Boggart Brewery award

Me with the certificate

Last Saturday, the 24 March, Southport & West Lancs CAMRA ran a coach trip to the brewery that won the Beer of the Festival at the Southport beer festival last September: Rum Porter from Boggart Brewery of Newton Heath, North Manchester.

Boggart is situated in Wilson’s Park, an industrial estate on the site of the long-gone Wilson’s Brewery; the brewery is actually in some of the former Wilson’s buildings that have survived the bulldozer. Mark Dade was our host, and invited us to help ourselves to two small casks of beer: a golden ale and the multi- award winning Rum Porter. The latter is made as a classic porter in the usual way but with a full bottle of dark rum poured into each cask. He also offered us a chance to taste the rum porter without the rum. Both beers were excellent, and we were urged to drink up both casks, as anything left would be poured down the drain. We conscientiously prevented that tragedy occurring. Mark chatted about a number of subjects, such as the brewing process, the origin of the brewery’s name and the problems in getting empty casks back. Then Doug presented the certificate on behalf of the branch to our applause, after which Mark told us it was the 19th award the brewery had received in the last 18 months.

Afterwards our coach took us to Rochdale Road to visit two great Manchester pubs: the Angel and the Marble Arch, both of which had a good range of beers, and the Marble Arch with its own brewery. I found the beer good in both pubs. The weather being glorious, quite a few of us sat outside for the first time this year in the Angel’s beer garden, admiring the traffic and the block of flats opposite.

On our return to Southport, some of us went straight home while others carried on, in my case in the Guest House.  A very enjoyable and interesting day.