Gaggin for a drink!

It’s no secret that Mancunians love their beer. Manchester is the former home of Boddingtons, and current home to some great breweries such as Robinson’s, Marble and Hydes.

Craft beer and real ale is booming. More and more Manchester breweries are popping up to produce some seriously good drops, which means that the pubs, bars and even the restaurants enjoy a really very good choice these days. In fact, a lot of them are getting in on the act themselves, creating their own concoctions and peddling them to a public that has really taken these artisanal options to its heart. Here I have sorted out some best craft beer bars based on in Manchester and worship at the altar of ale. Happy drinking.

1. Port Street Beer House

Port Street Beer House is one of Manchester’s best-loved craft beer pubs. With one of the most extensive beer selections in the city, this North Manchester CAMRA Pub of the Year 2014 is the place to come for ale lovers. Local, national and international breweries are represented across 25 pumps – seven of those cask. There’s a selection of over 100 bottles, too. The staff are always happy to recommend a beer you’ve not tried before, and they are particularly complimentary about Drink My Peach by Mad Hatter Brewing Company.It’s the only barrel currently in existence from the Liverpool Mad Hatter brewery, so this hoppy, pale, peach-centric IPA is genuinely a one-of-kind tipple.

2. The Marble Arch

The Marble Arch is a traditional British pub that housed the Marble Brewery until 2011. It boasts an impressive selection of Manchester-brewed beers and seriously amazing food. There are always delicious seasonal beers on offer, but for a classic choice, try the Lagonda IPA, a very clean, hop-forward, floral Indian Pale Ale.

3. Brewdog

Craft beer bar boasting one of the widest selections of brews in the city, served by staff who know their stuff. Brewdog are one of the runaway success stories of the new wave of British brewing, now boasting scores of bars across the UK and beyond. The Manchester chapter has managed to inject some much-needed vigour into a stale Peter Street, with its industrial stylings (exposed girders, concrete floor), small outside seating area, a fine range of board games and a frankly excellent BBQ menu.

4. Cask

Despite the name, this bright bar deals more in bottled craft beers than hand-pumped ales. The jukebox is great, and so’s the food. How many city-centre bars do you know that’ll let you sit at a table and eat a mammoth portion of fried potatoes from the next-door chippy? Not many. What about while supping on a Schneider Weisse Tap 6? Yeah, we thought not. This gesture of civility has, no doubt, played a part in Cask’s enduring success. The day Fish Hut goes under will be a sad one for all involved. Among these already not insignificant advantages, Cask has the good fortune to be spitting distance from the Museum of Science and Industry and flush with business-heavy Castlefield.

5. Electrik

Just a stone’s throw from the famous ‘Four Banks’ of Chorlton, Electrik has the vibe of a place John Peel might have built just to listen to records in. It’s a 1970s tinged bar that serves up some stonking real ale (including their own award-winning collaborations with local brewer Happy Valley), and good wholesome food, with arguably the best Sunday Roast in Chorlton.