beer - Indy Man Beer Con

Food and Non-Beer at IMBC 19

Hungry or thirsty for something that isn’t beer? We have got you covered. Find the following offerings over here all festival long…

FOOD at IMBC 19

In the Food Village…

HONEST CRUST
One true loves HONEST CRUST have been banging out banging sourdough pizza since 2013. Bona fide.

FIREBIRD HOPE
IMBC debut for these fried chicken whisperers / seitan slayers FIREBIRD HOPE. Operating out of YES, many have dubbed Firebird Hope the pengest munch. Their chicken / vegan chicken burger builds are architecture.

DÖNER SUMMER
I have personally eaten DÖNER SUMMER 463 times, and reader, it never gets old. VEGAN Berlin inspired döner kebabs, crunchy hash brown bites and more. Currently killing it softly at Northern Monk Refectory MCR.

GREAT NORTH PIE
Pie and mash at a beer festival with gravy? It would be unfathomably rude not to. Viva GREAT NORTH PIE. Such perfect pies with mash that is sculpted from the clouds of Valhalla.

DIM SUM SU
Chinese food with a twist. The twist is that you can’t stop eating DIM SUM SU Salt and Pepper Fries and you float up like a big balloon once you’ve achieved perfection and glide into the sun ***POP***

VASO KITCHEN
Famed throughout the lands for their fries piled high with curries. VASO KITCHEN provide the perfect cronch in their fries meaning they take the stack masterfully, nae sogginess. Inevitable.

DIAMOND DOGS
An ‘otdog, an ‘otdog. My kingdom for an ‘otdog. Showstopping sausages in bun houses from frankfurter fashionistas DIAMOND DOGS.

NEATO BURRITO
Primo chipotle cha-chas (burritos) from the hands of the The Beagle kitchen. Conveniently all wrapped up like a present. Handheld compatible.

On the Snack Shelf in Room 1…

HOLY CRAB
Their crab balls are the stuff of legend. Oysters everywhere. Crayfish for daysfish. We love em. Go visit HOLY CRAB in the Arndale Food Market if you cannae wait.

SIOP SHOP
Dough babies SIOP SHOP slay the sweet game dead. Watch out for billowing doughnuts and ice cream fills from the pied pipers of piped icing. Sessionable.

IDLE HANDS
Coffee bean serenaders IDLE HANDS lock arms with Siop Shop once more to complete the most iconic duo since since since. Crema scenes and likely their famous pies too. The day starts here. Pick. Me. Up.

BUNDOBUST
Ohhhh shiiii. The worldies BUNDOBUST are back in the IMBC building (literally) as they saddle up alongside Siop, Idle Hands, and Holy Crab on the ‘Snack Shelf’ in Room 1 to dish up some ambient bangers. Bundobust beers on too!

NON-BEER at IMBC 19

SQUARE ROOT SODA
Hackney handmade soda artisans return to IMBC to tear it up w/ their seasonal sparkling softs +++ make your own shandy opportunities wa wa wee wa.

BOOCH & BREW
Kombucha in the house, fermentation heads. Scoby Doo! Manchester booch units descend

KWAS
Natural wine by the glass or bottle over in the Turkish Baths c/o Huddersfield wine shop and bar, Kwas.

IDLE HANDS
Bean queens supreme gleam crema dreams

COCKTAIL BAR
Brewery made gins alongside v primo beer cocktails and classics. Bar naps to the night sky. Dabbing cowboy emoji.

+++ CIDER!

Over the IMBC 19 weekend we will have star turns in Room 1 from Hogan’s Cider, Pilton, and Ross-On-Wye.

Posted on 30th September 2019

IMBC 19 Breweries

IMBC 19 BREWERY LIST

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ALL SESSIONS

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IMBC 19 ROOM GUARDIANS

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Room 1 – CLOUDWATER (Manchester)

Room 2 – BURNING SKY (Firle)

Room 3 – WYLAM (Newcastle)

Green Room – SIREN (Finchampstead)

Turkish Baths – DEYA (Cheltenham)

Pineapple Room – VERDANT (Falmouth)

Food Village 1 – LERVIG (Stavanger, Norway) x BEER MERCHANTS (Manchester)

Food Village 2 – FIERCE (Aberdeen)

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BUXTON (Buxton)

BY THE RIVER (Newcastle)

CASCADE (Portland, USA)

KERNEL (London)

LIQUID LIGHT (Nottingham)

NORTH (Leeds)

NORTHERN MONK (Leeds)

OMNIPOLLO (Stockholm, Sweden)

OTHER HALF (New York, USA)

THORNBRIDGE (Bakewell)

TRACK (Manchester)

WILD BEER CO (Shepton Mallet)

ZAPATO (Marsden)

THE THIRSTY GAMES | Cellar Boys (London)

THE THIRSTY GAMES | ÖL Brewery (Manchester)

THE THIRSTY GAMES | Vault City (Edinburgh)

CIDER

HOGAN’S CIDER (Alcester)

