Best new beers of 2012…Marble Northern Quarter Bitter

The next in our list of best new British beers of 2012 (which we are posting in order of release) first appeared back in late August, and was the perfect example of how important context can be. A bitter – made in Manchester, named after an area of Manchester, and drunk in Manchester…

Northern Quarter Bitter (4.5%)
Marble Brewery, Manchester
(cask, released August)

At the start of October, the Independent Manchester Beer festival took place amidst the hugely atmospheric Edwardian splendour of the Victoria Baths. Travelling down from Scotland for the IMBC, I managed to meet my Dad for a few beers prior to the festival (having dragged him out of his local, the City Arms). We went, entirely on my suggestion, to a pub neither of us had been to before – the Marble Arch, purely because I wanted to pay it a visit and try more of Marble’s beers (they rarely make it this far North).

We had a great time there, surrounded by rugby league fans and sinking back several pints – as such, I turned up at the IMBC already half-cut, which isn’t exactly great preparation for a festival of that potential. But, at it turned out, one of the Marble beers I had earlier that day knocked spots off anything I had there. Named after the nearby hip area of the city, Northern Quarter Bitter was first launched at the annual bank holiday street party, in late August. On the bar at the Marble Arch, alongside Pint, Dobber and the rest, Northern Quarter was, to us, an entirely unknown quantity.

But what a revelation. Described as a ‘heavily hopped best bitter’ the balance of biscuit dryness and citrus was just fantastic – the wonderful way it moved from semi-sweet caramel, through to lemon and lime, before finishing dry and earthy. Northern Quarter is as near to the perfect cask-conditioned bitter I’ve ever had. As much as I enjoyed IMBC (and I really did), the most memorable beer of the weekend turned out to be that pint of best sunk with my Dad beforehand.

From tomorrow, we have only two more best-of beers to go – and for the next choice, we (finally) come home to Scotland, for the release of a beer that got everybody talking. Find out what it is tomorrow, and then check back on Saturday for our final best new British beer of 2012.