retiredmartin

July 2024. Salford.

I feel obliged to do at least one tick in the Matthew Curtis book on each Mancunian trip, but at least there’s no Hungry Horses in Wythenshawe to visit (are there ?).

Obviously I’ve been to most of these pubs and brewery taps before, but the “completion” starts at Day 1, the launch of the book last October, so you’ll get a fair few classics revisited,

like Salford’s New Oxford . A first visit since 2018, when it had the same sort of reputation as The Baum or the City Arms,

but had recently been getting some Beer Twitter (remember that ?) moans about “boring beer”.

Six years later, it wasn’t Beermoth or Port Street, but seemed “exciting” enough for the custom.

In 2018 I wrote;

“My photos aren’t great, I was having a beer or two. But this is a proper pub, full of comings and goings as well as groups of students camped out for the evening. Beers from Valor and Mallinsons were tasty, if a degree or two above my ideal, but the bench seating, jukebox and cheery students compensated.“

And, despite a recent refurb that made it feel a bit brighter, that’s still my summary.

Actually, a first pint was end of barrel but was replaced with such good grace for a Blackjack (NBSS 3) I didn’t score it. Pravha definitely the beer of choice, mind.

Old Boys and a baby, students and locals, a classic soundtrack at the perfect volume,

a community pub.

I’ll take that over a beer exhibition any day.