MONUMENTAL, that’s Marble, the godfather of Manchester craft brewing. We take for granted the choice of indie beers across our bars, but go back 20 years and the local choice was confined to the family brewers, whose tied houses ruled the land – Holt’s, Hyde’s, Robinson’s and Lees with the legendary Boddington’s, in corporate hands, fading into blandness.
And then came Marble Brewery, in the cellar of the Marble Arch pub on Rochdale Road, its kit installed by the legendary Brendan Dobbin, one of the first brewers to use American and New Zealand hops in the UK at his West Coast Brewery in a less than gentrified Moss Side.
Those pioneering days and the amazing transformation since are being celebrated this weekend (Dec 1-3) with a giant party, centred on the Marble Arch (the brewery expanded into a separate unit down the road) and packed full of music, food, special events and the ales that have made it famous.
Sixty per cent of production is still in cask form in contrast to most of the craft breweries that have sprung up in various arches over the past five years.
Owner Jan Rogers is adamant about sticking to their guns: “We don’t make cask, we don’t make craft, we just make great beer. British beer, not promoting USA styles. We did it for the fun of it, but it has lasted.”
Yet it almost didn’t happen, admits Jan. “In the Nineties we were struggling to help the Marble Arch pub beat the recession. To heighten our profile one of the suggestions from my colleagues Mark Dade and Vance Debechvel was to turn us into a karaoke bar, which made me panic and push for the other option of opening a brewery in the pub. We’ve never looked back.”
The cask production is profitable because the brewery keeps tight control over the expensive cask collection it owns and over quality control at free trade outlets. The beers remain organic and vegan.
“You can’t sit still in a scene where other breweries give us a run for our money and beer retail is so sophisticated with bars like Beermoth and The Brink,” says Jan. “And there are beers of the superb quality of Track Sonoma (a ToM fave).”
Marble also profits from having three outlets of its own; beside The Marble Arch there’s also 57 Thomas Street in the Northern Quarter and the Marble Beer House in Chorlton.
Here you can sample the range of iconic ales synonymous with Marble, most created by James Campbell, head brewer from 2000 to 2013 – Manchester Bitter, Lagonda, Dobber, Pint, Ginger, Earl Grey IPA and more. All organic and vegan still.
Like James, the brewing team back in those days have moved on. There’s a Marble dynasty in the brewing world – Colin Stronge at Northern Monk, Dominic Driscoll at Thornbridge, Rob Hamilton at Blackjack, to name three.
And current Marble incumbent James Kemp gets the Campbell seal of approval: “JK is a great brewer, particularly with saison styles, and Marble are still up their with the best.”
As for Marble, where next? Kemp is researching vanished British ale styles, collaborating with other like-minded breweries to revive them.