City Guide: best craft beer bars in Manchester | The Craft Beer Channel

City Guide: best craft beer bars in Manchester | The Craft Beer Channel
Jonny explores the best bars on his (probably) favourite craft beer city in the UK, Manchester. Combining the traditional with the ultra modern, nowhere else in the UK has such variation within one square mile - from British best bitter to NEIPA.
Join us for a tour of the best craft beer bars in Manchester!
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THANKS HOLLEIGH. BUCKET HAT IN THE POST.

[@georgecharlton7346]

The Mackie Mayor - a huge food hall with a beer bar set up by Blackjack The Smithfield Tavern - Just next door to the Mackie Mayor, a nice cozy boozer (also set up by Blackjack) OL Nanobrewhery & Bar - Small brewpub and keg bar in a unit of converted shipping containers

[@keir2k123]

I live in Manchester and my favourite pub is the Castle hotel in the northern quarter. It’s a Robinson’s pub. It’s not because the beers great but because there’s always some old guys or a professional there you can go and have a chat with and there’s always a funny story to listen to. Probably not for everyone but I’ve never had tribal talking to strangers so thats my pick. I’ll certainly be checking out these pubs though at the weekend. Thanks for making the video. Ah and also the temple pub on Oxford street😁🍻

[@spuggym8986]

Would love to see more of these in the UK

[@chrisgreen6259]

I love that Marble pub! Spent a happy few hours there working my way through most of the beers. And when you run out of pumps, there's the fridge.... The more I watch this video the more I'm realising I went to the best pubs :)

[@tmflnngn284]

Manchester and proud ❤ never fails to be a cracking night out!

[@thewelshbeersnob2783]

Off to Manchester next weekend, this video came at the perfect time! Nice one!

[@paulstevenson200]

Your early comments got it spot on - Marble one of the greatest breweries in the UK. What a stunning range of beers. If there was ever a brewery deserving an award for consistency, variety and innovation then Marble would win hands down. And a beautiful pub to drink these gorgeous beers in. Earl Grey IPA is a work of art. A mesmerising brew of alcoholic perfection. Worth pointing out that Marble Bitter won Crewe Rail Ale champion festival beer this year, 2018 and deservedly so. Good review if somewhat brief. Moozak is bloody awful. Cheers.

[@beeridiots]

Good trip , True nice classic UK pub

[@kurdishlion5323]

Great video mate, love Manchester pubs

[@pabloandreslopezsilva4270]

Lived 5 years in MCR. Love it. My spot was the marble arch (although the temple bar and big hands are upe there on my top 5)

[@Mjjm12]

Did a crawl up there a few years ago. Loved it. Port Street Beer House is indeed great. Worth mentioning the Gas Lamp - a basement pub which I really liked.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Lots of love for that place in the comments. Need to visit it!

[@colledgematt]

Loved this! Please do more cities...plus it gives you an excuse to go on a crawl in the name of research ;)

[@aaronnurding4730]

Very useful. Cheers. I'm off to Manchester on the 15th August.

[@analogdistortion]

So many great pubs and bars around Manchester now, it's great!

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

indeed! Picking 5 was so hard - could have put 10 in just from the centre of town.

[@qwigz78]

I absolutely love this channel and being from Manchester this video. I owe you guys a massive thank you. About a year ago I was short of ideas for my 40th birthday. I watched your video on Boston/Treehouse and was so bowled over by It I managed to convince my wife to come along with me for the ride. I can't tell you how much I fell in love with the place. 5 days gorging on Tree house and Trillium what's not to love ? The new Treehouse brewery in Charlton rocks. On Manchester the Brewery taps are phenomenal and theres loads so I'm glad your dedicating a separate video to them. The new Cloudwater tap is fab although vastly different from the Barrel Store.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Absolutely amazing to hear! Humbled to hear you planned a holiday round what we have done and great to hear you fell in love with the place. It was a special trip for me too. Lots more great comment to come, promise!

