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04-01-2023, 13:19
Visit Real Ale, Real Music (https://chrisdyson55.blogspot.com/2023/01/beers-from-big-tree.html)
A football trip on Boxing Day re-acquainted me with the beers of an interesting small brewery whose beers reflect the locality in which they are brewed....
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrV583jA5UhhjqDyOo0vZcfZjBRy4TdfVeO1E2xXnQT ul790EPyBex0oX4Z_wwyjtTio3zIFpo1QUtIUmEtjVHxzgMY9b CsyEzUfn5X0VEVC2bs8UXFVCP3k7axPhxdx7KLcjLdCDuu7fpB a-DXAlBauZBO8Qkj74i8_2jSNI8DJi-fDDbpqkM6O8/w640-h480/Dunham%20Massey%202.JPG (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrV583jA5UhhjqDyOo0vZcfZjBRy4TdfVeO1E2xXnQT ul790EPyBex0oX4Z_wwyjtTio3zIFpo1QUtIUmEtjVHxzgMY9b CsyEzUfn5X0VEVC2bs8UXFVCP3k7axPhxdx7KLcjLdCDuu7fpB a-DXAlBauZBO8Qkj74i8_2jSNI8DJi-fDDbpqkM6O8/s3072/Dunham%20Massey%202.JPG)
Last Monday, Boxing Day, Halifax Town were playing away from home against their National League rivals, Altrincham, providing an early opportunity to break out from the post-Christmas Day torpor. With the lack of public transport available and a general unwillingness to drive at this time of year, a friend had arranged a coach to take thirty-odd of us there and after passing through some grim, wet weather as we crossed over the Pennines, we duly arrived at our destination to welcome bright sunshine. I'd prepared a list of pubs and bars for us to visit before the game. We alighted from the coach, skirting down a walkway along the side of a large Tesco on our way to the former historic hamlet of Goose Green, now swallowed up within Altrincham, and on one side of a cobbled square was our first planned stopping point, Costello's, which many of us had visited on previous visits to the football here. Now this popular modern bar is effectively the tap for the local Dunham Massey brewery,
The brewery (pictured above) is based in an old barn in the village of the same name. It lies within a fascinating corner in the south-west corner of Greater Manchester as it gives away to the rolling countryside of Cheshire, a mile or two out of Altrincham. Much of the area is owned by the National Trust, and includes the Grade l listed Dunham Massey Hall, which was built originally by Sir George Booth in 1616, with further extensions and features added to both the hall and gardens over the subsequent centuries. Adjacent to the hall is the only medieval park in the area, which is the home to hundreds of deer. Despite the proximity of the sprawl of Greater Manchester, with the M60 and M56 passing close by, the area is predominantly rural in character and home to several pleasant villages, including Dunham Massey, with characteristic red painted doors and windows indicating they are part of the National Trust estate.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRm5NeajfXiWtTc0nvV5R0utZVtcPkcsFPvwEdkd84P VoeRSzjEN580WCMiNnYfstmb-9jDFK2ihiqO_PtLiofIgFvF4Uk4Xs061VggEqlM2Uu4vnAVNNN 9JfUK2UxpFWshii5LONZEAeH8dtQKZO1DqqO5hKIUBQgQS9jgJ uqK7d7TqIH9Wi8fCF/w640-h480/Dunham%20Massey%205.JPG (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRm5NeajfXiWtTc0nvV5R0utZVtcPkcsFPvwEdkd84P VoeRSzjEN580WCMiNnYfstmb-9jDFK2ihiqO_PtLiofIgFvF4Uk4Xs061VggEqlM2Uu4vnAVNNN 9JfUK2UxpFWshii5LONZEAeH8dtQKZO1DqqO5hKIUBQgQS9jgJ uqK7d7TqIH9Wi8fCF/s3072/Dunham%20Massey%205.JPG)
Dunham Massey Hall
The brewery was set up by John Costello, who had worked for many years at the former Tetley Walker brewery in Warrington. In searching for premises in the area, the National Trust suggested a disused barn behind Big Tree Farm (which lends its name to the brewery's standard bitter). It was somewhat dilapidated but, after much hard work, it was finally converted into a brewery, with the first brew being produced in October 2007. I paid a visit there a few years later and bought a few bottles from the shop which had been opened on the floor above the brewery, and being nosey as usual, I stuck my head around the door downstairs, and was granted a quick tour of the small brewery. Nowadays, the brewery produces a range of standard regular beers and seasonals in a number of different styles, with several of their names referring to local landmarks or features. A sister brewery, Lymm, was opened in 2013 in the old post office of the Cheshire village of the same name.