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THURSDAY & FRIDAY EXCLUSIVE BREWERIES

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AFFINITY (London)

BLACK IRIS (Nottingham)

BOUNDARY (Belfast)

BURNT MILL (Suffolk)

CHAPTER (Runcorn)

FUERST WIACEK (Berlin, Germany)

FYNE ALES (Cairndow)

HARBOUR (North Cornwall)

MAGNIFY (New Jersey, USA)

MANCHESTER UNION LAGER (Manchester)

MARBLE (Manchester)

ODYSSEY (Whitbourne)

OVERWORKS (Aberdeen)

PILOT (Leith)

PRESSURE DROP (London)

SIX DEGREES NORTH (Aberdeen)

SQUAWK (Manchester)

TWO TRIBES (London)

UNITY (Southampton)

VIBRANT FOREST (Southampton)

CIDER

PILTON CIDER (Shepton Mallet)

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SATURDAY & SUNDAY EXCLUSIVE BREWERIES

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ALMASTY (Newcastle)

THE BEAK (London)

BLACKJACK (Manchester)

BURNING SOUL (Birmingham)

COLLECTIVE ARTS (Hamilton, Canada)

CREATURE COMFORTS (Athens, USA)

DONZOKO (Hartlepool)

FINBACK (New York, USA)

GIBBERISH (Liverpool)

LEFT HANDED GIANT (Bristol)

LITTLE EARTH PROJECT (Suffolk)

PARTIZAN (London)

POMONA ISLAND (Salford)

POHJALA (Tallinn, Estonia)

REDWILLOW (Macclesfield)

RUNAWAY (Manchester)

SAINT MARS OF THE DESERT (Sheffield)

THIRST CLASS (Stockport)

WANDER BEYOND (Manchester)

YONDER (Somerset)

CIDER

ROSS-ON-WYE CIDER & PERRY CO (Ross-On-Wye)

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Did it hurt when you rose from hell yes?

Tickets available for Thursday and Sunday (just!) sessions: BUY EM HERE

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IMBC 19

3rd-6th October 2019

Victoria Baths, Manchester

Posted on 4th September 2019

Ones to Watch | IMBC 18

Soon we shall be depositing the full beer list for IMBC 18 – both in written form and in actual physical BEER FORM at Victoria Baths. In the meantime, we asked IMBC 18 beer pickers James, Matt and Scott to pick THREE beers each that they’re particularly looking forward to at this year’s festival. Feast on…

Matt Gorecki, IMBC

The Veil x Cloudwater – Chubbles III The Promised Land

Chubbles is pretty much what this style aught to be, BIG and complex and hoppy as hell and juicy as nobodies business. So many NEIPAs are very one dimensional and are kinda getting boring but I expect great things from this as the previous iterations have been tip-top.

The Kernel – Bramling Cross Wet Hop Table Beer

I love Bramling Cross and seeing a UK based green hop beer on the list is a great sign as they’re still pretty rare in the UK and rly aught to be less rare, Kernel are an all time favourite of course and are kinda the go to brewery to find out where stuff is heading and what the best use of particular hops is. Always killer beers and always super chill/anti hype. Their tasting on Sunday shouldn’t be missed!

Buxton – Keller Bier OR Jester King Snorkel

Whuut – Buxton have forged forwards recently with a raft of new beers alongside the established bangers and ice cream omni-pillow crowd pleasers, seeing a new kellerbier on the list kinda gets my attention bc I’ve had a fun time this year rediscovering lager and you know Buxton are gonna smash it right??? Soft murky keller bier yes pls. Oh and OK I’m breaking the rules but Snorkel was a stand out beer when we last had Jester King over (Ed: IMBC 2016) – smoked sea salt and oyster mushroom?? VERY IndyMan as some would say…

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James Moffat, IMBC

Pomona Island – Second Toughest In The Infants

Pomona Island have been making some of the best beer in Manchester (they’re technically from Salford but shhh) this year. They’ve been a mainstay on the taps at Port Street since starting up and have simply been getting better and better. This is a light, simple Table Beer thats been heavily hopped with Simcoe, Mosaic and Chinook, it’s the perfect way to start a session at IMBC. Probably the best named beer on this years list too.

Verdant – Don’t Fear The Ferryman (Bourbon Barrel Aged)

I was lucky enough to try this straight from the barrel when we went down to brew Armbands (Ed: IMBC x Verdant 2018 collaboration) earlier this year. It’s absolutely spot on! A big old imperial stout thats picked up loads of vanilla and tobacco notes from the barrel. Verdant are obviously more known for their hoppy beers but this is proof that they can turn their hands to anything.

Wylam – The Shape

Wylam head to Haddonfield. I had to pick this beer, it’s named after one of the best film antagonists of all time. I’m hoping Wylam are planning on playing a load of John Carpenter soundtracks while it’s pouring. Anyway, the beer, The Shape is a DDH IPA with Idaho 7, Centennial Cryo and Chinook BBC, pouring for the first time at IMBC alongside their new DIPA Freak Magnet. Both will be excellent, get one, queue up again while drinking it and go straight in for the other.

