We were in Saddleworth at the weekend; originally the area of Saddleworth was in the west Riding of Yorkshire, but after the county boundaries changed it ended up in Greater Manchester, which did not go down at all well with the people who lived there.
Saddleworth comprises a number of villages, Austerlands, Delph, Denshaw, Diggle, Dobcross, Friezland, Grasscroft, Greenfield, Grotton, Lydgate, Scouthead, Springhead, Uppermill… so we did a little tour around as we were visiting our old stamping ground and ended up in the Church Inn in Uppermill.
The Church Inn is right next door to St Chad’s Church, in an idyllic spot, looking down the valley to the village. My husband had been in many times, but despite having lived in the area for a long time in the 80’s and 90’s, I’d never visited. It was great to see it full of people and busy and bustling in the late afternoon. There was a wonderful menu on a blackboard with lots of enticing things, including rag pudding – a traditional dish of a meat pudding boiled in a cloth.
What was even more enticing was the range of beers on offer, especially since they were actually brewed at the pub. The family owning it started brewing in 1997; like many old pubs there was a 150 year-old brew-house attached to it and this has been renovated, and this is where the magnificent Saddleworth Brewery ales are made.
We had a pint of Saddleworth More – a pun on the nearby moor, Saddleworth Moor. The beer is described as ‘rich red’ which you can see perfectly describes it from my featured image; it has a fine flavour too, just my sort of pint, and has an ABV of 3.8%.
Honey Smacker, Hopsmacker, Saddleworth More, St George’s
Lois Elsden 