Costello's Bar in Altrincham opened in 2010 to provide an outlet for the beers, which are also available at their bar in Stockton Heath and their newest one in Warrington, as well as several other pubs and bars. One pub I used to like to visit which usually sells their beers, although it is more food-orientated, is the Swan with Two Nicks in the nearby village of Little Bollington. I remember the first time I visited when the satnav sent me down an increasingly narrow and less maintained country lane. As the road gradually petered out and alarm bells started ringing, the pub appeared in the distance. However, the satnav had failed to allow for the fact that I was in a car, and a seemingly direct route was blocked by the River Bollin! A hasty reverse and a detour was required, but fortunately the beer was worth the wait!
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJgZqawgwt_Wf7_X5bP-CMqw0MPL6yWB2IVDXH9sjMgdcOt6m6GtlPfuQn5oqLan1QbZfg tQ0cXC9tXUxpVP6Ij9VySpLuxlpUngBsOqGBRPsMl6b10AZrer jsUMy9by7Ao-_v6-LNLF5RJVsDAokVt1EukHU6d8lOnaUzsFS1S93SZ_fnKBRJtzn/w640-h360/DSC_5296.JPG (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJgZqawgwt_Wf7_X5bP-CMqw0MPL6yWB2IVDXH9sjMgdcOt6m6GtlPfuQn5oqLan1QbZfg tQ0cXC9tXUxpVP6Ij9VySpLuxlpUngBsOqGBRPsMl6b10AZrer jsUMy9by7Ao-_v6-LNLF5RJVsDAokVt1EukHU6d8lOnaUzsFS1S93SZ_fnKBRJtzn/s4032/DSC_5296.JPG)
Back to our visit, and several Dunham Massey beers were available on hand pumps. The place has been refurbished and extended recently, and arriving there around 12.30 it was empty save for an old guy and the girl who was working behind the bar. The dozen or so of us that had made it here from the coach ordered our drinks and then split into two groups, one decamped at either end of the bar. I'd ordered a pint of the Big Tree Bitter, a nicely-balanced 3.9% Session Bitter (NBSS 3.5). We were expecting a few more friends who were coming by car to join us, but when we got a message they were running late, we decided we would have another pint here.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9cAN0Xw0aWZgzOcOEvJ2Cxzkgtxp_jpHb6I6Sj5H8vr R3YL6NqesWYUwLIvoksdu2dVhHaldzwm31-9b_ZIP_aBlWQuZoU8x3sMTbD3dv2OhLWIjsVKM90Yd_9BAjfeJ vcDlwNQzkJRbgpCMd8asMPC3sdGg9k-bhSKokIxb8P-n3X2iIW0T6i-rN/w640-h360/DSC_5298.JPG (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9cAN0Xw0aWZgzOcOEvJ2Cxzkgtxp_jpHb6I6Sj5H8vr R3YL6NqesWYUwLIvoksdu2dVhHaldzwm31-9b_ZIP_aBlWQuZoU8x3sMTbD3dv2OhLWIjsVKM90Yd_9BAjfeJ vcDlwNQzkJRbgpCMd8asMPC3sdGg9k-bhSKokIxb8P-n3X2iIW0T6i-rN/s4032/DSC_5298.JPG)
