Here's to you Robinsons

I admire the dedication of the secretary of Stockport and South Manchester CAMRA who has just completed a twenty year crawl of 300 of the 370 pubs tied to the Stockport brewery Robinsons.

As the number of breweries producing cask beer expands and rediscovered and new styles of beer are launched, it's easy for established breweries like Robinsons to be overlooked or even dismissed as "boring" or "stuck in their ways".

Living in Stockport, I am of course familiar with Robinson's beers. Unicorn is a decent amber, fruity bitter. All the brewers with a tied estate in Manchester produce a mild but only Hydes and Robinsons still have light and dark ones. Robinsons Hatters mild is a delicious beer when on top form, its caramelly flavour reminiscent of the Wilsons Mild I was lucky enough to drink just before the brewery shut in the late 80's. And Robinsons Old Tom Strong Ale is rightly famous, especially in cask served by handpump or by gravity from a pin behind the bar in the winter months.