Originally Darlo were to be in Cleethorpes today playing Grimsby and since a few of us were not keen on going there, we thought it would be the perfect time to make a nostalgic trip to Macclesfield and the Waters Green Tavern in particular.
However as train tickets were almost £80 by the time the draw was made, I decided to stick to the original plan.
(left) The Treacle Tap
There was some confusion about opening time and I was under the impression the WGT wouldn't open until noon so after a mooch around the town I headed for a new pub, the Treacle Tap.
I was the first to head off to the Waters Green Tavern which had actually opened at 11am and landlord Brian and barmaid Ann were patiently waiting, wondering where we were. Ooops!
Colin arrived at noon, having just missed me at the Treacle Tap, and then a gaggle of my Macclesfield chums turned up to see me.
Landlord Brian is a man who loves pale ales and the beers on tap today were a testament to this: Kelham Island Pale Rider, Ossett Silver King, Pheonix Low VAT Bitter, Acorn Barnsley Bitter, George Wright Blonde and Derwent Blonde , plus a cider from Gwynt y Ddraig, Haymaker. All in top nick.
I had a taste of most of them except for the Pale Rider plus a pint of the cider. No holding back today.
It has the most unpreposing exterior which meant we almost walked past it. In fact when we were sat with our first pint we spotted Brian wandering past on the other side of the road. It was very tempting to let him wander off but we're not like that.
This is a venue very much in the same mould as the Treacle Tap and the Euston Tap, a place where beery old farts and the new generation of young craft beer drinkers can enjoy a beer. I just wish they'd use Draught instead of Draft.
After a couple of beers we wandered off to the next pub - passing other good pubs such as the Crown & Kettle and Bar Fringe that Colin, Martin and I had visited after our televised victory at Rochdale back at the end of the 2009/10 season.
And it was up the Rochdale Road that we went to the famous Marble Arch, brewery tap for the well-regarded Marble brewery. The place was absolutely packed when we got there so it was standing room only at the bar for us.
It is a lovely pub with beatiful tiled walls and has plenty of bar staff to keep the hordes happy. Good helpings of snacks too.
I've had quite a few of their beers over the last year or two - many of them in bottles - and they rarely disappoint. We opted for pints of 3.9 which unfortunately went off just as we were getting a taste for it. We then moved onto pints of Pint (it can get confusing).
(left) Much more traditional - the Marble Arch
From here we moved to our last pub which is also on the Rochdale Road - this is the Angel but it was called the Beer House when I was last in there following a defeat at Bury back in the nineties.
By this time we more or less had enough and so we wandered back to Piccadilly station. Both Colin and Brian could catch earlier trains but I had to wait a while.
Whilst waiting I spied BBC Look North's Clem so had a word with him though he was initially confused by why a Darlo fan wasn't at the game. It seems he been to Bury for the Beeb's Football League show but was heading off back to London for the League Cup final.
I was in a chatty mood so decided I'd make his day and accompany him back to London. It wasn't my train but I resurrected the charm that had seen worked so well for us last week and managed to blag my way on board.
I'm not sure whether Clem was pleased when I came and sat beside him but he was good company and we managed to natter about all things football - he was quite interested in DAFTS and our attitude to football and beer. Who wouldn't be?
By this time I'd found out that we'd won our game against Salisbury and were in the semis of the FA Trophy. Great stuff.
Arriving an hour earlier than originally scheduled, I left Clem at Euston to head to his hotel whilst I went to join Liz, Jenny and Chris who'd had a good victory at Burton (and Coopers Tavern of course) in the Euston Tap and more beer.
As luck would have it, the league game was postponed as Darlo were to play Salisbury City in the quarter final of the FA Trophy.
However as train tickets were almost £80 by the time the draw was made, I decided to stick to the original plan.(left) The Treacle Tap
There was some confusion about opening time and I was under the impression the WGT wouldn't open until noon so after a mooch around the town I headed for a new pub, the Treacle Tap.
By this time I'd bumped into Paul, my Wycombe chum who was up for their game at Moss Rose. He was accompanied by his mates Dave and Barry who tend to join him when there's good drinking to be had.
