Wednesday 27 October 2010

Twissup: Manchester and Huddersfield


My memory of Saturday (the third Twissup - a meeting of beer bloggers and tweeters - following Sheffield and Burton) is patchy at best. I clearly remember the sleepy beginning in Manchester Piccadilly Station and the spicy end in the curry house but the bits in between are like an assorted mega-mix of hops, colour and laughter. That probably means it was a good day out…


First up was Marble brewery where we had a tour around the small unit (it’s amazing what these brewers can make in their varies spaces – the Marble lot is nothing more than an open room with silver kit at the back and a store room in the middle) and a glass of Dobber so fresh I thought it might start sprouting hop shots. From here we walked up the hill from the brewery to the Marble Arch, a wonderfully handsome corner pub. It’s smaller than I expected, charming, interestingly tiled, with chairs and tables neatly tucked in and a bar fully stocked with casks and good bottles. In here we drank lots of Marble beer, looked at our twadges, Avery got his del Borgo out and Cooking Lager unmasked himself and then ordered a stout (we were hoping he’d come in a real ale drinking outfit of sandals, socks and fake beard but no, he clearly couldn’t be bothered to dress up like the rest of us). For many of us it was the first visit to Marble and the Marble Arch and it was great to finally get there and see where the beer is made and served. The trouble is that it’s impossible not to drink lots of Marble beer when it’s on the bar in front of us, making for a dangerous start to the day. I could’ve stayed for hours, ordered food, working my way along the casks, but we had places to go…


The Angel was next. An unimposing back-street kind of place with a good beer line-up culminating like a sentence with an exclamation mark by having Ola Dubh 30 on the farthest right cask. That was one of the best beers I’ve had on cask this year – mouth-filling, rich, chocolatey and spiked with the familiar saline edge of Highland Park whisky – and a real surprise to find it. From the Angel we went to Bar Fringe, a cool place which had a beer called Twitter or Busted on cask (they couldn’t have chosen a better beer – and it was tasty too). It’s around here that the memory disintegrates into a series of disconnected jump cuts.

Next we’re outside, way behind the others, lost in the wilds of Manchester. Then we’re at the station ordering Burger King. Then we’re on a train and Yan is opening random bottles from a magical bag of beers which seems to be refilling itself. Then we pass Stalybridge where the group who were ahead of us were drinking – some get on the train; some don’t. We drink another bottle. We drink in the Kings Head with the most sparkled beers I’ve tasted – I needed Tandleman there to start my pint off for me and battle through the foam – but all of it in great condition and a perfect station stop. Then there’s an underpass somewhere (not sure why I remember this bit). Then there’s The Grove, one of the best pubs I’ve been to for beer selection. Some spicy beef jerky came, which tastes like hot stale carpet, and prompted Fletch to ask for half a pint of milk to fight the fire in his mouth (the reply is unprintable but along the lines of: you flipping tart, grow some). There were a few glasses of Jever, brisk and hoppy; a Gadds’ Green Hop bursting with flavour; a Moravka unfiltered, all buttery and smooth; lots of others which I’ve completely forgotten; and some bottles at the bar opened by Kelly. Some people eat earlier, ‘needing to sober up a bit’, then some eat later – it was one of the best curries I’ve tasted, laid out on shallow trays, served with roti bread and mango lassi (no beer!). As we leave we check the train times and realise that the planned final pint has to be abandoned as the last train home is in 15 minutes. We run to the station. The next thing I remember is a horrible hill in some Leeds suburb and then a slice of Norwegian caramel cheese which was horrific. I sleep like a baby.


It was a crazy day that passed in a blur (quite literally) with lots of good beers, lots of good fun and a great chance to catch up with lots of different people. Two towns was ambitious but we managed it – no one said Twissups would be easy. The Marble Arch and The Grove were the headline acts of the trip and they didn’t let us down – they are two of the best pubs I’ve drunk in this year and worthy alone of a trip to Manchester or Huddersfield.

