The Trafford & Hulme CAMRA Pub Of The Season for Autumn 2011 is The Waterhouse on Princess Street in Manchester City Centre.
The pub, owned by the JD Wetherspoon company, has built up an enviable reputation for both the quality and range of it's cask ales under manager Sarah Barker. Alongside the regular Wetherspoons offerings of Ruddles Bitter & Abbot Ale, the pub is one of a few to serve Phoenix Wobbly Bob permanently, alongside a further 6 guest ales which often rotate daily. The pub has it's own regular ales in Waterhouse IPA brewed by West Yorkshire's Elland Brewery with a second Waterhouse Pale brewed in Stavely, Cumbria by Hawkshead brewery.
The bedrock of the pubs real ale range was built on the passion & dedication of former shift manager & cellarman Kevin Muldoon who after first ensuring all the pubs ales were of the highest quality, then began searching out the very best new breweries to showcase in the pub including featuring beers from the then fledgling Thornbridge brewery. Although Kevin has now moved on to Wetherspoon's Seven Stars in the Printworks, before he ensured that he had instilled the same enthusiasm & commitment in his fellow shift manages and has left the pub cellar in the very capable hands of Tom & Adam.
As well as continuing to order in a varied selection of both breweries & styles and keep them in tip-top condition, Adam has continued with the series of "Meet The Brewer" events first introduced by his predecessory. Recently, Maccleslesfield's Red Willow brewery visited the pub where enthusiastic drinkers packed a side room of the pub to bursting point to listen to a talk from owner & brewer Toby McKenzie.
The pub is often commented on for being "not like a Wetherspoons". While many of the groups pubs tend to be large open plan areas, the Waterhouse, named after the architect of Manchester Town Hall which stand opposite, is broken up into many smaller rooms with a handful of tables in each. The usual Wetherspoons menu is served from breakfast at 8am until 10pm at night, with the pub closing at midnight seven days a week.
The pub's award is to be presented on Tuesday 1st November at 8.30pm.