Manchester

This Manchester brewery is giving away free lager and pizza

Head down to Common this Wednesday 7 September to get your hands on some Manchester Union Lager freebies

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 6th September 2022

A local Manchester brewery is giving away free lager and pizza this week to celebrate the launch of its newest beer.

Created in collaboration with local clothing brand Hikerdelic, the new limited edition beer is called GORP, or Good Old Raisins & Peanuts, and is the latest release from the city’s only craft lager brewery.

The newest drop from Manchester Union Lager, if you time it right you can grab a can (and a slice of Nell’s pizza) for free at Common on Edge Street this Wednesday.

All you need to do to get your hands on a freebie is to sign up for a free ticket with Skiddle here, then make sure you’re one of the first fifty people in the queue at 6pm.

There’ll also be a host of merch available, created by Hikerdelic – a relatively young clothing company born out of the ‘sartorial seeds of Proper Magazine’.

Hikerdelic has already had great success in limited edition collaborations with the likes of Barbour, Novesta, Holubar and Yogi, after transitioning from writing about clothes to making their own.

The new GORP can has been designed by local illustrator Daren Newman. / Image: Supplied
Image: Hikerdelic

Now, they’re teaming up a bit closer to home, combining a love for the outdoors lifestyle with high-quality, well-designed clothing made to last.

Their motto is where the peak meets the precinct, unifying the two worlds of rambling and raving, and let’s be honest there’s not much that does that better than a beer.

Promising to be the ‘perfect refreshment after a post-trail hike’, in spite of the name the Pilsner-style beer is actually completely free of peanuts.

The can label has been illustrated by Daren Newman, a celebrated locally-based illustrator who also created all of the typography for Hikerdelic’s branding.

Speaking on the new beer launch, Manchester Union’s Jamie Scahill said: ‘We floated the idea of a beer with Hikerdelic a few years ago when they hosted a party at the brewery so we’re delighted for the world to try it.

“This is the perfect partnership with one of my favourite clothing brands and Manchester’s only craft lager brewery.”

Mark Smith from Hikerdelic added: “After the last couple of years, the importance of real life things has definitely grown.

“With social media we can interact with our followers but a real product enjoyed in real life can’t really be beaten.

Read more: Online rumours that The City pub has closed for good aren’t entirely true

“Working with Jamie and Will has been great and we’re looking forward to getting something a little different to our clothing out there.”

Head down to the Hikerdelic and Manchester Union Brewery present GORP Lager Launch Party this Wednesday, 7 September, at Common in Manchester’s Northern Quarter from 6pm – 10pm.

Tickets are available for free from Skiddle here.

Feature image – Common

Manchester

The first new tenant of the old Debenhams department store on Market Street has been confirmed

Danny Jones Danny Jones new food hall opening in Ryland building old Debenhams department store Manchester

The first new resident of the Rylands Building on Market Street in central Manchester has been revealed, and it’s a foodie one.

Set to be the maiden opening inside the old Debenhams department store, which closed after more than three decades back in 2021, Rylands’ debut won’t be for another year or so, but it will soon welcome Mancs with an increasingly popular food hall operator making its way up north.

Simply called Market Place, the ever-growing brand is fast becoming a well-established name, with four venues in the capital already and a fifth coming soon.

Rylands will be their first location outside of London, and with 1,300 sqm of space at their disposal, Market Place Manchester is set to make a significant splash on the high street.

market place food halls london
A look at Market Place Peckham.
market place food hall manchester city centre
A rough idea of what the Manchester branch could look like.

Developers managed to green-light plans for the Grade II-listed building last November, sharing the first details and glimpses of their vision for the instantly recognisable city centre spot, including a whole new rooftop terrace.

Currently earmarked for a late 2026 launch, the former department store (previously Paulden’s) consisted of seven floors but is now set for a four-storey extension that promises to be a massive and varied retail, leisure and business destination that makes the most of the expansive structure.

Not to be confused with the famous John Rylands Library – a much older, more gothic, historic and hallowed hall over on Deansgate – this task of ‘revitalising a Manchester icon’, to quote property firm AM ALPHA, is a huge undertaking.

