Brew Dog Bar - Manchester

Say ‘real beer’ and many people think of flat caps, tweed and country pubs that smell a little fruity. The following words do not usually signify real beer ‘punk,’ ‘young’ and ‘attitude.’ However some young punks on the British brewing scene are challenging this idea and last week landed in Manchester – home of flat caps and ale sippers galore – opening their alter to the craft beer with a big bang, right in the city centre.

Brew Dog's new Manchester bar - very busy already!

Brew Dog are newbies on the beer scene, first brewing in 2007 as a reaction to British beer being a choice between stuffy real ale or some watery chemical piss and nothing in between. Brew Dog are very much the in between with their feisty DIY spirit, their willingness to try new (and sometimes crazy) methods and their appeal to a wider, younger audience than the CAMRA crew. Obviously something's working as they've become Scotland's biggest independent brewery, bottling about 120,000 bottles a month for export.

Brew Dog Manchester, from the outside and much better than my attempt - with thanks to themselves

So this beer then? Based in Aberdeen you could think Brew Dog would go the way of a traditional Scottish mild, but instead they've looked over to the pond to the craft beers our American cousins are brewing, mixed it up with some crazy attitude and quality ingredients, then given a nod to another Scottish export -high strength tramp juice. Known as much for their high strength beer as their crazy stunts (they got in to a beer strength fight with a German brewer, made a beer called The End of History that was 55% and then bottled it in taxidermy - indeed, then got in to an eight month long dispute with the Portman Group...), Brew Dog are now branching out and taking their craft beer ethos to the masses.

So what’s the difference, it's just a real ale place right? No. Brew Dog Manchester is a proper bar, none of the old sticky carpet shtick – there’s funky neon lights in the company blue, there’s the on trend hip distressed look and there are actually other drinks on offer; mainly different craft beers they look up to - but there's also wine, spirits and the odd soft drink or two.

I liked this sign - craft beer gets a cool makeover

However we’re not here to chat about the other drinks, it’s the beer that does the talking at Brew Dog. The draughts and guest kegs change regularly - it's best to check their Twitter for the day's specials, or they can be found on the chalkboards that are dotted around the place: we sampled the Dead Pony Club, a light, malty session beer; their infamous (and the beer they first brewed) Punk IPA, a feisty, citrusy, tropical kiss on the gob that doesn’t taste half as strong as the 5.4% (my favourite); the ruby red 5am Saint and the Riptide, an 8% stout that’s full of chocolate, mocha and berry flavours. Yeah I just said 8% stout. Mental. And that's not the highest they had on when we were there...

Stout and a branded glass

As we has popped along on opening night, we also got to sample the limited addition Dog A, which comes in at 15.1%. Darker than the stout and served in an impressive branded chalice (to let the aromas out apparently) it tasted akin to salmiakki mixed with marmite. Not two flavours I’d put together willingly – I drank it because I know it’s about £20 a bottle – plus I was given it, so I would have been rude not to. I don't think t'boy was that happy with me drinking so much of it though. Let's just say I don't remember much of the journey home, apart from that he was driving. And grumpy.

This is 15.1% - that's quite a lot of 15.1%. I drank it all.

There's food too. Designed by an ex-masterchef person, they've gripped the zeitgeist with posh burgers, pizzas and the odd cheese/charcuterie board chucked in too. To be honest I'm not going to give them too much 'oh you're just jumping on the band wagon' stick for this as they are a bar and this is bar style food. From the bits we tasted they've done a bloody good job of it too, serving the burgers rare and juicy. Word of warning - don't venture near the veggie pizza unless you have an asbestos mouth - I had to gulp down a pint in record time (well a half, I am a girl you know) just to stop from jumping off the balcony.

I didn't take a picture of the food, so here is a picture of a man called Max who did the drinks tasting

Brew Dog's bar looks like it'll be a success and because it's owned by the brewery I'm hoping they won't be tempted to dumb down to the level of their neighbours just to pull in the punters; hopefully they'll spread the message that quality and quirkiness can go together to make a very drinkable, very likable product. There will be some bite back from the real ale purists, but personally I'd prefer to go to a place that I at least feel safe to sit down in as I know I'm not going to get stuck to the carpet topped bar stool that's had thirty years of over weight male buttock sweat seeping in to it.

