Sir Ralph Abercromby Inn, Manchester

Three cask ales available at the time of my visit on a Saturday evening in May. Nothing particularly exciting on the ale front, although JW Lees Spring Dew stood out as something I have not had before. Unfortunately this was rather sour/tart, and although admittedly I am not a massive fan of JW Lees beers, I am going to go out on a limb and suggest it was not intended to taste like this. When I last visited this pub it was post lockdown in 2020, pubs had just reopened, and I gave them the benefit of the doubt under difficult trading circumstances when the beer I had at the time had a sour taste. Now three years on, same problem, so it's either very bad luck on my part or they are just not looking after their cask ales properly. On the positive, it is worth a mention for its good sized beer garden, and that's the only justification for the rather generous 6/10.

Pleasant surprise to find this - as I thought it had been bulldozered by GNev. Hidden away in a back street off Deansgate, its a bit of a find. Not too many City Centre pubs with such a good beer garden. Inside, a typically historic pub interior - spacious around a central bar. I can't remember what ales were on - going for a Paulaner in the sunshine outside. Will definitely earmark for summer time re-visits. Or if there is a game on TV I want to watch.

I popped into the Sir Ralph Abercromby for a quick half on a recent Thursday afternoon. It was pretty quiet so my visit must have been around 16:00, just before the afterwork crowd appeared. The L-shaped bar is found to the right of the entrance, I counted three hand pumps, but I didn’t venture to the front bar area to the right where another three hand pumps must be located. Moorhouses Straw Dog and two from JW Lees, MPA and Boiler House Craft Pale were available alongside a premium and craft keg selection. I went for half a Beavertown Neck Oil which set me back £3. In the left hand side of the pub are two seating areas faced by the bar and around to the the right rear of the bar is a banquette seating area with a dartboard. This is the only area without a television. Sky Sports is available here for football and horse racing. Sky Sports News was airing during my visit whilst some upbeat songs played from the jukebox. I found the service to be very friendly and I would have no problem returning for another half.

Famous old boozer, narrowly avoided the bulldozer of a multi millionaire footballer a few years ago. Quite comfortable and traditional layout, including a stunning mural of the Peterloo massacre, but crap dance music and screens showing Sky Sports News everywhere detract from the atmosphere a bit. A pint of MPA was a painful £4.70, a bit much for a working class northern boozer I thought. There are better in Manchester central but it’s nice enough, it was the first place today that allowed me to pay with cash too.

This was perhaps the strictest place I visited yesterday in terms of COVID measures. There is a one way system signed, contact details are enforced (for each person, not just one member of the party) and your temperature is checked before you are allowed to the bar to order. Thankfully this was just a zap on the forehead and not via a rectal thermometer. We sat outside in the large outdoor area which had plenty of seating. At the bar, the only real ales on this visit were Moorhouse's White Witch, Tim Taylor Landlord, and Doom Bar. I found the White Witch to be a bit on the sour side, so I'm guessing may not have been in the best of nick on this occasion.