MBCF has teamed up with the Society For the Preservation of Beers From The Wood (SPBW) to bring you a first for the festival – an entire bar of beer matured in wooden casks. Click here to learn more about SPBW.
Almost all of the casks on the bar have been specially filled for this years festival – you won’t find these beers in this form in any other place.
Maturation in wooden cask brings complex flavours from the interaction between the beer and the wood infused with the microscopic remains of the previous contents of the cask.
Click on column headings to sort.
Abbeydale | Bretted El Dorado | 3.8 | Sheffield | Light and refreshing pale ale showcasing the versatile El Dorado hop, secondary fermented with our house Brettonomyces yeast strain to add a layer of tart complexity, while the several months spent ageing in oak casks have imparted a tannin layer to furth |
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| Bad Seed | Base Camp | 8.5 | Malton | Coffee and almond imperial stout. Tonto Espresso coffee blend from local roasters Roost bring rich and roasted flavours. These combine with a smoothness and nutty character from the crushed almonds. A grown up dessert. |
| Beer Nouveau | East India Porter | 6.2 | Manchester | One of only four wooden casks of the East India Porter from the Beer Nouveau Heritage Barrel Ageing Programme, and the only one to leave the brewery. Using heritage grains malted to an 1800’s kilning pattern especially for the project, and then aged in a |
| Beer Nouveau | X | 8.3 | Manchester | Original 1800s Stock Ale brewed with heritage grains and traditional malts, conditioned in a wooden cask to provide as close a recreation of this historic style as possible. |
| Blackjack | Smoked Farmhouse Porter | 8.0 | Collyhurst, Manchester | A carefully selected blend of 7 malts bring you a lightly smoked rich and complex porter. Fermented with a Belgian Farmhouse yeast and hopped with Apollo, Columbus, Cluster and Mount Hood |
| Blackjack / Abbeydale | Mrs Stoutfire | 4.8 | Collyhurst, Manchester | Brewed in collaboration with our friends at Abbeydale brewery. For our half of the colab we've done a white stout. Big chewy body with coffee, chocolate and a hint of coconut coming through in a beer to defy the senses. |
| Brass Castle | Bad Kitty (Rye Whiskey barrel) | 5.5 | Malton | The multi award winning chocolate & vanilla porter aged in rye whiskey barrels |
| Brass Castle | Hygge Figgy (Maple barrel) | 5.7 | Malton | Autumnal fig, blueberry & almond porter aged in a maple barrel |
| Brass Castle | Quench (Gin barrel) | 3.2 | Malton | Heavily hopped New England style pale ale aged in gin barrel. Citra & Mosaic hops are held in suspension in the beer to give maximum juiciness and distinct haziness. |
| Brew York | Central Dark | 8.4 | York | Vanilla imperial stout |
| Camerons | Tooth & Claw Brewing Gyle #030 Vanilla Latte Stout | 4.9 | ||
| Cheshire Brewhouse | Govinda Chevallier | 6.8 | Congleton | Brewed faithfully to a heritage Burton-Upon-Trent IPA recipe. The recipe dates from the early 1800’s |
| Clun | Citadel | 5.9 | Clun | Brewed in our own microbrewery. It is a formidable strong ale which will appeal to the real hop lover. Perhaps more accurately described as an original style IPA, the beer is produced with Marris Otter pale malt and deploys the mighty Green Bullet hop to |
| Elland | 1872 Porter | 6.5 | Elland | Rich, complex and dark Porter from an original 1872 recipe, with an old port nose, and coffee and bitter chocolate flavours on the palate. Champion Beer Of Britain 2013. |
| Fernandes | Double Six | 6.0 | Wakefield | Powerful , dark , rich beer with a complex roast malt and chocolate finish. |
| Five Towns | Candidate | 9.0 | Wakefield | Breakfast Stout brewed with oatmeal, coffee, maple syrup & blueberries |
| Five Towns | Liberty | 5.5 | Wakefield | Blueberry, pecan & maple syrup pale |
