Meet Buxton / IMBC 17

We stole a few precious moments with Denis Johnstone, Brewery Manager at Buxton, to chat IMBC 17 and Buxton’s exciting plans. Buxton Brewery are the sponsors of the Green Room at IMBC this year and you can expect a ravishing haul across all sessions.

Hi Denis, we are really excited to have Buxton bossing their own room at IMBC this year. Can you tell us a little about what you folks have lined up for the Green Room?

Hi Dave! Yeah we’re super excited to be hosting the Green Room this year! We’re bringing a really wide range of our beers and re-brewed some classics especially for IMBC including Wyoming Sheep Ranch DIPA and Battle Horse Black DIPA – both will be kegged a day or two before the festival! We’re also bringing two slushie machines and a heap of the Buxton x Omnipollo Original Ice Cream Beers and are planning to do some fun toppings.



I heard rumblings that there are exciting plans afoot at your brewery for the beer punter. Tours? Taproom? Can you elaborate or are you sworn to secrecy?

Yes totally sworn to secrecy haha! Yes our “Speakeasy Tasting Room” at the brewery is almost ready and we should have it opened very soon.


Buxton Tap House is a real destination for any beer aficionado. I’d imagine your soft serve machines get quite the reaction from the uninitiated at the Tap House. Do the ice cream beers blow a lot of minds on a daily basis?

They certainly do! But a few minds also regularly get blown by Axe Edge! The soft serve machines are a fantastic talking point and really get people excited about our Ice Cream beers. Apart from us and Omnipollo’s Hatt (Stockholm) there aren’t many bars that offer the ice cream beers with soft serve on an almost permanent basis!

What are your top Manchester tips for visitors to the city over IMBC weekend?

The Smithfield is always awesome but I’m pretty sure history will repeat itself and I’ll end up at Port Street most nights again this year! Especially with the Burning Sky takeover! For food has to be Bundobust.

Finally. What’s your desert island Buxton beer of choice? Cold stored, naturally.

Myrcia

Thanks Denis! 

Posted on 18th September 2017

IMBC 17 App

Welcome to 2017, we now have an IMBC app!

It’s coming to Android VERY shortly but meanwhile, Apple customers, you’re in luck. The IMBC app is now LIVE and ready to download on the App Store. Search “IMBC” to locate it or find it HERE.

You’ll need the app for the online beer list for IMBC. Expect that to drop Wednesday 27th September 2017. The beer list will be updated LIVE as beers go off and on throughout IMBC 17. Wowee.

You’ll also be able to sign up for notifications to specific breweries so you are alerted when their beers change.

Other handy features include a link through to Untappd, a map so you can get around and find breweries, and the full run down of our IMBC 17 Fringe line-up.

Big thanks to Patrick Cavanagh for designing the app and to Steve Hockett for adding the illustrative touches.

Shout out to our app and connectivity supporter Telcom too!


Posted on 14th September 2017

IMBC 17 Breweries

Here we go. Here is the brewery line-up in full for IMBC 17. The brewery line-up differs from Thursday/Friday to Saturday/Sunday. To see the line-up for individual days see HERE. 

Tickets are still available for Thursday 28th September and Sunday 1st October. Buy tickets HERE. 

IMBC 17 BREWERIES

IMBC 17 ROOM SPONSORS:::

BEAVERTOWN BREWERY (London, UK) / Pineapple RoomBUXTON BREWERY (Buxton, UK) / Green RoomCLOUDWATER (Manchester, UK) w/ FOREST & MAIN (Pennsylvania, USA) / Room 2
FOURPURE (London, UK) / Room 1LERVIG (Stavanger, Norway) w/ BEER MERCHANTS (Manchester / Kent, UK) / Turkish Baths
 NORTHERN MONK (Leeds, UK) / Food Village

