It's already the go-to destination for craft beer and natural wine in Altrincham - and this Christmas, Batch bottlestore has a bigger selection than ever.
As well as being a popular bar, Batch in King's Court is also a retail outlet - with shelves upon shelves of independently owned breweries with every style of beer you could imagine and the town's biggest range of natural wines.
Indeed there are over 250 craft beers and 50 natural wines to choose from, with Batch's gift box service making them an ideal present idea for the festive season. If you’re struggling to choose beer or wine for that special someone you can always buy a gift card.
“Our beer gift boxes have done incredibly well over the last five years. A gift box of beer or a cool bottle of natural wine is an easy Christmas present win. Batch experts will be at hand as well to help you curate a gift box if you haven’t got a Scooby on what to get,” says co-owner Chris Bardsley.
“We can do a box of two with a branded Batch glass, or a box of three, four or six. What's great about our selection is that you can mix and match from any of the beers on the shelf. We can get those natural wines wrapped up nicely too.”
Here are Chris's five favourite craft beers for the festive season:
Sonoma by Track Brewing
Pale Ale | 3.8% ABV
Track Brewing is a great Manchester brewer and this is one of their only core beers - indeed I'd go so far to say it's one of the best pale ales around. It's a refreshing, hugely sessionable hazy pale, with a simple malt base and hopped generously with Mosaic, Centennial and Citra with notes of sticky mandarin and grapefruit. It's a crisp and clean beer with a soft, pithy bitterness.
Milson by Sureshot Brewing
Pale Ale | 5.2% ABV
This is superb and one of our house pales over at Beacon. It's a New England pale ale brewed in Manchester with Citra, Galaxy and Mosaic hops. Full of tropical fruitiness, it has an oaty body and makes for a very satisfying gulp. Unbelievably drinkable.
Mountains of Galaxy by Weekend Project
IPA | 6.2%
Mobberley Brewhouse is best known for their more traditional ales but Weekend Project is their experimental foray into more modern beer. Mountains of Galaxy is a lovely beer and as the name suggests, is brimming with the Galaxy hop. The result is a flavoursome and hazy juice bomb. We've had it on draught at Batch a few times. The branding's superb, too.
Casanova And The Rest Is Fly by Pomona Island
Stout | 6.5%
"It was twelve o’clock one Friday night, I was drinking a Tres Leche Stout with copious amounts of Milk Sugar, Vanilla, Coconut, just a touch of Cinnamon, and feeling alright." This one has the best can introduction - and probably name - on this list, and it's perfect for Christmas. Brewed in Salford, it's a big sweet stout that is made for the colder nights.
Triple Fruited Gose by North Brewing Co
Gose | 4.5%
A gose is a sour German-style beer and this one from Leeds-based North is basically fruit juice... but it's amazing. Sour and very tart, it combines blackberry, blueberry and redcurrant and is brewed with wheat, oats and milk sugar. I love it!
Batch bottlestore, Kings Court, Altrincham WA14 2RD. Follow @batchbottlestore on Instagram and @batch.bottlestore on Facebook
