, where I insisted we go up to the Vivarium. As it was a sunny weekend day, the place was crawling with not only lizards, snakes, and frogs, but also children, so it probably wasn’t the most ideal time for two adults to visit. But I still enjoyed it a lot.
And then, as it was late afternoon and the sun was well over the yardarm, we headed back toward Piccadilly Station where there are some fine breweries to visit. The first one, Track Brewing Company, is located in a business park typical of many of the more modern American breweries and taps. The story of this brewery started in 2008, thirteen years before Track opened its taproom, when the head brewer Sam Dyson travelled by bicycle across the United States, checking out breweries along the way. He continued on through 25 countries and eventually returned to Manchester with the idea of starting his own craft brewery.
Sadly I found that even though the owner should know his East Coast beers from his West Coast, the woman who was serving us on this day certainly didn’t know much about the styles. And we were disappointed by the long beer menu which mentioned only basic styles such as “Pale", “West Coast Pale", etc. with absolutely no mention of the hops or malts used, or any tasting notes. It made me think of Kneedeep Brewing in Auburn, California, where the barman expected my friend Rick and I to just pick our beers based on the names. And then, when I realised that the dry-hopped IPAs were all way high up on the alcohol scale, with the lowest being 7.9%, I asked the woman which of the West Coast pale ales was the hoppiest. “Oh, West Coast ales aren’t hoppy at all," she declared with conviction. “Well," I said, “I’m from the West Coast, and I’ve had plenty of very interesting, very hoppy beers." No, I was wrong, she insisted; if I wanted a hoppy beer, I would have to go for a Double Dry Hopped IPA, which is a style brewed on the East Coast only. And she also insisted that pale ales tend to be more piney in taste, while the double-dry-hopped IPAs are more hoppy. And then she gave me a taste of one of the high-ABV beers that she thought would be nice and hoppy, and I found it so alcoholic that it tasted very sweet. And Mike, who is used to drinking higher ABV beers as a rule, agreed with me.
At this point I laughed in disbelief and realised it was pointless, as a native Californian and Seattleite, to argue with a completely ignorant Brit. And when she added that the East Coast IPAs are fruity, whereas the West Coast Pales tend to be more piney, I said that I love that pine-resin character of some hops.
Ultimately, I just asked for a taste of Come On In West Coast Pale Ale (5.0% ABV), which was indeed hoppy and, although not terribly exciting, it was pleasant enough to suffice as our first half pint of the late afternoon session. And later, when I looked up this beer online, I learned that it’s brewed with Citra hops, both in the boil and in the dry hopping. (The italics are meant to be dripping with sarcasm.) And the taste profile describes it as tropical with pine resin and a crisp finish. So why couldn’t they list just a brief note like that on the beer menu?
Anyway, the space itself is great, very reminiscent of West Coast (yes!) breweries located in industrial parks. There’s a nice-looking garden in the back, and it’s very dog friendly. If you're stopping into Track for a pint, my advice would be to look up the beers online before you order, so you’ll be able to choose something that you might like.
We moved on excitedly through the industrial park, just a few doors down and across, to the brewery we had both been looking forward to, Cloudwater Brewing Company. This place offers outdoor seating a few doors down, but we stayed inside the main room which offered seating at long tables and a few smaller, more intimate tables. A DJ was setting up his decks for the evening, and we soon discovered that the staff behind the bar were all very knowledgeable.
After a quick tasting I immediately went for a pint of Fuzzy Hazy Pale (4.2% ABV, Cloudwater Brewing), which had a really good hops character and was superbly gorgeous. Mike chose a stronger pint of SoCal Bright Pale (4.8% ABV), which imparted a wonderful aroma that greeted the nose before sipping. Both of these beers tasted like late afternoon/early evening relaxation with a touch of Oohyes!, and I was so happy I was practically purring. As I took in our surroundings, I wondered about the empty pegboards that were all over the walls. Were we waiting for some sort of meeting? They really made me want to post something.
