As a real ale tw*t myself, I tend to agree with Mick.
Real ale does depend on getting a good turnover of people drinking it, and people have different reasons for going to different venues. At a specialist beer (and pie) bar like Pi, I am quite happy to try something I have never heard of before, if it's not too expensive, but, at a sports club, that's a minority interest, and I would rather have just one beer which people have heard of, will buy, and can feel confident it's reasonably well kept. I might be wrong, but I doubt the groups who hire the CSH away from football drink much, and real ale which is "off" can be awful and you would be better off having that can of Red Stripe from the fridge.
Therefore, not necessarily Wainwright, but a similar beer (subject to any contracts), and maybe even a local one from Dunham, as I know they deal with Trafford Metrovicks rugby union.
A good turnover and someone that knows what they are doing with it. Ideally you want it to sell out on the day because it won't keep from one week to the next.
I don't think Dunham beers is the answer. They have a strange after taste. It could be the water but they are weird unless you go for the stronger ones which manage to mask it. Other local breweries are available though. Mobberley, Stubborn Mule, Bollington, Poynton. Great pint of Pomona Island (Salford) in Pi at the moment if you want to compare with Wainwright's.
