Building on last year’s sell-out tasting sessions, Manchester Beer and Cider Festival will give drinkers the chance to hear from three of the country’s leading beer experts. They will be running tutored tastings, suitably accompanied by generous samples of some of the 500+ ales on offer.
Entry to tasting sessions and talks will be by ticket only. Tickets include beer served during the session. Places are limited. Click here to book.
Settings for Beer Styles – The What and the Why
Wednesday 5pm
CAMRA is only too aware that beer styles in the UK aren’t static. You only have to look at the growth of American Pale Ales, Golden Ales and foreign beer styles such as Sours to be aware of what a great time it is to be a beer drinker.
To reflect these changes, but also to continue to campaign for endangered traditional beers, CAMRA has reviewed the styles they will be using for judging the prestigious Champion Beer of Britain from next year.
This session is an opportunity to be one of the first to hear first hand what is going on. Christine Cryne, who chaired the Beer Style Review Group, will talk you through what has changed and the thinking behind the changes, illustrated by tasting a few of the beers in the new Champion Beer of Britain categories .
Christine is a Master Trainer, Accredited European Beer Consumers Union Beer Judge and a Member of the British Guild of Beer Writers.
Please note that this event takes place on the Trade and CAMRA member only session therefore is available only to trade and CAMRA members. Click here to book
Modern Cider with Tom Oliver
Thursday 2pm
This is a real coup for Manchester Beer and Cider Festival.
Tom Oliver has been described by food and drinks writer Pete Brown as ‘simply the greatest cidermaker in the world, a real artist.’
Tom will talk you through a tasting of five ciders with his trade mark enthusiasm for his subject.
This will be a blending masterclass as he explains the skills in creating harmony he learnt as sound engineer (and tour manager) for the band The Proclaimers and how they apply to blending using the holy trinity of tannins, sweetness and sharpness.
Tom has produced collaborations with brewers around the world. His collaboration with Thornbridge and Garret Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery produced The Serpent in 2016 and since then, collaborations with Mills Brewing, Burning Sky and Kernel. Out soon will be his latest collaboration, with Manchester’s Cloudwater Brewery.
Beers From The Wood
Friday 3pm
Join Roger Protz in this tasting of beers as they used to be; served from the wood. Roger will lead you through tastings of five halves of carefully selected beers from a wooden cask and talk you though the times when all draught beer was dispensed from wooden barrels.
Roger Protz is one of the world’s leading beer writers, historians, lecturers and tasters. He is the author of more than 20 books on the subject and edited more than 20 editions of the annual CAMRA Good Beer Guide before retiring after the 2018 edition. This session is back by popular request. It sold out early last year, so don’t wait too long to enjoy this rare opportunity to hear from one of the world’s leading experts.
More talks and tastings to follow. Follow #MBCF20 on Facebook or Twitter for announcements.
Tickets
Tasting event tickets include the beer you will sample during your selected sessions (a minimum of 5 x 1/3 pints).
Note that tickets do not include festival entry which must be purchased separately. Click here for entry tickets