In charge of the redevelopment since 2023, the group have been outlining a pretty complete overhaul, with plans to convert the upper floors into premium office space, and the creation of a retail arcade at ground level, on which Market Place Manchester will sit.

This particular Manc corner was a bustling food, drink and shopping complex for the longest time, but has been derelict and covered up by boards for what feels like forever, with urban explorers even roaming the large, abandoned building.

rylands building market st manchester
Credit: Supplied

Now, though, the new long-term 15-year lease agreement will see the latest food hall kick off a new era for Rylands, delivering socially focused venues and the range of flavourful, vibrant choices of scran that Market Place have become known for.

With sites in St Paul’s, Vauxhall, Peckham, Harrow and soon Baker Street – as well as their eventual Manchester outpost, of course – the chain is getting bigger and better, meaning its arrival in the North West is an exciting one.

AM ALPHA manager Paul Hodgkiss said in an official statement: “Manchester is a city with a vibrant cultural scene – the perfect environment for forward-thinking concepts like Market Place Food Hall…

“The early commitment to Rylands is no coincidence: it reflects the strength of our strategic and forward-looking approach to development. We are not just creating high-quality space – we are setting new standards for urban mixed-use concepts. Interest from further prospective tenants is strong.”

It was only last week that Greater Manchester’s latest market hall, Campfield Studios, said hello to the general public and with House of Social also opening this summer, among several other similar projects, soon you won’t be able to move for more social hospitality scenes like this:

Read more:

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Featured Images — Press shots/CGIs (supplied)

Manchester

Manchester crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Live music crowd

Manchester has been crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers, even beating out New York along the way.

If there’s one thing Manchester is known and loved for over anything else, it’s music.

From Oasis and Joy Division, to Happy Mondays, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The 1975, and even more modern-day acts, there’s no end to the amount of talented artists this city has produced or been home to over the years, all contributing to Manchester being one of the most prestigious music cities there is.

The city’s live music scene has always been thriving, and that continues right through to this very day, as you’ll see big-name musicians including Manchester as a destination in their UK tour schedules more often than not.

This summer is all set to be a sensational celebration of sound, as not only is an immersive art trail, Music for the Senses, taking over the city from this week, but this year’s annual Manchester Day will be music-themed too, marking one of the biggest years for Manchester music in a long time.

Manchester skyline
Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers / Credit: Manchester City Council | Eldhose Kuryian (via Unsplash)

Oh, and there’s also the small matter of Oasis reforming for a UK tour, including a run of gigs at Heaton Park this month.

So it’s no surprise that Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers, especially as the IFPI Global Music Report has revealed that the UK has the third largest music market globally – with the music industry’s contribution to the UK economy being £6.7 billion on average.

Taking this recent report into consideration, the experts over at SeatPick have collated data to uncover the best UK cities for music lovers, analysing factors such as the number of concerts, homegrown talents, music businesses, and the total number of music venues, to reveal each city’s overall music score out of 10. 

Coming in at second place with a music scene score of 8.97/10 is Manchester.

2025 is all set to be a sensational summer of sound in our city / Credit: Supplied

“Manchester remains one of the UK’s most iconic music cities and with 1,204 concerts between 2025-2026, 116 live music venues, and 380 homegrown acts, the city’s live music offering is as strong as ever,” SeatPick said of its findings.

“2025 is shaping up to be a historic year for Manchester, with Oasis reuniting for the first time in over a decade, with a massive comeback show at Heaton Park – the very spot where they played their last hometown gig in 2009.”

While Manchester may have missed out on the UK’s top spot, with that title going to London, in the global rankings, our city has claimed an impressive sixth place, beating out New York’s influential music scene.

Liverpool and Leeds are two of the other northern cities in the UK’s top 10, taking fifth and sixth place respectively.

Read more:

“Cities which have a larger number of music businesses are key in creating the perfect city for music fans, as this impacts the city’s cultural, economic, and social vibrancy,” explained Gilad Zilberman, who is the CEO of SeatPick.

“A thriving music scene within a city means it can provide more artistic expression, support a wider range of genres, and enrich the cultural landscape, as well as attracting creative talent.”

Featured Image – Alex Bracken (via Unsplash)

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