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Scott Kenneth Jackson, IMBC

Jester King – Fēn Táo

When Jester King first came to Indy Man back in 2016, the whole team was struck, not just by how great their beers were, but also by how genuinely lovely these guys are! We’re all super looking forward to having them back this year, and to drinking some more of their top-level sour beers. For me, though, it’s all about this guy. Fēn Táo is a barrel-aged wild ale which has been refermented with three different varieties of Hill Country peaches, which were taken straight from the orchard, macerated by hand and added straight into the base beer (Das Überkind) in an effort to embrace as much of the terroir of the fruit as possible. I’m so excited about this beer that, when the doors open on Thursday, you’ll find me at Jester King’s bar, first in line, glass in hand, “One third of Fēn Táo, please.”

Squawk – Barrel-Aged Series

Squawk are absolutely killing it at the minute. The cask champions of Manchester, everything they do, regardless of the container, is absolutely brilliant! One such beer is Corvus, which is not only the best stout I’ve had in a long time, but also a strong contender for one of my top 5 beers of 2018. With that accolade under their belt, and my expectations through the roof, I’m particularly keen to see what the brewery’s recent foray into barrel-ageing has produced. At Indy Man, you’ll find a Bourbon Barrel-Aged Chocolate Milk Stout and a Red Wine Belgian Dubbel, each dropping at different points during Squawk’s four-day occupation of Room 3. Mark these beers on your app, turn on your push notifications and get ready to throw some shapes in the Party Room as you sink third after third of these (semi) reasonably percentaged BA bad boys.

Other Half – Double Sunset Imperial Stout

And speaking of “reasonably percentaged” it wouldn’t be a list of SKJ recommendations without at least one stupidly strong, potentially festival-ending imp stout. On this list, that slot is occupied by Double Sunset, a mysterious (and completely un-Googleable) offering from New York dank masters, Other Half. Anyone who attended last year’s Indy Man will remember the hype around these guys – people queuing around the block of their Brooklyn-based brewery, just for the chance to walk away with a tinny of double-dry-hopped, dank, juicy goodness. So why Double Sunset? Why not one of their already established and much-loved double or triple IPAs? Well, I’m not going to lie, the fact this this beer has zero Internet presence is part of it – at this point it’s appearance on Untappd is rarer than than a Kanye follow-back. The main reason, though, is that I already know Other Half can do big, flavoursome IPAs. We all know that. They’re great. Instead, let’s see what these guys can do with this equally big, equally flavoursome style. Something amazing, I’ll bet.

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IMBC 18
4th – 7th October 2018, Victoria Baths, Manchester
TICKETS for Thursday 4th and Sunday 7th sessions are available HERE.

Posted on 28th September 2018

Cloudwater Q&A | IMBC 18

Cloudwater are back at IMBC for their fourth appearance since first exploding onto the scene in 2015. This year Cloudwater are the room sponsors of Room 1 at Victoria Baths and you will find them pouring them freshies at every session of IMBC 18. We spoke to Cloudwater about upcoming plans for IMBC 18 and more besides…

Your new brewery tap is now open at Unit 9, huzzah! What can visitors to the tap expect now and over IMBC weekend? How does the new tap differ to the barrel store experience?

In Unit 9 we wanted to create a more comfortable space for our customers as well as a more permanent space that we as a brewery can take pride in. The Barrel Store was a great stop gap, but with Unit 9, we have a better environment for people coming in to see what we are all about, as well as to showcase great beer we are inspired by. We had our first tap takeover from Bagby Beer, coming all the way from Oceanside, California, which included freshly air-freighted beers and an evening in conversation with Jeff Bagby, who is a phenomenal figure in the Southern California beer industry and an absolute don of the West Coast IPA.

Plus, Unit 9 has a fantastic dispense system installed by Yvan of Jolly Good Beer, with beer direct from our 3ºC cold store, maintaining temperature until it leaves the tap.

We’ve been in discussion with Linzi, our awesome Unit 9 tap room manager, as well as our new events crew in creating some IndyMan fun in the lead-up to and alongside the festival. We are still finalising these details, but expect some guest beers from friends of ours on the taps, collab brew launches, and some one-off brews alongside some single barrel releases from our Barrel Store and the launch of our new Autumn/Winter range of beers, which will also be integral in our IndyMan offering.

Cloudwater have been holding down Room 2 at Victoria Baths the past two years at IMBC. This year Cloudwater are the sponsor of Room 1 INSIDE a pool. What are you hoping to bring to the space?

We are excited to be dispensing our beers through a direct-draw cold store, which will be a first at the festival. It might be a bit geeky but dispense is so important for presenting your beer in the best possible way, and we are really hoping to take it to another level.

Also, two words: Crispy Corner. (Ed: Lager heads, take heed)

What are the latest developments at Cloudwater HQ?

