Of course, Manchester is home to a huge amount of forward-thinking breweries. There’s Cloudwater, arguably the city’s biggest success story of recent years, which has won praise the world over… There’s their neighbours, Track, with a rep for producing high-quality hoppy beers… Sureshot are making waves with their focus on fun branding and crowd-pleasing styles… Not to mention Pomona Island, Blackjack, Runaway, Marble, Shindigger, Wander Beyond, Alphabet, Manchester Union… the list goes on and on and is seemingly ever-growing. However, it turns out there is room for an outpost of Leeds’ North Brewing too.
One of the true pioneers of the modern beer movement, North started with North Bar in Leeds back in 1997. The small venue soon became one of the first ‘craft beer’ bars in the UK before such a term existed, stocking all sorts of Belgian and German favourites and helping launch breweries like Magic Rock back in their early days. In 2015, the team behind North began to brew their own beer and the rest is history. Chances are, there are a few North cans stocked at your local Tesco, while the company has opened a couple of Leeds bars, a huge new brewing space and taproom in their home city and venues further afield in Otley, Harrogate, and now Birmingham and Manchester. We decided to visit the latter, which opened in January this year, for some pre-gig beers and food ahead of seeing Mogwai at the Albert Hall.
The bar is situated in the flashy new Circle Square development of modern apartments and office space. A short walk from Oxford Road station on the site of the former BBC offices, it boasts amenities like a super-fancy fitness studio as well as a small selection of retailers and food and drink venues. On approach, we are taken aback by the sight of people sitting outside on a chilly February evening. Clearly, this new opening has proven popular with students and commuters alike who are looking for a post-work pint on the Oxford Road corridor. Luckily, on pulling open the door, we are greeted and shown to a free table at the far end of the space, which I’m not sure we would have spotted on our own. This cheery welcome sets the tone for what is to follow, as we’re then offered drinks at our table within minutes of being seated. I plump for a Mango and Lime Lassi Sour collaboration with Indian street food dons Bundobust, which is a refreshing balance of tart and sweet, while Kate has a pint of long-time favourite Piñata, a guava and mango-infused hazy pale ale.
From the moment we sit down, my eyes are darting towards the window to our immediate right and the delights being loaded onto the pass, so we very quickly move to look at the menu for in-house food traders Little Bao Boy. These bun-slingers operate across North’s bars in Leeds and Birmingham too and have built quite the rep – their beef brisket bao was reportedly Leeds’ most-ordered Deliveroo item during the pandemic. We order quickly and our haste is rewarded with the speedy delivery of four enticingly loaded bao buns and some tongue-tingling salt and pepper fries. The brisket proves to be the highlight of the bao fillings. It’s been slow cooked with garlic, soy, ginger, five-spice and orange juice, garnished with cucumber and with spring onions and laced with sweet chilli and sriracha mayo. The pulled pork option proves a close second, while the salt and pepper aubergine offers a fresh veggie option. Our only slight disappointment is with the fried oyster mushroom variant, which is a little overpowered by wasabi-lime mayo.
Appetites sated, we have time for one more drink before heading on to our gig. Knowing beer choices are likely to be limited and expensive at the venue, now is the time for something a little more adventurous. I order a half of the Globe Earth, a deliciously smooth, almost creamy, double IPA that’s possibly a little too drinkable for its strength. Kate has a third of the Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout from Field Recordings, North’s new experimental brewing arm, in collaboration with Dutch brewery Moersleutel. Aged in a variety of barrels before being blended back together with added coffee, this is a big, boozy complicated beer with all sorts of rich wintery flavours to pick out.
As we sip upon our drinks, there’s time to soak up the atmosphere. The space is everything you’ve come to expect from a modern bar and has echoes of North’s Leeds centre venue. There’s plywood galore, tasteful foliage, and lightbox signage highlighting their clean branding. It’s not the most distinctive space, but it is very welcoming and has a nice buzz in the early evening. With its friendly service, quality beer and food offering and location away from many of the city’s other big brewery taps, no doubt it will prove to be a destination we come back to time and again as a pre-gig/theatre/cinema option in this part of town.
The North Taproom at Circle Square is open 7 days a week, with food from Little Bao Boy available each day until 9:30pm.
SOUNDS TASTY 