Indyman Beercon 2019

The blog is back! I’ve been away for a long time because sometimes, life just gets in the way, and these kinds of hobbies are sadly usually the first thing to drop. But following a conversation with my friend Sarah (fellow UK Brewery Tours guide) at last week’s Indyman Beercon in Manchester, I am going to start making much more of an effort to keep up with my writing! So what better to talk about for my first blog back than Indyman itself?

After attending only one session last year and loving it, I knew that this year I wanted to get more immersed in the Indyman experience. When the tickets were released, we bought some for the Friday evening session and Saturday day session (which we planned to use as an excuse to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday with friends). I also applied for trade tickets for the Friday day session due to my involvement with UK Brewery Tours, which I wasn’t expecting to get but I did (wahey!). In a mad moment closer to the festival, I also decided to volunteer for the Sunday session (more on that later).

IMG_4728 (1) — Rob (my boyfriend) in the Deya room on Friday

My boyfriend and I booked half days on the Friday of Indyman and managed to get across to Victoria Baths for about 1.00pm. After a year away, it felt great to be back in the stunning and maze-like venue with its high ceilings and hidden rooms. With so many rooms to explore and breweries in attendance, it was hard to know where to start. As I had enjoyed their beer so much at last year’s Indyman, I headed straight over to Other Half where I had their ‘Double mmm…fruit’ – a watermelon and lime sour berliner weisse – one of the many sours I sampled at this year’s Indyman and one of the most unique and memorable. On Sarah’s suggestion, I opted for North’s Golden Milk next – another sour beer but this time made with turmeric. Again, this was unlike any other sour beer I’d had before and I’d be keen to try this one again, as I’m not sure I was able to fully pick out the flavours after having the watermelon sour directly beforehand. This year’s Indyman was packed full of sour beers which was a great thing for me as I am a big fan. Later on in the day I also had The Kernal’s Biere de Saison which I’m pretty sure I’d had before, but admittedly it’s hard for me to see a saison from The Kernal and not order it straight away. Friday was most certainly my ‘sours day’ and I finished off the night with a Kriek from Portland Oregon’s Cascade Brewing which was the perfect end to an evening of great beer, spent with even greater people.

Saturday we were back bright and early for the day session. Most of the first half hour was spent trying to round up our friends, as we’d bought lots of tickets for this session to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday. Once everyone had arrived, tokens at the ready, we began to explore again, and I was determined to branch out and try something a little bit more outside my comfort zone. That opportunity came, when I spotted a black lager by Creature Comforts called ‘The Solent World’. I am partial to a lager from time to time – I had a fantastic pilsner recently by PFriem which was honestly one of the best things I’ve ever tasted – it sounds weird to describe a lager as ‘buttery’ but this one seriously was. But a black lager? I’d never had anything like that before and I wasn’t disappointed. It was probably the most drinkable and interesting beer I had all festival. After a short pause to buy a jumper from Pomona Island that I couldn’t resist, I was back to the sours again with an elderberry and redcurrent saison from Runaway Brewery. I’ve talked about how much I like Runaway before on this blog and I think their saisons are hard to beat. We don’t get as much chance to visit their taproom now we live outside the city centre, but I’m determined to make a stop there again soon. The last beer I noted down (before all my efforts to keep track went out of the window) was Donzoko’s Genever Red (8.2%!). I love a flanders red ale, possibly one of my favourite styles, so I’m not too unhappy to have stopped my recording there (N.B. more beers were definitely consumed).

I woke up surprisingly fresh on Sunday and raring to go for my volunteering session. The Sunday at Indyman is known for being the ‘chilled out’ session, so although I was feeling pretty good, I headed over to Victoria Baths hoping that would be the case. Kat and Becca, two of the organisers, did a really good job of trying to make sure we had a good time and aimed to place us with breweries that we liked. I was pleased to be assigned to the Deya room for the day to help out on the bar and it was nice to know that they had tried their best to match us to breweries we had said that we liked on our application forms (obviously not always possible, but it was a nice touch). The two brewers I was working alongside on the Deya bar were completely exhausted, but helpful and showed me the ropes. I’ve never served on a bar before and it made me realise how tiring it is. I’ve always had respect for bar staff; however it’s given me a new found appreciation for what they do. We only had 6 beers on the Deya bar on Sunday and I was only on my feet for 4.5 hours in total, but it was still really hard work. Imagine having to remember where everything is in a fully stocked bar of beers, wines, spirits and other beverages? Overall it was a great experience and I’d definitely be keen to volunteer again. It felt good to be serving people while they are having a great time and it was really nice to bump into a few people that I know too.

After taking part in the clean-up operation once the session ended at 6.00pm, I went home with tired feet but a happy feeling of being part of something really amazing. It may be the end of Indyman for another year, however I have plenty of “beery” events coming up – loads more festivals, tours and blog ideas.

Manchester Beer Week

Last Friday marked the beginning of Manchester Beer Week – Manchester’s only city-wide beer festival. The fortnight of festivities includes a variety of events from tap takeovers to brewery tours and educational talks and beer-based quizzes. There’s been so much going on that I wish I’d been able to take the whole two weeks off work and explore everything!