SIREN CRAFT BREW (Wokingham, UK)  w/ RAINBOW PROJECT / Room 3

 WILD BEER CO (Shepton Mallet, UK) / Food Village
 +++

ALMASTY (Newcastle, UK)
ATOM (Hull, UK)
THE BEAK (Leeds / London, UK)
BLACKJACK (Manchester, UK)
BLACK IRIS (Nottingham)
BOUNDARY (Belfast, UK)
BRASSERIE TROIS DAMES (Sainte-Croix, Switzerland)
BREW BY NUMBERS (London, UK)
BREWSKI (Helsingborg, Sweden)
BRIGHTON BIER (Brighton, UK)
BRODIE’S (London, UK)
BROUFOX French Brewery Showcase (France)
BRUSSELS BEER PROJECT (Brussels, Belgium)
BURNING SKY (Firle, UK)
CHORLTON BREWING COMPANY (Manchester, UK)
DEYA (Cheltenham, UK)
DRY & BITTER (Gørløse, Denmark)
DUGGES (Landvetter, Sweden)
ELUSIVE (Finchampstead, UK)
FIERCE (Aberdeen, UK)
FIRST CHOP (Salford, UK)
FIVECLOUDS (Macclesfield, UK)
FIVE POINTS (London, UK)
GARAGE (Barcelona, Spain)
GUEUZERIE TILQUIN (Bierghes, Belgium)
HAWKSHEAD (Staveley, UK)
HOGAN’S CIDER (Alcester, UK)
THE KERNEL (London, UK)
LEFT HANDED GIANT (Bristol, UK)
LINES (Caerphilly, UK)
MAD HATTER (Liverpool, UK)
MARBLE (Manchester, UK)
NORTH BREWING CO (Leeds, UK)
ODYSSEY (Whitbourne, UK)
OTHER HALF (New York City, USA)
PARTIZAN (London, UK)
REDCHURCH (London, UK)
RED WILLOW (Macclesfield, UK)
RIDGESIDE (Leeds, UK)
RUNAWAY (Manchester, UK)
SIX DEGREES NORTH (Aberdeen, UK)
SQUAWK (Manchester, UK)
THIRST CLASS (Stockport, UK)
THORNBRIDGE (Bakewell, UK)
TORRSIDE (New Mills, UK)
TRACK (Manchester, UK)
VERDANT (Falmouth, UK)
WIPER AND TRUE (Bristol, UK)
WEIRD BEARD (London, UK)
WHITE HAG (Ballymote, Ireland)
WYLAM (Newcastle, UK)
ZAPATO (Leeds, UK)

THIRSTY GAMES 2017 FINALISTS:::
AFFINITY BREW CO (London, UK)
BURNING SOUL (Birmingham, UK)
LITTLE EARTH PROJECT (Sudbury, UK)

 

IMBC 17 SUPPORTERS
Official Glass Sponsor: BEER MERCHANTS


Official Brewer Mother & T-Shirt Supporter: SIMPLY HOPS

Official Keg Partner: KEGSTAR
Thirsty Games Supporter: LALLEMAND


Beer Mat Supporter: YEAST BERLIN

App and Wifi Supporter: TELCOM

 

Posted on 4th September 2017

Meet Beer Merchants / IMBC 17

I’m sure you need no introduction but allow us to introduce you to BEER MERCHANTS, our glass sponsor for IMBC 17. Beer Merchants will also be bossing a bottle shop at Victoria Baths for all your takeout needs. They’re always busy blighters, check out who they are and what they do below…

Hello Beer Merchants! Who am I speaking to?

Jonny Garrett, marketing manager at Cave Direct and Beer Merchants. And the Craft Beer Channel, for my sins.
Beer Merchants are our glass sponsor for IMBC 17. You’ll be in everybody’s hands in Victoria Baths. Can you tell us a little about Beer Merchants?

We’re one of the oldest online beer shops in the UK, specialising in beautiful British and Belgian beers, but with delicious stuff from all over the world too. Usually we’ve got over 1,000 beers (and the odd gin!) live at any time and we try to have the widest, most eccentric list on the internet. And thankfully being an importer too means we get the best prices too.
You’ll be operating a bottle shop at IMBC 17 for all our takeaway needs. What can punters expect?

