I don't think Manchester is unique in having a fairly large number of trendy bars that aren't, in the traditional sense at least, pubs, but it is surely unusual on having large concentrations of them in two distinct and compact areas, Chorlton and in town, the Northern Quarter. What I'd venture is even more unusual, is that almost all of them sell cask ale and good cask ale at that. So, on Saturday, with my oldest friend Mike, we tried a few and didn't go to a single pub as such. And did we get good beer? You bet we did. Admittedly, none of it was cheap, but hey, that's Manchester for you. It is rapidly becoming in some places at least, as expensive as London, but at least the beer is well conditioned, at the correct temperature and (usually) sparkled.
We started off in Odd, which is part of a well thought of chain, though this branch seemed determined to buck the trend. Two beers from Privateer - yet another new Manchester brewery - a blonde and a brown one. Pints of the blonde were procured and found to be vinegar. Not good. The brown one was okay, but warm. Neither were sparkled with an explanation (by the manager I assume) that the barstaff couldn't get the hang of them and kept losing them, so they gave up. Really? Get better bar staff then, or someone who knows how to train them.Things looked up after that in the fairly new Pie and Ale, with perfect but pricey (£3.60) Wilson Potter Tandle Hill. So impressed was Mike that we had to have another. It's one of my favourite beers, so no hardship there. This is a very modern (and a bit soulless) bar concentrating on good beers and pie and mash. They keep the beer very well, so no complaints at all and the barman was a friendly enough sort. It's a short walk thence to Port St Beer House and again excellent service abounded with advice (decent) and tasters offered. We picked Caveman Palaeolithic and while it had some interesting and unidentifiable flavours, it wasn't bad at all.
Another skip round the corner took us to the excellent Soup Kitchen, a semi basement den, with the highest bar stools I've ever come across. Men should be particularly careful in both ascending and descending, lest they ruin future chances. It was pleasantly busy with studenty types scoffing vegetable forward options. Stout was the order of the day, from Liverpool Organic and damn fine it was too. Heading back to Victoria Station to be handy for Mike's train, we popped into Common, a sister to PSBH and in an incredibly busy and vibrant bar, I was rewarded by Weird Beard Black Perle, a Milk Coffee Stout. Now coffee stouts aren't my favourite thing, but this was well balanced and not over coffeed and went down a treat. Cask conditioned and sparkled since you ask.
One last call. Across the road from Common is Terrace, a long, bare brick bar with a youngish crowd. There we finished off with Overtime from Six O'Clock Beer Company and finally, as us old men staggered off for a night snoring on the settee, Magic Rock Carnival.
The striking thing was that apart from our first place, we didn't get a bad beer, they were all thrivingly busy and it was good to see most bars supporting new local breweries. Pubs are great, but good bars aren't bad either.
There was of course craft keg, but having laid out the route, someone else can have a pricey bash at that.
14 comments:
Interesting post. I think at the time you were in PSBH, we were having a debate over the differences between Pub and Bar (with Jamie thinking PSBH to be the former, and I the latter).
I find it quite amusing that wikipedia states that there is a distinct difference between a pub and a bar, and then doesn't do a very good job of explaining the difference.
It's all about beer this. Don't you ever go out and have a pot of tea and a cream bun?
HA - I am never that sure what PSBH is, but on balance - and I may have swung here - it is a bar.
Cookie: I don't eat that many cream buns - OK - none, but I do drink more tea than beer in typical week. I can't imagine a tea and bun crawl to be that thrilling though.
The distinction is blurry and getting blurrier, but as far as I'm concerned, if beer is to the fore, and you don't have to eat there, it's a *pub*. End of.
Some people take semantics to extremes though. The Euston tap got a bit sniffy with me last year when I named them in my Top 5 London Pubs of the Year - just because they didn't like being described as a 'pub'! You'd think they'd be grateful for recognition, but these days I guess being 'a bar' is more important than being considered any good...
Glad you liked the Black Perle Peter, the coffee is fading a bit now so may be more to your taste. WHen it was fresh there was a bit coffee kick.
It was good Greg. Fine the way it was for me at least.
Ben: Good point.
A pub is something whose identity endures through changes of ownership, and even name, whereas the identity of a bar is essentially defined by its current owner.
A pub is something that looks as if it could be converted without too much expense into a family home. A bar is something that looks as if it could be converted without too much expense into a shop. (And, of course, vice-versa - which, since such conversions happen all the time, is QED.)
Mudgie and Martyn. Both good definitions, though for practical purposes, I edge towards Martyn.
Sentimentally I like Mudgie's.
perhaps ironically a pub is a place where I have been barred from but bars have always just asked me to politely leave
How about a pub is somewhere a shady character offers you knock off gear whilst you drink a cheap pint in shabby but comfortable surroundings knowing not to leave valuables unattended. A bar is somewhere you drink an expensive pint in uncomfortable surroundings surrounded by the honest and law abiding.
glad you liked my stout too, mr tandleman, incidently we had tandlehill at my local last night and very good it is too
I think Cookie has nailed it, stick it on Wiki now as the definition
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