Festival News

Tickets for Manchester Pubs Matter festival have been flying out.

The Welcome to The Darkside event by The Petersgate Tap and Thirst Class Ale has already sold out.

Demand for the other events has exceeded all expectations with our pubs’ partners adding extra stock to meet demand but time is running out to book your place.

Sales for Hop, Twist, and a Julie, the special event at the virtual Wigan Central end at Midnight on Monday 8th February. The award winning pub’s manager Jo will be your host where she’ll be joined by three of the pub’s favourite breweries – Wigan’s own Hophurst, Warrington’s Twisted Wheel and Neptune brewery – recently named as Merseyside’ top brewery by Rate Beer.

If this isn’t enough, it will be quiz night at the pub with four beer themed rounds of questions to test your knowledge.

There’ll be prizes for the winner and runners up including a copy of Pete Brown’s latest book “Beer by Design”, a bar tab to be used when Wigan Central opens, beer, tee-shirts and much more.

Also still on sale are :

• The Marble Arch After Hours
• The Joy and Diversity of Cider and Perry at The Font
• The Smithfield Sessions

Our pubs are still suffering from enforced closure with inadequate financial support from Government. Please join CAMRA’s campaign for improved support for our pubs – visit the campaign page and ask your MP for support.

The team from MBCF are pleased to announce the Manchester Pubs Matter Festival.

With our pubs suffering from devastating restrictions over the past ten months, we’ve partnered with five of Manchester’s finest pubs to bring you a festival you can enjoy from home – while supporting our local pubs.

Between 17th and 20th of February, the five pubs will virtually welcome you to their pubs for a special online event.

The pubs are:

• The Font Chorlton
• The Marble Arch
• The Petersgate Tap
• The Smithfield Market Tavern
• Wigan Central

Each event is different – there’s beer tasting nights, a pub quiz, a good old pub discussion and even a music night with the Smithfield DJs.

Accompanying each session is a specially curated box of beers or ciders put together by the pubs and the local breweries or suppliers they’ve partnered with. You’ll taste some of these beers with the brewers who made them and your host publicans.

Find out more by clicking here.

It remains uncertain when large scale gatherings will be able to resume.

However, with the possibility that Manchester Nightingale Hospital will continue to occupy Manchester Central into 2021, we can confirm that Manchester Beer & Cider Festival will not take place at Manchester Central in January 2021.

We hope to put on a festival when safe to do so during 2021, subject to a suitable venue being available. This will obviously need to conform to government health regulations and guidance to protect our customers and volunteers.

At this stage, we therefore cannot confirm when or where a festival will be held, but further updates shall be announced as and when we can. In the meantime please continue to support your local pubs, clubs, breweries and cider makers – and above all, stay safe.

We at MBCF recognise these are tricky times for beer and cider lovers. We trust you are keeping safe, and supporting breweries and pubs who are managing to supply your favourite drinks.

We are working to bring the festival back to Manchester early next year, and monitoring government and CAMRA guidance on the return of large-scale gatherings in the UK. With the current uncertainty, we are not yet able to confirm dates for the 2021 event.

When we are able to promote a festival that is safe for all our customers, supporters and volunteers, we will bring you more news.

In the meantime, CAMRA’s Pulling Together initiative includes details of over 3000 pubs and breweries who are offering takeaway and delivery services during these times.

www.camra.org.uk/pulling-together