I really did feel so comfortable here. But alas, we had to move on. But before we left, we returned to the bar to have a cheeky taste of Idaho 7, Mosaic & Waimea Foudre Beer (7.8%), a farmhouse ale that was unbelievably good, and as the saying goes, it definitely did what it said on the tin.
Cloudwater Brewing Company brewed its first beers only nine years before we visited. But even with their short history, they’re proud of having crafted an extensive array of styles of beers, from both classical to more modern and experimental.
For our last stop of the day before catching a train back to Sheffield, we headed over to Sureshot Brewing Company. This taproom is actually located just underneath Piccadilly Station, where we were to catch the train. And somehow we managed to find this place, no thanks to the help of GoogleMaps. (As it turned, it was actually my fault, because we passed under a bridge and shouldn’t have. But at least we didn’t meet up with any nasty trolls.)
Sureshot is situated in another nice basic industrial-park-style room. It’s quite dark and simple, with tall and low tables, and there are a lot of t-shirts for sale. This time I went for a half of The More It Stays The Same, The Less It Changes (4.0% ABV, Sureshot). This gluten free American pale ale is dry hopped with Mosaic BBC, Southern Cross T90, and Nelson Sauvin T90. And it was just a nice reasonably hopped pale which was quite good. Mike had a half of You Won Jane West Coast IPA (6.5% ABV, Sureshot), a West Coast IPA dry hopped with Moutere, Mosaic BBC, and Simcoe Cryo. This was a very Yum! beer, with a vertical Whoom!--I mean, that’s the best way I can describe it, with plenty of piney resin. Naturally Mike and I wondered who Jane was, but we never found out. As we were getting toward the end of our halves, we suddenly realised that we had another 45 minutes before our Northern Line train tickets could be used. So what does one do in a situation like that? Well, drink some more beer, right? So we each went for a half of His Girl Friday Mango Peach & Passionfruit Sour (4.5% ABV, Sureshot). A collaboration with Bundobust and Polyester, this was actually a very acceptable, highly enjoyable sour, pale in colour. The description on the menu described it as “thick Alphonso mango, juicy peach, and zippy passionfruit combining for one swell sour." And sales of this beer would help support The Eden Young Fellowship for Aspiring Working Class Journalists. So by having another beer we were doing a worthy thing, which made us feel great.
In one afternoon we only just scraped the surface of Manchester’s brewing scene, so we’ll definitely have to return one day. I mean, somebody’s got to do this work, don’t they?
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PUB UPDATES:
- HALLAMSHIRE HOUSE, SHEFFIELD: On a sleepy Monday afternoon in March, I had a taste of Dark Academia (5.0% ABV, Round Corner Brewing, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire). Described as an English stout, it’s pretty good, with a rich bitter character after the chocolate introduction. So it seems like a proper rich hearth stout for winter, perhaps in front of a roaring fire with an English sheepdog at my feet. But as it was now finally spring, I decided I might struggle through a whole pint. So I went for a safe but pleasant pint of Daymaker (4.0% ABV, Thornbridge Brewing Company, Bakewell, Derbyshire). This was so drinkable and safe that I hoped it might still be on for the live gig on the weekend.
More recently I’ve had a few pints of a Thornbridge classic that’s returned: Hopton (4.3% ABV, Thornbridge Brewery, Bakewell, Derbyshire). An English pale ale, this is quite pleasant to drink and very easy to handle. I’d call it an easy-drinking classic pale ale.
And on a sleepy Sunday afternoon I stopped in and decided I may as well have a pint of I Love You (4.5% ABV, Thornbridge). I mean, I may not know you, unless you're a friend of mine, but hey, it’s a good sentiment these days. Actually this Strawberry blonde ale is named for a piece of graffiti on a bridge spanning precariously between buildings of the iconic Park Hill Flats, where back in 2002 some graffiti impossibly appeared that said “I love you will you marry me?" At some point during the restoration work on these buildings, the bridge was painted, but the graffiti was replaced with a neon sign duplicating the graffiti. So how romantic is that? Sadly the graffiti artist, Jason Lowe, and the object of his message, Clare Middleton, never got married. Oh, well. Anyway, the beer itself is like a gentle strawberry sour, so gentle in sourness that any sour sceptic would find it most palatable.
