THE project has been eighteen months fermenting slowly but the eagerly awaited Seven Bro7hers Beerhouse in Ancoats is just days away from finally opening. “December 15th is the plan,” says Kit, one of the seven McAvoy siblings who gave up careers in teaching, project development and design engineering to brew an array of high profile ales that are finally getting an equally high profile outlet in the city.

There is no cooler spot at the moment for indie food and drink entrepreneurs than Cutting Room Square

The free trade is a crowded market. The region has been swamped with a raft of new craft brewers in the three years since Seven Bro7hers set up on a Trafford Park industrial estate. What sets theirs apart is the attention to detail about every aspect of the operation from the font used in their typography to the perfecting of their core beer range. Events planner Lucy (one of four sisters in the prolific Clan McAvoy) is on board to create the brand look of the Beerhouse – created on the back of a crowdfunding push.

.Seven Bro7thers Beerhouse will open in the Ice Plant (right) on Ancoats' Cutting Room Square

Location is important, too. There is no cooler spot at the moment for indie food and drink entrepreneurs than Cutting Room Square. The new 200-capacity bar is on the ground floor and basement of the Ice Plant apartment block, across from Rudy’s Pizza, which is still packing them in. Next door is Goose Fat and Wild Garlic, set to launch eventually as a restaurant/microbrewery (it too has had a leisurely gestation) with other exciting newcomers hot on their heels.

But for the moment all eyes are on Seven Bro7hers and the promise of what will be dispensed from their fourteen keg taps and two handpumps, alongside guest indie craft beers but foremost their own seven-strong range.

What to expect?

Below my tasting notes after a recent trip to the brewery (all tasted from bottle except IPA from can). My favourite SB brew, the delightfully floral English Pale Ale, was unavailable.

Session Craft (3.8%): Thirst quenching and easy drinking with abundant citrus aromas and tropical fruit flavours with a surprisingly bitter, piney aftertaste. 

Water Melon Wheat (3.8%): Summery quaffing stuff that’s still tasting well mid-winter and yes, you do get a hit of watermelon on the palate after the obvious wheat beer aromas and, less obvious, pineapple notes. It tastes less sweet than expected.

IPA (4.8%): Aromas of grapefruit and green apple and sharp citrussy, tropical  flavours. Oh, yes, and a refreshing grapefruit tang down the lacy glass.

Dark Stout Porter (5.2 per cent):  A silky, smoky heavyweight that delivers oodles of roasted coffee, chocolate, perhaps prunes and liquorice, with an undertow of fruity hops, finishing quite bitter.

The food offering is still in the development stage. Expect club sandwiches and Italian-influenced sharing boards with a more extensive menu scheduled when the basement kitchen is up and running.

We’ve seen the designs for the place and it all looks a stylish cut above other beer halls springing up across the city.

Seven Bro7hers Beerhouse, Ice Plant Building, 39 Blossom St, Ancoats Manchester M4. The regular Friday night Brewery Tap events at Trafford have now finished. sevenbro7hers.com

 

 

 

 

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