Press Releases

11^th January 2016

Fans of international beers are in for a treat as Manchester’s biggest beer festival arrives later this month.

Organisers are planning for a celebration of European beer styles alongside the largest selection of British ales ever seen in the city. And the rest of the world will also be represented, with ales from the Americas and Australasia ordered.

Now in its third year, the Manchester Beer & Cider Festival is organised by the Greater Manchester branches of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). And drinkers will have a new venue as the festival moves to Manchester Central in the heart of the city, following two successful years at the Velodrome.

Bière San Frontières bar manager Tony Evans is part of a 30-strong organising committee. He said: “It’s a bit like Christmas morning when our orders arrive – I know what I’ve asked for and I’m confident it will arrive. There’s usually room for a few surprises, though.

“We know beers from the ‘big three’ – Germany, Belgium and the Czech Republic – always go down a treat with our festival-goers. But we’ll also be showcasing beers from much further afield.”

Tony expects to have all six Oktoberfest beers on draught, with another two dozen fonts dispensing the best German beers. Seven Belgian beers and three styles from Budvar on draught complete the barrel line-up, with Budvar’s Krausened Lager making its first appearance at the festival.

Bottle lovers can expect more than 50 types sourced from the ‘big three’, including alcohol-free and gluten-free styles.

The celebration of local, regional and national brewing runs from Wednesday 20^th to Saturday 23^rd January 2016. Over 500 British beers, ciders and perries will be available to enjoy in the main hall, alongside the Bière San Frontières and Rest of the World bars.

Organisers are anticipating bigger crowds than 2015’s record-breaking attendance. Advance tickets are available from the festival website, www.mancbeerfest.uk and its Facebook page.

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The current list of expected international beers is at https://mancbeerfest.uk/beers-ciders/bsf16/
2. The 2015 festival attracted nearly 11,500 visitors who enjoyed almost 39,000 pints of cask ale and 4,000 pints of cider and perry.
3. More than 300 CAMRA members volunteer to set up and serve at the festival.
4. The full schedule of prices can be found at https://mancbeerfest.uk/about/tickets/
5. A selection of images from previous festivals is at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mancbeerfest

Contact: David Rigby
See contact page

This month’s Manchester Beer and Cider Festival promises far more than just the amazing selection of 500+ beers, ciders and perries to sample. The move to Manchester Central in the heart of the city has given organisers space to develop events to appeal to beer lovers.

Probably the best-known champion of real ales and editor of the Good Beer Guide, Roger Protz will be sharing his knowledge of milds, porters and stouts with a tasting event on Thursday 21st and Friday 22^nd. He is an experienced broadcaster as well as author of the best-selling ‘300 beers to try before you die’. It would be difficult to believe you’ve not read or heard Roger, as he is prolific in his output both here and in the USA.

Roger said:“Manchester is at the cutting edge of modern British beer brewing while keeping one eye firmly on its roots and traditions. It is a real ale Mecca, has stunning new breweries, pubs and bars and a wonderful traditional pub scene. Manchester Beer and Cider Festival will reflect that in the range and styles of beer on offer in its magnificent new venue, Manchester Central. I’m looking forward to it immensely.”

He will also be signing copies of his book before and after his session.

Two other highly-respected beer experts will also be in town.

Christine Cryne, a member of the British Guild of Beer Writers and chair of CAMRA’s London beer tasting panel enjoys challenging the perception that wine is the best accompaniment to food. She will be presenting six beers paired with different chocolates (beer and chocolate? What’s not to like?). Christine will explain how the beers were chosen to be the perfect match for each chocolate. You can be part of this event on Friday 22^nd, and demand is sure to be high for tickets.

Travelling less far, but bringing his considerable knowledge of foreign and British beer styles is John Clarke. John is a leading member of Greater Manchester’s beer community and contributes a monthly beer column for City Life in the Manchester Evening News. He will be talking and tutoring two of his expert fields, India Pale Ales and Belgian beers. If you’ve ever wondered about the truth of those tales of IPAs brewed hoppy to withstand the sea journeys or what a Wit really is, John will enlighten you in his engaging style. He’ll present his IPA talk on Thursday and Friday, while Saturday festival visitors will have the chance to get the lowdown on the best of the Low Country.

Deputy Festival Organiser Peter Alexander said: “Our move to Manchester Central gives us the space to introduce new events to the festival. Beer is such a versatile product and we are delighted that three nationally recognised experts will be dispensing wisdom as well as drinks. Each presenter has their own individual style and subjects covered will include history of the style of beer and how the ingredients of beer interact to produce the taste that we all know and love. Demand is sure to be high for these sessions, so we recommend securing tickets early.” Tickets for these events are available from the festival website, www.mancbeerfest.uk.

Alongside these, there will also be the Great Manchester Beer Debate, a free discussion held in the foyer on Saturday afternoon, and open to anyone with a opinion on the current issues of the day. CAMRA members will also have a unique opportunity to listen to and quiz Chief Executive Tim Page and National Chairman Colin Valentine who will be together from 5.30pm on Thursday 21^st in the foyer.

Of course, you could just visit the festival to enjoy a few beers with friends…

Manchester Beer and Cider Festival runs from Wednesday 20^th to Saturday 23^rd January 2016 at Manchester Central M2 3GX

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

1. If you would like to interview any of the presenters, please contact us, details below.
2. Fuller pen pictures of presenters are available on request.
3. Schedule of tasting events is at https://mancbeerfest.uk/events/#tickets
4. A selection of images from previous festivals is at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mancbeerfest

Contact David Rigby via contact page

Real ale and cider lovers will be setting their reminders for 9am on Tuesday September 1^st when advance tickets go on sale for Manchester’s biggest beer festival.

Now in its third year, the Manchester Beer & Cider Festival is organised by the Greater Manchester branches of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). And drinkers will have a new venue as the festival moves to Manchester Central in the heart of the city, following two successful years at Manchester Velodrome.

The celebration of local, regional and national brewing runs from Wednesday 20^th to Saturday 23^rd January 2016. Over 500 beers, ciders and perries will be available to enjoy in the main hall. Established brewery favourites like Hawkshead, Outstanding and Bollington will be joined by the best of new brewers such as Silver Street and Stockport Brewing.

Organisers are anticipating bigger crowds than 2015’s record-breaking attendance. Local lovers of Britain’s national drinks will form much of the attendance, but the event generates visitors to the city from the rest of the UK and abroad. Many drinkers want the certainty of gaining entry to the sessions. The online ticketing provided in association with EventBrite provides just that.

Tickets will be priced from just £3.00 and are available from the festival website, www.mancbeerfest.uk/tickets and its Facebook page. And to reward early bird bookings, a 50p discount will be automatically applied until the end of September.

Festival Organiser Graham Donning said: “No one wants to travel to a much-anticipated event only to be left queuing outside as we reach capacity. Booking tickets in advance guarantees entry and allows many to plan their visit to Manchester. The festival is the centrepiece, but we also expect many of the city’s pubs and breweries to be running fringe events. It will make this four days of liquid fun.”

The 2015 festival attracted nearly 11,500 visitors who enjoyed almost 39,000 pints of cask ale and 4,000 pints of cider and perry. More than 300 CAMRA members volunteer to set up and serve at the festival.

For further information, contact:
David Rigby
Via contact page

ENDS

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The full schedule of prices (before early bird discount is):

Wednesday: £3
Thursday: £3 before 5pm; £4 after
Friday: £4 before 5pm; £6 after
Saturday: £4

2. Early bird discount of 50p per ticket is applicable from 1st – 30th September 2015.

2. Images from previous festivals can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mancbeerfest