January 2026. Manchester. A “dry” night in Manchester isn’t complete without a second pint on the way to the match, Port Street Beer House getting its annual visit on the basis you can see it from the Head of Steam. I really should like PSBH more; it’s quirky, friendly, encourages a mixed crowd, and the… Continue reading PORT STREET, TONY’S PIES AND A POINT
Tag: Manchester
NEW IN MANCHESTER. THE HEAD OF STEAM
January 2025. Manchester. Wednesday brings a train from Rye to Ashford, and then to St Pancras (no pub stop), on to Sheffield (where the boiler has frozen), and off to Manchester for City v Brighton, whose fans have had a similar journey. I’m also here for an overdue cut from Matt in Chinatown’s Helvete, during… Continue reading NEW IN MANCHESTER. THE HEAD OF STEAM
STEELFISH BREWERY – COME FOR THE HAZY PALE, COME FOR THE COB
December 2025. Manchester. Walking back from the City v Hammers match I got a text from Matthew; “Fancy a beer ?“, which is exactly the sort of thing you hope a child will grow up to ask you. Quosh had recommended a new brewery tap under the Piccadilly arches (“ANOTHER one ?“), only a 5… Continue reading STEELFISH BREWERY – COME FOR THE HAZY PALE, COME FOR THE COB
FLAT TRACK BULLIES
December 2025. Manchester. Normally I meet Matt in Manchester near Piccadilly before a City game, but last Saturday I just fancied getting to the Etihad early and jumped off at Ashbury’s. Note, map above, the astonishing number of sports stadia in East Manchester, a legacy of the Commonwealth Games of 2002 and the totally above… Continue reading FLAT TRACK BULLIES
MURK, MATES, MANCHESTER
November 2025. Manchester. Back in Piccadilly Gardens from Sale only slightly later than hoped, I admired the Manchester Christmas markets, apparently only second to Nuremberg, who are therefore the Arsenal of Christmas tat. All you need for Christmas is a pint of Holt in the Hare & Hounds, but I reckoned Matt would like to… Continue reading MURK, MATES, MANCHESTER
ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – REDDISH ALE
May 2025. Reddish. Greater Stockport. Actually I’m not sure if Reddish really is in Greater Stockport, nor do I really care. Its GBG entries are picked by S&SM CAMRA, and that’s all that counts. Reddish Ale was both new in the Guide and in Matthew Curtis’s essential Manc beer book. Frankly I couldn’t tell you… Continue reading ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – REDDISH ALE
ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – THE PEVERIL OF THE PEAK
May 2025. Manchester. Well, there’s a pub you’ll know and probably love, but it’s not the star of our Moderate Night Out with Blackpool Jane last week. That comes next. Jane does something called “work”, and we picked the Pev to meet to plan our pubs as it’s, remarkably, a place Mrs RM didn’t remember… Continue reading ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – THE PEVERIL OF THE PEAK
THE SHOEGAZE CAFE
May 2025. Manchester. 3 pints in and a half hour walk to the Etihad to come, I suddenly needed a coffee. “I know just the place” says Matt. I rather doubted that, never seen either of my lads drink caffeine, but a minute from the Castle and the Koffee Pot, he takes me in the… Continue reading THE SHOEGAZE CAFE
ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – THE KOFFEE POT
May 2025. Manchester. Pre-football tea with Matt, and a tick in another Matt’s beer book. The Koffee Pot is a good example of the variety of bars in Mr Curtis’s exemplary guide, a quirky greasy spoon that’s added beer and burritos since moving from Stevenson Square round the corner to Oldham Street. Not the most… Continue reading ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – THE KOFFEE POT
ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – THE CASTLE HOTEL
May 2025. Manchester. Leaving the Crown I was almost distracted by the siren call of Heaton Mersey’s Griffin, a favourite of Old Mudgie, who I was oddly reminded of by this; but I’d arranged to meet Matt in town for pre-match tea, and had to dash to the end of the Didsbury line to catch… Continue reading ALL THE PUBS IN THE MANCHESTER BEER BOOK – THE CASTLE HOTEL
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