macclesfield - beer

Beer is a problem up north. There's plenty of it around, it's just not that good. It's not bad, I don't have a problem drinking it or anything, but there's something not right. I haven't put my finger on what this is yet - but when I do I'll be sure to let you know.

Robinsons is the local brewery and there's a lot of Robinsons pubs around, including the famous Cat and Fiddle (Worth it for the view, but the pub's a dive) and the Flowerpot (where we lose at the pub quiz every Monday). A Robinsons house will always have Unicorn which is fine if kept and served well (I must admit that it's growing on me) and usually Old Stockport, Robin Bitter and the couple of others which I can't remember the names of. Unicorn aside, which is rather amber in colour, all the other Robinsons beers are very dark and winter like.

There's a nice bar in town called JarBar which serves Hydes. This is rather good, and an exception to the northern rule. They produce Jeckles gold which is a nice light ale - similar to Summer Lightning and very very drinkable.

You get a few Joseph Holt pubs around, such as Queens Hotel by the railway station, but I find the beer a little bland. The exception was Thunderholt, which was a great pint.

I did stumble across some Timothy Taylor at the windmill (which is a fantastic pub). Trouble is that it's not always on - so it can be a wasted journey.

The Butley ash turns out some reasonably solid pints of Green King IPA which isn't half bad. I quite like their garden as well - it's a got a country "rustic" feel to it.

On the subject on IPA's, I found a rather good one from the Caledonian Brewery at the Lord Clyde a month or two ago. Unfortunately, they've now taken it off.

Finally, I have to mention the Storm Brewery in Macclesfield. A very small brewery that turns out some very interesting beers. Often a little too complex for my liking, and sometimes with that yeasty taste that I associate with homebrew. I'll always buy it if it's there, especially at the Scuba Club where the beer has travelled less than 100 metres from the brewery to our bar. Now starting to appear in the off-licences too, it'd be nice to see this local operation do well.

pictures

Here's Mike looking not so pleased with the northern beer. Click to enlarge. Apologies: These were taken with the phone so the quality is not so good.