Aside from the recent opening of Unit 9, we are currently getting the staff and opening sorted for our London tap room at 73 Enid Street in Bermondsey. We are looking forward to joining the wonderful community in beer there, as well as other things food and drink related. We are looking to open not long after IndyMan. Hope you all like pink!

Additionally, we’ve just recently brewed our 500th beer, which will be a hefty little number inspired by parkin. For those of you who aren’t aware of the glory that is parkin, think ginger, treacle and sticky tasty cake vibes.

How was it sitting in on this year’s Thirsty Games qualifying tasting? The 2018 Thirsty Games brewery line-up is one of the best yet but there was stiff competition!

There were quite a lot of interesting entries for the Thirsty Games this year. We hosted this in our Barrel Store, and the competition was pretty close, particularly with how many breweries there were. Claudia and Connor both sat on the panel and tried a lot of beer. It’s hard work for some.

Cloudwater are no strangers to beer festivals. What for you makes a good beer festival experience?

The best beer festivals we’ve been a part of have been those that have a welcoming atmosphere. As breweries going to places near and far, it’s great to feel welcomed by the festival hosts as well as the attendees. We recently had a wonderful experience in the town of Hammerfest in the very north of Norway–within the Arctic Circle! The bar, Jernteppet, and its owners and staff really looked after all the breweries attending and were exceptionally kind, and that put us all in a great mood that was passed onto the attendees, which sort of fed back to us. It was a welcoming festival in a welcoming town, and we couldn’t have asked for much more! IndyMan has been amazing in that respect in showing Northern hospitality to attendees coming from all over.

We are really privileged to be involved in so many events with such positivity. Events surrounding beer should be positive, and ones that everyone should be able to enjoy! We shouldn’t miss out on the experience of meeting and connecting with people at festivals just to tick a few beers off a list. Beer festivals such as IndyMan don’t just bring great beer all in one place, but they also bring in a fabulous community of brewers, enthusiasts, industry folks and people just curious about what this whole beer thing is about and what DIPA stands for.

Also, if you don’t know what DIPA stands for, please come to the Cloudwater room, where we will likely have one on draft!

Any favourite memories from IMBC 17?

Big fans of the Blawd Doughnuts, particularly paired with impy stouts. Recommended food and beer pairing action right there. We also can’t forget the masses gathering around the huge wheel of cheese in the Wild Beer Co. tent, chanting “CHEESE CHEESE CHEESE CHEESE” then animalistacally grabbing fist-fulls, bare handed, eating it plain. Plus, the beer from our friends Forest & Main were sublime. It was great having them pour with us!

CHEERS!

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Tickets for IMBC 18 are available for Thursday 4th October and Sunday 7th October sessions HERE.

Posted on 4th September 2018

Burning Sky Q&A | IMBC 18

This year at IMBC, Burning Sky sponsor Room 2 – the central space at Victoria Baths. This Burning Sky’s first year as room sponsor and this means you’ll find Burning Sky at the helm of Room 2 with a host of their beers pouring at each and every session. We spoke to head brewer Mark Tranter about their plans for IMBC 18 and Burning Sky goodness in general…

Hello Mark! We are very excited to have Burning Sky as the sponsor of Room 2 at IMBC 18. What are you looking forward to bringing to the space? And can you can give us any teasers on any special beers that you will be bringing?

Obviously we are super excited to be sponsoring IMBC this year – it ties in nicely with our 5th Birthday celebrations. We will be bringing a snazzy bar with a nice café vibe for people to be able to relax in and around. We will be pouring some special beers, including our first coolship release, vertical tastings of Anniversaire, the only keg ever of a single barrel Blackberry aged Provision and the debut of a couple of brand new beers. Amongst other things…

You’re coming up to your 5th birthday (only 13 more years before you can drink your beer!) – congratulations. Time flies but also Burning Sky have put out so many great beers in that duration, it’s hard to think of a time that Burning Sky weren’t on the UK scene. You’ve got a birthday shindig at the Prince Albert in Brighton – what’s happening?

I guess we started brewing just as the UK beer scene was really stepping up a notch – so in some ways it does seem like we’ve been around that bit longer than we have. For our Birthday, we are organising a small party/ beer festival at our favourite pub in Brighton, The Prince Albert. It’s a thank you to them and to everyone who has supported us over the years – so it’s a free event. Here there will be some extra bars in the pub, serving beer from some of the best UK brewers, friends and people that inspire us, the full details can be found here.

As you move into the second half of your first decade, what are your hopes and dreams for the future of Burning Sky?

That’s a tough question! Time moves so fast – and nowhere faster than in this ‘craft’ beer world. I guess I just want us to continue down this path that we have started forging, being true to our ethos, whilst continuing to improve our beers through constant learning. Obviously, as we get older, our barrel library expands, which in turn allows us to release more things.

As you are so renowned for your saisons, blends and wilder ales, I think sometimes people forget that Burning Sky also produce some outstanding IPAs and pale ales. Do you ever feel that or are your pales (cask, keg, bottles) actually right up there in terms of actual real-life demand?

