Treasures of the north west

In this issue Dominic Roskrow looks at the family brewers of Manchester as well as Lancashire, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside

The folk of Manchester understand better than most that if something isn’t broken, you don’t fix it. And being a pretty down to earth bunch they don’t do fancy for fancy’s sake. On the contrary: Manchester does gritty, grainy and genuine better than anyone else.

And so it is when it comes to beer.

For Manchester has a selection of ales which it holds close to its collective heart. There are, of course, family brewers across the United Kingdom, but Manchester has a concentration of them without comparison elsewhere.

Their names are etched on the old factory walls of the city, and they are part of its industrial heritage and history. Beyond the city boundaries, however, they remain an enigma. And to be frank about it, that’s pretty much the way they like it.

A few years ago a colleague editing a trade magazine thought that one of the Manchester family brewers would make a good feature, so he phoned them and left messages but without joy.

He tried several times and finally he spoke to someone, who dismissed his offer out of hand.

Why would we be interested in talking to you when we have a tied pub estate within a dray’s delivery of the brewery, through which we sell every drop of beer we can physically produce? What benefit could there be?

The people who know and drink our beer don’t need to read about it. And anyone reading about it and wanting to taste it would have to come to Manchester and buy it in one of our pubs, effectively depriving one of our regulars of his dri.....

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By Dominic Roskrow

Section : Regional Focus

Page number : 34