PUBS IN ASHTON

[Martin]

Somebody once told me Albert's pub was called Help the poor struggler

Yes, it was on Manchester Road in Hollinwood.

[Meg]

Hi Jean
I'm sure it was the Manor House pub that used to be on the corner of Manor St (which was a very short street ran from Wellington Rd ending at the wall along the railway) and Camp Street which ran at the back of the old fire station. I had a drink in there before boarding the bus to Rochdale to start a marathon (26 mile) walk in aid of charity which started at Rochdale Town Hall and was started off at midnight by Cyril Smith, M.P. for Rochdale.

[greeny]

hi the manor house i it was lively pub tuck away in the centre of ashton i remember the swinging saloon doors  going into the lounge , yes back of the old fire station . at weekend all the pubs did well with a mixture of young and old , what will bring them back? i dont think they will ever be the same again like meg says you can get a bottle of wine at the supermarket cheaper , a couple going out you can spend over £20 on just three drinks each and half the pubs are run down with nothing going on , you cant even get a sing along any more 

[Fudge]

Hi Meg A bottle of Portugise Rose at Sainsburys £2.95 or Home bargains have had a variety of Villas Wine about 5 different Reds and 2 Dry White ones £2.95. Had the Whites and the Rosie not a Red wine person but they were all nice and a lot cheaper than going to the pub. Fudge

[herby]

Hi
    You can get four litres of  wine white or red in a box  for about 10 dollars here I don't like the stuff much but it's not so bad if you mix it with lemonade    herby       

[jaywit]

lemonade!!!! try soda water.
Make our own(add water and yeast) to comply with Gov Regs.Bottle after 6 weeks.Australian Shiraz and a Chardonnay are our favorites,costs around $120 for 30 bottles.
Just adds a little touch to the food and conversation!!!!!

[Nan]

I used to brew all my own wines and my husband  did beer several years ago.  As was mentioned earlier, many supermarkets, and places like Home Bargains and B & M, stock fairly good wines at reasonable prices. In fact some of them are more palateable than the dearer ones, and you don`t have to wait as long to drink it, so we quit doing the homebrew.

[jan]

I last made wine years ago when someone gave me a huge amount of rhubarb.  I did everything right (I thought) but I just couldn't get it to stop fermenting!  I put the stuff in you're supposed to use and thought it had worked so put it in demijohns with rubber bungs.  When I checked on it the rubber bungs had exploded out.  When I realised it wasn't going to end up in bottles several of us had a wonderful evening drinking it from the demijohn - was really good dry sparkling wine!!!!!

[greeny]

hi i also use to brew my own beer it tasted good and it had a kick with it ,but its the waiting the bottles and the messing about , not to say the house smelling like a brewery , 

[Fudge]

When we were children we had a Ginger Beer plant you would feed it for 2 weeks then half it and make Ginger Beer pop delicious. Then continue for another 2 weeks we had that much we got fed up so there was no more made. Fudge

[Nan]

I remember one Christmas, my husband brewed Barley Wine. We had a party one night over the holiday season, and a lot of the men were drinking it, but instead of a small glass, they were drinking pints. We did warn them how strong it was, but it tasted so good, they ignored us, and by about 10 o`clock they were dropping like flies. My husband never brewed it again after that.

[Meg]

Fudge you brought back a memory of ginger beer from stone bottles that my grandma kept under the sink. Where did you buy ginger beer plants?  And can you still get them?
My parents in law were teetotal but the Stone's Ginger Wine was brought out at Christmas. I could get quite merry on that- they thought it was a nice warming drink! 

[Fudge]

Hi Meg you use to be able to start your own with Sugar, Yeast and water in a Treacle Jar we used and feed it one day with yeast and one with sugar at the end of the two weeks you would half the contents and  use so much water and I think sugar again put it in pop bottles and put it in a dark place for so many weeks to ferment . That is all I could remember as I was only young when my mum use to make it . Fudge   ps Mr Chips below reminded me about the ginger you had to feed every other day.     

[Mr Chips]

I made a mistake last year and made some Ginger Beer, I used two 2 litre spring water bottles. After bottling it - The bottles went rock hard with the pressure - I picked one up and the bottle top shot off  and sprayed me - I recoiled and hit the other bottle and that let go and the spume hit the kitchen ceiling. The place took ages to clean.

For others of a less nervous disposition:

BBC Website:

Alcoholic Ginger Beer
 
There are two ways of making ginger beer. The first consists of shredding ginger root and boiling it up with water and sugar. The second involves making a ginger 'plant' which can be re-used time and time again. This makes a batch once a week. The brewing process that will be discussed in this entry is the latter.

Equipment and Ingredients

Equipment

A jar and lid which is big enough to contain the plant.
One pint-sized measuring jug
Several clean and dry two-litre plastic bottles.
Teaspoons
A large pan
A fine cloth for straining the plant
Ingredients

Dried ginger
Dried yeast
Sugar
Juice of four lemons
Water.


Making the Plant:

The plant is a mixture of dried ginger, yeast, sugar and water. This creates a yeast culture.

In the jar, place one teaspoon of dried yeast, two teaspoons of dried ginger, four teaspoons of sugar and a pint (600ml) of cold water.

Stir and keep at room temperature.

Feed the plant every day with two teaspoons of dried ginger and four teaspoons of sugar. Stir after feeding.

The plant will be ready after one week.


Making the Ginger Beer:

Place 1kg (2lb) of sugar and two pints of boiling water in the large pan. The sugar will dissolve.

Add the juice of the four lemons to the pan.

Strain the contents of the jar - the plant - through the cloth into the pan. See below for what is to be done with the solid portion of the plant.

Add 14 pints of room temperature water.

Stir and bottle. Fill the bottles about seven-eighths full as you need to allow for expansion. Squeeze the air out of the bottles to stop them exploding under pressure from their contents.

Store the bottles in a safe place at room temperature, and leave for three to four weeks to 'brew'.

Discard half of the solid from the plant or give it to someone so they may start their own. Place the remaining half in a clean jar with a pint of water and continue to feed as above.

 
 
 

[Fudge]

Hi Mr Chips Thank you for reminding me about the Ginger forgot one of the main ingredients Fudge