Alongside over 300 beers from 100 breweries on MBCF’s bars, at the centre of the festival we have invited some of our (and your) favourite breweries to bring their own bars to the festival.
As well as a great range of beers, the brewery bars will give you the opportunity to meet some of the brewery staff & talk to the brewers about their beers.
All beers named are provisional.
In just five years Blackjack Beers have grown from fledglings to become one of Manchester’s best known brewery exports, while in little over a year, their brewery tap The Smithfield Market Tavern is one of Manchester’s best known and favourite pubs, being named Central Manchester CAMRA’s first ever Pub Of The Year before taking the title of Best Pub in the Manchester Food & Drink Festival awards.
Their brewtap events at the brewery over the summer months continue to be packed out with an ever changing rotation of beers throught each weekend.
All beers are un-pasturised and un-fined and suitable for vegetarians.
Ace Of Spades | 9 |
|---|---|
| Aces High | 5.5 |
| Bock | 6.2 |
| First Deal | 4.4 |
| Four of a Kind | 6.2 |
| Jabberwocky | 4.1 |
| Mosaic Light | 3.6 |
| Small Saison | 4.5 |
| 21 | 5.5 |
| The Choice Is Yours | 6.9 |
| Manchester Brown | 4.5 |
When it began life in a garage on Brass Castle Hill in Pocklington, North Yorkshire in 2011, the brewery produced four casks at a time. Within two months Brass Castle had won Champion Beer at the York CAMRA Beer Festival. Within six months, brewing moved to Lord Halifax’s historic Garrowby Estate brewhouse and two years later to a new brewhouse based in Malton town centre.
All the beer produced by Brass Castle is vegan and vegetarian friendly with no animal-derived ingredients used in any brewery process.
Bad Kitty | 5.5 |
|---|---|
| Black Russian | 7 |
| Disruptor IPA | 7.4 |
| Helles Lager | 4.4 |
| Misfit | 4.3 |
| Pineapple Pale | 4.3 |
| Quench | 3.2 |
| Ready, Grisette, Go! | 3.8 |
| Weizenbock | 7 |
Founded in 2014 by the Smith family – James, Jennifer and Ted; Brewsmith are a 10 barrel microbrewery, based in the picturesque village of Ramsbottom, Bury.
In their short life, Brewsmith have built an enviable reputation for excellent beers, including their Bitter winning an award in their first SIBA North West competition then winning three more awards at the 2015 SIBA competition – Brewsmith Bitter winning GOLD in the standard Bitter and Pale Ales category and going on to receive the accolade of SILVER overall beer of the competition. Brewsmith IPA won BRONZE in the Premium Strong Beers category too.
http://www.brewsmithbeer.co.uk/
APA | 5 |
|---|---|
| Bitter | 3.9 |
| Magic Number | 3 |
| Nelson Sauvin Pale | 4.2 |
| Oatmeal Stout | 5.2 |
| Brown Ale | 4.2 |
Bridgehouse began brewing in 2010 using a 10-barrel plant, purchased the recipes and branding of Old Bear Brewery in 2014 and moved to Keighley. A bespoke 15 barrel brewery along with a new visitor centre is behind the Airedale Heifer pub in Sandbeds, which the brewery also operates.
Aired Ale | 4.1 |
|---|---|
| Baltic Rum Porter | 6 |
| Easy Tiger | 6.1 |
| Land Lady IPA | 5.1 |
| Pale Bandit GFA | 3.6 |
| Tequila Blonde | 3.8 |
http://www.bridgehousebrewery.co.uk/
The Friedrich family’s Brightside Brewery have come a long way from humble beginnings in the back of the family bakery in Bury back in 2010. In just 7 years they have grown to have an 18 barrel plant in Radcliffe and far too many awards to list here.
Their beers are regularly seen in pubs and bars across the region – from traditional pubs to craft beer bars, you’ll find their increasingly diverse range has something for everyone.
In 2017 the brewery revealed their Wildside – an ever changing range of beers in modern styles.
Brightside | Darkside Stout | 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Brightside | Mancunian | 4.5 |
| Brightside | Maverick IPA | 4.8 |
| Brightside | Seven Waves | 4.2 |
| Brightside | Yellow Dwarf | 4.5 |
| Wildside | Key Lime Pie Lager | 4.8 |
| Wildside | Orange & Cinnamon Amber | 4.5 |
| Wildside | Session v3 | 3.4 |
Hawkshead Brewery was founded, by Alex Brodie in 2002 in a 17th century barn at the head of Esthwaite Water, just outside Hawkshead. Within 4 years their exciting range of beers had seen demand exceed capacity and they moved to larger premises at Staveley.
