Indian street food favourite Bundobust has been secretly brewing its own beer in Manchester for eight months – and now the creation is about to be revealed to the public.
The restaurant has always had a strong reputation for sourcing excellent craft beer, but this new batch has been made to certain specifications.
Head brewer Dan Hocking has been quietly working away at the new brewery on Oxford Road for the best part of a year, using the lockdown-forced reopening delays to play around with new specialty ingredients.
The new Chaitro beer – a smooth and creamy Porter with roast malts, chai masala and fresh ginger / Image: Bundobust
To kick things off, he’s created three new bespoke house beers – a coriander lager, a masala chai porter and a tropical pale ale – that will be available exclusively at Bundobust restaurants.
Now they’re about ready for drinking, meaning they will all be available to try in Manchester at Bundobust’s Piccadilly restaurant from tomorrow, Thursday 24 June.
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The new beers will also be available at Bundobust restaurants in Leeds and Liverpool.
New drinks set to be revealed include their 5 percent Chaitro beer – a smooth and creamy Porter with roast malts, chai masala and fresh ginger.
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Then, there’s the Peela – an easy-drinking 4 per cent hazy pale ale with tropical fruit flavours.
And last but not least, there’s an adventurous coriander lager the Dhania Pilsner is available at 4.8 per cent.
The popular Indian restaurant’s new brewery is housed in a site on Manchester’s Oxford Road, with construction first starting in 2019.
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The home of Bundobust’s secret brewery, due to open to the public later this summer / Image: Bundobust
Initial plans for the venue included a second restaurant and brewhouse, with a small private room in the brewhouse for paired dinners and events but these were postponed by the pandemic.
This delay, however, has given the head brewer time to experiment with more adventurous ingredients.
“It’s been really great to have that time, with no deadlines or pressure, to just focus on the beer and how we can make it exactly how we want it,” said Dan.
“Not a lot of breweries can say they had eight months of practice on the kit before they sold a single beer, so in that respect, I feel really lucky to have had this time to play around.”
All new beers have been created to complement different dishes at Bundbost / Image: Bundobust
Previously at experimental Dutch brewery Uiltje, Dan knows a thing or two about working with weird and wonderful ingredients.
This will come in handy at Bundobust, where the plan seems to be to mix up traditional beer styles with more unusual flavours that will complement their food.
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Housed in a unique 100-year-old space within the iconic Grade II listed St James building, the brewery is a custom-built 10-hectolitre facility capable of producing 20,000 pints a month.
Bundobust plans to open its Oxford road brewtap and restaurant in late summer 2021.
Feature image – Bundobust.
Eats
Beloved Stockport bar Bask is rebranding as Greater Manchester’s latest Irish bar
Danny Jones
Yes, one of the names synonymous with Stockport’s resurgent hospitality scene, Bask, is set to rebrand into yet another Irish bar following a flurry of openings across Greater Manchester.
The lively bar, breakfast and pub grub spot, also known for live music nights, matchday pints for Stockport County and various other events, has had a bit of a turbulent period over the past few months or so, but remains a much-loved local venue.
Bask were forced to issue a statement following an arrest back in February, and one of the founding members behind the venture also stepped away in August 2024.
Looking to close that door firmly behind them, the team – now headed up by native DJ and producer Jon Fitz – are set to launch the all-new Fitzpatricks “very soon.”
Fitz (a Stopfordian by birth) announced the latest iteration of the unit located just next to Stockport train station on social media late last month, writing: “It’s been a long time coming, and we’ve poured our hearts into this one — we’re aiming to open very very soon…”
Detailing a distinct Irish-American theme, influenced by the “friendly bars of Boston to the lively streets of New York City, Fizpatricks brings that gritty charm and warm hospitality across the pond, fusing Irish roots with American spirit.
Fans of Bask’s roots in entertainment will also be glad to hear that lineups of live music will remain “every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — with the best of Irish, American and Country music.”
With co-creator Benji Taylor, who ultimately stepped away last year, having brought his music industry background to the business model, live entertainment has also been a big selling point of the bar.
Bask Makes Way for a New Look
After 3 unforgettable years of cocktails, creativity, and community, it’s time for a bold new chapter. Bask, the bar that brought Stockport a unique blend of nightlife and culture, is evolving.
In terms of food, Fitzpatricks will be delivering everything from classic American comfort food to “healthy gym options” as part of their new bar and grill approach, along with a proper Sunday roast menu.
Perhaps most notably, much like Taylor’s influence over the course of his tenure, the new-look venue is set to further immerse itself in the local sports experience, promising plenty of cold pints for the punters heading to the match at Edgeley Park, as well as a brand new ‘360 multi-screen experience’ and more.
Fitzpatricks even looks set to embark on an official partnership with Stockport County ahead of the 2025/26 League One season – a big coup, indeed.
Bask may be over, but there’ll always be the memories. In fact, we wagered it was the best night in Stockport, so here’s hoping Fitzpatricks can follow in its footsteps.
There’s a new summer terrace in town with a weekend spritz happy hour
Daisy Jackson
There’s a new summer terrace in Greater Manchester that’s the ideal spot to soak in some rays – and enjoy a few discounted spritzes while you’re there.
Over on Chapel Street – just across the river from Manchester Cathedral – you’ll find Embankment Kitchen, which has opened up its terrace for the season.
This stylish spot is part of the CitySuites aparthotel, and has a menu rooted in the warm spirit of Northern hospitality.
It’s worth a visit all year round for their seasonally-focused, local-as-possible menus, but the summer terrace at Embankment Kitchen is a real added bonus in spring and summer.
And following that spell of absolutely glorious weather, they’re opening up two hours earlier every day too for maximum sun-soaking from 2pm.
At Embankment Kitchen you can tuck into a drinks and nibbles menu from 2pm until 5pm, and Happy Hour drinks deals from 4pm until 7pm.
That means two-for-one cocktails, plus discounted wines, prosecco and beers – an ideal post-work haunt.
Cocktails at Embankment Kitchen in Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupSmall plates on the Embankment Kitchen terrace. Credit: The Manc Group
It’s usually almost impossible to find a happy hour in Manchester at weekends, but these guys are doing two-for-£12 spritzes every Saturday and Sunday between 12pm and 4pm, with flavours including Aperol, Hugo, and limoncello.
Drinks on the menu include signature cocktails that are inspired by the city’s industrial roots, like The Emmeline, Manchester Exchange (a take on an old fashioned), and the Atomic Zombie, as well as classic cocktails such as an espresso martini, limoncello negroni, amaretto sour, and strawberry daiquiri.
As for nibbles, tuck into treats like garlic bread, edamame beans with smoked salt, garlic and parmesan fries, salt and pepper tater tots, and halloumi fries.
Surrounded by lush plants and gigantic parasols, it’s hard to believe you’re just across the river in Salford when you’re soaking up the sun at Embankment Kitchen. To find out more, head HERE.
Georgina Pellant -
23rd June 2021 