- HEAD OF STEAM, SHEFFIELD: Last month, my friend Olly and I watched our friend Victoria sing sea shanties with the brilliant Waldershelf Community Choir in the Upper Chapel of Sheffield’s Unitarian Church. After the concert the three of us ran across the street in the rain to have a celebratory pint at this pub. I went for a pint of Jellyfish Nebula (4.6% ABV, Tooth & Claw Brewing, Hartlepool, County Durham). This seemed like an appropriate sea-inspired pint, even though it was a pale keg ale and not aged in an old rum cask. But I’ve always loved moon jellyfish--watching them, that is, as I certainly wouldn’t want to find myself swimming or bodysurfing with them. This beer was perfectly suitable for a session of three good friends taking selfies. The only thing that could have been better would have been if there was a tank full of jellyfish behind us making a good background for the photos.
- TWO SHEDS, SHEFFIELD: Not too long ago I stopped in and was about to go for a rather pale and light pint. But Lee, a regular customer who had never before recommended a beer to me, practically insisted that I should go for a pint of Steeplechase (4.4% ABV, Round Corner Brewing, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire). And I thank him for the recommendation, because it’s really good! It’s full flavoured and hoppily balanced, with a hint of pine resin. So it’s just what I like, and just what I needed. I must have looked very needy that afternoon, but it definitely set me straight.
Another day I had a pint of Go West US IPA (4.5% ABV, Durham Brewing Company, Bowham, County Durham). This was another quite enjoyable and quality choice from a brewery that’s been impressing me recently. Yep.
On a pleasantly mild afternoon after work, I really wanted to try a beer called Girl from Mars, but sadly it had just run out. So as everything left was pretty strong, I resigned myself to a pint of Stacked West Coast IPA (5.2% ABV, Buxton). It was pleasant enough, but perhaps just not WOW! enough for the 5.2%. Buxton has become a really decent brewery, though.
More recently, on another mild sunny Friday after work, I stopped in and had a pint of Patrons DDH Pale (5.0% ABV, Northern Monk Brewing Company, Leeds, West Yorkshire). Hopped with El Dorado, Ekuanot, and Talus hops, this imparts a real Oomm! grapefruit-lime sort of taste. This is the first beer in the brewery’s Sandwich King Patrons Project series, and it’s a homage to the Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich. And if you buy a can of this, a recipe for the sandwich is included. Having grown up in America, I’ve heard of the Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich, and I haven’t eaten meat since I was a teenager. But I do think that for meat eaters, this sandwich sounds pretty good. The basic recipe calls for sautéed marbled steak, sautéed-until-they’re-blackened onions, melted Provolone, and a bit of mayo, all in a hoagie roll, along with Kosher salt, black pepper, olive oil, and often sautéed green bell pepper. I mean, how can you resist that? I mean, these days this is just asking for a vegetarian version (perhaps with sautéd tofu?) While I sat alone at a table, the sun on my back and my gorgeous pint in front of me, the pub was buzzing all around me. Yes.
- WALKLEY BEER COMPANY, SHEFFIELD: Just after I got back from my week in France, I stopped in here for a pint. It was Sheffield Beer Week, and the pub was in the midst of a Black Iris tap takeover, so everything was from the same brewery. I first tasted Toxcitracy Pale Ale (4.4% ABV, Black Iris Brewing Company, New Basford, Nottinghamshire), single hopped with Citra, which was quite good, and also a keg beer, Ghost Writer Session IPA (4.0% ABV, Black Iris), brewed with Simcoe and then dry hopped with Bru1, Cashmere, and Idaho 7 hops. This had a great flavour created by those three hops. But I ended up going for a pint of Monsters In Your Parasol (4.2% ABV, Black Iris). Described as an American amber, this is a very nice hopper amber with a good bitter malt balance. I’d call it more of a golden amber, actually. I suppose I chose this one for old time’s sake, from back when I lived in Seattle. Unfortunately a very large woman who seemed to LOVE THE SOUND OF HER OWN PIERCINGLY LOUD VOICE was there, so I was having a bit of trouble concentrating on my own thoughts, much less writing them down.
