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.
Tag Archives: Marble Brewery
Easter 2017 Manchester beer events
A long weekend brings about even more beer events than normal and here’s a look at what’s going on over the Easter bank holiday weekend in Manchester.
(Looking for what’s going on during the rest of the year? See my Manchester beer events calendar)
Beatnikz Republic soft launch
Recently relocated to Manchester from the capital, Beatnikz Republic will be having a soft launch over the Easter weekend at their site in the Green Quarter. They’ll be showcasing some of their beers that have been gypsy brewed elsewhere, ahead of a larger launch party once they’ve brewed at the new site. They’ll be open from the Thursday right through to Easter Monday. (Find out more about them on this Beernomicon podcast)
Thursday 13 April 4-10pm, Friday 14 April 4-10pm, Saturday 15 April 12-8pm, Sunday 16 April 12-8pm, Monday 17 April 12-8pm, Unit 15, Red Bank – Twitter.
Beermoth/Cafe Beermoth – Yeaster Weekend
Beermoth on Tib Street and Cafe Beermoth on Spring Gardens will be celebrating yeast across the Easter weekend with events in the Beermoth cellar and at the cafe. Entry will be free.
Saturday 15 April 4-8pm, Sunday 16 April 4-8pm – Twitter.
Chorlton Brewing Co brew tap
Chorlton will be opening their doors on Easter Saturday and on offer will be beer smoothies alongside their Sour Blend 3 and (sour) Lager and Lime.
Saturday 15 April, 12-10pm, 69 North Western Street – Twitter.
Cloudwater x Magic Rock x Other Half tap takeover at The Pilcrow
Cloudwater, Magic Rock and Other Half (all the way from New York) will be teaming up to provide 12 taps of their beers on Easter Sunday at the Pilcrow. As well as the takeover, a special meet the brewers’ event will be held from 6.30pm at Redfern House (across the road) – this is a ticketed event and they’re on sale now.
Sunday 16 April, 12pm, Sadler’s Yard – Facebook event.
Easter Pint of Portent weekend at The Marble Arch
The Marble Arch will be cracking open bottles of their Russian Imperial Stout, Portent of Usher, that they’ve been saving over the bank holiday. It’ll be there from midday on Friday, but they don’t expect it to last long!
Friday 14 April 12pm until it runs out, The Marble Arch, Rochdale Road – Facebook event.
Grub ExtraVEGANza at Alphabet Brewery
Grub’s weekly street food events at Alphabet have become more and more popular over recent months and following their first vegan-only event earlier this year, they’re hosting another over the bank holiday weekend. Vegan food will be available from traders including Wallace & Sons, Fat Annie’s, Pollen Bakery and Ginger’s Comfort Emporium and all of the beers available behind the bar will be 100% vegan.
Saturday 15 April, 12-10pm, 99 North Western Street – Facebook event.
Manchester tap takeover at The Beagle
Chorlton’s The Beagle will be celebrating the best of Manchester on Easter Saturday with a tap takeover showcasing brewers from the city on both cask and keg. Expect Blackjack, Cloudwater, Runaway, Squawk, Track and more. It’s all part of Chorlton’s Neighbourhood Jam event which also includes Marble Beerhouse, Font, Pi and more.
Saturday 15 April, 12pm, 456-458 Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton. Neighbourhood Jam Facebook event.
Torrside Easter Brewery Tap
Technically not in Manchester but only a short train ride away, New Mills’ Torrside will be opening their doors on Good Friday and Easter Saturday. Ten beers will be available on draught, including I’m Spartacus on both cask and keg, and they’ll also be previewing their collaboration with Rivington Brewing Co.
Friday 14 April and Saturday 15 April, 12-8pm, New Mills Marina, Hibbert Street, New Mills – more info.
Unit 101 opening
Unit 101 is a new beer bar and events space from the team at Beer Merchants and will be opening its doors for the first time on Easter Saturday. They’re planning on opening every Saturday for both on and off-sales (including growler fills) and will have 11 beers on draught.
Saturday 15 April, 12-7pm, 101 North Western Street – Twitter.
Weekly events taking place
Just because it’s a bank holiday it doesn’t mean the regularly occuring events won’t be taking place.
Beer Nouveau Brewery Tap
Beer Nouveau will have extended opening hours over the bank holiday, including opening their doors on Easter Sunday.
Friday 14 April 12-10.30pm, Saturday 15 April 12-10.30pm, Sunday 16 April, 12-8pm, 75 North Western Street – Twitter.