Hawkshead is one of the most successful of the new wave of independent breweries which have ignited public excitement about beer and furthered the renaissance of British brewing. Their beer is full of flavour, handmade, crafted, bold, personal and made by people who love beer for people who love beer – none more so than customers at MBCF.
Bitter | 3.7 |
|---|---|
| Chuckleberry | 3.5 |
| Cumbrian Five Hop | 5 |
| Dry Stone Stout | 4.5 |
| Galaxy Pale | 4 |
| Great White | 4.8 |
| Iti | 3.5 |
| Northern Imperial Stout | 9.5 |
| Solar Sour | 3.3 |
| XPA | 4 |
Mallinsons based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire brew high quality cask conditioned real ales, bottle conditioned beers and limited quantities of Key Keg.
Over the years, they have gained a reputation for producing crisp, clean flavoured hoppy ales. Their speciality is single hopped variety ales with a regularly changing range exploring new hop varieties.
Amarillo | 4.2 |
|---|---|
| Citra | 3.9 |
| Hapi | 5.4 |
| Nelson Sauvin | 3.8 |
| New World Pale | 4 |
| Pilsner Centennial | 3.9 |
| Stouted Caramel | 4.7 |
| The Redeemer | 5.1 |
Founded in 2008 in an old mill in Bury, in late 2016, Outstanding Beers relocated to a new site in Ordsall, Salford which has seen their capacity double. Their beers are widely seen across the region.
Their mission statement remains “Don’t aspire to be ordinary”
Blond | 4.5 |
|---|---|
| Chocolate Liqueur Stout | 4.9 |
| Four | 4 |
| Golden Loom | 3.9 |
| Imperial IPA | 7.4 |
| Red | 4.4 |
| Strawberry Witbier | 4.3 |
| White | |
| White IPA | 4.5 |
Kent’s Pig & Porter who will be bringing their range of beers all the way from their base in Royal Tunbridge Wells.
Robin Wright and Sean Ayling first visited Manchester five years ago when their brewery was just a sideline to the mobile hog-roast business which have the company its name. They fell in love with the city’s beer scene and have returned several times to brew with local brewers including Blackjack and Runaway while the quality of their beers has seen both give up their former jobs to become full time brewers and their beers become staples on some of the leading craft beer bars in the country.
The Runaway Brewery was created when two old friends came together to take on an adventure – joining the movement to help modernise British beer and beer culture
They brew great, modern, British beer. Rather than being cask conditioned like most of the beers at the festival, Runaway are specialists at conditioning their beers in the modern key-keg – it’s real ale but maintaining a higher level of carbonation and served slightly colder than traditional cask ales.
They don’t cut corners and quality always comes first. If you’ve never tried key-keg conditioned beer, you can’t have a better introduction than Runaway Brews.
Dry Irish Stout | 4.5 |
|---|---|
| Lemon Drizzle | 5.4 |
| Marzen Lager | 5.4 |
| NZ Pale | 4.2 |
| Pale Ale | 4.7 |
| Session IPA | 4.5 |
| Tropical Crush DIPA | 8 |
| Winter Saison | 6.3 |
| Smoked Braggot | 8.5 |
| Handyman IPA | 5.3 |
Just four years ago, the very first casks from a fledgling Stockport brewery were featured at #MBCF15.
Since then Thirst Class Ale have gone from strength to strength and are now a common site on bars across the region with brewer Richard Conway being invited to collaborate with a host of established brewers.
All That Glitters | 4.6 |
|---|---|
| Cask Aid Pale | 4.3 |
| Farmhouse In Your Soul | 5.1 |
| Hazy Love | 7.2 |
| High Five | 4 |
| Hopfordian IPA | 6 |
| Hoppy Couple IPA (Columbus & Wakatu) | 6.2 |
| New Zealand Pale | 4.4 |
| Stocky Oatmeal Stout | 4.7 |
Although only five years old, Newport’s Tiny Rebel have made award winning a way of life including sealing Gold, Silver and Bronze in the 2014 Champion Beer Of Wales in route to taking the big one – Champion Beer Of Britain in 2015.
Champion beer Cwtch will be on their bar along with others including Stay Puft marshmallow porter and a rare keg of its big brother Imperial Puft.
Billabong | 4.6 |
|---|---|
| Cali | 5.6 |
| Cerial Killer | 3 |
| Clwb Tropicana | 5.5 |
| Cwtch | 4.6 |
| Dutty | 4.2 |
| Full Nelson | 4.8 |
| Imperial Puft | 9 |
| Peaches and Cream | 5.5 |
| Stay Puft | 5.2 |