| Foxfield | Dubbelwood | 4.8 | Foxfield | |
| Half Moon | Dark Masquerade | 3.6 | Ellerton, York | A rich ruby/brown ale which is packed with dark chocolate and liquorice flavours. |
| Half Moon | Lunar | 5.5 | Ellerton, York | A refreshing golden IPA with full, well rounded flavours. Fine malts flavour and hints of caramel followed by a floral hop aftertaste. |
| Harrogate | Plum Porter | 4.8 | Harrogate | Smooth dark ale using English hops and infused with plums |
| Hawkshead | Tonka Shake | 10.0 | Staveley | A match made in heaven, Tonka just got bigger and better! More tonka beans, cacoa nibs & vanilla. Expect enticing flavours of coconut, almond, bitter cherry and chocolate, all balanced together with a decadently smooth and sumptuous body from a mixture of |
| Kirkstall | Three Swords | 4.5 | Kirkstall | Very pale and spectacularly thirst-quenching. Three different hops give this beer a delightful citrus nose. |
| Maxim | Maximus | 6.0 | Houghton le Spring | Double Maxim’s ‘Big Brother’ and a multi award winner A strong premium ale brewed with a hint of Demerara sugars Dark ruby in colour, Maximus has a sweet liquorice taste that is warming and easy to drink. Beware of its underlying strength |
| North Riding | Fudge Brownie Stout | 7.4 | East Ayton, Scarborough | A rich and robust stout using a double mash technique for extra strength.7 different malts lots of fudge, lots of chocolate,lots of stout. |
| Origami | Jackalope | 6.4 | Manchester | Dark roasted, malty & perfectly sweet stout. Wood conditioned for a unique finish. |
| Ossett | Yorkshire Brunette | 3.7 | Ossett | An easy-drinking session bitter brewed from pale, wheat and roasted malts. Pale chestnut in colour and with moderate bitterness, aromas of spice and citrus fruit come from German and Slovenian hops. |
| Phipps | Black Star | 4.8 | Northampton | The dark malt signature is robust but smooth whilst the fruity but subtle hop flavours give the beer an easy drinkability. Black Star was originally a winter seasonal special but demands from discerning drinkers has kept it in our range all year |
| Phipps | Kinky Boots | 4.9 | Northampton | An tasty red rye ale with a full body derived from Rye Malt. Brewed to mark the run of the musical Kinky Boots at the brewery's local Royal Derngate theatre. Classic English Ale hops of Fuggles & Goldings but spiced up with a daring dash of Citra and Simc |
| Purple Moose | Glaslyn | 4.2 | Porthmadog | Refreshing light and malty amber-coloured ale. Plenty of hop in the aroma and taste. Good smooth mouthfeel leading to a slightly chewy finish |
| Rat | Rat Of Khan | 4.5 | Huddersfield | Hoppy Pale Ale. Maris Otter and Wheat malt give this straw-coloured ale body and a hint of residual malt sweetness, that meets its match in a vengeful punch of hop bitterness. Multiple additions of British First Gold administer barbs of citrus, and floral |
| Riverhead | Redbrook Premium | 5.5 | Marsden | Red brown strong ale. Mellow yet robust, slightly sweet |
| Roundhill | Midnight Slug Porter | 4.8 | Billingham-On-Tees | A dark, rich and creamy porter which is sweet, strong tasting and full of flavour. Notes of coffee and chocolate with a medium body and a dry finish |
| Roundhill | Oatmeal Pale | 4.4 | Billingham-On-Tees | A double dry hopped American session oatmeal pale with Chinook and Amarillo. Full bodied, golden blonde in colour with big hop flavours and citrus undertones |
| Salt | Jute | 4.0 | Saltaire | A pale dry hopped session IPA brewed with New Zealand & American hops |
| Salt | Mockado | 5.2 | Saltaire | A rich and milky porter infused with Brazilian and Sumatran coffee |
| Steam Machine | Voyager | 6.5 | Newton Aycliffe | True Old Ale: a dark beer inspired by authentic historic recipes, matured for over a year on a mix of wild English yeasts, then blended with a young fresh beer, and then dry hopped with loose leaf amarillo in the wooden cask. Expect a rich mix of dark ber |