Brew Dog Manchester, Peter Street, Manchester - Twitter

http://www.brewdog.com/

Blundell Arms - Horwich

There's nothing more rewarding after a long walk across the moors than a good pint supped in cosy, comfortable surroundings.

Certainly the Blundell Arms in Horwich, part of the Chef and Brewer chain, delivers on that front. It's close to the moors, has a roaring fire and there's plenty of exposed wood and warm colours to cosset you from the bleak expanses of heather and rocks that splay out from the back of the pub and there's always a good selections of traditional ales on tap that change often. They're not always local, but they're always pretty good.

Blundell Arms with thanks to Chef and Brewer

Great? No, not great. With a brand name including 'chef' in the title, the comfiness of the surroundings and the high standard of drink available, it would be a logical step to assume that the food would also be produced at an equally high standard.

Rocking up following a wet, after work walk, we chose hearty, warm food to chase away the chills; and indeed it was very warm. The food came out from the kitchen at such an extreme temperature that I can only guess it came from the electronic oven that goes ping, rather than being heated up conventionally/cooked fresh. The result was that we couldn't approach our food for a full five minutes. Ho hum.

Salty pie

The pie was more pastry than meat and what meat could be found in the middle had been heavily salted; which at least gave it more flavour, even if it was just one dominant, salty high note, than any of my dish put together. What lead me to order a curry in a pub I'm not sure, but it certainly was a mistake. On first impressions it did look good; two bowls of different curries, nann, rice and what looked like home made bharjis.

Tasteless curry

The meal is summarised thus - chickpea curry; thin, watery and tasted like a tomato cup-a-soup. Bharjis; oily, overcooked, stale tasting. Chicken curry; hotish, that’s about it – no layers of flavours, no fragrance. Nann: packet, cold. Mango chutney; famous green labelled brand name, at best. It's a travesty that this is being served up when the North has such a rich culinary heritage when it comes to Asian food and Spice Valley is churning out constantly good fare for less money only half a mile down the road.

Packet nann and rice

As our bellies still rumbled after this disaster of a meal, we took a chance and ordered something else off the menu. I wasn’t in the frame of mind that we should give this establishment any more money for food; however we were starving and it was included in a meal deal with the boy’s pie.

Never in my life has there been such a disparity in cooking between courses. The crumble was a bubbling dish of hot, cinnamony plums topped in a delicious, buttery crumble accompanied by very creamy, vanilla ice cream AND custard. A treat indeed!

Plum crumble

Looking over The Blundell Arm’s menu there’s the general feel that they’re trying to operate outside the usual pub realms, introduce people to new foods and offer over and above standard pub grub. There’s a highlight on seasonal ingredients; dishes using these are on a separate specials menu. There’s Fish Night and Game Night; the pub’s version of a tasting menu, five smaller courses for £20 introducing punters to wild boar and guinea fowl. All of which is to be applauded; however there’s no point trying out the clever stuff if you can’t get your basics right.

Cost for two mains, one pudding and two drink – £27.48

Food – 4/10
Service – 6/10
Atmosphere – 7/10
Value for money – 6/10

Total – 23/40

Go again? Yes for a pint after a walk as it really does suit it, plus there's a good view of the sunset; but we'd give the food a miss.

The Blundell Arms, Chorley Old Road, Horwich, Bolton BL6 6PY – 01204 898662
http://www.chefandbrewer.com/pub-food/blundell-arms-bolton-horwich/pid-P1527

Electrik Bar - Chorlton, Manchester

Where do old DJs go when they hang up their headphones? Some become big name record producers, some crash and burn spectacularly and some get graveyard slots on Radio Hull. And some open bars, as have Jake and Luke of  Manchester's legendary Unabombers - is this where their reputations lay down and die?