This time I went for a pint of Bridgewater Blonde, a 4% pale ale, described on the pump clip as being light and refreshing, named after the Bridgewater Canal which runs near by, and brewed by Lymm Brewery. I thought the beer was pleasant enough, but a little lacking in character (NBSS 3). We were enjoying the craic as more people, several who were football fans, came in, transforming the bar from being somewhat clinical and formal in its quiet state to somewhere warm and inviting, and it was easy to see why the bar expansion made sense.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYud9y4SD3kOiLQ7TA8Rlqz8j6hYhe0PfEOoH8P3lOYQ Zxa34CpUL0TT41d2grY7II1LKg_mhr1s1Oa7LHDZTJ3oqNyiH-WoyF-lMeboVj965-kkiIu82ExvK-IPuyhOBwAbdRyzu8HvWUJ4j6jCBB19YtD9EFfyW3aiIVLi-Gg0vEiCGcUT2eLX4K/w640-h360/DSC_5295.JPG (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYud9y4SD3kOiLQ7TA8Rlqz8j6hYhe0PfEOoH8P3lOYQ Zxa34CpUL0TT41d2grY7II1LKg_mhr1s1Oa7LHDZTJ3oqNyiH-WoyF-lMeboVj965-kkiIu82ExvK-IPuyhOBwAbdRyzu8HvWUJ4j6jCBB19YtD9EFfyW3aiIVLi-Gg0vEiCGcUT2eLX4K/s4032/DSC_5295.JPG)
We then got a further message from the motorists saying they were further delayed, so with kick-off getting ever closer we decided to stay put. I decided I would try a different beer again this time, so a pint of Deer Beer it was. The beer is named after the deer who roam the extensive park around the Dunham Massey Hall. This was a most enjoyable brown beer with lots of flavour (NBSS 3.5) with which to accompany the increasingly football-based conversation as kick-off time got closer.
We had time for one more drink, and this time I opted for the Dunham Porter, a 5.2% dark beer which was Champion Winter Beer of Britain in 2014. It was delicious, creamy, and flavoursome, and was the best beer of the day (NBSS 4). Our Ukrainian friend made an unscheduled trip to the bar, and returned with a glass of vodka each, and as is the tradition, we downed it in one before we filed out and made our slightly hazy way to the Moss Rose for the football. It had been a most enjoyable return to Costello's which had kept us there and meant we had missed out on some of the other bars in Altrincham like Jack in the Box, Pi, and Rustic. But it wasn't a problem, and they will just have to wait till the next visit. It also meant we had been able to have a deeper dive into the range of Dunham Massey beers.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpZOmO-lTt1cgLF2P0UIMSlaAO4vYKpXPZfGsgrb1ZuD0wghu-JXzyWWiRvPQJBlZbRp3N5H6VuMrDEpqzwe2HRPyNxUo10dPAxV DEH3pbBIRyCNP17prwI7CA5Vd4z3JELGxu240Kgh7C_UcN44s_ cRQ3gB8cDpgXdMPfQH4swr9x6oejYa9AIWd/w640-h362/DSC_5301.JPG (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpZOmO-lTt1cgLF2P0UIMSlaAO4vYKpXPZfGsgrb1ZuD0wghu-JXzyWWiRvPQJBlZbRp3N5H6VuMrDEpqzwe2HRPyNxUo10dPAxV DEH3pbBIRyCNP17prwI7CA5Vd4z3JELGxu240Kgh7C_UcN44s_ cRQ3gB8cDpgXdMPfQH4swr9x6oejYa9AIWd/s3513/DSC_5301.JPG)
Sadly, that was as good as the afternoon got for us. After going off at half-time with a comfortable 1-0 lead, Town let it slip in a second half display of increasing ineptitude, and the home team ran out convincing 2-1 winners. But we'd still managed to have a pleasant afternoon in Altrincham despite the football....
