Greene King is about to stage their biggest giveaway yet across the next week, with the pub group and brewery set to hand out 100,000 free pints across the nation, but only on one condition involving Manchester and the weather.
We know how that sentence doesn’t usually fill people with confidence but, honestly, we’ve never felt more confident in our lives.
The weather might be looking up now spring has sprung but it’s still Manchester we’re talking about and we could help Brits get their hands on a total of 100k free pints if it rains in the city centre next Monday, 25 March and they’ll be having Peter Crouch and giant pint glass along to help adjudicate.
Rain and Manchester go hand in hand — the pints are on us, don’t you worry.
Keep an eye on the skies from Monday and once the first drop of rain hits our rain drop detector in Manchester we’ll be giving away 100,000 free pints #ItRainsWePour ☔️🍻 https://t.co/ws7FG2rBUm
Yes, in their latest marketing stunt, Greene King will be placing a massive glass in the city centre and if, by some stroke of other-worldly misfortune, no rain is left in it by the end of the day then people all over the country can enjoy a complimentary bev from one of their 2,700 locations across the UK.
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If this is this ends up being the one day we don’t get rain after being bullied by it most of the year, we’re going to be absolutely fuming.
Setting the big pint pot up in Great Northern Warehouse on the corner of Deansgate and Peter Street (picture as big as Crouchy himself), the chain of boozers are sticking to one rule: ‘When it rains, we pour’.
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The glass itself will serve as the official ‘Rain Drop Detector’ and since March 2023 was the rainiest in 40 years, as well as Manchester being considered Britain’s wettest city according to a survey of the general public — with one in five understandably dubbing us ‘Rainchester’ — this should be a walk in the park.
You can see the full terms and conditions of the giveaway HERE but the rules are pretty simple: once the trigger point on Rain Drop Detector lights up and a sufficient amount of rainfall is deemed to have landed on Manchester, Greene King will give away free pints for the following 24 hours.
These pints can obviously only be claimed within the pubs’ usual trading times and customers must say the magic phrase, ‘It rains, we pour’, to get their hands on one, but other than that it’s pretty simple. There’s even going to be a livestream and regular updates on socials for everyone to tune into.
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Once the drinking window is open, it isn’t just in Manchester that the river of free drinks will flow: people all over the nation will be able to walk into a GK pub and enjoy any one of the following pints at no charge — or a soft drink alternative, of course:
Hazy Day Hazy IPA
Level Head Session IPA
Flint Eye Hopped Lager
Icebreaker Pale Ale
Abbot Ale
Greene King IPA
Ruddles Best
Old Speckled Hen & Old Golden Hen
Don’t worry, Brits — rain is just what we do. We won’t let you down (crosses everything).
Featured Images — Greene King/Great Northern/The Manc Eats
Food & Drink
Bar Posie – The beautiful new cocktail bar with an oyster happy hour from the team behind 10 Tib Lane
Daisy Jackson
The team behind Manchester’s 10 Tib Lane restaurant are ready to open a brand-new city centre cocktail bar, with an oyster happy hour.
They have announced that Bar Posie will be opening next week in the old Philpotts sandwich shop, right off Market Street.
The brand-new bar for the city centre will be serving cocktails, small plates and bar snacks, at the foot of Bruntwood SciTech’s Bloc building (also home to the Reset by Form pilates studio).
Bar Posie will be doing an aperitvo and oyster happy hour every Tuesday to Sunday between 12pm and 4pm, with £8 aperitivo and oysters for a quid.
It’s all coming from the 10 Tib Lane team, which opened in the old Bock Biere site back in 2021, transforming the space into a cosy multi-storey restaurant with seasonal sharing dishes.
This week, Bar Posie has shared a sneak peek of its menu, which will feature quality plates like confit chicken and wild mushroom croquettes, pork belly skewers, and a bitter leaf salad with buttermilk dressing.
As for drinks, expect cocktails like a cacao nib negroni, a classic vodka martini, and ‘La Isla’, a blend of Aperol, almond, Takamaka koko, mango and melon soda and acid.
That’s alongside conventional and natural wines, craft beer, and plenty of coffee.
Cocktails at Bar PosieHighlights of the snack menuA selection of snacks and cocktails at Bar PosieBar Posie is just off Market StreetInside Bar PosieInside Bar PosieCredit: The Manc Group
The space itself will be split into a mix of cosy booth seating, bar seats, and al fresco dining across two levels, with the cocktail bar at the very heart of everything.
Sophie Robson from Posie said: “We’re thrilled to finally be opening the doors to Posie. We’ve put all our passion and expertise into curating a menu that feels fresh and exciting, and into creating a space where people feel comfortable, looked after and relaxed.
“We can’t wait to welcome guests and show them the best of Posie.”
Matt Pazos, Retail Commercial Manager for Bruntwood SciTech, commented: “We’re delighted to welcome Posie to the Bloc community.
“The team’s unique style is clear to see in the space, transforming it into a beautiful and inviting bar with an innovative menu offering that is testament to their expertise.
“Posie will make a fantastic addition to Manchester’s food and drink scene and we can’t wait to see how the brand grows in the coming months.”
Bar Posie will open in Bruntwood SciTech’s Bloc building on Tuesday 4 November.
Greggs confirms Festive Bakes return date as it unveils 2025 Christmas menu
Emily Sergeant
Greggs has unveiled its Christmas menu for 2025, and that means the Festive Bake is back again in all its glory.
The UK’s most-popular high street bakery chain has officially revealed its festive food and drink offering for the 2025 season, and there’s a few brand-new goodies joining the lineup this year, along with the return of some undeniable fan favourites.
And of course, nothing spells Christmas at Greggs quite like the Festive Bake, right?
The chain’s classic crumb-coated pastry filled with chicken, sage and onion stuffing, and sweetcure bacon in a creamy sage and cranberry sauce goes down an absolute treat each year, and is a serious fan-favourite, so it’s no surprise it’s made a comeback for 2025.
Thankfully for plant-based foodies, the Vegan Festive Bake has also made a comeback, but this year under a slightly different name – the Vegan Lattice (Festive Edition).
Greggs has unveiled its Christmas menu for 2025 / Credit: Greggs
Despite the new name, the flavours have stayed the same, as the Vegan Festive Lattice is puff pastry filled with savoury-flavour Quorn mycoprotein pieces, sage and onion stuffing balls, and vegan bacon, finished with a mouth-watering cranberry and red onion sauce.
Another returning Greggs festive favourite this year is the Christmas Lunch Baguette, which is a freshly-baked baguette ‘jam-packed full of festive flavours’, alongside last year’s newest addition, the Festive Flatbread – which is filled with sage and onion-style chicken, sweetcure bacon, mayo and cranberry and red onion relish.
When it comes to sweet treats, Greggs really does take some beating, as the lineup is full of tasty cakes, muffins, biscuits, and more.
Some of the stand-out newbies this year include the Gingerbread Muffin, and the Christmas Mini Caramel Shortbreads, while returning for more is the indulgent Chocolate & Hazelnut Flavour Doughnut, the Christmas tree and start-shaped biscuits, and of course, the classic Sweet Mince Pies.
The festive drinks lineup this year includes the popular Mint mochas and hot chocolates, and the Salted Caramel Latte.
Gingerbread returns for 2025 too, and you can get Gingerbread Lattes both hot and iced, as well as a Gingerbread Flat White.
Danny Jones -
21st March 2024 