An absolute whale fest. Cantillon, 3 Fonteinen and some incredible Belgians you’ve never heard of but have to try; loads of carefully selected bombers from the US plus the absolute best the UK has to offer next to beers from all the brilliant breweries at IMBC. On top of the rare bits we’ll also have everything you need to keep the party going at home (road beers!) and lots of amazing merch from breweries too.

Are you looking forward to locking horns with Lervig at IMBC this year?

If by locking horns you mean pouring ourselves all the 3 Bean and Tasty Juice then hell yeah. We import their beers so we’ve worked really closely with them to create an experiential space that will be unlike any sponsored room has been at IMBC before – but that will pale in comparison to the beers they have on. We’ve always thought Lervig were world class and that’s why we partnered with them 3 years ago, but what they have put out in the last 12 months has been nothing short of show-stopping. It’s going to be a great event for them.

You lot are doing a couple of talks / tastings at IMBC 17. Lip smackingly titled “So much more than sour”. Can you give us a spoiler as to what that might entail?

I’m going to try to end this awful term “sour beer” as a catch all for a whole bunch of styles. Like the term “lager”, it just doesn’t do justice to all the amazing sub-styles within the category – geuze, kriek, wild, berlinerweiss, oud bruin, gose – that are as distinct from each other as IPA and stout. It’s not all my own personal mission though – we’re gonna be trying some seriously rare and exciting beers while I get ruddy in the face and tell you all about them and the adventures we’ve had with the Craft Beer Channel and Beer Merchants discovering them.

What have Beer Merchants got in the pipeline? I know there’s exciting plans underfoot with Unit 101. Amazing that you guys are doing the Zwanze Day this year!

There is so much in the pipeline with Beer Merchants I don’t know where to start. We’re launching an aged beer section soon, with lots of stuff we’ve been cellaring for years, our beer club has relaunched to be better than ever, and we’re doing events up and down the country to get rare beers into the hands of people that don’t usually get a chance to try them. Meanwhile our pub pop-up Unit 101 in Manchester has been great since it opened and its an honour to host such an iconic event in Zwanze Day. People should keep their eyes and ears open as we have a HUGE bit of news about a new venue coming soon.

Where should visitors to the city hit during the festival? (Asides Victoria Baths, obviously)

Oh my well we’ll be holing ourselves up in Café Beermoth or Port Street every chance we get but we’re also big fans of Cane & Grain and Cottonopolis – maybe some vegan food at V Rev to balance the bad out. Then obviously we’ll be at our Unit 101 afterparty on Friday for some crafty beer pong. This time around we might not do it with Lervig Sippin’ into Darkness. No one wins when you do that.

Lastly, where is best to keep up with what Beer Merchants are up to?

Follow us on twitter @beermerchants as that’s where we get involved in fights and pedantry. Oh and news, sometimes we do news. It’s also worth following @cavedirect our trade arm, because most things go through there first so you can get the skinny on the rare stuff before it hits the site.

Thanks Beer Merchants! We all look forward to drinking from your cup at IMBC 17.

—

Not got your ticket for IMBC 17 yet? No challenge! Thursday and Sunday tickets remain. Pick up your ticket for the opening Thursday 28th September or closing Sunday 1st October sessions HERE. 

Posted on 1st September 2017

Meet Beavertown / IMBC 17

MEET BEAVERTOWN
IMBC 17

Beaverwho? Said nobody ever. You can’t have turned a craft beer corner in the last however many latelies without happily stumbling into a new trick from the prolific Beavertown. We stole a precious moment with Nick Dwyer of Beavertown to find out the inside track on what’s really going on chez Beaver. Beavertown are the sponsors of the Pineapple Room at IMBC 17. Here’s Nick to take it away…

Hey Nick, tell us a little about your role at Beavertown – because it’s a goodie!

It sure is.  Im “Creative Director,” a title I was given when no one knew what it meant but it stuck and sounds really grand and I love it. Basically I look after anything and everything visual at Beavertown, from designing our printed cans, labels, keg badges, merch and “POS” stuff through to deciding finishes, knocking up posters, beautifying the brewery, to liaising with production facilities and manufacturers to get all that stuff to us in time for events, beer launches and trips to other countries. I don’t think I’ve ever actually written that down before. Other little bits and bobs too, but that’s the jist of it. It’s by no means just me though, everybody will have input in one way or another too.

