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Beer Festivals

BrewDog – AGM 2017, Aberdeen #PunkAGM2017

BrewDog AGM2017

Another year, another BrewDog AGM. This write up will be slightly less detailed than usual. Initially, I was going to pretend it’s because I’ve covered the previous two AGMs in depth here and here and they are fairly similar. This is true. But the real reason is that I seem to have slipped out of good blogger mode recently. I ...

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The Independent Manchester Beer Convention 2016 (IMBC 2016)

Indy Man Beer Con 2016

The highlight of Manchester’s beer calendar is undoubtedly the Independent Manchester Beer Convention, or Indy Man Beer Con as we like to call it. Returning for its fifth year and seemingly going from strength to strength. Tickets to the peak time sessions sold out in record time. Although I enjoyed 2015’s event I felt it wasn’t quite as good as previous years. ...

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International Rainbow Project 2016 @ Magic Rock Tap, Huddersfield

International Rainbow Project 2016 @ Magic Rock Tap

The fourth annual Rainbow Project was held in September. An event where seven of the UK’s best breweries design a beer inspired by a colour of the rainbow. 2014 saw the breweries collaborate with European friends. It’s where the now infamous Buxton/Omnipollo partnership was first established. While in 2015 the British breweries were joined by American counterparts. This year it ...

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Leeds International Beer Festival 2016

Leeds International Beer Festival

I love Leeds. The people, the city, the bars. And despite some stiff competition, Leeds International Beer Festival was my 2015 ‘Beer Festival of the Year’ too. Naturally I couldn’t wait to return this year. So much so that I booked two sessions instead of one. Just like last year it was another warm and bright September day. Yorkshire was looking ...

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Copenhagen Beer Celebration 2016 | CBC2016

Copenhagen Beer Celebration | CBC2016

Imagine paying £200 for a ticket to a beer festival and not wanting to go. Okay, I’m exaggerating slightly. But I did have to force myself to get out of bed for the first session of this years Copenhagen Beer Celebration. To be honest, I was never massively looking forward to the morning sessions. As much as I love beer, usually ...

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BrewDog – AGM 2016, Aberdeen #PunkAGM2016

BrewDog - PunkAGM 2016

It doesn’t feel like a year since the last BrewDog AGM, that’s because it wasn’t. I did have to check, though, just in case I’d been having too much fun over the past 12 months. Last year’s ‘meeting’ was held in June while this time it was brought forward to April, presumably to gain maximum exposure before their share offering ...

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The Independent Manchester Beer Convention 2015 (IMBC 2015)

Indy Man Beer Con 2015

Last year’s Indy Man Beer Con was probably my favourite weekend of 2014. It genuinely blew my mind, totally shattered my perception of beer festivals and left me feeling I’d never be able to enjoy another as much again.blo So in June when tickets went on sale for this years event I immediately snapped them up – for three different sessions – ...

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The Rainbow Project 2015 – Northern Launch @ Magic Rock Tap, Huddersfield

Rainbow Project Launch @ Magic Rock Tap, Huddersfield

The Rainbow Project began in 2013 when seven of the UK’s best breweries each brewed a beer inspired by a colour of the rainbow. In 2014 the UK breweries were paired with a European counterpart to create a collaboration rainbow beer, while this year saw them each paired with a top US brewery. I missed it completely the first time around ...

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Leeds International Beer Festival 2015

Leeds International Beer Festival

I said that Indy Man Beer Fest had ruined all other beer festivals for me. I was wrong. That was before I knew about Leeds International Beer Festival. It was a warm and sunny early September day and I’d just come back from eight days in Northern Italy, where besides one amazing day in Venice I’d been stuck with fairly average ...

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dubfest 2015: Introducing ‘drink up brewing’

dubfest 2015 - Original Old Bay Horse, Horwich, Bolton

Following in the footsteps of Blackedge Brewery, Bolton’s latest microbrewery ‘drink up brewing’ (aka dub) are also from the small town of Horwich. I’d tried one of their first beers, dubSUMMER, at Great Ale a few months ago and was keen to try more after hearing exciting talk of IPAs, Gose and wheat beers. The perfect opportunity to do just that was ‘dubfest’; part launch ...

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Manchester Brewery Expo 2015: 5 Breweries, 1 Day, Many Beers

Manchester Brewery Expo

May saw the first ever ‘Manchester Brewery Expo’, a collaborative event held over two days by eight Manchester craft breweries. I couldn’t make the Sunday when three ‘Green Quarter’ breweries – Marble, Blackjack and Runaway – opened their doors for tours, tastings, talks and of course, drinking. But I attended the Saturday where five Piccadilly (ish) breweries did their best to replicate the Bermondsey ...

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The Independent Manchester Beer Convention (IMBC 2014)

Indy Man Beer Con 2014

If you think beer festivals are just old men in flat caps drinking bitter in local church halls, you’re as wrong as I was before The Independent Manchester Beer Convention last year. After attending three sessions my mind was well and truly blown and all future beer festivals are ruined forever. The first amazing thing about Indy Man Beer Con (as it’s more commonly known) is its ...

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