Electrik is the latest offering from Jake and Luke Unabomber and is decked out in mismatched chairs, wood and previous Electric Chair posters trumpeting past successes; a fitting decor in the largely young professional populated Chorlton. It's the young, middle class idea of hangover heaven.

Electrik - with thanks to Deltrams

The vibe is funky, with a great jukebox and playlists from staff, public and the Manchester great and good like Guy Garvey. By day it's a relaxed eating/drinking joint with a book exchange, wifi and daily papers. By night the atmosphere steps up a gear and gets quite busy with locals appreciating the music and sampling the victuals.

Food is as relaxed as the surroundings, however this attitude produces some pretty underwhelming outputs from the kitchen.

Boy ate the burger; we were hoping for great things as the menu descried it as being made with bourbon beer and served in a Barbakan bun (chi chi bakery up the road, if you ain't using their bread you ain't on message); unfortunately the texture of the meat was too soft and mushy, almost if the burger had been (shh don't say it) bought it. The overall taste of the dish was far too sweet and a real let down.

Burger

My falafel and haloumi burger hardly fared better; consisting of a few large chunks of crunchy but soft falafel with hunks of overly fried and greasy haloumi. The pitta it was served in fell apart and there was a severe lack of seasoning; however the addition of salsa and hummus meant there was at least some flavour and a lot of value for the princely sum of £5. Better than the boy's, but I still couldn't get excited.

Falafell

Electrik's a great bar with a good selection of drinks; including cask ales, Hendricks gin and alright cocktails. The service is a bit slack due to staff becoming swamped at busy times, but here's a lot of thought been put in to making this a relaxed and friendly joint that's good for whiling away a few Saturday morning hours, catching up with good friends or getting the night started. A few tweeks with the food and they'll be bang on - just like their DJ sets used to be.

Ps Check out the Electrik website and twitter for event updates, there's some very interesting things going on there, plus they've been nominated for second year running as Best Bar in the Manchester Food and Drink Awards.

Price for two mains - £10.50

Food - 4/10
Service - 5/10
Atmosphere - 8/10
Value for money - 8/10

Total - 25/40

Go again? - Yes for drinks, but not for the food.


Electrik, 559a Wilbraham Road, Chorlton, Manchester M21 0AE - 0161 831 3315 - info@electrikbar.co.uk

Twitter

http://www.electrikbar.co.uk/

The Windmill - Parbold

There must be a 'how to' guide on putting together upmarket country pubs that's doing the rounds of Northern villages at the moment. Roaring fires, mismatched furniture, real ale on tap, Farrow and Ball paint scheme and a gourmet burger on the menu.

The Windmill in Parbold has recently been revamped and it seems they have read the aforesaid how to. The dining room and snug are replete with old, mismatched furniture and a fire roars away in the main dining room. Conveniently for The Windmill they are actually located next to an interiors shop - which is good, as their walls are definitely Farrow and Ball Elephant's Breath. And yes there is a gourmet burger on the menu.

The Windmill Interior - with thank to The Windmill Parbold

The daytime menu (for it was daytime when we were there) is quite long, encompassing usual pub fare such as fish and chips, calves liver and steak and ale pie. For those who want something smaller/are on a budget, there's also the light bites menu. The menu promotes local food and suppliers, though unlike places such as The Clogg and Billycock, there is no mention of them in the menu, other that 'Scotts the Butchers.'

Fish and Chips

Food is well presented, but there seems to be something lacking in the execution. The venison and chorizo burger was small, very, very salty and dry; yummy mummy's risotto was soggy and badly seasoned, however there was no fault with the boy's fish and chips (could you get that wrong) and my duo of sausages on cheesy mash was well cooked. The mash was surprisingly light with just the right amount of cheese taste shining through.

Venison and chorizo burger

Puddings were also hit and miss. The brownie tasted fab; dark and bitter tempered by a hint of cheeky sweetness with a tangy berry compote that sent little electroshocks of sharp pleasure across the tongue. The dish was marred by the terrible consistency; the brownie was very gritty, almost as if it had been rewarmed in the microwave and the chocolate had split.

