Iron Maiden’s frontman gave fans quite a surprise this weekend after he finished a sell-out gig in Manchester, only to turn up at a Stockport brewery and start pouring pints from behind the bar.
Following the band’s sold-out show at Manchester’s AO Arena, heavy metal star Bruce Dickinson made the journey over to Stockport brewery Robinson’s to celebrate his other passion: beer.
Turning up on Saturday afternoon, he surprised 100 hardcore Iron Maiden fans with a hand-pulled pint of Trooper – his band’s internationally renowned beer, named after the Iron Maiden hit of the same name.
Images show Dickinson getting stuck in as he poured off pints of the amber-coloured cask ale to a cheering crowd, many of whom had flown in from around the world to be there.
Image: John McMurtrie
Image: John McMurtrie
Fans were overwhelmed with the opportunity to enjoy a pint pulled by their idol, and one couple from Italy even got engaged at the event.
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On receiving their pint, one fan said rapturously: “I don’t want to drink this ever, it’s too special.”
Whilst a group of Trooper fans who had travelled to Manchester from Mexico said it was “of the best days of their lives.”
Marco, who’d travelled to the event from Naples with his girlfriend, went all out thought and cemented the momentous occasion with a marriage proposal.
When chatting to afterwards, he said “I will remember this day for the rest of my life”.
Image: John McMurtrie
The surprise party took place to celebrate 10 years of the iconic collaboration, marking the sale of over 33 million pints of Trooper in over fifty countries around the globe.
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Speaking after the event, Bruce said: “It’s always great to be in Manchester and what a fantastic reception our fans gave us here!
“It was extra special to be at the brewery to enjoy a pint or two of Trooper with our competition winners. Cheers everyone!”
The event took place during Iron Maiden’s The Future Past Tour which is underway until October and involves almost 40 performances throughout Europe and North America
Featured image – John McMurtrie
Eats
A pub in Stockport has launched a full Scotch egg menu
Daisy Jackson
It’s one of the world’s greatest snacks, especially when paired with a decent pint – and now a local pub is doing a whole Scotch egg menu.
The Davenport Arms over in Stockport is running a ‘Scotch Egg Week’, with a whole host of different Scotch eggs.
There’s even a dessert one, made with a Creme Egg instead of a real one.
The historic pub, which is known locally as The Thief’s Neck (and displays both names on its signs), is filled with cosy corners and snug rooms.
It’s an independently-run pub that operates under the Robinson’s Brewery family, with beers brewed just down the road in Stockport.
And now the local boozer is doing a full menu of homemade Scotch eggs, for one week only, each served with the perfect condiment.
There’ll be ‘The Classic’, where pork meat is wrapped around a perfect jammy-yolked egg, served with house piccalilli.
The Manchester EggA classic Scotch eggThe Davenport Arms, known locally as The Thief’s NeckInside the pub
Or you can get the much-loved Manchester egg, which features black pudding and a pickled Scotch egg, served with mustard mayo on the side.
Fish fans can grab a smoked haddock Scotch egg served with a curried mayo.
And for vegetarians, there’s one made with cheese and onion instead of meat, served with a house tomato relish.
There’s even a sweet one – a Creme Egg encased in brownie mix, and then wrapped in a Biscoff crumb, served with ice cream.
And if you really can’t decide, The Davenport Arms will do you a full platter of all of the above, for £29.95.
The Scotch Egg menu is available from Monday 30 March until Saturday 4 April and you can see more HERE.
One of Manchester’s grandest restaurants has finally reopened TWO YEARS after fire
Daisy Jackson
One of the most historic restaurants in Manchester has reopened at last, two years after a fire forced its closure.
Mount Street Dining Room & Bar – which many of us may remember as Mr Cooper’s – stands within the Grade II-listed Midland Hotel.
The grand dining room dates all the way back to 1903, when it opened with the hotel as the Grill Room.
The restaurant was at the epicentre of the Industrial Revolution and was frequented by railway travellers, perhaps best-known for hosting a lunch between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce in 1904, who went on to form the world-famous Rolls-Royce brand.
The Midland’s restaurants has gone through several changes in the decades since, undergoing a major £14 million refurb in 2020 to relaunch as Mount Street Dining Room & Bar.
Its interiors are inspired by the hotel’s early 1900s art deco and railway heritage, with a menu that focuses on locally-sourced British produce.
But the restaurant has been shut since early 2024, when a fire damaged the entrance and trellising around its main entrance on Mount Street.
The beautiful bar areaA glimpse of the menu at Mount StreetCocktails and British food
The Midland has finally managed to get the restaurant back open again this month, with a new food and cocktail menus, which aims to offer refined but simple British dining.
Expect dishes like pork and black pudding bonbons, white onion soup with crispy potatoes, smoked British salmon with lemon gel and dill mascarpone, and slow cooked beef daube with confit garlic mash.
Plus desserts such as rice pudding with Anise glazed pearsand Bakewell pudding with cherry syrup.
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen inside this beautiful, storied dining room – and it looks just as beautiful as we remember.
Georgina Pellant -
3rd July 2023 
