TRIPS to Manchester to view the tumbling fortunes of my favourite football team may seem like a chore, but one thing which always pleases me about travelling to the north of England is the pride they take in serving local beer in their pubs.
It’s a cultural quirk which has either just not caught on here, or been allowed to slowly die away as the big boys muscle in to swat aside any semblance of independence. The Irish may be renowned for the black stuff and enjoying a pint and a bit of craic and all that, but when it comes to showing reverence and pride in their local brews, I’m afraid our friends across the sea have it nailed.
And so, it what came to feel like a something of a mini-pilgrimage, I ventured to the Marble Arch pub in Manchester. Situated a 10-minute stroll from the Arndale shopping complex, the Marble Arch is a pub crammed full of character and, more importantly, locally made beer. The pub is run by the Manchester-based Marble Brewery, whose beers I have featured before in this column. However, there is something great about getting a pint of draught beer that’s been made just down the road by brewers who are committed to serving up great tasting beer.
The pub boasts Marble’s core range on tap, with many of those same beers available on cask. They also have guest beers available on tap and in bottles and cans. I opted for a pint of the Earl Grey IPA to go with lunch (a delicious haggis scotch egg, in case you’re wondering).
Marble’s Earl Grey IPA packs a considerable punch at 6.8 per cent, but there’s no hint of that kind of strength and if I had been told it was half that, I would have readily believed it.
This is a smooth, easy drinking IPA, but still packed with subtle flavours. It has light citrus notes and a certain sweetness before finishing up with a bit of leafy bitterness. The beer is actually a collaboration which was brewed with Dutch brewery Brouwerij Emelisse and has Earl Grey tea added late on, but just don’t go thinking that this can substitute your morning cuppa.
My father, who has seen the peaks and troughs of following Man United over the years, went for a pint of Marble’s Manchester Bitter, which similarly hit the spot and was crisp and slightly floral and very sessionable at 4.2 per cent.
