N. Oxon branch webmaster visits the Isle of Man
(but might have timed it a little better)

"Where shall we go for your birthday this year?" asked my wife Helen.
Heading somewhere in early April has become a bit of a tradition, and it's something of a running joke that we've always found somewhere that sells Theakston's Old Peculier, which I've been declaring for the last 20+ years to be my favourite ale.
The preferred destination for many years was the lake district, although in 2012 and '13 we visited Masham in North Yorkshire, home to two breweries, Black Sheep and - surprise surprise - Theakston's.
This year though, I suggested at the last minute that we take a trip to the Isle of Man. Neither of us had ever been there, but we had heard there's plenty to see, as well as a surprising number of pubs enjoying a position in Camra's Good Beer Guide. Finding O.P. would have to be forsaken, but that wouldn't be the end of the world. We also hoped a trip to the IoM would allow us to catch up with our friends Bill and Celia who moved to the island a few years ago.

Helen agreed, and after some hasty online bookings we were soon on board the Manannan catamaran from Liverpool that took us across to Douglas, where we were met by Bill. "Good to see you" he said, "but I'm surprised you've chosen this week - not all the tourist attractions have kicked into gear yet, and of course you do realise that the beer festival is NEXT week?"

Bill is the organiser of the Isle of Man's Camra Beer and Cider Festival (ably assisted by a team of dedicated helpers, naturally), and with little over a week to go I doubt we could have arrived at a busier time. Organising a mainland festival is challenging enough, but having much of the beer arrive by boat adds to the logistical difficulties! We went for lunch nearby, and Bill suggested some places we might like to visit before he headed back to his office. We arranged to meet up again later in the week.

After checking in to our hotel we decided a pint would be in order. The first place we found was called the Rover's Return (no, it wasn't on Coronation Street). Local ales from Bushy's were on offer, I tried Manx bitter and Helen sampled Old Bushy Tail. Beer festival beer mats were dotted all round the pub, the festival organisers had been busy.
The Thirsty Pigeon was on the way back to the hotel, and we were still a little thirsty ourselves so we tried halves of Okell's bitter, another LocAle, as well as Brains Reverand James. In the evening we walked along the promenade, and visited the HQ bar, the Terminus Tavern and the Queens Hotel, where the Okell's MPA was particularly good.

1st pint on the island, in the Rover's Return

The next day day we bought tickets for the steam train which links Douglas with Port Erin in the SW corner of the island. We got off the train at Castletown for a tour round the castle, then continued our journey on the next train. In Port Erin we enjoyed a superb view across the harbour to Bradda Head and Milner's tower whilst sat in the conservatory of the Falcon's Nest hotel sipping a half of Okell's IPA. The view was so good we walked up to the tower to see what the view was like in the opposite direction! There was just time for a quick half of Bushy's in the Bay Hotel before we headed back to the station to catch the last steam train to Douglas.

Bushy's bottle car outside the Bay Hotel, Port Erin                             Milner's Tower, Bradda Head

We checked out of the hotel the next day and took the bus to Laxey, where we had a good look round the magnificent Lady Isabella water wheel before heading for the island's highest point, Snaefell.
During summer months Snaefell can be reached by electric trains, but these were due to start running a week after our visit, so we shouldered our rucksacks and began the plod uphill, following well defined paths up the valley and across the road at Bungalow station. It was easy to imagine this being a popular spot for watching the TT, although we saw no motorbikes passing while we were there.

Had we remembered to take a copy of Beer on Tap with us, the top of Snaefell might have been an amusing point to pose for a photo, but on this particular day it was not a place to linger. The wind was whipping across the summit viciously enough to make staying on your feet quite a challenge. We quite quickly made our descent northwards across the grassland and heather, before picking up the Millennium Way footpath heading to our next port of call, Ramsey.

It was tipping with rain when we reached Ramsey, and after the day's exertions we didn't spend too much time touring around the town, although we did call in at the Trafalagar which was very friendly and kept a good pint of Moorhouse's Black Cat.

Bill met us the following morning, he had taken some time out from his busy schedule and offered to drive us round some parts of the island we might not easily reach otherwise. We visited several of the island's pretty glens, Glen Maye being particularly picturesque; it reminded us of some of the Derbyshire dales, except that at the valley's end was a pebbled beach surrounded by rocky outcrops.
A visit to Port St Mary was required for finalising the beer festival programme with the printers, so while Bill attended to this, Helen and I made our way to the Albert for a pint (well it was my birthday after all). I was just deciding which of the Bushy's beers at the bar to try, when Helen appeared with a huge grin on her face. "There's another bar through that door, and guess what - they've got Old Peculier!"
It was fate, surely. We enjoyed the O.P. in front of a roaring fire, and the locals seemed to be enjoying it too!

Once Bill finished up in the printers, we set him a challenge. Having tried ales from the largest two of the island's breweries so far, we were interested to find beer from one of the other brewers (there are 5 breweries in all). We also wanted to find somewhere to buy some bottled beers to take home with us the next day. Bill made a swift phone call and said with a smile that we were in for a treat...

The next stop was an industrial estate on the outskirts of Douglas, home to the island's newest brewery, Hooded Ram, which started up only around 6 months ago. It's a 2.5 barrel brewery and we were met there by Rob the brewer. After a swift tour (pointing : HLT, mash tun, copper, fermenters, smell that...) he poured us a beer which had been brewed especially for the forthcoming beer festival. The recipe included as many fresh raspberries as he could get hold of from the local fruiterer, and the beer was distinctly pink! It's sure to be a popular choice as well as a talking point.
Next Rob showed off his bar, where we tried some the other beers, my favourite being a 6% IPA "Little King Louis", named after his son. Despite being quite new to brewing, Rob is clearly having fun getting to grips with the business, he spoke very knowledgably about the processes, isn't afraid to experiment (as some of the names of the ales attest to - "Accidental mild" for example) and holds brewery open nights, one of which was scheduled for the following day. If only we'd been staying a day extra!...
A good variety of his beers are also available in bottles, all filled and labelled by hand. We bought a dozen bottles to bring back with us and look forward to working our way through them.

Helen and Bill preview the raspberry festival special             Rob pulls pints of Little King Louis IPA

From the brewery we headed to Peel, the island's only city, despite being far smaller than Douglas. Bill and Celia live in Peel, so we met up with Celia and the four of us walked down to the harbour for an excellent meal at the Creek, before walking back up the hill to the White House.
We'd heard a lot about the White House (or "the Whitey" as the locals call it), which has featured in the GBG for many years, and we weren't disappointed. A good selection of ales were available, all in excellent condition, as well as over 100 whiskys, some of which I felt compelled to sample as the night went on. On rolling out of the door we were surprised it was so late - around 1am! Despite some simple instructions from Bill and Celia (go down the hill, when you reach the water, turn right) we still got slightly lost on the way to the B&B, and tried to be very quiet on the way in. Fortunately they'd left the front door open for us, bless 'em.


Peel Castle

A big thank you to everyone we met on the island for being so friendly and welcoming, especially Bill, Celia and Rob who all went out of their way to accommodate us at short notice. We shall return, and will be sure to mark the 2015 beer festival in the diary!

GJ