manchesterbeerfestival

New Festival Organiser

 in Festival News

Who is the new Organiser ?

My name is Adrian Saunders, and many of you will have seen me before, as I have worked in various roles at CAMRA’s National Winter Ales Festival (NWAF) and then the Manchester Beer & Cider Festival (MBCF) since 2009.

I don’t currently live in Manchester, but I spent 7 years here at Manchester University, before moving to Northern Ireland. Some of you may recognise me from 11 Belfast Beer & Cider Festivals. (more…)

Build it and they will come

 in Festival News / Press Releases

Beer festival organisers announce a return to Manchester Central in 2019

Beer lovers flocked to the city last month when the Manchester Beer and Cider Festival took over Manchester Central’s great hall.

Organised by the combined expertise of the nine Greater Manchester branches of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), a team of 330 volunteers built the festival in four days, served a record number of drinkers in three days and dismantled the whole event in just over a day. Their efforts were recorded on a time-lapse video, now on the festival’s YouTube channel.

Although the attendance of 14,675 was just shy of 2016’s 14,804, the festival opened to the public a day less than in 2016. Organisers were delighted with the public response which reinforced the festival’s position as the biggest beer and cider festival in the North.

And drinkers didn’t just turn up. Almost every one of the 22 bars recorded an increase in consumption with a staggering 41,000 pints of cask ale supped. In line with its reputation for innovation, the festival showcased a wide range of high quality beers dispensed by keg or key-keg and 7,730 pints were enjoyed by visitors. Records tumbled at the cider and perry bar with 4,300 pints consumed, an increase of 8% from the previous year. The main international bar serving German, Czech Republic and Belgian beers shifted almost 2,100 litres (3,560 pints). (more…)

Key-keg beer wins Manchester Brewers Challenge

 in Festival News

The inaugural Manchester Brewers’ Challenge was judged at Manchester Beer & Cider Festival on Wednesday 24th January. Brewers from across Greater Manchester were invited to nominate one beer each in whatever format they felt best presented their chosen beer. Beers were entered in all possible formats – cask, keg, key-keg, bottle and can.

Three rounds of judging panels made up of brewers, publicans, CAMRA tasting panel members and other industry experts whittled these down to a final six and then a final three.

1st: Alphabet Brewing Co Type A (key-keg format)

2nd: Wily Fox Karma Citra (bottle format)

3rd: Irwell Works Brewery Marshmallow Unicorn (cask format)

Alphabet’s Type A was a Double IPA weighing in at 7% ABV and described as an orangey juice bomb using Mosaic, Simcoe, Azacca and Rakau hops.

The other finalists were Donkeystone Javanilla, Hophurst Cosmati and Millstone Tiger Rut, all in cask format.

Discrimination debate takes centre-stage at Manchester Beer Festival trade day

 in Festival News / Press Releases

Industry experts will gather at the Manchester Beer Festival trade day to debate how the beer industry should combat discrimination.

Taking place between 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm on 24 January at Manchester Central, the panel discussion “Sexism is bad for business. What are we going to do about it?” aims to address the ongoing issues and challenges of sexism in the beer industry and determine what practical steps can be taken to address it. It follows hot on the heels of the festival’s decision to filter out beers with sexist names or discriminatory images and CAMRA publicly condemning sexism and discrimination in the industry.

Master Beer Trainer Christine Cryne will lead the debate with the following panelists on board:

  • Jaega Wise, Head Brewer of Wild Card Brewery, who has recently made headlines for her comments on sexist beer labelling
  • Annabel Smith, beer sommelier and founder of Dea Latis, an organisation that aims to bring beer to more women
  • Barry Shaw, operations manager for Beerhouse’s pub chain which includes six pubs
  • Jennifer Smith, co-owner and founder of Brewsmith Beer, a ten-barrel brewery
  • Katie Wiles, CAMRA’s senior communications manager and beer blogger at wilesaboutbeer.com

(more…)

Safe and sound at Manchester Beer and Cider Festival

 in Festival News

Organisers of the Manchester Beer and Cider Festival – to take place at Manchester Central in January – are advising visitors to the festival to be prepared for bag searches at the venue to ensure everyone attending is as safe and secure as possible.

Following police advice all attendees will be subject to a bag search – with sharp objects such as scissors, picnic knives and nail files banned from the venue. Visitors bringing liquids or food into the venue will not be affected.

It follows the Great British Beer Festival which had a similar security policy at Olympia in London this summer – which saw a successful and safe event with little impact on visitors entering the venue.

Festival organiser Graham Donning said: “This year the venue, Manchester Central, will be operating on the basis that there will be 100 per cent bag searches due to the recent happenings at Manchester Arena and in the advice of the Police.  They will not be allowed to bring such implements into the venue – including any sharps (scissors, nail files etc).  Basically, best leave bags at home and don’t have anything on your person that would not get through airport security – liquids and food are okay.”

The MBCF returns to Manchester Central from 25-27 January 2018, with a special preview evening on Wednesday 24 January for members of the licensed trade and media, and free to CAMRA members.

(more…)