My mind is already planning the next one… I’m thinking we choose a southern town and a northern one and battle it out in a vote. I’d love to do Brighton with a visit to Dark Star and Harvey’s (we’ll hire a bus!) and then some pubs in town, finishing at The Evening Star, so that’s the southern option. As for the north… how about Derby? We’ll sort out the options and speak to some breweries and then throw it to a vote. Just pencil in the date now: Saturday 5th February.

20 comments:

  1. Nice one! Can't wait for the next one, still think brighton would be better when its a bit warmer we could have a bbq on the beach as the sun goes down.

    as for northern, derby? liverpool? york? Newcastle? Scotland?

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  2. Well done for organising it. I propose a #loutup in Kristy's front room. 40 beer geeks, One front room & stacks of Carling.

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  3. Mark, I'm going to take up your previous invitation and join you on the next Twissup. Date in the diary. My vote (if it counts) is Brighton.
    Rick (Badger)

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  4. Nice write up Mark, it was a great day out that seemed to pass far too quickly. Brighton sounds good, had my stag do there although I was probably drinking lout back then..

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  5. Great post Mark and I'm glad everyone liked their twadges. So nice to see a photo of the back of my head!

    http://theormskirkbaron.blogspot.com/2010/10/whats-twadge-twitter-badge-of-course.html

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  6. Great write up Mark.

    Yan's neverending bag of bear was certainly a highlight, I was glad we missed the 1st train to Stalybridge after that.

    I agree that the Jerky tasted like "Hot stale carpet" . . I obviously find hot stale carpet quite tasty.

    This twissup was on my doorstep but it will definitely be worth the travel to attend the next one, wherever it ends up!

    Cheers for organising it.

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  7. Brighton Twissup. I want to drink barley wine around a bonfire on the beach.

    Make the next 'northern' one really northern; Lakes, Newcastle, Scotland... Orkney?

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  8. Is there a communal place for uploading pics Mark?

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  9. Give us a heads up next time you bring the girls with you and i'll try get some milk in for him :P

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  10. Bloody chilli biltong. Never again! Will bring some UHT with me just in case though Roberta ;-)

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  11. I agree with Scott, there's nothing like a bit spicy stale carpet! A good jerky should taste like you've just taken a bite out of the village elder after he's sat in the sun too long and he's accidentally covered himself in paprika. Or maybe i'm going too far....

    Anyway, all cannibalism aside... what was in the bottles Kelly brought around, I remember liking it but can't remember what it was!

    Apart from that my recollection of the day was pretty good. I even remember sitting in the Grove on a table with just me and the 4 Hardknott crusaders. Dave wasn't happy with how his beer had come out and Ann was calming him down with Doritos!

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  12. Hot stale paprika carpet from the soles of an elders well worn feet is good? And I'm the crazy one?!

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  13. Sounds good to me Cookie, I'll bulk order pork scratchings and pot noodles in readiness!!

    Gutted I missed out this time - looks like it was a good one. I don't care where the next one is, I'm all over it!!

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  14. Cheers to everyone for coming! All Andy and I do is post a blog and email some people, it's only good because people turn up!

    Mark - a place for communal photos... there's a facebook group? There isn't a posterous or anything.

    We'll set up a vote for the next one. I like the idea of going all the way south (Brighton) or all the way north (wherever that may be!).

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  15. I need to get myself to the next one. Let me know when it is. Do I need to be on twitter to join?

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  16. Sounds awesome. I don't tweet, but would love to join one in Derby (my home town).

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  17. Derby isn't in the North :-p

    Gutted I missed out, I know Manchester well but never been drinking in Hudds. The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway beer festival was pretty good, and they had cask beer on the train!

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  18. Shame I missed it. Brighton gets my vote for the South. How about Hammersmith for the North. Steve

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  19. I was on the Burton trip but missed out on Manchester (doh!). Brighton gets my vote if only by virtue of the fact that by an amazing coincidence I've already booked a dirty weekend down there with the wife for 5/6 February.
    She'll be SO pleased....!

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