With a mere two weeks to go before the 2026-27 National League season kicks off a few of our group of Halifax Town supporters went on an away day to discuss our prospects and sample a few beers in a wander around a number of pubs on the fringes of Manchester's Northern Quarter....
We were arriving on a number of different trains, so as I was due to arrive earliest I said I would see everyone in the Victoria Tap, which is not just a great meeting place due to its location at the eponymous station, but always worth popping in for a beer and its discerning, eclectic soundtrack. It does have a regular churn of visitors and there is always the chance of seeing into someone you know here. And on this occasion as I waited for the boys to arrive as I nursed a pint of Coleys Pub Ale (NBSS 3) I bumped into a guy who used to work at the Buffet Bar in Stalybridge a few years ago who has since moved on to be a schoolteacher in Stockport. Always nice to catch up with people you haven't seen for a while.
The boys started to arrive. A couple first, then another so we eventually became a group of 4 which was less than those who made our previous close season get together in Leeds a few weeks ago. A few of the squad had declared themselves unavailable from the outset with other commitments, whilst there had also been a late withdrawal on the morning of the get together.
We finished our drinks and moved on, stuck our heads in the Sadler's Cat but with only one of the three hand pumps in operation with a rather uninspiring beer and with the rest of the guys less craft-friendly than me we went straight out, heading past the New Century and then up the steps, across the road, and up the path past the Co-op headquarters to our next resting point taking in the constantly changing vista of this part of the city.
We stopped at the Angel, which at one time would have been inked in on any tour of this part of Manchester. But in recent years as it has been gradually surrounded and dwarfed by one new apartment block after another, it has been a bit up and down so I have tended to pass it by when visiting the city. This time though as our numbers increased to 5 we walked into a bustling pub which just immediately felt warm and welcoming. The beer too was well-received, the ones that went for Salopian Oracle gave it a big thumbs up whilst my pint of Truly Madly Deeply from Farm Yard, a 4% hazy pale, was very good (NBSS 3.5). They went down well as we discussed the deficiencies of the squad that had been announced today for our pre-season friendly at Spennymoor Town from the National League North which still had a significant proportion of trialists at a time when the squad should be getting finalised. But who are we to question this, we are mere fans! We were about to leave as we discovered we'd just gone 1-0 up! What do we know?!
Back to the pub. The Angel still has the bar round the corner from where you go in serving a range of beers you might not see in many pubs in the city centre. It still has its grand piano. It probably still has a real fire in winter. Today it had a great atmosphere, a real mix of customers, and some excellent beer and it was good to see this long-standing traditional pub with its mojo back.
 |
| One Way to the Angel |
From there we walked over to Oldham Road passing through what had until recently had been a warren of narrow streets and old industrial units with the odd more modern addition like a skateboard park, but now the same tower blocks that have sprung up across the city have come here too. At the end of Oldham Road we came to our second pub of the afternoon.
It is only a few weeks since I last visited the Crown & Kettle on my grand tour around Ancoats. It had been fairly quiet that day, but today it was busy, with people sat in all of the rooms in this large pub. Like the Angel and one more of the pubs we were to visit, you have every chance here of picking up a beer you wouldn't typically see in Manchester. And so it was that I ordered a pint of Cloud Piercer, a 4% hazy pale featuring Bru-1 hops from the Green Duck Brewery in Stourbridge, which was ok but a little thin I thought (NBSS 3). We found a table to lean on near the door facing the front of the bar in the main room. As we continued to weigh up our chances of the forthcoming season the club website announced we'd scored a second goal.
 |
| The Crown & Kettle, on a showery day 2024 |
We finished our beers and decided to go to the Castle, where some of the lads had not been for a while, so we headed off down Oldham Street till we came to the familiar narrow brown-tiled frontage. The boys filed in as I hung back to take a photo, but one by one they came about again, disappointed that there only seemed to be a couple of beers on hand pump. So we cut down past Gullivers, crossed Tib Street, past the Wheatsheaf, and then up through the fringes of the Northern Quarter, past Mackie Mayor, to our fourth pub of the afternoon which was situated on Swan Street.
The Smithfield Market Tavern was its usual chilled self as we we walked into what is one of my favourite spots in Manchester. We ordered our beers, me going for a pint of the Blackjack Irk Street Pale, a 3.7% light pale ale which is normally pretty good but today was in great form, an easy drinker but still with plenty of flavour (NBSS 3.5), and was probably the best beer of the day. The great thing about the Smithfield is its reliability, you always get great beer and a wonderful, chilled, relaxed atmosphere. While we were there Town managed to work their way to a win at Spennymoor, but the general consensus was that we weren't convinced about our prospects for the coming season.
From the Smithfield it was a short walk back down Swan Street to Bar Fringe, which I had last visited earlier in the year. This is one of the quirkiest places in Manchester, like the Peer Hat nearby on Houldsworth Street, which just does things in its own way. From the old motor cycle resting above the entrance, to one of the best juke boxes in town to its wide range of Belgian beers we could only be in one place. It was rather busy and it took us a few minutes to get served. Some of the guys went for Oracle from Salopian, as they had done earlier at the Angel, although the consensus was it had been better at the former. Talking of Salopian beers, it is noticeable how little you see of it around Calderdale these days compared to a few years ago when the area was the second best sales area for them outside their local patch around Shrewsbury. This was down to my old mate Russ who acted as their sales agent around the local pubs and his efforts in pushing the likes of Oracle, Lemon Dream, and Kashmir was duly reciprocated by the area's real ale drinkers. Russ has since retired and so Salopian beers are no longer a regular sight. I didn't go for Oracle myself, instead ordering a pint of a 3.9% blonde ale from Wincle Brewery called Hen Cloud. I had not to my knowledge had any Wincle beers before and this was well-balanced, easy drinking, and refreshing (NBSS 3.5). The brewery are based at an idyllic location beside the River Dane in a lush valley in the Cheshire part of the Peak District where they focus on brewing traditional English ales but they also brew other, more modern, styles on behalf of other breweries.
 |
| Bar Fringe |
We were all pretty hungry now so food beckoned. Last time I had been in Manchester I had gone Vietnamese, but with the guys there was only ever going to be one choice, and so we headed off to get a curry at the one and only This & That on the rather unprepossessing Soap Street, just behind Trof. This absolute gem has been an integral part of the Manchester scene since 1984 when it was opened by Ismail Mallu and his family. From the outset they focussed on serving three different curries on a bed of rice at a very reasonable price. Like a lot of people I have been coming on a regular basis for years and usually have a quick chat with Mohsin, Ismail's son, who now runs the business, and who took the picture below on behalf of our good mate Jonny. We dined canteen style on long tables surrounded by a wide range of different people. Our food was both delicious and for a mere £8, excellent value for money.
We decided to have one more pint before getting the train home. We opted to stay fairly close and called in at the Hare & Hounds round the corner on Shudehill. The last time I had been in was on a Wednesday a couple of years ago when it had been rammed with punters of a certain age who were enjoying an afternoon of karaoke. Today by way of a contrast it was quiet, and there was no problem finding a table to enjoy our pints of Holts bitter (NBSS 3.5). The Hare & Hounds isn't a Holts pub but it is one of the best places to enjoy it. And as something of a throwback to what so many pubs used to be like in the city, it is one of the best places to go in the centre to catch the essence of the true character of Manchester.
 |
| Hare & Hounds |
We finished our beers and set off back to Victoria. We'd had enough beer, a decent curry, some good laughs, and discussed our prospects for the season at length. Town for their part had managed to get a win at Spennymoor. And so with that I will draw things to a close and look forward to seeing you next time....
Comments
Post a Comment