| Tarn Hows | Beertrix Porter (Whiskey Cask) | 4.0 | Ambleside | Traditional porter with liquorice & vanilla flavours, matured in a wooden whiskey cask |
| Theakston | Old Peculier | 5.6 | Masham | One of the world’s great beers – smooth, strong and mellow |
| Three Kings | Billy Mill Ale | 4.0 | North Shields | Classic session bitter. A dash of Crystal malts and two additions of First Gold hops makes this light quaffable ale a delight to drink. NOW dry hopped with First Gold & Citra® hops. |
| Three Kings | Shield Maiden | 3.9 | North Shields | Golden Bitter with Bramling Cross & First Gold Hops. Fruity nose with hints of blackcurrant & orange |
| Treboom | Baron Saturday | 5.2 | Shipton by Beningbrough | Dark and mysterious, the voodoo spirit Baron Saturday captured our imagination; this porter would be his preferred pint. Brewed with a blend of five different malts it has hints of coffee, chocolate and liquorice |
| Wild Beer | Somerset Wild | 5.0 | Westcombe | Extremely pale, bright white head AROMA Light appliness, hay & hedgerows FLAVOURS Bright acidity, brisk carbonation, more apples |
| Wild Beer | Sourdough | 3.6 | Westcombe | Beer and Bread have been showing off the magic of yeast for thousands of years, we decided to combine them using a 60 year old sourdough yeast! |
| Working Hand | The Fool On The Stool | 5.1 | Leamside | A modern brown ale |
| Wylam | Just About Midnight | 5.6 | Newcastle Upon Tyne | Coconut Cream Porter... Dark beers for dark days... A complex ported with mild ale yeast, roast wheat, layered crystal. pale chocolate and brown malts. Rounded off with raw cocoa nibs and sweet creamy coconut |
| Yard of Ale | BEIRA (the Celtic goddess of Winter) | 4.8 | Ferryhill | Porter style black ale in the wood. Brewed with a warming infusion of spirit-soaked dark fruits, enhanced by an extra bit of tartness from the wood |
| York | Centurion's Ghost | 5.4 | York | A warming, dark, bitter ale with a roasted malt taste. Very easy to drink for its strength. |
| York | Yorkshire Terrier | 4.2 | York | Our original brew, Yorkshire Terrier is a multi-award winning single hop premium golden ale. Using only the flavours of UK grown Challenger hops and a dash of Crystal malt, expect a refreshing taste, where fruit and hops dominate the flavour and aroma wit |
SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF BEERS FROM THE WOOD (SPBW)
The SPBW was founded on 6 December 1963 when seven disgruntled beer drinkers gathered in the Rising Sun in Epsom. Their concern was the growing decline in both quality and palatability of beer. This, they felt, was due to the increasing use of gas pressure and the introduction of keg beers.
They formed the SPBW with the purpose of drawing attention to their plight.
Why the name?
In 1963, wooden casks were still regarded as being synonymous with traditional beer, in contrast to the metal ones containing a processed and artificially carbonated product. For this reason the name seemed ideal. The SPBW’s main concern is the beer in the cask and that it be served as a quality product. Even though the use of metal casks for draught beer had become prevalent by the 1970s the original name has been retained for the sake of tradition.
The SPBW has settled down to a largely social body, seeking to promote the
best of beers and pubs. We have several hundred members and some 26
branches throughout the UK – and a very large chapter based around
Baltimore USA.
In recent years there has been something of a revival in the use of wood for
maturing and dispensing beer. SPBW support’s this trend and the traditional craft of the cooper.
SPBW have organized two ‘WoodFests’ featuring only beers served from the wood.
Learn more at www.spbw.beer