Trafford & Hulme Branch Diary
Branch Contacts
Dave Ward 0161 980 1170
Neil Worthington 0161 749 4882
Brian Taylor branchsec@taylor6102.freeserve.co.uk
Trafford & Hulme Branch DiaryBranch ContactsDave Ward 0161 980 1170Neil Worthington 0161 749 4882Brian Taylor branchsec@taylor6102.freeserve.co.uk |
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| Trafford
& Hulme CAMRA selected the Old Market Tavern in Altrincham as
its Pub of the Season for Autumn 2004.
Once known as the Unicorn Hotel, this old former mail coach inn has long been a favourite of cask ale drinkers. Today it regularly offers 9 cask ales, more than any other pub in the branch area. In the winter, one of these is generally Robinson's powerful Old Tom, served by gravity from a cask at the back of the bar. The other ales, all on handpump, come from a wide variety of regional and micro brewers, some famous and some less so. It's the most regular local outlet for Bolton's Bank Top beers, for example. For lovers of apples there are also three ciders, usually from Saxon of Batley. The Old Market Tavern has been a Good Beer Guide regular for a number of years, and we're pleased to say that the 2005 edition of the Guide (just published! price £13.99 at all good booksellers) is no exception. It's missed out at least one year though. In 1999 the future of the pub seemed uncertain when former landlord, Wayne Reece, started developing his new Belgian bar, Le Trappiste. Eventually he decided to concentrate on his new venture and the OMT passed to Anne-Marie Holbourne, who had worked there already for quite some time. She set about sprucing the place up and has brought in a few innovations to get different people to try the pub. Male strippers might not have been everyone's first idea of entertainment, but it did bring a lot of ladies in, and Anne-Marie says many of them gave the cask ales a try - probably for the first time ever! Internally the pub is very much an alehouse, reminiscent of its previous guise as a Hogshead pub, with much bare wood or stone on the floor and a lot of dark wood round the walls. The long bar is the first thing you notice when you enter, with a proud array of handpumps. The mail coach passengers of two centuries ago probably wouldn't recognise it as it has been opened out and extended into what used to be the Town Hall next door. But it still has several distinct little alcoves for privacy, and it has a separate smoke free room (all day) to the right of the bar. The clientele are very varied, with all ages represented, but it has a particular appeal for young drinkers. For many of them, this is where they first learn to appreciate the diversity and subtlety of cask beer. The award was presented to Anne-Marie at the Old Market Tavern in October. |
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| The
Winter Pub of the Season Award 2004 was made to one of Manchester's most
popular city centre pubs, the City Arms on Kennedy Street just off
Albert Square. Originally a Walker's house, the City Arms was a Tetley pub for many years until it was passed on by the parent conglomerate Allied to Punch Taverns and then on to the Spirit Group. Throughout these changes, the one constant has been the high quality of the beers, justifying a Good Beer Guide entry almost every year. The 2005 entry is the ninth in a row. The current real ale range features Tetley Dark Mild, Bitter and five guest beers from a list of up to thirty supplied by the Beer Seller. The standard of the Tetley's, particularly the mild, gives the lie to the notion that big brewers can't brew decent cask beer; some are quite capable when they make the effort. Manager Sean Piatt took over in August 2003 and decided to open on Sundays for the first time. For a pub often unfairly labelled as one just patronised by "suits" at lunchtime and after work, the new hours have worked well; trade has really picked up. Sean says the limiting factor is the size of the place. The lunchtime meals served between noon and 3 pm every day are a big attraction while the Wednesday Curry Night (5 pm to 9 pm) have been successful. Sean hails from Stockport and came back up north after a spell with the Firkin chain in London. His previous spell on home ground was at the Lass o'Gowrie where as assistant manager he brewed the last batch of beer to be produced in the pub's brewery. |
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