One of Manchester’s most iconic breweries has a new home – and it’s not within the city of Manchester. Marble, established more than 20 years ago in the back room of the Marble Arch pub on Rochdale Road have moved their brewery from a railway arch down the hill from the pub over to neighbouring city Salford and, with a new bigger home comes the opportunity for a taproom within the brewery.
We popped over on the opening night to check it out. It’s easy to reach with good public transport links as it’s close to Broadway Metrolink stop and also on bus routes between the city centre and Salford.
It’s located on an industrial estate – they’re not the only brewer nearby as Hyde’s are also on the same estate – which does look like a bit of a maze but it’s a fairly uncomplicated walk to the entrance following Kansas Avenue all the way down and turn right.
Unlike some taprooms where it feels like a couple of benches have just been plonked within the brewery, Marble’s new place has obviously been well thought out. There’s a small entrance area (which had a reception desk when we visited which was due to be removed) before you reach the main area.
The main seating/bar area is separated from the main brewery area by a low wall, decorated with colourful murals similar to those in Marble’s Northern Quarter bar 57 Thomas Street, which also acts as a seating or standing area with its long wooden top. Barrels with some stools provide additional seating throughout.
The bar itself is long and features ten keg lines and three hand pumps for cask beer. Beers are served in various measures and pints of cask beer are served in dimpled mugs. The menu on our visit included traditional Marble favourites such as Manchester Bitter and Pint, alongside some of the newer Marble beers and a couple of collabs. Spirits were also available.
Pic from Ross of Beernomicon
I thought the space was exactly what a brewery taproom should be; you can see inside the brewery but it feels comfortable and separate, somewhere you could settle in for a few hours. A CD jukebox provides the soundtrack and they’ve also added in a pinball machine since my first visit as you can see in this tweet. It’s somewhere that’s worth a visit especially as it can be combined with a trip to Pomona Island’s tap room (about a 20 min walk away) and then a tram ride up to the Northern Type in Eccles.
It was obviously a big decision for such brewery so associated with the city of Manchester to move over the border into Salford, but with the uncertainty around the future of railway arches, the size constraints of their old site and the great space they’ve built shows it was the right one for them.
A guide to Manchester’s brew taps
Marble Brewery taproom, Unit 7, Boston Court, Kansas Avenue (off South Langworthy Road, Salford, M50 2GN. Open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 4-8pm, Saturdays 12-8pm – marblebeers.com/marble-tap-room/
The Ale in Kaleigh 