That’s kind of you to say! Obviously we are so proud that people like our saisons etc – we certainly do! I think that people who know about our pales and IPAs, love them for the same reason that we do they are full flavoured in terms of being hop forward but also balanced and really drinkable. We love pales that leave you wanting another, rather than them being a chore to get through. Are they up there? Well we never have any stock, so I guess they are!

Are there any particular styles you are focusing on expressing in the future? What’s left for Burning Sky! Tell us about your coolship…

We will continue in our way – I feel like there is so much variation and nuances in the beers we do, so it will be more exploration of these with our ‘house style’. With the coolship, we are releasing our first beer from this on the 5th anniversary of our first ever brew, 29th September. There will be a small National launch on that day with the beer pouring in Manchester for the first time at IMBC (bottles will be available at the Beer Merchants shop there too).

So now we are happy with the results we are seeing, we can step it up a gear in terms of production. This will be made easier insofar as we will be taking on another building next year, to house all our barrels. Big enough for us to really grow into.

Burning Sky resides in Firle – midway between Brighton and Eastbourne – how is the brewing scene down there? Any peers blazing a trail that we should watch out for?

Historically, there hasn’t been much action in terms of modern style breweries but that is changing slowly with the likes of Gun Brewery (who have been going a couple of years now), some others are starting up, like ‘Good Things Brewing’, ‘Lost Pier’, ‘Lost and Found’ etc. Then obviously we have Harveys, who we all love and are finding new favour with modern beer aficionados.

What makes a good beer festival?

Good people – obviously! Good beer – obviously! Organisation – I think it’s easy for people from the outside looking in to underestimate how much goes into these things. A nice venue always adds to the attraction – gone are the days of a municipal hall!

Any favourite memories from IMBC 17 / Burning Sky’s fringe takeover at Port Street Beer House? Unfortunately we couldn’t duck out of Victoria Baths to check that out but heard it was top notch!

We were really pleased with the beers we managed to rustle up for that! I think my favourite moment was getting the Barrel aged, bretted IPA that we brewed with Harveys on the bar – it tasted amazing and was a perfect marriage of old and new!

Thanks Mark!

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IMBC 18
4th – 7th October 2018
Tickets for Thursday and Sunday sessions remain. Buy yours HERE.

Posted on 31st August 2018

Beer Merchants Q&A | IMBC 18

Beer Merchants are back at IMBC once more this year – as joint sponsors of our Food Village tent with Lervig, and as glass sponsor alongside Magic Rock. We spoke to Luke at Beer Merchants about what you can expect from their extensive treasure trove at IMBC 18…

Beer Merchants are taking over one of our Food Village tents alongside your good friends Lervig. Can you tell us a little about what you’ll be bringing to the space?

We will be bringing an all-star line-up of bottles, cans & merch to takeaway. From the best of the UK, fresh American imports, new releases from Europe and of course, a good Belgian selection. Expect fresh IPAs, lots of lambic and a healthy dose of imperial stouts for good measure. Since we’re sharing the space with Lervig we’ll have a bit of focus on their specials too but keep an eye out for their Crowler filler to take home whatever tasty draught beer they have on.

Unit 101 in Manchester and the Beer Merchants Tap in London are fast becoming must-attend venues for fans of great beer. What can visitors expect at either location when they step inside Beer Merchants’ inner sanctum?

Much the same as our online experience, we pride ourselves on bringing the very best beer from all over the world, in a welcoming and relaxed environment. A 300 strong beer list could be kind of daunting, but we have a great team on hand to make sure people find the perfect beer for them and enjoy their visit. We have moved our trade warehouse from Northwestern Street in Manchester so 101 will unfortunately be closing soon but plans are afoot to replace it with a much better space.

With Beer Merchants at IMBC the takeout options for attendees are always incendiary – what do you have up your sleeves this year? Any rarities you can talk about? Lower strength beers might also be a good shout – what low ABV numbers are you excited about at the moment?

IMBC is very fortunate as it kicks off just after our 2nd Cantillon shipment of the year comes in, so there will always be a great selection of lambic in attendance. We also work closely with loads of what we consider the best breweries around the world, so expect fresh Lervig, Garage, Collective Arts & more on the import side. A little closer to home we will also have all the latest releases from Magic Rock, Northern Monk, Cloudwater, Lost & Grounded etc so something for every palate.

Session beers are a hugely important part of the drinking culture in the UK and something we always keep in good stocks. We are all really enjoying House Party from our friends Lervig at the moment – a 4% juicy pale ale hopped with Citra & Bru-1. This has also been the summer of Keller Pils at Beer Merchants HQ. Lost & Grounded have been smashing it through the heatwave and a sub 5% unfiltered lager is the perfect choice.

You guys are aways involved in great events with the quality of the breweries you support. Do Beer Merchants have any forthcoming events around IMBC that drinkers can look forward to?