You guys are always busy beavers, what have Beavertown been working on lately?

Prep for our fest, The Beavertown Extravaganza in a couple of weeks! I’ve been on call for making signs and banners and other visuals etc, alongside an unrelenting list of collaboration artworks to do. These are my favourite, as I get to work with some really brilliant artists that work for other breweries, Trillium’s Kevin and Stillwater’s Mike being the most recent ones. Everyones really excited about it but its been manic! We also released our huge Firestone Walker collab, “Beavo”, recently, the first time we’ve had such a quantity of a collab beer made in the USA over here.  Other than that we’re continuing our rebranding of much of the core range, working with as many brands as possible to improve our merch and not being able to brew enough beer to satisfy the thirsty masses so all in all not much HBU?

Are you hyped for Beavertown Extravaganza? We certainly are! I’m guessing you’ve had a big role in the aesthetics of it?

Absolutely. It’s a massive undertaking that I can take only a very small amount of credit for. Sam and Kieran are the real dream facilitating one-two-punch, alongside the rest of the guys like keeping the wheels turning and everyone sort of half smiling half crying. Smying. Criling? But we are getting there, ticking things off the list by the minute!

Last year at IMBC 16 Beavertown killed it in Room 1 – you were pulling so many Tempus Project beers out of the hat alongside so much more, spaceships and spacemen, all that jazz. This year Beavertown are taking over the Pineapple Room – can you tell us a little about what to expect?

I would say bright colours, brilliant beers and good times. Kieran has just said we are going “Uber beaver” over my shoulder which is a worrying statement out of context. Every year we have whittled the playlist down via trial and error so hopefully this year we will have 100% approval!.. Also, hopefully, Logan in that super flattering Gamma Ray man costume again. “I promise that’s just my phone”


Last year as part of the IMBC fringe, you had an exhibition of your work up at Common as part of a Beavertown bar takeover. Magic Rock are up at Common this year for a bar takeover throughout IMBC 17. Hopefully Rich Norgate will be peppering the walls with his art. Who are your some of your favourites when it comes to beer artwork?

Rich is up there in that list and is also a solid dude which helps. Recognizable from a distance but really intricate up close – perfect. I have always admired his talent for making abstract shapes have so much personality. Similarly, Karl Grandin of Omnipollo with his ability to make the simplest concept so visually appealing, but when he really goes for the colours and shapes… look out retinas there’s a new sheriff in town. Like I mentioned I’ve also worked with Mike Van Hall (Stillwater), Kevin Cimo (Trillium) and Nana Gulbaek (Lervig) who are all really damn good at what they do. Also just been told I’m working with Keith Shore of Mikkeller himself (again) which is always the best news so watch this space. Im really lucky to work in an industry with such exciting artists involved. Hopefully we get to work together at some point, Dave! Donut Boy meets…well, probably skeletons.

What’s your Beavertown beer of choice? (Tricky question, I know)

Humuloid. Our first crack at one of them hazy ones the kids love so much and we knocked it out the park. I can say that, having nothing at all to do with the brewing of it. Skullwater, our Belgian pale with Stillwater is also a firm favourite of mine at the moment, as it’s something a little different to what we usually do.

Quick! I’m in London! Where do I go?

The pressure is real… Walthamstow! Massively biased as I live there but Yardsale Pizza, Sodo Pizza, Eat 17, Clapton Craft and a choice of about 10 pubs all within walking radius means I absolutely love it up there. More centrally I usually find myself at The Mermaid or The Clapton Hart as both have outside spaces and I’m a sucker for a beer in a garden.


I know you’ve got a soft spot for Manchester, if you manage to make it up for IMBC weekend – where are you hitting in town? 

You know exactly where Dave, let’s not do this. (Ed: I’ve previously sighted Nick in Manchester in Common, Port Street, Kosmonaut, Heaton Hops, and Manchester Piccadilly Train Station) 

Lastly, what was your gateway into craft beer? 