Later I had a pint of Snake Eyes (3.8% ABV, Black Iris), which is a hazy pale ale. I couldn’t help being distracted by the strangely unfriendly behaviour of a friend, so I can’t remember much about the taste of this beer. But I think, once again, it’s basically an easy drinking pale.
And then I stopped in and had a pint of Laser Juice (4.2% ABV, Bristol Beer Company, Bristol). This gluten-free session IPA is hopped with Sabro and Cryo Pop, so no wonder it was so good, because Sabro is so special and Cryo Pop is pretty damn good as well. And it’s not a hazy beer, which is refreshing for a change. On my next visit the Ghost Writer was still on, so I had a pint of it so that I could concentrate more on its taste. I have to admit it seemed so gentle a beer that it suggested Casper the Friendly Ghost more than the Ghost of Death. Reading about it online I learned that it’s a collaboration with Hundred Year Old Man, an ambient post-metal band from Nottingham, and the beer is named after the latest album by another Nottingham band, The Five Hundred. Before I decided on my safe ghost, I did have a cheeky taste of Glimpse Of Myself On Fire (6.0% ABV, Black Iris), a mango and coconut sour, which was really allurringly tempting, not super sour but oh, so drinkable, and I could have been quite content with it. But as I had a Zoom with my cousins right after this, and because all the usual attendees are in America and will be drinking their morning and early afternoon coffees, I don’t like to appear sloshed at these things--hence my 4.0% decision.
On a later visit I had a cask pint of Days Like This (4.7% ABV, Arbor Ales Bristol), brewed with Citra, Simcoe, and Azacca. I’d had this beer before, a while ago, and I remember I had the same impression of it simply being a classy hoppy beer. My friends Mike and Mel had met me here, as we were moving on to another pub to have a meal and more beer, and then I had a live gig after that, so I really didn’t want quite such a high-ABV beer. Oh well, sometimes ya just gotta do it.
And most recently--while I’ve been so thoroughly enjoying these sunny clear days and the slightly warmer temperatures, so much that I’ve been walking around in a sort of relaxed happiness that makes me feel like I’m somewhere far of on holiday--I stopped in here and had quite an ecstatically wonderful cask ping of Strata DDH (4.5% ABV, Two By Two Brewery, Byker, Tyne & Wear). I mean, it’s not quite as cool as I’ve come to like my cask ales, and it’s so extremely cloudy that it looks more like apricot nectar. But the gorgeous MMPH! dose of the wonderful Strata hops is pretty much like a dream. Am I actually sleeping? I’m starting to wonder...
BOTTLED/CANNED BEER UPDATE:
- Pathfinder (4.5% ABV, Abbeydale Brewing Company, Sheffield, South Yorkshire). This is a New England Pale Ale brewed with the wonderful combination of Amarillo, Krush, and Loral Cryo Hops. It’s quite fruity in just the right sort of way, with plenty of bitterness. And there’s a lovely wolf or some sort of creature on the can, sitting and watching the forest life.
- Green Thumb Double IPA (8.0% ABV, Black Irish Brewing Company, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, collaborating with Holy Goat Brewery, Dundee, Scotland). This beer is a collaboration with Holy Goat Brewery in Dundee, Scotland, and it’sbrewed with Citra Dynaboost, with Strata CGX added at the pitch, and then it’s dry hopped with Galaxy T90, Nelson Sauvin T90, and Chinook Hyperboost. And wow! As Eddie Cochran once sang, this is somethin’ else! It’s thick and juicy with tropical fruit and hops-hops-hops! And it's very hazy as well; but I guess with all that going on, it gets pretty crowded in the brewing process. I would describe it as really juicy and peachy with a lovely patchouli aura. I’m not really sure how it would help somebody with their gardening skills, but hey, I had just bought a new hat today, a good friend finally got a job, and my bus actually arrived on time this evening, so those are all good new growths. And Donald Trump just announced that he’s the Fertiliser President, so I suppose that could help prop up somebody’s hibiscus…
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