We will be running IMBC related tap takeovers during the festival at Unit 101 and the week after will be the Unit 101 closing party. Keep an eye out for that one as we want it to go out with a bang!

What makes a good beer festival for you guys? You’re no stranger to starring on some outstanding festivals.

For us, a good festival is a combination of many things: A great venue, an awesome beer list, good friends & a great vibe (all things IMBC have in droves). Victoria Baths always has such a great atmosphere through the weekend with a real buzz from both the customers and the brewers alike about a particular beer or brewery. Its always fun to have such an open & inclusive environment at a festival.

Beer Merchants are the IMBC 18 glass sponsors alongside Magic Rock. You’ll essentially be in the hands of everybody inside Victoria Baths…what beer should they start on?

Thats a tricky question as there are so many incredible breweries to choose from, but our friends Magic Rock are always going to be a good starting point. Burning Sky will undoubtedly bring a host of impeccable Saisons not to be missed and who can finish a night off without an Imperial Stout from Lervig (certainly not us)?

Any favourite memories from IMBC 17?

IMBC 17 was great fun but one of the standouts was The Thirsty Games. Its great to see smaller breweries get a showcase like this. Everything we had from Burning Soul was great, Affinity are good friends on the London scene & bonus points for showcasing Little Earth Project. Not only are they a seriously exciting brewery, but they are from my (Luke’s) hometown!

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Cheers Luke! Follow Beer Merchants on instagram and twitter to keep up with their developments.

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IMBC 18
4th – 7th October 2018 | Victoria Baths, Manchester
Tickets available for Thursday and Sunday sessions HERE.

Posted on 30th August 2018

The Brewer’s Eye Q&A | IMBC 18

We are excited to bring you the launch of The Brewer’s Eye app at IMBC 18 – a new app aimed at drinkers and brewers alike. We caught up with The Brewer’s Eye boss man Peter to find out more about it. The Brewer’s Eye are our official beer mat, wristbands and festival supporter at IMBC 18. See what Peter has to say below…

Hello Peter, you’re launching Brewer’s Eye at IMBC. Can you tell us about what the app does and how it can benefit both drinkers and brewers alike?

Over the past year we have been speaking to both Beer Lovers and Brewers from New Orleans to Melbourne and everywhere in-between to understand the risks, challenges, opportunities and needs that exist in the industry – a big thank you to all the amazing people that we have met so far. From these conversations we have founded The Brewer’s Eye, which is a unique beer platform made by Beer Lovers and Brewers, for Beer Lovers and Brewers.

Our mission is simple; The Brewer’s Eye will enable all Beer Lovers to get closer to Brewers and their awesome beers, tap rooms, events and inclusive locations than ever before.

We want to find out what all you Beer Lovers enjoy so we can help breweries grow and suggest some beer related awesomeness that we know you will love too. Whether you want vegan friendly or gluten free, juicy hop bursting DDH IPAs or coffee stouts, dog friendly or disabled access – we will find the beer, brewery and location that is perfect for you (of course there are lots more filters available on the app!).

Some Beer Lovers are now viewed as fans, likened to those who support a team or a club. They love certain beers and brewers but are unaware of where to find their favourite beers or that there are fantastic breweries hidden under some railway arches close to their house – The Brewer’s Eye will be a Beer Lovers best friend and allow them to enjoy beer the way that they want too.

The Brewers Eye will provide Brewers unparalleled reach to Beer Lovers who have drank their beer before and who have not, who have visited their tap room and who have not, who know they exist and those who do not – The Brewer’s Eye will seamlessly connect Beer Lovers to Brewers and vice-versa.

We are launching our Beta platform at IMBC and will have a demo area for all Beer Lovers and Brewers to test, play with and provide feedback. Making The Brewer’s Eye work for everyone is our goal, therefore during the IMBC festival everyone who signs up at our landing page (www.brewerseye.com) will become TBE Patrons and have a say in the future direction of the app and lots more cool stuff.

We cannot wait to see you all!

What are your hot tips for visitors to the city during IMBC weekend?

With nearly 20 years experience of Manchester we’ll try to keep this short because this is truly one of the best cities in Europe. Whether you’re with Nana and Grandad, Mam and Dad, kids or four-legged friends you must:

Say hey to Mark, John, Ollie and the guys at Runaway Brewery (Manchester’s best kept secret for drinking in the sun so ssshhhh…)
Order a roast dinner at Marble Arch, there are not many better pubs in the UK.
Play darts at The Smithfield Tavern and then pop to the Mackie Mayor next door if you’re hungry.
Wander off the beaten track around Piccadilly and check-out some of Manchester’s best breweries. Download the Beer Adventures app to help or just get a little lost, make sure you find Cloudwater, Track, Alphabet, Beer Merchants and Beer Nouveau.
Pop to GRUB for some grub!
Complete the (really hard) puzzle at The Pilcrow Pub over a few chilled beers.
Discover the secret garden at ÖL Nano Brewery & Bar at Hatch and enjoy a beer.
Venture a little bit further out to visit Sandbar for a beer and wood-fired pizza.
Head to The Knott Bar where Wander Beyond beers (with lots more) can be found.
Pop over to Ancoats where you can get a beer from Seven Brothers whilst waiting for a pizza from Rudy’s (the best in Manchester).
Chill out at The Gasworks Brewbar and win a game of shuffleboard.
Spend hour after hour at The Brewer’s Eye’s local – Port Street Beer House – which has a plethora of amazing cask and keg beers. You may be served by The Brewer’s Eye’s very own Mike so say hello and ask him about his homemade beers and bread.