As soon as it was time to clock off work last Friday, my boyfriend and I headed out to Plant Noma for our first event of the festival – a discussion about how and if craft breweries should be giving back and working with people in the communities they are based. The discussion was facilitated by Manchester Beer Weeks’ organiser, Connor Murphy and included Jim Cullen, founder and organiser of The Independent Salford Beer Festival and Jenn Merrick, who used to be Head Brewer at Beavertown Brewery and is now setting up her own community brewery in East London called Earth Station.

It was a great start to the festival and a really interesting insight into some of the things that breweries are already doing to engage with their local communities. A particularly interesting part of the conversation was about taking on people from within local communities as brewing apprentices and the positive affects this can have, as well as the challenges. Many of the other attendees at the talk worked in the industry and were talking about how hard it is to retain brewers and that there is a real skills shortage. It was really interesting to hear from people actually working in the industry and the challenges they face. I really like the idea of breweries training up young people and supporting them through a career they may never have considered and also giving back to the communities they work in, as many already do. However I can also see how hard that must be for various reasons. Jenn Merrick’s Earth Station is a wonderful idea and I can’t wait to hear more about it and (hopefully) visit at some point.

For our next stop, we headed to Hatch on Oxford Road for a tap takeover at ÖL Nano Brewery & Bar on Oxford Road. The takeover was with Croatian brewery Nova Runda, who I hadn’t heard of before but did not disappoint. I had three great Nova Runda beers while I was there, however the one that stood out the most was their American style IPA, C4. Very hoppy and citrusy – perfect for the heatwave we’ve been having here in Manchester (and the UK as a whole). I’m looking forward to trying more beers from Nova Runda in future. There seems to be a lot of really interesting craft breweries coming out of Croatia at the moment…Garden Brewery, Nova Runda…perhaps a trip is on the cards.

We didn’t want to stay out too late because we were attending The Pilcrow‘s Summer Beer Thing the next day, however we made a quick stop on our way home at Sandbar on Grosvenor Street. Sandbar were holding a tap takeover as well with Boutilliers Microbrewery from Faversham, UK – another brewery newly on my radar that I was keen to try out. Boutilliers’ beer did not disappoint, especially their Anti-Trump Fruit Saison which had a political message I can definitely get on board with, as well as being incredibly delicious. Sandbar is a great spot for craft beer and somewhere I’ve only discovered fairly recently as it’s in the more studenty part of town, which we don’t go to so often. I really like the atmosphere in Sandbar and love all the little hidden rooms towards the back. One of my new found favourite spots in Manchester.

The next day we woke up raring to go for our second day of Manchester Beer Week activities. Before heading over to Summer Beer Thing, we popped in to our most local and favourite brewery, Runaway. We always like having a chat with Mark, Co-founder and Head Brewer at Runaway Brewery, as he is super friendly and welcoming. We were keen to try their new collaboration with local sushi restaurant Umezushi, Gari Gose brewed with seaweed, root ginger, wah plums and sushi rice. It was delicious and so unique. We only had a half each because we were keen not to drink too much before Summer Beer Thing but we could have drank a lot more. We will be back!

After our brief stop at Runaway we headed over to the main event of the day – Summer Beer Thing at The Pilcrow. This was day two of the festival, showcasing some of the very best breweries in the North. There were a number of ‘beer stations’ offering different types of beers, from hoppy styles to sours and fruity beers and darker stouts and porters. Session ales were available inside at The Pilcrow bar and all the other stalls were set up outside under a giant yellow gazebo. It was such a sunny beautiful day and everyone was sitting outside, either on the benches inside the tent or on the walls around The Pilcrow.

We traded in our tickets in exchange for a programme with all the beers listed and a glass. Like most beer festivals, it was based on a token system so we bought 9 tokens between us for £20 to start off with. The beer was served in thirds, which I appreciated because it meant that I was able to try more different styles than I would have done if the servings had been larger. I’m not going to go into detail about all the beers I had because there were so many, but what I will say is there was an amazing selection, showing off the very best the North has to offer. They also featured breweries from further afield and there were ‘meet the brewer’ sessions throughout the day where you could try free samples – I particularly enjoyed meeting some of the team from Lost and Grounded and trying their Keller Pils!

I loved the relaxed and friendly atmosphere at Summer Beer Thing – it was just full of people having a brilliant time and enjoying great beer. In fact all the activities we’ve done so far as part of Manchester Beer Week has just reaffirmed to me how much I love this city and the expansive brewery scene we have here.

Thankfully the festivities continue until Sunday 8th July, so there’s plenty more Manchester Beer Week events to enjoy!

Huddersfield Part Two – Seshfest 2018

Following an excellent Friday night at The Sportsman and Magic Rock Brewing, the next day (Saturday 9th June) we headed back to Magic Rock for Seshfest 2018 – a beer festival dedicated to session brews 4.5% and under.