[@benoakes01]

I hope all these places are still going on the other (brighter) side of Covid. Was hoping The Marble Arch would be mentioned and YES, right at the top. Love it there- Had a few Lagonda's there myself. haven't been to any of the others so I'll be referring to this again on my next visit.

[@dominicbenson3246]

Awesome video. Best place in the world.

[@MartianTheMartin]

Nice Anchorman reference haha, and great video! Cheers from the USA! :)

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

thanks! Love slipping Anchorman, Arrest Development and 30 Rock in to see who notices!

[@donbeck8835]

I’m from one of the biggest beer hotspots in America: Cleveland. I’d love to visit Manchester someday.

[@viper29ca]

When are you coming to Eastern Canada!! Your personal tour guide right here if you come to New Brunswick!

[@Freakenfishzilla]

No Bundobust? Granted I didn't visit the one in Manchester as I didn't discover it until I visited Leeds, but the one in Leeds is great! Piccadilly tap wasn't too bad either. Also, surprised that you didn't ship the Beer Merchants bottle shop. Also also, big shout out to the Port Street staff. The guy that served us there was honestly the nicest, most genuine person we came across in any of the craft beer places! They were actually pretty nice everywhere else, but he really went the extra mile.

[@Freakenfishzilla]

And one last also.. please keep doing these for other cities! I try to do little UK beer crusades as often as possible, so would be nice to know what to look out for and not have to rely on Google (which has not only made me miss out on a few places, but also steered me very wrong on a few occasions!)

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Hey! We are saving Bundo for our Leeds episode later in the year - cant miss that seminal place!

[@Freakenfishzilla]

The Craft Beer Channel looking forward to the Leeds video to see what I missed! Definitely check out Friends of Ham if you weren't already planning to, they had an amazing selection when I was up there for Hop City, and probably not even a minute around the corner from Bundo!

[@warbwarb]

Nicely done. I can't go into town now without stopping by Track's brewtap behind Piccadilly station (and missing a few trains) on the way home, they're making some of the best beer in Manchester at the moment. Another obvious food/beer stop is Bundobust, a quick Vada Pav on the way home always goes down well after all the Taras Boulba.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Two top tips. Love track and Bundobust - but we are saving the latter for our leeds episode.

[@warbwarb]

The Craft Beer Channel Superb. Makes sense. So glad you're doing more of these things.

[@anarchodandyist]

Beer Nouveau. The best tap in mcr.

[@brianrossiter2547]

Bundobust, a stone's throw from Port St

[@Saiyuki989]

Love Marble so much - when I was living in Falmouth, Beerwolf would always have Lagonda IPA, Bitter and the wonderful Pint on tap. Spoilt for choice! Is Birmingham on your list of spots to visit?

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Not at the top but we'll definitely get there soon.

[@nightmareghostz1016]

I wish you would do a guide to york... and then get stuck in the house of trembling madness for the rest of the video. Great place! Better beer!

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

haha, we love that place too. Might get to York one day!

[@ndr3473]

You missed a trick not going to the Smithfield and the Crown and kettle is worth a visit too if only for the ceiling. Great vid as usual guys

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Thanks for the tips!

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Where do you guys like to drink in Manchester? Where did we miss? We'll do the taprooms another time...

[@hoponthebike]

Other side of town but - The Knott, Cask and Gaslamp are all tremendous

[@DelaneysHomebrew]

The Brink

[@ryanpratt-hall9374]

ol on oxford road great little nanobrewery with some good stuff on tap and bottles. Winners at Indyman 2019 definitely worth checking out

[@mickporter84]

Port St and Beermoth have taken way too much of my money over the years. Amazing places. Be sure to check out The Britons Protection though for another traditional experience.

[@DoctorBenc]

Seconded on Briton's Protection. Also the new Cloudwater tap room which opened last Wednesday is killer

[@christopherhughes1184]

What is the name of the place you ate after the Port Street Bar? The transcript does not seem to have it right. Thanks!

