One of Manchester’s best-known breweries has announced its shock closure.
Alphabet Brewing Co. broke the news on social media on Friday after almost a decade of trade in the city.
The independent brewery was first founded in 2014, and was famed for its craft beers (and their pun-loaded names) like Juice Springsteen, A to the K, and Charlie Don’t Surf.
It also had one of the city’s best taprooms, ABC Taproom, on North Western Street, part of a stretch affectionately known as the Piccadilly Beer Mile.
Back in the days where street food was still a relatively alien concept, Alphabet and Grub teamed up to create one of Manchester’s most exciting operations.
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But they’ve now devastated long-time fans and customers with the news that the brewery and taproom are to be no more.
Alphabet posted: “Today we have to announce the end of Alphabet Brewing Co.
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“We’d like to thank everyone who drank a Juice Springsteen, popped down to the Taproom and supported us over the years. It’s been a wild ride.
“We love you all for making our dreams of having a lovely, independent brewery in Manchester come true. Cheers, Team ABC.”
It’s the latest in a string of devastating closures across Greater Manchester’s hospitality industry, which has included several other local breweries.
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Beatnikz Republic announced its closure last year (its Northern Quarter beer bar has since been taken over by Squawk), as did Beer Nouveau.
The latter has even kept a tally of all the breweries closing, totting up 28 this year so far alone.
Hundreds have sent messages of support and sadness to Alphabet since they broke the news, sharing fond memories of how they paved the way for the city’s craft Brewers.
Grub commented: “We have been so sorry to hear this today. Thank you for the memories.”
One person wrote: “Ah FFS this one hits hard. One of the best craft breweries in Manchester, I really loved them. Flat White still undefeated in stout game and thier the taproom was great too. Gutted.”
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Another said: “Terrible news. A big loss to not only Manchester, but the whole UK beer scene. Fingers crossed that the beers live on in some capacity, and the brewing team continue brewing too.”
Someone else tweeted: “A sickener seeing this place go to the wall. I’ve cried in here, got pissed up, listened to an excellent music playlist in here and drank some excellent beer. Sad times.”
Featured image: Alphabet Brewing Co
Eats
‘New wave’ pizzeria where every pizza is served with scissors is heading to Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Always a hot topic of conversation around a pizza is how to eat the damn thing – knife and fork, slice and hold, fold it up?
And now a new pizza concept is heading to Manchester, where authentic Neapolitan pizzas are always served with a pair of scissors for cutting up your dinner.
We here at The Manc are firm believers that scissors are a far superior tool for getting your pizza into slices, so news that Forbici (which literally translates as ‘Scissors’ from Italian) is opening in the city centre is music to our ears.
Forbici is taking over a corner unit on Cross Street, not far from the former site of much-loved family-focused Italian Croma.
Claiming to be arriving in town with ‘the world’s most powerful pizza dough’, the restaurant hails a ‘new wave’ of pizzeria.
Its roots will be firmly in Naples, with puffy biga dough handmade fresh daily and proofed for 12 hours. It’ll be made so fresh every day that pizzas will only be available while the dough lasts.
Forbici will serve its pizza the Neapolitan way too – quartered (it’s ‘four ways always’, with scissors, which protects that signature airy crust.
The pizzas are going to be topped with tomatoes from Solania, the only producer of true San Manzarno DOP tomatoes, and Fior di Latte Mozzerella from Vico Equese, a small coastal town where tradition runs deep.
They’ve even imported a pizza oven direct from Sorrento.
And drinks will come from Italian craft beer brand Amarcord, one of the nation’s first independent breweries.
Forbici says it will blend ‘born in Naples’ flavours with ‘rising in Manchester’ influences.
Andrew Garton, CEO of Forbici, said: “Forbici isn’t just another pizza restaurant—it’s a new way of experiencing pizza.
“We are pioneering a new wave of pizza in the UK, with the simple belief that pizza should be better.
“We have brought together the finest master bakers who have spent decades honing their craft in Naples to create the perfect formula for fermenting the world’s most powerful pizza dough.
“Born from centuries of Neapolitan expertise and heritage, Forbici will be rising in Manchester this year.”
Forbici will open its first Manchester pizza restaurant on Cross Street this spring – you can follow them on Instagram HERE for the latest.
Giuseppe’s – the tiny Italian bistro that proves Stalybridge is fast becoming a dining destination
Daisy Jackson
Giuseppe’s in Stalybridge is a restaurant that’s putting in an enormous amount of effort to please just a very small group of people – this teeny tiny bistro has just 18 seats.
With such a small capacity no one would blame them for sitting back and scaling back to a concise little menu of pizza – but Giuseppe’s really said ‘no grazie’ to such an idea and committed itself to a full bistro menu.
It’s yet another exciting addition to the rapidly-booming restaurant scene here in Tameside, where neighbours include Cafe Continental, Gladstone Barber & Bistro, and SK15 Bar & Bistro.
Giuseppe’s arrival on the Stalybridge high street has created a cosy corner for locals, one which could quickly follow in the footsteps of Ornella’s to become a fully-booked-for-months-in-advance destination.
Inside its welcoming navy blue walls you’re welcomed by a room filled with trailing plants, ceramic lemons and a huge doodle map of Sicily.
The menu also hails from Sicily, specialising in wood-fired pizzas but also dipping a toe into pasta and small plates too.
Pizza at Giuseppe’s Italian bistro in StalybridgeA spread of dishes at Pizza at Giuseppe’s Italian bistro in Stalybridge
Giuseppe’s pizza dough is meticulously made fresh with Italian 00 flour, left to ferment for at least 48 hours, before being stretched and topped and cooked in the wood-fired pizza oven until it’s all puffed-up and charred around the edges.
At lunch times, those delicious pizza doughs are folded in half to make Italian panozzi sandwiches, the charred dough encasing fillings like Sicilian fennel sausage and friarelli, and mortadella with stracciatella.
These are strong contenders for the best pizzas this side of Greater Manchester, with a soft and chewy crust that stands up against much bigger names in the pizza game.
Rum baba at Giuseppe’sThe team at Giuseppe’s in Stalybridge
Giuseppe’s pasta bowls include a hearty paccheri with Sicilian sausage AND guanciale, all salty and rich and creamy.
And once you’ve eaten your fill in this tiny little spot, where the windows go all steamed up in winter and you’re nudging up against neighbours chatting over pizzas, you can polish off with Italian desserts too.
There’s a very respectable slab of tiramisu on offer, plus a rum baba soaked in syrup and packed with fresh cream.
Giuseppe’s in Stalybridge may be small in capacity but it’s huge on spirit.