The Britons Protection, Manchester 20th October 2007

Unprepossessing although not unpleasant on the outside, this pub is just stunning on the inside. This picture shows the front bar; the corridors have lovely tiling (if that’s your thing) but I’m not good enough at photography to show you those. This stunning interior is worth a visit even if you’re not into beer.

Coach House Farriers Best Bitter (3.9%): Very bitter yet creamy beer with a dense foamy head.
Howard Town Wren’s Nest (4.2%): A huge amount of elderflower and grapefruit in this immensely fruity flowery hoppy golden beer.

And if the décor and the good beer’s not enough, I counted 207 different types of whiskey behind the bar, although the bar man said they have 232. Maybe I lost count.

Although I spent 12 hours travelling for 5 hours in Manchester, I can’t help feeling that it was all worthwhile.