On the Friday I headed east (or is it west ? Mudgie will know) for a couple of Greater Manchester GBG ticks. And before you complain, I know Greater Manchester isn’t a real place.
The metro takes you through a real ale wasteland that unfortunately includes the Etihad.
Keg but kute
So you can understand how excited High Peak & Tameside CAMRA are about the Silly Country micro.
Cruzcampo ad is the giveaway
The Silly Country named after a local barmaid who shouted those words, or very similar, at BRAPA when he returned a pint in 2017.
I’d arranged to meet the legendary Quosh for “a quick pint” in Stalybridge, so this was going to have to be a very quick half in the 12 minutes between trams.
Bar and bottle shop, rather than micro, it’s very upmarket, and not just by Droylsden standards.
I enter to the chink of cocktail glasses and a chap playing Debussy Etudes on his accordion in the corner.
“I’ll have a half of…..”
“Oh, a pint of Plum Porter then please“.
Like Bass, this is a beer that must never be drunk in halves, except for medicinal purposes.
Quosh said it would be busy at 6pm on Friday and he was, as usual, right.
The seating options were a bit limited, but at least they were near the toilet I would no doubt need (twice) during my 8 minute stay.
Not ideal
I thought the mix of folk made this a winner, never mind a quality Plum Porter (NBSS 3.5).
Once BRAPA’s intern finishes clearing up in Cumbria I’ll get him/her to explore how many pints of the Porter I’ve scored less than NBSS 3.
Even though I know the answer is zero.
Hardly touched the sides.
On to Stalyvegas.
I see you changed the blog title, but the extra “e” lives on in the web address 😀
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Yes, just when I get my East and West right, for once.
I also spelt Prestwich with a second “t” before spellchecker shouted at me.
Once I changed a Web address and everything went haywire so I won’t be doing that again in a hurry 😱
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“I know Greater Manchester isn’t a real place” – so how about in York next April you propose and I second a motion that the 2021 GBG reverts to pre 1974 counties ? .
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I’m more likely to propose that Greater Manchester gers Fife’s GBG allocation to be honest. 😉
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Barring the Albert Tavern, I’d struggle to come up with a Fife pub that would have any chance of being in the guide if it was anywhere within a 50 mile radius of Manchester.
But knowing a great bar in Darwen isn’t of much use if you’re in Cupar.
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Beautifully put.
I haven’t been to Albert’s, but everything else that I visited wouldn’t make the GBG, and I visited in CAMRA AGM week.
Aberdeenshire was very good.
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I imagine there are a lot more English ex-pats around Aberdeenshire than Fife, so more likely drinkers.
The Albert is a cracking wee place, although it’s a while since I’ve been.
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Best wait till the AGM’s in Manchester for that one.
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But of course, strictly speaking, that would mean Stockport pubs north of the Mersey such as the Swan With Two Necks and Magnet were listed under Lancashire 😀
It would be fun in Scotland.
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Shouldn’t you just make Manchester a suburb of Greater Stockport?
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God no! Build a wall, more like…
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I wasn’t planning on going to York but it might be worth it to see that one crash and burn spectacularly.
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Could not have waited for a slightly later tram? That way you could have enjoyed your Plum Porter properly, without guzzling it!
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No. I don’t like keeping people waiting, even for 12 minutes. Comes from being male.
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Understood Martin, although it’s not always the women who keep others waiting, as Mrs PBT’s would gladly tell you.
More to the point, hurrying to catch a tram/train with a quickly downed pint sloshing around inside, can’t be a pleasant experience. I will be pacing myself a lot slower than that, this coming Friday!
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Paul,
You’ll be okay.
There’s no bottle shops or poky micros to rush to next Friday.
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This is all like suggesting Sunderland has anything to do with the North East.
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