The call of duty

Any student of British beer history can tell you loads about the direct effect of taxation on the contents of people's pint glasses. All of us on these islands still live in the shadow of the Great Gravity Drop of 1917, after all. Most recently I've been interested by Ron's theory that war hasn't had the same lasting effect on our beery continental brethren because they've tended to enshrine beer styles and strengths in law, and still do in the likes of Germany and the Czech Republic.

It's not always about war, however. Brewers seldom see anything wrong with a bit of profiteering in peacetime too, should the opportunity arise, and so it is with the new 2.8% ABV tax band that offers a halving of excise duty for beers brewed below it. The late Minister Lenihan introduced this in 2008 "to encourage the safer use of alcohol and to make a contribution over time to reducing death and injury on our roads". Since then, not a single new sub-2.8% ABV beer has been brought to market by any of our brewers, meaning the only real effect of the law has been to boost the profits made by British multinational Diageo on their pre-existing golf club editions of Carlsberg and Guinness.

It's a different story in the UK, however, where the same rate has applied only since late last year yet breweries -- reputable and otherwise -- have been falling over themselves to create product that fits. I offer no comment on the reputation of Manchester's JW Lees brewery, but their Brewer's Dark is one from their back catalogue that has been adapted to dodge the exciseman, knocked down to 2.8 from the former lofty heights of 3.5% ABV, whence I tasted it a couple of years ago. I don't know how much of the difference is down to the carbonation method, but I'm getting none of the rich chocolate creaminess of the cask version from this new bottle. There's still a lovely roast bite, however, making it a deliciously refreshing dark quaffing beer. Light, without being watery, thin or dull. Yes, we could do with something in this style over here.

We're not stuck for 4.x% stouts, however, though I was still interested to see Fuller's of London launched a new one last year. This was followed by disappointment when I couldn't get any on a trip to their home turf in April. But, resilient as ever, I tracked down a bottle in Dublin and here it is. 4.5% ABV, so a teeny bit stronger than the draught version they had out as a seasonal last November.

They've gone all-out for density here: almost totally opaque black with a thick dollop of off-white head and a smooth weightiness. The flavour is unusual, showing a little of the unctuous caramel I associate more with stouts in the 6%+ bracket, a distinct dark chocolate dryness and then a bitter hop tang on the end which calls Porterhouse Wrassler's XXXX to mind. Comparisons with London Porter are inevitable and I don't think Black Cab is as well-rounded. Still, there's definitely something different here for the seen-it-all stout drinker, I reckon.

That'll be £18 please, mate.

Manchester Evening Brews

I met up with Tandleman last Thursday in the Lass o' Gowrie, and the evening started with pints of Allgate's Groundhop Day, a very pale yellow ale with a tasty hoppy bite on a light malt base. It's light and moreish and just perfect for kicking off a sunny afternoon session. We moved on, through the Victorian charm of Peveril of the Peak (Everard's Tiger on its second chance: still not convinced) and across the street to the JW Lees flagship pub, Ra!n Bar -- sited in a beautifully-converted umbrella factory. Here I started with Brewer's Dark, a well-mannered pint with mild roasted notes and a touch of creamy milk chocolate. Plain, simple and delicious. I wasn't so keen on Lees's new Coronation Street amber ale, finding it quite dull.

Onwards then to the long narrow front room of The Briton's Protection. Here my curiosity was piqued by Wem Lime Zinger: a beer which does exactly what it says on the pumpclip. The nose is full of sweet lime cordial and the taste is intensely limey, like chewing lime skin, with the malt adding a kind of lime candy sweetness at the base. Is that enough lime for you? One for beer purists to hate, but I loved it.

Next up was The Old Monkey, a Holt's house where I started with their creamy-yet-dry Mild while pondering the taps as we stood at the bar. I was amazed at the range of own-brand keg beers Holt's brew. A half of Holt's Black satisfied my curiosity: it's another dry roasty one and very similar to the cask mild -- make of that what you will, casketeers. The last half in The Old Monkey was Holt's Bitter: a dull beer with a bit of a musty wet dog finish to it.

We nipped in to the teeny-tiny Circus next, where Tetley's Bitter was on. As the man himself says, it was being served far too warm, but I liked the beer underneath. There's lots of rich roasted malt in here making for a round, grainy, chewy sort of pint.

This is where I lose track of the pub names. But it was a nice little boozer (edit: The Grey Horse -- cheers T.) where I found Hyde's Sacre Bleu: a light and peppery blonde which was perhaps just a little short on body but still highly enjoyable. I'm pretty sure we were in a Wetherspoons when I had Grainstore's Ten Fifty, a tasty number with pleasant candy and bubblegum notes.

Finally, we came to The City Arms. Here I found a curious throwback in the form of Ind Coope's Burton Ale, a complex bitter with a sweet floral nose and elements of honey and rosewater in the flavour, but also a sulphurous Burton kick as well. One to sit and contemplate after Tandleman headed off for his bus leaving me to wander hotelwards.

It was a fun evening and I definitely felt I'd got the full benefit of Manchester's top pubs, something I regretted missing on my last visit to the city. Thanks for being my tour guide, Tandleman.