Follow me on twitter: @realalemusic (https://twitter.com/realalemusic)
More... (https://chrisdyson55.blogspot.com/2023/01/beers-from-big-tree.html)
A football trip on Boxing Day re-acquainted me with the beers of an interesting small brewery whose beers reflect the locality in which they are brewed....
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrV583jA5UhhjqDyOo0vZcfZjBRy4TdfVeO1E2xXnQT ul790EPyBex0oX4Z_wwyjtTio3zIFpo1QUtIUmEtjVHxzgMY9b CsyEzUfn5X0VEVC2bs8UXFVCP3k7axPhxdx7KLcjLdCDuu7fpB a-DXAlBauZBO8Qkj74i8_2jSNI8DJi-fDDbpqkM6O8/w640-h480/Dunham%20Massey%202.JPG (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrV583jA5UhhjqDyOo0vZcfZjBRy4TdfVeO1E2xXnQT ul790EPyBex0oX4Z_wwyjtTio3zIFpo1QUtIUmEtjVHxzgMY9b CsyEzUfn5X0VEVC2bs8UXFVCP3k7axPhxdx7KLcjLdCDuu7fpB a-DXAlBauZBO8Qkj74i8_2jSNI8DJi-fDDbpqkM6O8/s3072/Dunham%20Massey%202.JPG)
Last Monday, Boxing Day, Halifax Town were playing away from home against their National League rivals, Altrincham, providing an early opportunity to break out from the post-Christmas Day torpor. With the lack of public transport available and a general unwillingness to drive at this time of year, a friend had arranged a coach to take thirty-odd of us there and after passing through some grim, wet weather as we crossed over the Pennines, we duly arrived at our destination to welcome bright sunshine. I'd prepared a list of pubs and bars for us to visit before the game. We alighted from the coach, skirting down a walkway along the side of a large Tesco on our way to the former historic hamlet of Goose Green, now swallowed up within Altrincham, and on one side of a cobbled square was our first planned stopping point, Costello's, which many of us had visited on previous visits to the football here. Now this popular modern bar is effectively the tap for the local Dunham Massey brewery,
The brewery (pictured above) is based in an old barn in the village of the same name. It lies within a fascinating corner in the south-west corner of Greater Manchester as it gives away to the rolling countryside of Cheshire, a mile or two out of Altrincham. Much of the area is owned by the National Trust, and includes the Grade l listed Dunham Massey Hall, which was built originally by Sir George Booth in 1616, with further extensions and features added to both the hall and gardens over the subsequent centuries. Adjacent to the hall is the only medieval park in the area, which is the home to hundreds of deer. Despite the proximity of the sprawl of Greater Manchester, with the M60 and M56 passing close by, the area is predominantly rural in character and home to several pleasant villages, including Dunham Massey, with characteristic red painted doors and windows indicating they are part of the National Trust estate.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRm5NeajfXiWtTc0nvV5R0utZVtcPkcsFPvwEdkd84P VoeRSzjEN580WCMiNnYfstmb-9jDFK2ihiqO_PtLiofIgFvF4Uk4Xs061VggEqlM2Uu4vnAVNNN 9JfUK2UxpFWshii5LONZEAeH8dtQKZO1DqqO5hKIUBQgQS9jgJ uqK7d7TqIH9Wi8fCF/w640-h480/Dunham%20Massey%205.JPG (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIRm5NeajfXiWtTc0nvV5R0utZVtcPkcsFPvwEdkd84P VoeRSzjEN580WCMiNnYfstmb-9jDFK2ihiqO_PtLiofIgFvF4Uk4Xs061VggEqlM2Uu4vnAVNNN 9JfUK2UxpFWshii5LONZEAeH8dtQKZO1DqqO5hKIUBQgQS9jgJ uqK7d7TqIH9Wi8fCF/s3072/Dunham%20Massey%205.JPG)
Dunham Massey Hall
The brewery was set up by John Costello, who had worked for many years at the former Tetley Walker brewery in Warrington. In searching for premises in the area, the National Trust suggested a disused barn behind Big Tree Farm (which lends its name to the brewery's standard bitter). It was somewhat dilapidated but, after much hard work, it was finally converted into a brewery, with the first brew being produced in October 2007. I paid a visit there a few years later and bought a few bottles from the shop which had been opened on the floor above the brewery, and being nosey as usual, I stuck my head around the door downstairs, and was granted a quick tour of the small brewery. Nowadays, the brewery produces a range of standard regular beers and seasonals in a number of different styles, with several of their names referring to local landmarks or features. A sister brewery, Lymm, was opened in 2013 in the old post office of the Cheshire village of the same name.
