– Old & Dark Week 2014 / Round up
To kick off our Old & Dark week we celebrated National Stout Day on the 6th November. Naturally, we unleashed some of the biggest and best stouts we could lay our hands on from the depths of our cellar. These included To Øl‘s ‘Jule Maelk’ – A hefty 15% sweet milk stout, Evil Twin‘s ‘Imperial Doughnut Break’ – An Imperial doughnut porter, Buxton & Arizona Wilderness‘ ‘Dragon Tips’ – A maple, bacon and chipotle stout amongst others.
My personal favourite of the night was Mad Hatter‘s ‘Fattest Stout’ on cask. Heaps of dark fruit, roasted coffee and filling you with an alcohol warmth that makes you forget summer ever existed. There is also something that makes me feel quite rebellious about drinking an 11% beer from the old hand-pull.
Throughout the course of the week we saw some of our favourite styles turn to the dark side. The IMBC and Weird Beard collaboration ‘Hacienda’ was one of them, a strong black Saison brewed with Orange peel. Pretty mind boggling at first, the aroma was cocoa nibs and roasted malts, but to taste, the orange zest and funk come through straight away, leaving you with a earthy spiced after taste.
Drinking 10% imperial stouts all night is all well and good, but what about when your cat needs feeding? What about when you need to count your change getting on to the 192? What about when you need to walk? Well, our pals at Quantum have got you covered. Still on the taps now, they’ve brewed a super fresh, super sharp black berliner weisse. ‘Berliner Schwarz’ is 2.5% and it makes you feel really great.
Over all, Old and Dark week was a great success. We welcomed back some firm favourites and discovered same darn good newbies. Some of the beers mentioned and more are still available on the bar but generally, the pale ale drinkers of Manchester can breathe a sigh of relief and sleep easy tonight. It’s all over.. Until next year.
Next up: Buxton Tap Takeover Tuesday 9th December / 6pm
Words by Leona Norbury
– Old and Dark Week 2014 / Thursday 6th – Thursday 13th November
It’s getting colder. The days are getting shorter. The only time you see daylight during the week is when you’re staring out the window of your office thinking about how great summer was. But was summer really that great? What did you actually do this summer that was any different to what you’re doing now? Just occasionally got to wear shorts at the weekend? Well. Now winter’s with us. Can’t find last year’s gloves, hat or scarf? Don’t worry about it! Last years winter coat a little more worn than you remember? Don’t worry about it! Less pairs of long johns than you thought? STOP WORRYING! Just come warm yourself here with some delicious old & dark ales.
Starting with International Stout Day on 6th November we’ll be having a selection of tasty dark malted beverages from some of the world’s finest breweries to help ease you in to the winter. As always there’ll be some old favourites & some new & exciting ones* courtesy of Summer Wine, Magic Rock, Odell, Mad Hatter, Buxton, Rooie Dop, et al.
*Not that you shouldn’t be excited about the old favourites!
– Celt Experience – The Tail-less Black Sow and core range launch / Friday 31st October 2014 – 7pm
On All Hallow’s Eve we proudly present a Celt Experience ‘tap takeover’ from 7pm they will be launching ‘Tail-less Black Sow’ alongside some of their amazing core range, they are in fact doing this at FIVE bars across the UK, Port Street Beer House are proud to be launching this exclusively in Manchester!
Head Brewer Tom Newman explains the project and gives us a quick run down on each of the beers :
“Two months ago I bumped into a cult witch group based in my home village. They were strange! I liked them… They told me of an ancient recipe (which I now have). It contains mugwort, yarrow and Heather.
This recipe, coupled with my fascination in ritualistic folklore embedded in my own backyard made me look at the real Halloween tradition. When spirits are released on winters eve. One of the oldest Welsh tales is that of ‘The tail-less black sow’… More to follow.
It’s a bit of a long-winded way of saying ‘new core range launch’ or ‘tap takeover’, but why change the habit of a life time?”
On to the beers:
Brigid Fire – Smoked Rye IPA: It’s brewed with borrowed ‘De Garde’ from Brasserie St Germain, grits holds 3% oak smoked wheat, with 20% rye, finally dry hopped with Nelson. Sounds complicated, but it works. Perfect for the BBQ craze / great with brisket!