As we approached I could see that Lance had beaten us to it and was at the bar ordering as we entered. The Treacle Tap appears to have been a shop or restaurant that has been turned into a pub - all stripped wood and dining tables - but it offers a choice of three ales from small, local breweries. Like a mini-Number Twenty-2.
We had the option of Summer Wine Boreas, Beartown Bareass and Bollington Long Hop - the latter being replaced more or less immediately by Offbeat Brewery Oddball Red. The Boreass was a lovely 5% pale ale - maybe a bit strong for the first of the day but an excellent drop.
I was the first to head off to the Waters Green Tavern which had actually opened at 11am and landlord Brian and barmaid Ann were patiently waiting, wondering where we were. Ooops!
Colin arrived at noon, having just missed me at the Treacle Tap, and then a gaggle of my Macclesfield chums turned up to see me.
Landlord Brian is a man who loves pale ales and the beers on tap today were a testament to this: Kelham Island Pale Rider, Ossett Silver King, Pheonix Low VAT Bitter, Acorn Barnsley Bitter, George Wright Blonde and Derwent Blonde , plus a cider from Gwynt y Ddraig, Haymaker. All in top nick.
I had a taste of most of them except for the Pale Rider plus a pint of the cider. No holding back today.
After catching up with the news from the Macclesfield mob, Colin and I then left Lance to his own devices in the WGT and took the train to Manchester and a short walk to the city's latest ale house, the Port Street Beer House.
(left) Is it a shop? Is it a pub? No, it's the Port Street Beer House
It has the most unpreposing exterior which meant we almost walked past it. In fact when we were sat with our first pint we spotted Brian wandering past on the other side of the road. It was very tempting to let him wander off but we're not like that.
This is a venue very much in the same mould as the Treacle Tap and the Euston Tap, a place where beery old farts and the new generation of young craft beer drinkers can enjoy a beer. I just wish they'd use Draught instead of Draft.
As well as a wide range of bottled beers there was Summer Wine Teleporter, Meantime London Pale Ale, Dark Star Over The Moon and Thornbridge Hopton on tap.
After a couple of beers we wandered off to the next pub - passing other good pubs such as the Crown & Kettle and Bar Fringe that Colin, Martin and I had visited after our televised victory at Rochdale back at the end of the 2009/10 season.
And it was up the Rochdale Road that we went to the famous Marble Arch, brewery tap for the well-regarded Marble brewery. The place was absolutely packed when we got there so it was standing room only at the bar for us.
It is a lovely pub with beatiful tiled walls and has plenty of bar staff to keep the hordes happy. Good helpings of snacks too.
I've had quite a few of their beers over the last year or two - many of them in bottles - and they rarely disappoint. We opted for pints of 3.9 which unfortunately went off just as we were getting a taste for it. We then moved onto pints of Pint (it can get confusing).(left) Much more traditional - the Marble Arch
From here we moved to our last pub which is also on the Rochdale Road - this is the Angel but it was called the Beer House when I was last in there following a defeat at Bury back in the nineties.
By this time we more or less had enough and so we wandered back to Piccadilly station. Both Colin and Brian could catch earlier trains but I had to wait a while.
Whilst waiting I spied BBC Look North's Clem so had a word with him though he was initially confused by why a Darlo fan wasn't at the game. It seems he been to Bury for the Beeb's Football League show but was heading off back to London for the League Cup final.
I was in a chatty mood so decided I'd make his day and accompany him back to London. It wasn't my train but I resurrected the charm that had seen worked so well for us last week and managed to blag my way on board.
I'm not sure whether Clem was pleased when I came and sat beside him but he was good company and we managed to natter about all things football - he was quite interested in DAFTS and our attitude to football and beer. Who wouldn't be?
By this time I'd found out that we'd won our game against Salisbury and were in the semis of the FA Trophy. Great stuff.
Arriving an hour earlier than originally scheduled, I left Clem at Euston to head to his hotel whilst I went to join Liz, Jenny and Chris who'd had a good victory at Burton (and Coopers Tavern of course) in the Euston Tap and more beer.
No comments:
Post a Comment