Cloudwater
Not only will Cloudwater be taking part in a tap takeover at the Pilcrow, but their Barrel Store tap room will also be open on the Friday and Saturday. They are also opening their brewery for a tour on the Saturday morning, with tickets now available for £13.15.
Friday 14 April, 4-9pm, Saturday 15 April, 12-8pm, 13 Sheffield Street – Twitter
Manchester Brewing Co
Update 12/4 – Manchester Brewing Co have now announced that they won’t be opening over the Easter weekend
Manchester Brewing Co have started opening their doors weekly as from the beginning of this month and will be again opening their doors on Easter Saturday.
57 Thomas Street – Manchester
After a significant revamp, Marble’s Northern Quarter outpost 57 Thomas Street has now reopened so we had to pop down and visit. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Marble’s beers, but I’d always choose to walk down the road and head to The Marble Arch rather than that visit Thomas Street as I prefer the historic look and I’ve always felt the NQ site was just too cramped in terms of seating, so in my view a rejig of the venue was long overdue and something I was looking forward to checking it out.
Marble had said ‘early December’ was when Thomas Street was due to reopen, but as with most things which involve building work it can be hard to pin down a date so it was a rather low-key Twitter post on December 18 that announced the bar’s return.
We headed down the following day after visits to Torrside Brewery in New Mills then Beer Nouveau up near Piccadilly, so it was about 8.30pm when we’d got down there and as a result, it was busy. The venue is going to have two floors, but at the minute only the ground floor is open – there’s a door at the back which says ‘No entry…yet’.
The bar itself has stayed in the same place and is roughly the same length, but it looks longer as 57 Thomas Street is now keg-only so where there were previously casks on the bar, there’s now a lot more space and it makes getting served much easier! An extended section of the bar also serves as a small table.
As I mentioned at the start of this post, I’d always felt the venue previously seemed too cramped as a result of the layout of the seating, as you’d often have to disturb others to find yourself somewhere to sit. But that’s all changed now. Instead of large tables seating ten, there are now individual tables for four – with two freestanding seats for each and a long wooden bench running the entire length of the building next to the tables providing two (or more, depending on how busy the bar is) additional seats. You are still quite cosy with other drinkers but not in the same way you were so it feels a lot more private and roomy – a great design which makes the most of a long and thin space. At the back, there’s also a separate table which is ideal for groups. The only aspect of the design I didn’t like was the setup of the toilet. There’s only one (I assume there will be more upstairs) so it’s unisex and to queue for it, you’re in the way of the bar. I’m hoping that once the upstairs is finished there will be more as for a venue that busy on a Saturday evening, it wasn’t an ideal setup.
I apologise for this fairly awful picture – it was very busy!
But more importantly than the look – what’s the beer like? As I mentioned, it’s all keg now with Marble’s own, of course, dominating. During our visit, on draught from Marble there was Antipodean, Boheme, Earl Grey IPA, Ginger, Lagonda and Valbryggda, a collaboration with All In, along with Magic Rock’s Common Grounds and Brewed With Friends (a collab with Kee’s). This was complemented by a fairly extensive bottle list, and a menu of bar snacks. We’ll definitely have to return at a quieter time to sample some grub.
Although it’s not completely finished yet, the refurb of 57 Thomas Street has been done very well and makes the most of the limited space. I always felt it didn’t have the greatest layout in the past and it’s now much improved. I’m looking forward to seeing what they do with the upper floor.
Marble Beer House, 57 Thomas Street, Northern Quarter.
The Marble Arch – Manchester
The Marble Arch is without a doubt my favourite pub in Manchester. It has everything I want a watering hole to have – choice of ales, history and a great food menu.
Tucked away just on the outskirts of the city centre, it’s always worth the walk down Rochdale Road to pop in.
It celebrated its 125th birthday last year and still retains much of its historical charm (including its sloping floor).
Not only does it feature a number a number of Marble beers it always has guest ales and ciders on. And its one of the few pubs in Manchester with Erdinger on tap.
We had only intended to pop in for one but ended up having another one (I went for the Inter Regnum – a mild) and food.
Food wise, I went for the burger which had bacon and cheese inside it. Mmm.
Meanwhile, Ross had the sloppy joe which he enjoyed.
Another enjoyable trip to an excellent pub. I used to live near it but it was only about 6 months before I moved away that I actually went in – a very poor decision from me and I hope others don’t make the same mistake and make the effort to go!
The Ale in Kaleigh 