Costello's Bar in Altrincham opened in 2010 to provide an outlet for the beers, which are also available at their bar in Stockton Heath and their newest one in Warrington, as well as several other pubs and bars. One pub I used to like to visit which usually sells their beers, although it is more food-orientated, is the Swan with Two Nicks in the nearby village of Little Bollington. I remember the first time I visited when the satnav sent me down an increasingly narrow and less maintained country lane. As the road gradually petered out and alarm bells started ringing, the pub appeared in the distance. However, the satnav had failed to allow for the fact that I was in a car, and a seemingly direct route was blocked by the River Bollin! A hasty reverse and a detour was required, but fortunately the beer was worth the wait!
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJgZqawgwt_Wf7_X5bP-CMqw0MPL6yWB2IVDXH9sjMgdcOt6m6GtlPfuQn5oqLan1QbZfg tQ0cXC9tXUxpVP6Ij9VySpLuxlpUngBsOqGBRPsMl6b10AZrer jsUMy9by7Ao-_v6-LNLF5RJVsDAokVt1EukHU6d8lOnaUzsFS1S93SZ_fnKBRJtzn/w640-h360/DSC_5296.JPG (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJgZqawgwt_Wf7_X5bP-CMqw0MPL6yWB2IVDXH9sjMgdcOt6m6GtlPfuQn5oqLan1QbZfg tQ0cXC9tXUxpVP6Ij9VySpLuxlpUngBsOqGBRPsMl6b10AZrer jsUMy9by7Ao-_v6-LNLF5RJVsDAokVt1EukHU6d8lOnaUzsFS1S93SZ_fnKBRJtzn/s4032/DSC_5296.JPG)
Back to our visit, and several Dunham Massey beers were available on hand pumps. The place has been refurbished and extended recently, and arriving there around 12.30 it was empty save for an old guy and the girl who was working behind the bar. The dozen or so of us that had made it here from the coach ordered our drinks and then split into two groups, one decamped at either end of the bar. I'd ordered a pint of the Big Tree Bitter, a nicely-balanced 3.9% Session Bitter (NBSS 3.5). We were expecting a few more friends who were coming by car to join us, but when we got a message they were running late, we decided we would have another pint here.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9cAN0Xw0aWZgzOcOEvJ2Cxzkgtxp_jpHb6I6Sj5H8vr R3YL6NqesWYUwLIvoksdu2dVhHaldzwm31-9b_ZIP_aBlWQuZoU8x3sMTbD3dv2OhLWIjsVKM90Yd_9BAjfeJ vcDlwNQzkJRbgpCMd8asMPC3sdGg9k-bhSKokIxb8P-n3X2iIW0T6i-rN/w640-h360/DSC_5298.JPG (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9cAN0Xw0aWZgzOcOEvJ2Cxzkgtxp_jpHb6I6Sj5H8vr R3YL6NqesWYUwLIvoksdu2dVhHaldzwm31-9b_ZIP_aBlWQuZoU8x3sMTbD3dv2OhLWIjsVKM90Yd_9BAjfeJ vcDlwNQzkJRbgpCMd8asMPC3sdGg9k-bhSKokIxb8P-n3X2iIW0T6i-rN/s4032/DSC_5298.JPG)