Unfortunately we don’t have the space to unveil all of Manchester’s gems but we’re sure everyone attending IMBC will have a great long weekend in the city.

You’re going to be at the festival in person, what can attendees expect from The Brewer’s Eye setup at IMBC?

We have been allocated a corner space in Room 3 above the pool. Our intention is to create an interactive area where we will allow Beer Lovers to play with the Beta version of the app, show off our future vision for the app and take feedback on what does work and does not.

In addition we will of course be giving away some freebies, signing Beer Lovers up to join our journey and will have a number of polls that we need all Beer Lover’s assistance with – such as choosing our next feature, who our charity partners should be and many more key decisions.

Most importantly we have our ‘Beer Lover of The Week’ feature. If you are lucky enough to be selected you will win some cool beer stuff, a space on our online blog and get to feature on our app. We will be running some competitions for IMBC patrons to win this prestigious title and the cool prizes so make sure you come and visit us at the festival.

You’ve already been working closely with some breweries in Manchester. What are you looking forward to about being side by side with some great local, domestic and international breweries at IMBC 18?

That’s right, we’ve been working with some of Manchester’s and the UK’s best brewers, who have been instrumental in The Brewer’s Eye from the start. We have also travelled across the globe and have been fortunate to meet a lot of awesome international brewers. What was instantly obvious at home and abroad is the value that The Brewer’s Eye will add to breweries of all sizes, and Beer Lovers, wherever and whoever they are.

Honestly we are pretty star-struck and cannot wait to share the festival with these Beer Legends. These are the folk that produce phenomenal beer for us all and are the heartbeat of the industry; without these extremely talented and passionate people we cannot drink awesome beer at inclusive environments and we would not have the 1/3 pint glass – remember as you walk around IMBC to raise your 1/3 glasses to the Beer Legends and say cheers!

The Brewer’s Eye was created and exists to help Brewers and we cannot wait to introduce them to what we are doing – we obviously can’t wait to drink a lot of their awesome beers too.

Any hints on how to approach a session at IMBC? We take it you’re no stranger to beer festivals!

We are definitely not strangers to beer festivals and we think there are four approaches that can be adopted once you’ve managed to acquire your tokens:

The Quicky: Drink third after third after third without scoping out the area, the brewers or the beers on offer. You enjoy the beers, meet some cool people and have a great time but before you know it you’re seeing two thirds instead of one and are heading for a quick exit without last orders being called. Unfortunately you don’t remember too much the next day about the beers or brewers but have your photo library and leftover tokens to solve some of the puzzle.
The Chiller: Play the long game and you are here until last orders. You get a third from a brewer you know so that you can go and scope out the festival. On your way around you meet Beer Lovers and stop to talk to Brewers – in no rush and whoever you’re with knows you’ll be back at some point. Once a lap of the festival has been completed you either go for one more or find a place to set up camp. From base camp you journey to the Brewers that you met earlier and enjoy an evening of awesome beers, music and food.
The Value: Drink the strongest beers you can find and realise – either immediately and/or the next day – that this was not a great approach! You’re at risk of not enjoying flavours, not seeing the end of the night and having a tremendous hangover the next day…tread carefully.
The Scientist: Before arriving at the festival you know everything that you want and where to get it. As that classic beer festival saying goes “Fail to prepare or prepare to…fall into one of the other three categories”. You have an awesome time meeting some cool people along the way and to you success is completing your pre-prepared beer and brewer checklist.

No matter which approach you decide to adopt – make sure you get out there, talk to the brewers and most of all – have a good time.

P.S. Please and Thank you are mandatory!

Where can we follow your progress online?

Everyone can sign up for updates and follow our blog at www.brewerseye.com. We also have social media and can be found @thebrewerseye on both Twitter and Instagram. By following us you will be able to discover what The Brewer’s Eye looks like, its first set of features and much more beer related greatness.

Remember – All Beer Lovers who sign-up at www.brewerseye.com before 14^th October 2018 will have a say in the future direction of the app and lots more cool stuff.

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CHEERS PETER! SEE YOU IN THE POOL!

Posted on 23rd August 2018

Verdant Q&A | IMBC 18

VERDANT return to IMBC for their third year at Victoria Baths. This time Verdant commandeer the Turkish Baths as official IMBC 18 room sponsors. We spoke to Adam Robertson, Verdant co-founder, about life in the juice lane. Read on…

You guys are constantly revisiting and updating the recipes of your core range – how is that process? Do you ever feel like you achieve the perfect rendition of say Headband or will it always be a case of fine tuning and adapting?