[@zzzzzz69]

Beermoth has a great bottle shop as well

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

It sure does

[@bbojer]

Good material. Any advices for Birmingham? I´ll visit it in october.

[@Saiyuki989]

Björn Bayer Yes! Dig Brew Co does a wonderful selection in their taproom :)

[@bbojer]

Thanks

[@simonyuile4375]

What was the place you guys ate at as I couldn’t quite make out what you said (planning IMBC weekend destinations)

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Patron!

[@thekentishpilgrim]

Do you find the price of craft beer is less up there compared to what you pay in London bars or bottle shops for the same stuff?

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Not hugely. Most pubs and bars buy in the beer from the same distributors and work to the same margins. It varies more by different pub companies and such than by region. Though food DEFINITELY is cheaper outside London.

[@lewisburridge2331]

Great places for beer in Manchester not mentioned: Northern Quarter: The Angel (mainly traditional), Mackie Mayor (taps provided by Blackjack), Smithfield Tavern (another Blackjack bar but with more guest beer), Bar Fringe (Belgian and lambics) and Crown and Kettle (traditional but with a great can and bottle selection with frequent tap takeovers). Deansgate: The Knott (Wander Beyond and a great bottle and can selection), Cask (Belgian) and The Brink (local beers and usually a good selection from Torrside and Magic Rock) Theres also some great taprooms (Cloudwater, Track etc) but this list would start to get too long.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

haha, tell me about it!

[@j616s]

Other than the ones on your list, I like The City Arms as a nice old school "old man" pub. Great cask there. Nearby in Altrincham there's Pi who have an amazing range, The Malt Shovels which is a great Sam Smiths, and Mort Subite which is probably the original Mancunian Belgian beer bar. They have a huge bottle selection that occasionally includes the Westvletrens. Worth checking out Mackie Mayors for food. It's a huge victorian market hall with loads of fantastic food outlets and a beer bar run by Blackjack. There's also an amazing set of brewery taps. Cloudwater, Track, Beer Nouveau, Alphabet, Blackjack, Runaway... Steve from Beer Nouveau keeps a map of them at www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?ll=53.481362942807834%2C-2.2340776500000175&z=14&mid=1W3xlPcjbAe2fVMQ043va4bJiXXg

[@j616s]

I also have to give a special shout out to Cafe Beermoth for hosting the Manchester Homebrew group once a month.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

thanks for all the tips!

[@unklestu]

Why is there a north/south division of the sprinkler? What’s the positive/negatives??

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

The sparkler? Opening a can o' worms here! So a sparkler aerates the beer and injects some fix and a creamy head. Benefits are the mouthfeel, drawbacks are oxidation and potentially some don't like the creamier texture. It's personal taste really, and depends what you grew up with! As for why there is a north/south divide, I have NO idea. But some in the south do use it - I know St Austell have them in all their pubs.

[@rjgriffiths26]

The Craft Beer Channel - “Oxidation”!?! How long are you letting your pint sit for? 😉

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Haha, happens fast if you press it through a load of tight holes!

[@sofakingdrunk66]

Last time i was in Manchester it was the late 80's...

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

bet it was a party town back then too.

[@sofakingdrunk66]

Madchester right enough..

[@guinnessgonz]

No Pilcrow visit?

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Not for this. We always try to have a good spread of concepts (more traditional, very crafty, Belgian influenced, good food etc) and we thought that with Cafe beermoth and Port Street we had those bases covered. The Pilcrow is awesome though.

[@alexjackson9491]

Consider updating this video?

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Haha yeah probably needs it but we've kind of stopped with city guides for now. Increasingly feels like they get outdated just months later.

[@alexjackson9491]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel yeah that’s fair, relatively quick moving situation

[@steventopping106]

Beer Bock I'd no longer there for anyone watching this video. A real shame as it was a lovely place.

[@zeveroarerules]

If home is France! Also, we kicked your asses, twice :p And don't put that damn tap in the beer.