The burning desire for people to see my work. I did the initial bottle labels for Black Betty and Gamma Ray as a freelance illustration gig (paid in “exposure”,) but getting a bit of insight into the passion within the beer world led to asking for a job in Dukes, then Beavertown’s home by day, and gaming it so Logan saw more of my sketchbook and designs than he otherwise might have. Through mutual interests we became close / I became employed. Long story short I offered as much help as I could, and here I am.

Anything else to add? 

I already feel hungover thinking about Indyman 17

Thanks Nick!

Independent Manchester Beer Convention
Thursday 28th September – Sunday 1st October 2017 / Victoria Baths, Manchester
Tickets available HERE. 

Posted on 23rd August 2017

We Want YOU!

UPDATE: We are looking for volunteers for Friday evening, Saturday evening, and Sunday sessions. Get in touch if you can make any of these sessions! 

We want YOU to volunteer at IMBC 17…

VOLUNTEER APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN

Every year we work with an amazing volunteer team to help us deliver Indy Man Beer Con – we are now looking for our team for 2017!

In return for volunteering at 0ne session, you will get:

1 x ticket to a session of your choice

15 x beer tokens

1 x IMBC 17 t-shirt

1 x food voucher for the session that you work

1 x good time

Most of our volunteers help out breweries with pouring beer and running their bars. Other volunteers help in other areas such as set-up, event support, information and token desks. As a volunteer you will work in the friendly, dynamic environment of IMBC and be valued as a core part of our event.

We ask that you:

Bring a positive, friendly attitude and be willing to muck in and help wherever needed

Don’t drink on shift – asides tasting what you’re pouring – leave this for your free session

We are also interested in volunteers who would like to volunteer for more one session. If you are interested in volunteering on multiple sessions, please state your interest in your application. See below! Rewards for multi-session volunteers will be announced upon approval of your given shifts.

 

If you would like to apply, please read ~ IMBC_Volunteer Information_2017  ~ and then submit the Volunteer Application Form below,

APPLY HERE! APPLY HERE! APPLY HERE!

The application deadline is 5pm Monday 11th September, but we encourage you to apply ASAP to avoid disappointment. We have limited places available and will be filling roles as we go.

IMBC 17 runs Thursday 28th September – Sunday 1st October 2017 but we are also looking for volunteers to help with the setup and takedown on either side of those dates. See form above for more details.

Before you apply, please make sure you will be available to attend one of our volunteer briefing sessions on Sunday 17th September at 5pm or Monday 18th September at 6.30pm.

Posted on 8th August 2017

Meet Fourpure / IMBC 17

MEET FOURPURE
IMBC 17

We’re sure you’ve already met many many times but allow us to introduce you to Fourpure as Adrian Lugg shines a light on what Fourpure are up to and what to expect from them at Victoria Baths for IMBC 17. Last week we travelled to Fourpure to brew a collaboration beer that will be available nationwide mid to late August 2017. Look out for Bath Bomb in the very near future.

Fourpure are the sponsors of Room 1 at IMBC 17. You’ll find Fourpure at every session of IMBC 17. We asked Adrian a few questions…

You’ve just brewed an IMBC collaboration beer at Fourpure – thank you kindly – can you tell us a little about Bath Bomb?

It’s a tropical pale ale, it’s going to taste amazing. We hope. No pressure.

Sneaky peek of the Bath Bomb can artwork by Steve Hockett

Tell us a bit about your recent Juicebox 500 tour

It was a super good time. Logistically it was a lot of hard work but it definitely paid off. We hit 11 cities in 11 days and met some brilliant people from all over the country. There’s something about the craft beer crowd, both those that own and work in venues and the humble beer drinker who just wants to turn up and have a chat. There was such a good vibe at every new city we went to and it was a great opportunity for our team to get out and about and meet some really cool people.

Fourpure are the guardians, as it were, of Room 1 at Victoria Baths for IMBC 17. What can we expect from Fourpure?

Sophie (much-loved Fourpure events manager) has been pulling together some really fun ideas, there’s going to be lots of lights, some interactive stuff and we’re talking to a local arts school so it should be a pretty good show.

