Birmingham claims to have more miles of canals than Venice, and Amsterdam is arguably the city most commonly associated with historic working waterways. Nevertheless, Manchester still ranks up there with the world’s foremost towns built on the back of these manmade rivers. Once used to transport textiles and other manufactured materials, today whenever you see a towpath it’s more likely to be accompanied by warehouses converted into loft-style apartments, fashionable restaurants and bars.
Nowhere does this ring truer than New Islington Marina, home to houseboats and a gluttony of fantastic eateries and drinkeries. Ask anyone in town and they’ll tell you Cask ranks up there with the very best this tranquil redeveloped dock has to offer. Ask the team at Cask, and they’ll tell you exactly what that means. “A beer lover’s haven by the canals of New Islington, featuring 27 keg lines, six cask lines, and an extensive range of bottled and canned beers, ales, wines, and spirits from around the world.” Talk about making sure your website gets straight to the point.
In terms of the drinks, you’ll find a great choice of locally produced lagers and ales, alongside select tipples from further afield. So Manchester Union sits next to Alhambra Especial, Pauline Hefe-Weisse and Anspach & Hobday London Black Nitro Porter. Ciders and spirits are also available, but you’ve probably picked up on the fact these play second fiddle to the hop-based pints. As you would hope, there are rotation and guest brews alongside the permanent fixtures, so even if you think you’ve tried them all that’s unlikely to be the case. Ever. A real institution in a part of the city centre that lends itself to sunny summer afternoons, the fact you’re in walking distance of the upmarket dining rooms of nearby Cutting Room Square, not to mention the Northern Quarter’s iconic street art and party scenes, means it would be rude not to.
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