Trafford & Hulme Branch is fortunate in having a number of Clubs in its area doing an excellent job in selling and promoting quality cask ale. However, it is Flixton Conservative Club who continues to set the benchmark and for that reason they have been selected as the Trafford & Hulme Branch Club of the Year 2015.
T&H Chairman Paul King presenting the award to Nigel & Sharon Porter
This completes a hat trick of titles for the club, having gained the same accolade in both 2013 and 2014 (they were also Runner-up in the Greater Manchester Regional Club of the Year 2013). This is a reflection on how hard the club works to ensure that they not only maintain their already high standards but continue to develop and push even higher.
The Club now has six hand pumps in permanent use on the downstairs bar, five of them dispensing ever changing guest ales with the remaining pump normally used for the regular Theakston’s Best Bitter. The guest ales are acquired from various breweries and regular support is given to many of our local producers (Dunham Massey, Brightside, Prospect, Bank Top, Coach House and Allgates to name just a few).
Complementing the extensive range of Cask Ales are a number of excellent bottles from near and far with beers from local brewery Ticketybrew joining an impressive selection from America and Belgium (including some Trappist beers). Not content with downstairs, the recent addition of a further five hand pumps on the bar in the upstairs function room has enabled the club to organise a number of special events with their monthly “Brewery Nights” proving to be particularly popular.
The Brewery Nights are always held on the last Friday of each month and those attending have already enjoyed “bar takeovers” from Bank Top, Brightside, Big Clock, Reedley Hallows and Lancaster Breweries. The next event on Friday 24th April 2015 will see all five hand pumps given over to the always popular Elland Brewery.
The Easter Weekend also saw the club hold its 4th Annual Beer Festival with brews from Lancashire and Yorkshire helping to give this year’s event a “War of the Roses” theme.
Good timing (or maybe it was just good fortune) lead to the Branch holding its April Meeting at the Club just as the Beer Festival had begun. As well as being able to try a number of fantastic beers we were also provided with a very much appreciated buffet (thank you Sharon !).
The opportunity was also taken on the night to present the award and to pass on a well-deserved congratulations to everyone at Flixton Conservative Club on their fantastic achievement.
The friendly and knowledgeable team at Flixton Conservative Club, under the expert stewardship of Nigel & Sharon Porter, are proud of the quality of their cask ales and of their excellent Cask Marque rating. They are also very appreciative of the recognition and support they continue to receive from CAMRA.
This is a Club well worth making the effort to visit, perhaps on one of their Brewery Nights or maybe include it as part of your “Mild Magic” trail. The Club are participating in “Mild Magic” for the first time and Nigel has already lined up some multi award winning beers for the event.
The Club, located on the corner of Flixton Road and Chassen Road can be easily reached using public transport with regular trains stopping at Urmston (some at Chassen Road) and a number of Bus routes also serving the area (the 255 actually passes the door).