James IMBC touches things at Fourpure

Deucebox was one of the hits at last year’s IMBC. Will you be unearthing more gems at this year’s festival?

We hope so. We’ve got some absolute belters coming through now and more in time for the festival. We’re looking to have a decent size bar with a few taps so you’ll see a range, there’ll be some Fourpure favourites like Juicebox, Deucebox and Shape Shifter, I believe we’ll also be pouring Bath Bomb so that’s exciting. Truth be told we started planning our Indy Man beer list towards the end of last year so we’re also bringing a range of small batch and one-offs that we’re hoping go down well.

Who are you looking forward to sharing the stage with at IMBC 17?

Dave Grohl? Is he going to be there? It’s not that we’re huge Foo Fighter fans but apparently he’s a nice guy. It’s probably not fair to single out any one brewery as everyone brings their A Game to IMBC, it’s such a great event with a unique vibe and good people. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves around this event, there’s just so many great breweries with exciting beers.

What are your tips for the ultimate IMBC experience?

Visit as many breweries and try as many beers as you possibly can. Drink lots of water. Stay hydrated. Don’t take any preconceptions in with you, your new favourite beer might be something you’d never think to try, your new favourite brewery might not have previously been on your radar. Don’t take it too seriously, it’s beer, have fun.

Photographs by Fourpure

How do you feel about the current London brewing scene?

It’s really hard to keep up with what’s happening in London right now, the momentum just keeps building and it’s incredible to see the support across the city for (relatively) well-established breweries and new comers alike. The focus on craft in London is really exciting, it’s the beers we like to drink and there’s plenty of opportunities to share ideas and collaborate.

What’s next for Fourpure? What should we look out for?

We’re pretty close to installing our new brew house, there’s an abundance of new tanks and new toys in production and some stuff is en-route as we write this. The increased capacity is going to free up a lot of time to focus on innovation, and our entire team, brewing and beyond are chomping at the bit to get some fun recipes in tank. We’re also pretty close to getting some of our barrel aged projects in keg, there’s always something new and different happening at Fourpure but sometimes we like stop and appreciate an old favourite. We’re going to be brewing Beartooth again in Autumn, it’s a seasonal American Brown that we’ve brewed before and it’s one of our favourite beers for any occasion.

Thanks Fourpure, I like you

Tickets for IMBC 17 / Thursday 28th September – Sunday 1st October 2017 are available HERE. 

Posted on 2nd August 2017

IMBC 17 Fringe

IMBC 17 FRINGE
Thursday 28th September – Sunday 1st October 2017

At IMBC time each year we like to lay on a few outer Victoria Baths experiences to get you in the beery mood. This year we are exciting to announce that we have the following events happening at our bars. As ever we wanna throw the net wider and get some great beer happenings going on city-wide that you can enjoy before and after IMBC – if you’re a pub / bottle shop / other and you want us to include your event in our programming, get in touch!

Meanwhile, here’s what we’ve got going on so far…

BURNING SKY TAKEOVER PORT STREET BEER HOUSE
Rarities, classics and new classics wall to wall across cask and keg from master brewers and blenders, Burning Sky.

MAGIC ROCK TAKEOVER COMMON
Huddersfield honchos Magic Rock bring a bag of tricks to Common for back to back Magic cask and keg. Expect tastings, new releases, rare batches, artwork, food specials and the unexpected.

WEIRD BEARD TAKEOVER THE PILCROW
Weird Beard bring the immaculate haul to The Pilcrow for a four day showcase of all things Weird. Newbies, golden oldies, pop-up tastings, specials galore.

THORNBRIDGE TAKEOVER THE BEAGLE
Bakewell’s always excellent Thornbridge make tracks to The Beagle in Chorlton for the long weekend to provide the ultimate offering of essential cask and keg. All the stone cold classics will be there alongside rarities, Thornbridge food specials, pop-ups and much more.

Artwork by David Bailey

Got your ticket to the big dog yet? IMBC 17 wants YOU (to attend). Thursday 28th September and Sunday 1st October are the only dates that remain. Pick up your tickets HERE!

Posted on 2nd August 2017