Hallstatt Deity – Pomegranate Saison: A DuPont strain saison, brewed to imperial strength to allow the phenolic edge to work with sweetness in the right way. However to balance the beer a tartness is added from 250kg of pomegranate. Lightly dry hopped with Galaxy.
Lammas Harvest – Gooseberry and lemon thyme Berliner Weiss: A classic Berliner style, controlled at souring stage by Co2 and a PH meter. Steeped during the boil with a dump of lemon thyme. The beer is matured with fresh gooseberries and lightly hopped with mosaic to leave a hint of sherbet.
Golden Age – Dry hopped pale ale (it’s our oldest beer): Like me it keeps changing form. It should be a shapeshifter!? Latest delta is a dry hopped pale with a summit, citra and cascade influence. It’s a summer beer drank in the winter.
Home Of The Fruitcakes – Farmhouse fruit saison: Myself and Jordan Keeper (ex Jester King head) developed the beer for the 2014 Brewdog collab fest. Simple recipe, mashed low for a dry saison. One ton of strawberries and raspberries left for weeks with the yeast to gobble up the fructose. Dry in a sweet fruity way!
Tail-less Black Sow – Herb infused sworn session IPA: it’s our Halloween beer. 40kg of dry hops in a 4.7 session IPA… How can you taste the herbs? Try it! Yarrow and Heather stand bold…
– Euro-Tober Fest 2014 / Tuesday 30th September – Sunday 6th October
We’re at that time of the year again. It’s getting a bit colder, then a little warmer one day, then colder again and then it will stay cold for at least another ten months, however we like to brighten up those dark evenings with our very own Euro-Tober-Fest, running for a whole six days we aim to have beers that will hopefully tickle your euro zone and satisfy all your needs!
Launching on Tuesday 30th September with an evening with La Trappe, hosted by Dieter Lauwers. He’ll be talking to us about all things Trappist and giving us a little history lesson while we taste some amazing beers, a couple of which we’ve never had the opportunity to try before. New beer is always exciting!
While we’re at it and as a few of you have been enquiring, I think it’s time we filled you in with what’s going on with the Rainbow beers. This year the Rainbow Project has been a series of collaboration beers between some of the best breweries in the UK and around Europe so fittingly we’re going to be having them on during Euro-tober-Fest.
From Wednesday 1st October we will have all seven beers on, some of the beers will be available in cask, some in keg and others in bottles. There’s some pretty big ones this year, as some of you are probably already aware, they’re all 7% and up! For those who don’t know about the Rainbow Project, seven breweries each brew a beer using one of the colours of the rainbow as inspiration. Last year we ended up with some weird and wonderful things, this time around promises to be even better with the addition of the collaborations. We’re also going to be mixing it up a little and having some available in cask, keg and bottles.
Come join us, drink, be merry. Give us sympathetic glances over the bar as we run out of the Buxton & Omnipollo collab without having had chance to sit and sip some and give it a proper taste. Feel some guilt that you enjoyed the last little bit. Feel that guilt wash away in some peanut & biscuit 11% stouty goodness.
EVENTS :
Tuesday 30th September / An Evening with La Trappe (hosted by Dieter Lauwers) / 7pm – £14 advance from the bar or 0161 237 9949 (last few tickets remain)
Wednesday 1st October / Rainbow Project Beers available from 6pm onwards
Violet – Siren + De Molen / Empress Stout (Imperial Stout – 8.5%) KEG
Yellow – Buxton + Omnipollo / Yellow Belly (Peanut Butter and Biscuit Imperial Stout – 11%) CASK **
Red – Magic Rock + Evil Twin / Pogonophobia (Dry Hopped Flanders Red – 7%) KEG
Blue – Partizan + Mikkeller / Cognac Ba Quadrupel (10%) BOTTLE
Orange – Beavertown + Naparbier / The Sun Also Rises (Sherry Ba Saison 9%) KEG
Indigo – Wild Beer Co + Toccalmatto / Indigo Child (Sour 8%) KEG
Green – Hawkshead + Lervig / Green Juniper and Hemp DIPA (7.5%) KEG
key = Rainbow Colour – brewery / beer (style and %)
** the only cask to make it outside of Buxton!