Archives for “beers” tag

I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to drinking. I’m a Northern boy who likes his real ale and I’m not afraid to let people know. One of my favourite places is right in the heart of the Northern Quarter called Marble, which is one of a handful of pubs run by the local Marble Brewery. One of the newer bars on the block, it has a great reputation for its amazing line up of beers from around the world.

There is an ever-changing selection of cask beers from its own brewery, with the kegs sitting on the bar itself. With around 100 bottled beers from the four corners of the globe; you will have trouble picking your favourite.  I say start at the top and work your way down.

The clientèle varies from the cool kids of the area to the older, real ale lovers. With limited room in the long thin room, the maximum space for people is about 50. But there always seems to be a seat available, so you can sit and enjoy that well deserved drink.

A must eat has to be the cheeses. My favourite name on the list is the Stinking Bishop, which wasn’t as stinky as I expected. You can get varying amounts of cheese, depending on how greedy you are feeling, or choose from great selection of sandwiches.

Come along, grab a pint, play some chess and watch the world go by.

These days we’re all multi-tasking mad, so it’s great to find a venue that can juggle more functions than my aged laptop can dream of yet feel totally chilled out. As the name suggests The Art of Tea is a cafe, but it’s a bar, venue, gallery and community-hub too; and its impossibly deep premises also house a second-hand bookshop and a picture-framer.

The cafe’s eclectic decor combines furniture and crockery from the Victorian age to the 70s. At least half the items are familiar from my own murky past, which for me adds to the homeliness, but if you’re from further afield and interested in British homestyle before 1980 a pit-stop here could be an education. Food ranges from breakfast pancakes to bagels, sandwiches, salads and soup, and of course there’s a comprehensive range of loose leaf teas as well as smoothies, shakes and coffees. The stand-out offering for me though has to be the home-made cakes – cranberry loaf and carrot, walnut & banana in huge, moist slabs – which I’m often unable to resist.

The cafe stages regular exhibitions by local artists, with all exhibits for sale, and in the evening is transformed into a cosy bar often hosting folk-centric and acoustic gigs. Beers from draft Mahou to bottled Estrella Damm, Vedett, Erdinder Weissebier and Rekorderlig fruit are offered alongside good wine and spirits ranges, and the monthly ‘Gesampt’ night gives you the chance to exhibit your own artworks, videos and soundtracks – for one night only.

Traditionally known as All Saints, the area south of the city centre is home to a smattering of great bars and eateries and as well as Manchester’s university campuses. Top among these are Grosvenor Street’s Deaf Institute and its opposite neighbour Sandbar, which sprawls across the ground floor of two rambling Georgian houses.

Established 16 years ago this has always been a rough and ready venue, with junk shop furniture, bare floors and exposed brick walls, but fashion has caught up in the years since it opened and you’ll recognise its style from many newer bars. It certainly doesn’t put off the hoards of real ale fans who flock here to sample local brews, and the huge range of continental (particularly German) beers which the bar imports itself.

Although packed with locals, students and academics in the evenings the place is an oasis of calm on weekdays, when European-tinged lunches are available 12:00 – 19:00 and pizzas until 21:00. The WIFI’s free and, unusually for this city, there are several outside seating areas, including a secluded rear garden. And if the Manchester skies don’t encourage sunbathing you can always just stare at the walls, where you’re likely to see local artists’ paintings or photography.

If that’s not enough Sandbar hosts regular music, cabaret and whisky-tasting nights, securing its reputation as a boho haunt without any sniff of pretension. So if the city centre proper’s going alcopop crazy jump on almost any south-bound bus – you can be here in five minutes.