retiredmartin

May 2025. Dukinfield.

Another trip to Manchester, another chance to admire the Mancunian Haute couture in this endless summer of 2025.

Actually, they’re Athletic Club of Bilbao supporters, kindly conforming to their Basque stereotype ahead of their defeat in Trafford. I have NO idea about the digits on that red and white shirt; perhaps a phone number to be called if the wearer is found asleep in the back room of the Hare & Hounds ?

None of the Bilbao fans were following me out to Dukinfield via Hyde North,

yet another “unfussy” new entry in this years Good Beer Guide.

I didn’t really need to travel out; the Wheatsheaf celebrated its GBG debut by ditching cask completely and being ceremonially de-Guided*.

And why not ditch cask ? Who wants to bother with the expense of cellar management for the sake of a few half pint tickers from Wakefield and Reading ?

But….

Yes, Steve M spotted a crafty Hobgoblin pump a month ago, so my visit was as much research as a desire to apply pink marker to the GBG rather than just write “DELETED” in biro.

And of course, unlike most tickers, I’m don’t really even like beer, it’s all about the pub.

So a Mansfield Smooth for under four quid in a cheery community pub in Tameside will do nicely.

Two half drunk pints of Strongbow sit forlornly on the next table, men and women joke at the bar, a lady works away on her laptop. Far from the “old blokes crowding the bar” you might expect.

And the music played at just the right volume. “Labelled With Love“, “Right Behind You“, and whatever this is;

And the Mansfield Smooth isn’t over-carbonated, either.

After that keg Mansfield Dark in February, is this the year for the big Mansfield revival ?

Possibly not.

*You’d be surprised how many of the GBG deletions are new entries. Voted into the Guide in March, closed by September. It’s like the Manager of the Month curse for pubs.