IPAs might boast some of the fullest flavours and finest aromas – but traditionally these drinks always come with extra carbs and calories we simply don’t want.
A Manchester brand is on a mission to change that.
DrinkWell has unveiled a batch of brand new low calorie IPAs – promising “everything you want in a classic IPA without the calorific drawbacks”.
For IPA lovers, these bottles could potentially prove to be an absolute game-changer.
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In the past, we might have had to cut out beer altogether to stay in decent physical shape. But now – for the first time – beer-lovers can pop the cap, sip a top-tasting IPA, and not worry about the calorie content.
It’s true that good beer is as intrinsic to British culture as cups of tea, a Full English fry-up, or Harry Potter – and the reopening date for pubs was the first thing many of us looked for when Boris unfurled his roadmap to exiting lockdown in February.
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But despite our reputation as ‘boozy Brits’, there’s evidence that suggests we’re beginning to take stock of what goes into our diet – and how we can improve it.
According to research published by market research group Mintel in November 2018, 78% of consumers aged 18 – 35 years old are conscious of the calories in drink and are always on the lookout for lighter alternatives.
These health-conscious habits are becoming increasingly popular among younger demographics, along with a desire to consume meat-free alternatives (UK veganism hit an all-time high in 2020).
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But despite this shift in modern tastes, local entrepreneur Tom Bell realised the thirst for great beer has remained intact.
As a result, his company DrinkWell is incorporating young people’s modern preferences into brewing recipes – whipping up vegan, gluten-free, low calorie IPAs that still pack a punch.
The new DrinkWell IPA range is 4.1% ABV with 99 calories per bottle (over 30% lower than other IPAs) and 3g carbs, also vegan-friendly and gluten-free.
Founder Tom stated: “Maintaining the alcohol and the classic IPA flavour profile was imperative to being successful in a rapidly changing market which is ever adapting to modern ‘healthier’ consumers.”
More info on new DrinkWell IPA range and low calorie alcohol collection is available online. Head over to DrinkWell to learn more.
Enter code ‘THEMANC10’ for 10% off all products.
Food & Drink
Ancoats neighbourhood bar shames customers who ran off on unpaid rosé bill
Daisy Jackson
A waterside cocktail bar in Ancoats has slammed a group of customers who left the venue without paying their bill this weekend.
Finders Keepers on New Islington Marina has publicly shamed the trio, sharing CCTV images of them making off from the venue.
The local business has labelled the customers ‘Manchester’s newest girl group, Rosé & The Runners’.
They added that the group had enjoyed a few bottles of rosé wine but left before paying their £160 bill.
Finders Keepers also said that the incident occurred on a ‘record-breaking’ day last Saturday, when the city bathed in beautiful spring sunshine.
Since releasing the CCTV images this afternoon, the bar has been flooded with messages of support – including one very notable one from Sacha Lord.
Sacha has offered to pay off the girls’ tab so that the bar isn’t left out of pocket, AND has suggested providing a £500 reward to anyone who can name and shame them.
He commented: “Everyone knows how tough it is in Hospitality right now…how can anyone want to do this to a small independent business. I’ll settle that bill mate…plus give a £500 reward to name and shame them.”
Finders Keepers bar on New Islington MarinaFinders Keepers shared this CCTV of the customers who left the bar without paying
Another person commented: “foul behaviour! Sorry this happened to you guys.”
Someone else wrote: “Love a good photo shame when folk rip off a business… Hope they pay!!”
Posting earlier today, Finders Keepers said: “We’d like to thank Manchesters newest girl group, Rosé & The Runners. Who enjoyed a few bottles of Rosé wine with us on this record breaking Saturday, without paying.
“If you’d like to come back & pay your £160 bill then we’re back open on Wednesday, alternatively get in touch and we can send you a payment link.
“Next time you fancy a free bar tab perhaps join us for our quiz this Sunday from 7pm. £100 tab to be won!
Brilliant Salford Greek restaurant receives glowing national review
Daisy Jackson
A fabulous Greek restaurant in Salford has received a glowing review from a top food critic, who described its food as providing ‘its own gorgeous kind of sunshine’.
Acclaimed restaurant critic Jay Rayner has heaped praise on Kallos in his Financial Times review.
The modest restaurant has been open for just over a year, but has already earned itself a place in the prestigious Michelin guide – and now a rave national review too.
Operated by couple Ioanna and Ivan, Kallos brings a taste of Santorini to their stripped-back, concrete-filled, light-flooded new space in Salford.
And while Jay Rayner admits in his review that Kallos’s interior hasn’t done much to lift this corner of Salford’s ‘badly organised grid of fast-rising apartment blocks’, the food itself ‘provides its own gorgeous kind of sunshine’.
Rayner heaped praise on Kallos’s phenomenal flatbreads, noting how it’s impossible to exercise restraint ‘in the face of bread this good’.
He also raved about their topped flatbreads (like one with ‘knots of sweet roasted lamb shoulder cooked until it has collapsed’), red prawns the length of a hand, and soft dolmades stuffed with rice and minced meat.
Topped flatbread with lambTinned fishPrawn SaganakiThree of the dishes Jay Rayner loved at Kallos. Credit: The Manc Group
Kallos is part-owned by sommelier Ivan, who is striving to have the largest collection of Greek wines in the UK at the restaurant.
Jay Rayner noted both the selection and the affordability of this carefully-curated wine list, saying that it’s nice to find that ‘outside London, drinking well need not require the sale of a spare kidney or child’.
And then he came to the section of the menu that’s dedicated to premium tinned fish.
“It feels like the UK has woken up only relatively recently to the possibilities of impressively fine foods from a can,” he wrote.
Kallos in Cortland at Colliers Yard, SalfordKallos in Salford has been added to the Michelin Guide
“It is genuinely exciting to see Kallos devote a whole section of the menu to these treasures, even if it is basically the same victory of shopping that results in a good cheese board.
“But it takes both serious knowledge and a brave evangelical enthusiasm to offer a list like this.”
Rayner’s review went on to praise the tinned mackerel, served with a ‘balloon of hot bread’, pickled chillies, and an ‘aioli made with so much garlic, consenting adults should make sure to eat it together’.
Signing off his review, Jay Rayner wrote: “As the plate lands on the table, the sun finally comes out over both Salford and Kallos. Finally, the grey is banished. At last, all the beauty is here.”
The Manc -
11th March 2021 
