MARK DADE is a man for firsts and thirsts. Back in the Eighties he was the first brewer at groundbreaking Marble before setting up Boggart Brewery in North Manchester around the start of the 21st Century and nine years later he took over and modestly extended a three-year-old bar that could lay claim to be the the UK’s first micro bar proper.
Dubbed micro pubs, they are all the rage these days after a cluster of back to basics alternatives to traditional hostelries sprang up in Kent. They’ve even got their own association http://micropubassociation.co.uk promoting the premise that small is beautiful.
None of the legion of devotees of our original Micro Bar inside the Arndale Food Market would argue with that. Throughout the day you’ll find them dropping by for a quick pint and a natter or washing down a snack or something more substantial from the globetrotting food stalls all around.
Four handpumps dispense cask ales, inevitably with one from Boggart (named after a malicious imp in Lanky folklore) plus a traditional cider. Cider sales, especially from the 20-strong bottle list, are substantial, landlord Mark (no longer with Boggart) tells me.
And then in the wall behind the modestly proportioned bar are a further four taps, currently dispensing San Miguel, Phoenix Lager Bier, Belgian cherry sour ale Timmermans Kriek and, a personal favourite, Jever, perhaps the bitterest of German pilseners.
Add in shelves of constantly changing bottled beers from around the world, with a big US presence, and, coming this week, a selection of ultra-trendy cans from the likes of Beavertown and Camden plus an iconic spirits selection and you can see why the place is such a magnet.
Why trek across High Street to pay Northern Quarter ‘craft beer’ and spirits prices when you can drink expertly maintained ales here for £3 a pint and Grey Goose Vodka and historic Pusser’s Rum for £2.90 a 25cl shot?
Then there’s the added advantage of all that food on offer. You can sit in one of the great windows next to the bar and watch the trams sweep by as you scoff your lunch, but Mark and his wife are more than happy for you to bring your tray to the bar. Provided you order a drink, of course!
Some advice on which beer to pair with your chosen dish? Taste of Manchester offers five Market food and beer matches made in heaven:
1 WINGS DAI PAI DONG: Sliced beef with green pepper in black bean sauce with noodles
A dai pai dong is an open-air food stall in Hong Kong. They are a dwindling bunch but this friendly, casual offshoot of the legendary Wings restaurant so beloved of footballers is a true homage. We suggest with this Cantonese classic dish (£7.20), which showcases the earthy flavour of fermented black soy beans, you try a leftfield beer match of the Timmermans Kriek. For more than 300 years this brewery just outside Brussels has crafted uncompromisingly sour lambic beers through the use of ‘spontaneous fermentation rather than yeast. Kriek means cherry and the presence of that fruit mitigates and gently complements that acidity. This £4.50 pint beauty works surprisingly well here.
2 VIET SHACK: Saigon summer salad
20 months ago Nelson Lam and his team scooped the Cheap Eats of the Year prize in the Manchester Food and Drink Awards with their health-conscious contemporary take on Vietnamese family cooking. The queues that still form every day shows they are not resting on their laurels. TOM loves Viet salads and few are more satisfying than the Shack’s Saigon Salad. Grilled chicken on fresh mixed leaf salad with pickled veg, chilli n lime dressing and sriracha chilli sauce. Amazing value at £3.50 in the picture it is accompanied by summer rolls and a dipping sauce. Pair it with a pint of bracing Jevener (£3.50). It is lagered for an impressive 90 days in a small Friesland brewery. Because the Friesland water is very soft, Jever can add more hops when brewing to create that impressive bitterness.
3 ZORBA’S: Keftedes cooked in tomato sauce
We like their homous and tzatziki dips for £1.50 a go, perfect to accompany a pitta filled with felafel or haloumi (£3) for a healthy Greek veggie lunch, but we can’t resist the meatballs in a rich tomato sauce with onion salad on the side. You can have chips, noodles or rice with them but we prefer couscous… and to accompany I’d be happy to go with the Micro Bar’s draught cider. Old Rosie is on as I write. It is Weston’s flagship traditional, unfiltered, cloudy cider, matured in oak vats and with a powerful 7.3 per cent ABV. It reeks of Hereford hedgerows and vintage cider barrels and its powerful fruitiness tackles the tomato acidity well.
4 PANCHO’S BURRITOS: Chilli con carne spinach burrito
OK, we ordered it with all conceivable toppings, wolfed it down and then felt a touch bloated, but then that’s burritos for you. Pancho’s serves up food that demands a beer. Not the thin Mexican stuff. Go for a heady IPA from across the border. Raging Bitch from Maryland’s Flying Dog Brewery has provoked the politically correct, but its America meets Belgium combo of sweet malt body contrasted with pine and grapefruit hop flavors is one helluva 8.3 per cent package for £3.98 a 355ml bottle.
All the better to handle all that meat chilli, sour cream,refried beans, lettuce, chipotle salsa, guacamole, jalapenos wrapped in a spinach burrito (extra large £5.80). You can’t miss the comprehensive selection of Flying Dog bottle on Mark’s shelves – the Ralph Steadman labels scream out at you.
5 QUEEN BRIE: Toasties on sourdough
Silly name but a terrific cheese selection, both British and continental, at the stall most convenient for the Micro Bar and TOM believes that beer is a better match than wine for cheese. Discuss! Queen Brie sell Barbakan’s excellent bread so you could buy a (sliced) loaf and spread soft cheese on it. Lazy us might settle for one of their toasties on sourdough bread, which start at £2.50 but you can pile on extra toppings at 50p a shot – onion, tomato, jalapenos, Cheddar, chorizo, olives, roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes. Caramba! It’s Pancho’s all over again.
You could even pop across to Nut Zouk and factor in a helping of their speciality almonds or, appropriately a micro-size hand-raised pie from Hansford’s. Accompany this Arndale mix ‘n’ match feast with Boggart’s gold-winning Micro Bar regular, Rum Porter. It’s dark brown, hardly boasting a head and tastes of rum poured over cereal. It’s surprisingly just 4.6 per cent and for £3 a pint it is a bargain like so many treats in the Micro Bar and in the Market as a whole/
Micro Bar, Unit FC16, Arndale Market, M4 3AH. 11am-7pm Mon-Sat; 12-5 Sun. Hours are limited by market opening hours. @microbarmanches updates you on new beer arrivals.
