Man travels 5,000 miles to take part in Greater Manchester pub crawl

A man travelled 5,000 miles all the way from the United States specifically to take part in a pub crawl featuring a whopping 97 venues across Greater Manchester.

The Mild Magic Ale Trail, which is regarded as the biggest national ale trail to support mild beer, saw punters try to visit each of the pubs and drink half a pint of mild across the span of a month. Those who managed the feat got Mild Magic branded merchandise, including T-shirts.

Amongst the pubs included in the trail included Heaton Hops in Heaton Chapel, the Friendship Inn in Fallowfield, the Unicorn in Altrincham, Bridge Beers in Stalybridge and the New Oxford in Salford.

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The trail, organised by Stockport CAMRA and sponsored by Hydes Brewery, is thought to have been attended by hundreds of people, including Justin Smith, who travelled from his home town of Bellingham, near Seattle on the US West Coast.

During his visit in Manchester, Justin visited around 20 qualifying pubs as part of the trail. He also managed to sneak in a visit to see Elbow at Co-op Live during his stay too.

Justin said: “I’m a big fan of places with a strong beer culture, especially if the local beer scene offers something traditional. In Manchester, they have long supported the mild beer style, which is very rare in the USA.

“I had never made it to the UK before, so when I heard about the Mild Magic Ale Trail, I decided this was an ideal opportunity for a visit. The variety of pubs and bars was amazing; they are great social meeting places.

“I enjoyed the light and dark milds from the traditional Manchester family breweries Hydes and Holts, as well as the offerings from other local brewers such as Marble, Blackjack and Track. This was a great promotion for CAMRA and I will proudly wear my special Mild Magic T-shirt in bars back home and on my future travels.”

Organisers behind the event said this year’s was the most successful to date, with more than 200 drinkers visiting at least 12 pubs - a increase of 35% from last year. It’s believed 4,000 pub visits were made as part of the trail, with 3,000 pints drunk.

Organiser Darren Berry said: “There was a great buzz about the Ale Trail this year and I am very grateful to all those who took part. My thanks also go to all the pubs who joined in and went to great lengths to source beers from local independent brewers.

“Many brand new milds were noted, and these included some speciality versions, such one brewed in the Belgian style using Abbaye yeast, as well as a Rhubarb and Custard Mild!

“Thanks also to everyone who took part and helped us break records. We are planning to run the event again in 2025, when we hope even more people will join us on this beer adventure.”