We have revisited the core range continually and mainly down to the fact they are all still brewed into our original flat bottom fermenters, which restricts us to using dried yeast. We are now happy with all iterations of these beers and even to the point now that we feel moving away from these FV’s would change the beers again and maybe too far away from what they are now. Headband for in stance is tasting perfect right now, Pulp & Bloom have never been messed with and as for Lightbulb, well that’s an ongoing battle and mainly down to the fact that subjectively we all like different things. But, I’m pretty sure that we are very close to having that nailed too.

Have you noticed any particular trends in drinking habits this past year? Lower ABV stuff seems to be much more prevalent than it was amongst UK breweries than it was last year for instance.

Lower ABV beers for sure and fruited sours, the triple fruited Gose we collab’d with North Brewing on definitely seemed to hit a sweet spot with people. I think the brewers have driven the low ABV trend, last year at beer festivals was brutal with all the DIPA’s floating around. There is also a definite trend towards the Brut IPA, an IPA fermented out with Champagne yeast, still fruity but with an incredibly dry finish.

How is it meeting the demand for Verdant beers? You’re bringing out new beers most weeks – it is exciting times. You recently increased your brewing capacity. What are your plans moving forward?

We brew to capacity each week, we have filled our space to capacity so we simply can not grow any more in our current situation, so yeah that is exciting. We create new beers each week and we release them via our online store, the Experiment in Hackney and via distribution and then on Monday we start all over again. It’s really fun times but we look to the future and we try to understand how sustainable that is, the UK beer scene doesn’t look to buy the same beer twice, everyone always wants something new and I wrestle with how healthy that is for a business. It works whilst we are this small and still have a large portion of the market to attract, but how sustainable is it when we grow to be larger brewery…

Our plans are to grow for sure, but we are so limited in finding suitable space in Falmouth. We are working hard to solve these problems and have a couple of options. We will be looking to putting some plans in place later this year.

Seafood tapas and beer! Name a more iconic duo. How are your plans for the Seafood Bar going?

This space really excites all of us. We know it’s late and it’s taking too long but it will be so very worth it. Current plans are to open over the weekend of the Falmouth Oyster Festival on October 16th. The space we have taken on has been the Falmouth Seafood Bar for nearly 40 years, we want to continue this tradition but bring Verdant beers into the mix also. It’s quite an important space in Falmouth and although very small will be a great place to spend an afternoon or evening when visiting the town. Expect the freshest seafood along side the freshest beers.

Are you finding drinkers are making the pilgrimage to Falmouth more often these days? Where should any prospective fans visit in Falmouth?

Most definitely! We find the shop at the brewery is very busy with people suggesting day trips to Falmouth via the stop off at an industrial estate. It’s really very exciting to have the drinkers from around the country drop in and buy fresh cans. We always get to here where they buy our beers outside of Cornwall. If coming to Falmouth you need to visit HAND Beer Bar – 8 years a craft beer, The Working Boat stunning location and good food, The Star & Garter for finer dining, The Seaview Inn for a pub with a panoramic view of Falmouth. You can’t really go wrong for food in Falmouth, the Kitchen is fantastic, The Wheelhouse if you can get a table and Provedore (arrive early with cash) are all great options.

You’ve been at IMBC the past two years. What for you, as seasoned festival pourers, makes a good beer festival?

A man dressed as Mario playing an 8bit keyboard 🤣 (Ed: if you know you know)

But seriously it’s down to the organisers. When an event is well organised the brewers pull out all the stops and bring their A game. A well organised festival provides everything that the customer would need. Beer, Food and Conveniences often; layered with music and good vibes at value for money. The location for IMBC is worth the ticket alone.

Tell us about The Experiment! How did your partnership with Pressure Drop come about? Any plans to link arms with those guys at IMBC?

In the true name of collaboration, we were invited to brew with PD and we bit their arm off. For us they had been the catalyst to drinking better beer in the UK so it had to happen. When we there Graham had mentioned their old site and that it was laying dormant. We took a visit together and the plans were hatched. It was a simple decision and it’s a very softy launch. We have some more work to do there but it’s working out really well, we are very excited to have such a place in London – we get the freshest beers up there each week. We hadn’t considered an Experiment at IMBC 🤔

Lastly, what are Verdant going to bring to the Turkish Baths? Any exciting plans you can leak?

No leaks, but expect some beers never poured by us before, when I say never poured… beer that has been hanging around for a while that we need you guys to taste. Music naturally as we are all huge fans, a photo booth is being lined up so that visitors can remember their time at IMBC and we can post you all onto the internet. Expect fun times!

CHEERS ADAM!

Follow Verdant on Instagram, Twitter, and on their website.

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IMBC 18 / 4th-7th October 2018. Victoria Baths, Manchester
Tickets for Thursday 4th, Friday 5th day session, and Sunday 7th October are available HERE.

Posted on 22nd August 2018