This time I went for a pint of Bridgewater Blonde, a 4% pale ale, described on the pump clip as being light and refreshing, named after the Bridgewater Canal which runs near by, and brewed by Lymm Brewery. I thought the beer was pleasant enough, but a little lacking in character (NBSS 3). We were enjoying the craic as more people, several who were football fans, came in, transforming the bar from being somewhat clinical and formal in its quiet state to somewhere warm and inviting, and it was easy to see why the bar expansion made sense.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYud9y4SD3kOiLQ7TA8Rlqz8j6hYhe0PfEOoH8P3lOYQ Zxa34CpUL0TT41d2grY7II1LKg_mhr1s1Oa7LHDZTJ3oqNyiH-WoyF-lMeboVj965-kkiIu82ExvK-IPuyhOBwAbdRyzu8HvWUJ4j6jCBB19YtD9EFfyW3aiIVLi-Gg0vEiCGcUT2eLX4K/w640-h360/DSC_5295.JPG (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYud9y4SD3kOiLQ7TA8Rlqz8j6hYhe0PfEOoH8P3lOYQ Zxa34CpUL0TT41d2grY7II1LKg_mhr1s1Oa7LHDZTJ3oqNyiH-WoyF-lMeboVj965-kkiIu82ExvK-IPuyhOBwAbdRyzu8HvWUJ4j6jCBB19YtD9EFfyW3aiIVLi-Gg0vEiCGcUT2eLX4K/s4032/DSC_5295.JPG)
We then got a further message from the motorists saying they were further delayed, so with kick-off getting ever closer we decided to stay put. I decided I would try a different beer again this time, so a pint of Deer Beer it was. The beer is named after the deer who roam the extensive park around the Dunham Massey Hall. This was a most enjoyable brown beer with lots of flavour (NBSS 3.5) with which to accompany the increasingly football-based conversation as kick-off time got closer.
We had time for one more drink, and this time I opted for the Dunham Porter, a 5.2% dark beer which was Champion Winter Beer of Britain in 2014. It was delicious, creamy, and flavoursome, and was the best beer of the day (NBSS 4). Our Ukrainian friend made an unscheduled trip to the bar, and returned with a glass of vodka each, and as is the tradition, we downed it in one before we filed out and made our slightly hazy way to the Moss Rose for the football. It had been a most enjoyable return to Costello's which had kept us there and meant we had missed out on some of the other bars in Altrincham like Jack in the Box, Pi, and Rustic. But it wasn't a problem, and they will just have to wait till the next visit. It also meant we had been able to have a deeper dive into the range of Dunham Massey beers.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpZOmO-lTt1cgLF2P0UIMSlaAO4vYKpXPZfGsgrb1ZuD0wghu-JXzyWWiRvPQJBlZbRp3N5H6VuMrDEpqzwe2HRPyNxUo10dPAxV DEH3pbBIRyCNP17prwI7CA5Vd4z3JELGxu240Kgh7C_UcN44s_ cRQ3gB8cDpgXdMPfQH4swr9x6oejYa9AIWd/w640-h362/DSC_5301.JPG (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpZOmO-lTt1cgLF2P0UIMSlaAO4vYKpXPZfGsgrb1ZuD0wghu-JXzyWWiRvPQJBlZbRp3N5H6VuMrDEpqzwe2HRPyNxUo10dPAxV DEH3pbBIRyCNP17prwI7CA5Vd4z3JELGxu240Kgh7C_UcN44s_ cRQ3gB8cDpgXdMPfQH4swr9x6oejYa9AIWd/s3513/DSC_5301.JPG)
Sadly, that was as good as the afternoon got for us. After going off at half-time with a comfortable 1-0 lead, Town let it slip in a second half display of increasing ineptitude, and the home team ran out convincing 2-1 winners. But we'd still managed to have a pleasant afternoon in Altrincham despite the football....
Follow me on twitter: @realalemusic (https://twitter.com/realalemusic)
More... (https://chrisdyson55.blogspot.com/2023/01/beers-from-big-tree.html)