Sticky toffee pudding

The sticky toffee pudding was large and soaked with syrup, a little too cakey in texture for me; but I only tasted a mouthful as it was wolfed by the boy in record time (no matter that it was almost a million degrees either - maybe I should take advantage of this talent and make money from his speed eating?).

Service was friendly, if a bit slow and forgetful - but as we were there to enjoy a lazy Saturday lunch it's not something that we cared about too much. The staff didn't seem that knowledgeable about ingredients, but they were more than happy to go and find out from the kitchen.

The Windmill is a great pub if you live in Parbold or the surrounding villages. They've good ales on tap and have a snug that's brilliant for reading your book and watching the comings and goings of the villages. Whether you'd bother travelling far for another country village gastropub clone with only quite alright food is another matter.

Ps - if you go in winter wear your coat to the toilets, they are sub-zero freezing!

Cost for four mains, four puddings and drinks: £59.60

Food: 6/10
Service: 6/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Value for money: 6/10

Total - 25/40

The Windmill, 3 Mill Lane, Parbold, Wigan WN8 7NU - 01257 462935

http://www.thewindmillatparbold.co.uk/  @TheWindmillPub

The Crown - Worthington

Popping out for lunch to say goodbye to a work colleague it was decided that we should stop by The Crown at Worthington for their lunch time meal deal.

The Crown at Worthington is a traditional pub with a large extension to the rear. The front of the pub is definitely the most charming (I find the dining room at the back a little soulless), with little nooks and crannies, old mismatched furniture and whitewashed walls.

The Crown at Worthington - with thanks to CityLife.co.uk

We first decided to stop via the bar, which was well stocked with a large selection of local ales on tap, plus the largest array of locally made flavoured pork scratchings and nuts I have ever laid my eyes on.

The lunch menu is quite restrictive, the usual pub classics such as pie and fish and chips - there's nothing that really stands out too much, but for £5 it's a fine list of lunches. If you really want something else there's also an a la carte menu, a pie menu and their famous 'Butcher's Block' menu - a selection of locally reared, 21 day aged meat plus accompaniments.

However we are all aware that there's a recession on and opted for the £5 lunch menu and boringly we all opted for the pie.

If I'd been paying full price for said pie I wouldn't have been that happy. The pasty top was a little thick for puff and seemed slightly stale. The filling had chunks of soft beef with a nice thick sauce, which was fairly tasty, though a little salty for me. The pie came with hand-cut chips and I can see what they were trying to do here - but instead of thick, homemade, beefy chips, these were soggy and let the dish down. All others had mushy peas, except I can't stand them, so the staff were more than obliging and changed my side to a massive grilled tomato (both sides), sprinkled liberally with salt and herbs - a really good accompaniment that they should serve with all the pies.

Having saved a packet on lunch we opted for the pudding - which was almost the same price! Whereas I'd been a little underwhelmed by the bad pastry and lacklustre chips, my pudding was divine. Belgian waffles were served with caramelised bananas and Frederick's banoffee ice cream.

The criminalisation on the banana was crisp and buttery, coupled with the sweet waffle and the creamy ice cream the pudding came together in a banana-ry cacophony in my mouth. No matter what everyone else had for pudding (they all had sticky toffee pudding, which was good, but not a touch on my pudding) I wasn't jealous. Not one bit!

The Crown at Worthington is a great place for good pint and is good value for a cheap and comfortable lunch. There are let downs on the menu, but for £5 I wasn't complaining (though they are following the recent trend for puddings at about £5 each - see previous posts for more on this gripe). If I was dining here in the evening at full price I don't think I would be overly happy, unless they ramp up the care and attention to dishes - maybe I'll pop back to find out later in the year.

Price for one mains and one pudding - £9.95

Food - 5/10
Service - 7/10
Atmosphere - 6/10
Value for money - 8/10

Total - 26/40

The Crown at Worthington, Platt Lane, Worthington, Standish, Wigan WN1 2XF, 08000 686678
http://www.thecrownatworthington.co.uk/