I WAS hoping for a sip of Seaweed Gose (beer, yes but different, shall we say?) at the official launch of the 2015 Indy Man Beer Con, an essential focal point of the hopster calendar... but I am going to have to wait until the event itself at Victoria Baths (8-11 October).
So what can punters expect this time? More than 200 beers from 50 different brewers...
Ditto with all the other bespoke festival brews promised in the programme announcement at Port Street Beer House. Anyone for Gooseberry Pale (Weird Beard/Lervig), Quince IPA (Northern Monk), Bilberry Saison (Cromarty), Fig Stout (Squawk) and Sloe Wit (Hanging Bat)? All brewed in collaboration with IMBC itself, all decidedly fruit-driven. The seaweed variant of Gose, an astringent East German beer type has been created in conjunction with Mad Hatter.
If you recognise all these cult brewers then you probably already have your ticket for IMBC (Independent Manchester Beer Convention. A record 4,000 tickets were snapped up on their release on June 1 with three of the festival’s six sessions sold out almost instantly.
Organised by Jonny Heyes and the team behind Common, Port Street Beer House and The Beagle, the festival aims to showcase the best craft beers and breweries from the UK and beyond.
Capacity has been increased to welcome 6,000 folk throughout the course of the festival, making room for more beers, more events, more food and more fun, while making better use of the stunning Baths in Hathersage Road.
Jams pours us a glass of Bay and Pepper Your BrettsSo what can punters expect this time? More than 200 beers from 50 different brewers, including international names such as NZ Collective (New Zealand), Firestone Walker (California), Lervig (Norway), Tilqin (Belgium) and Against The Grain (Louisville, Kentucky). Full brewery list here.
At the launch Port Street manager James Moffat talked us through a tasting of the latter’s Bay and Pepper Your Bretts – typical US cool slacker label, challenging spice flavours and punning name (brett is a funky wild yeast). This is what IMBC is all about, specialist tastings, meet the maverick brewer sessions and industry-led briefings.
Jonny Heyes says: "Hopefully this year visitors will be able to spend more time with the brewers, who’ll have their own individual tables. We are also making optimum use of the wonderful venue, including the outside. We want IMBC to be a fun journey. At any one session there will be up to 120 beers available to taste, say 110 keg and eight cask. With cask we are concentrating on super rare beers, not session ales.
“It’s a convivial atmosphere among the brewing community, with them all helping each other, and this is reflected in our event. We are excited by the rise of so many great new breweries. If we at Port Street and at Indy Man Beer Con have helped to inspire them then we’re happy.”
For those just there to drink a lot there’s an impressive array of stomach-lining fodder from the likes of Diamond Dogs, Honest Crust, Great North Pie, Epicerie Ludo, new traders for this year Bundobust (the great Leeds craft beer/indian street food bar) and Fish &, plus Almost Famous, who will be making an appearance in their new Wondertruck.
Along with DJs playing throughout the weekend, this year’s IMBC will also feature a music and entertainment programme curated by Manchester label Aficionado, who will be roping in the likes of DBH, Ruf Dug, Menage a Trois and the newly formed Dream Lovers plus Aficionado DJs.
Official brewery sponsors are Brewdog, Cloudwater, Vertical Brands, Northern Monk, Hawkshead, Camden and Beavertown, with Cloudwater also behind the new glass design on the exceptional Craft Master One beer tasting glass. Simply Hops will also be sponsoring the t-shirts, while Uber will sponsor taxi services.
Session times are as follows: Thursday, Oct 8, 5.30-11.30pm; Friday 11.30-4.30pm (trade session) and evening 5.30-11.30pm (sold out); Sat Oct 10 day 11.30-4.30pm (sold out) and evening 5.30-11.30pm (sold out); Sun Oct 11 1pm-7pm.
Indy Man Beer Con, October 8-11, 2015. Victoria Baths, Hathersage Rd, Manchester, M13 0FE. Follow the build-up via the website or on Twitter @IndyManBeerCon. Ticket prices start at £8, to include tasting glass, available here.