We arrived bang on 12.00pm for the start of the festival and were given a special Seshfest pint glass, a beer list and four beer tokens at the registration desk. The festival worked on a token-based system and I felt like this actually added to the experience. My boyfriend and I bought an extra £20’s worth of tokens, as we were planning to sample as many different beers as we could. Each token was worth £1.50 and you could choose when ordering your beer whether you wanted a half for one token or a pint for two tokens.

Before starting on the beers we had a coffee from Dark Woods Coffee, who were serving at the festival until 3.00pm. I think this was probably a sensible way to begin and the coffee was excellent. It’s the same coffee that Magic Rock uses in their Common Grounds Triple Coffee Porter, so we already knew it would be good.

Sufficiently caffeinated, we moved on to our first beer of the day. We were both excited to get our first beers from Gigantic Brewing, a brewery based in Portland, Oregon. We visited Portland last summer and had the most amazing time visiting fantastic breweries, so we were keen to relive that experience with some beers from Gigantic. I opted for the Oni Kawaii Kettle Sour, which the friendly brewer serving me said is made using Marionberries which can be found in Oregon. Bright pink in colour and wonderfully sour and flavourful, this beer was a great way to start and hard to beat.

We decided to sample beers from the breweries we knew least about or would find harder to try in future. There were some really unusual but interesting styles available at Seshfest. My boyfriend had a Green Coffee Lager with Ginger and Citrus called the Anaconda Verde from Against the Grain Brewery (Louisville, Kentucky), which was a lot more tasty and well balanced than I had anticipated. One beer that stood out for me was the Proto 5 from Swedish brewery Brewski – a Milkshake Berliner Weisse with Mango which was so juicy it felt like you were drinking pure mango, but with the sharpness of a great sour.

I had so many great beers at Seshfest that it wouldn’t be possible to go into great detail about all of them, but there are just a few more I’d like to highlight and then I’ll post the rest at the bottom of this blog with a short, one line description. I hadn’t heard of Deya Brewing Company from Cheltenham before Seshfest, so I was keen to try them out. The Chulahoma Rye Table Beer from Deya was one of the best I had during the festival. Dry hopped with Amarillio, Chinook and Mosaic, this citrusy beer with tropical notes was so delicious. If I hadn’t been set on trying as many different beers as possible, I would have definitely gone back for a pint.

I also had a wonderful Sour Red Ale from Bristol brewery, Left Handed Giant. This collaboration with Unity Brewery Company is really unique. I’d never had a sour red ale before and as a huge fan of sours and red ales I was really intrigued. This light, fruity sour is also very malty and I don’t know quite how they’ve done it. At 3.5% it’s extremely sessionable but also so much more flavoursome than what I used to expect of such low ABV beers (although so many beers I’ve tried recently are altering my opinions on this). I would highly recommend.

Still Life, a collaboration between Beavertown and Mikkeller Brewing San Diego also deserves an honourable mention. This Dry Hopped Sour, fermented with wine yeast was so light and refreshing and not that easy to come by, so I felt lucky to be able to try it at Seshfest.

thumb_IMG_2705_1024 Seshfest was a great beer festival which was small enough to maintain a friendly and relaxed vibe, while being big enough to create a buzzing atmosphere. Despite the small amount of space at Magic Rock Brewing in Huddersfield, it never felt too crowded or overbearing. There was an abundance of fantastic beers available from the world’s best breweries and it was well organised, with beers only running out towards the evening, with plenty still available. It was also amazing value for money. Our £13 ticket provided us with a pint glass and enough tokens for four half pints and then we only spent around an extra £20 on tokens between us – a lot less than you would spend at most beer festivals.

Seshfest 2018 was an amazing experience and all I have left to say is bring on next year!

Full list of the beers we had at Seshfest 2018

Gigantic Brewing, Oni Kawaii, 4.1%, Keg – Kettle Sour beer made with black rice and marionberries
Gigantic Brewing, Kolshtastic, 4.5%, Keg – German style pilsner with noble hops and kolsh yeast
Slim Pickens and Marble Beers, Agua De Jamaica, 3.5%, Keg- Hibiscus Berliner Weisse with ginger and lime
Roosters and Ska Brewing, Anything Gose, 4.2%, Keg – Rhubarb Gose with sea salt
Beavertown and Mikkeller, Still Life, 3%, Keg – Dry hopped sour fermented with white wine yeast
Against the Grain, Anaconda Verde, 4.5%, Keg – Green coffee lager with ginger and citrus
Brewski, Proto 5, 3.5%, Keg – Milkshake berliner weisse with mango
Buxton Brewery, Myrcia, 4%, Keg – Oatmeal Hopburst Session IPA brewed with 15% oats and 10% wheat for a really full body and creamy mouthfeel
Deya, Chulahoma, 4%, Keg – Rye table beer
CR/AK, Mundaka, 4.5%, Keg – Fragrant and easy drinking session IPA
Fyne Ales, Sour Friends: Passionfruit, 4.5%, Keg – Super-fruity kettle sour with tropical passion fruit and a citrus finish
Brouweriji Kees, Pinapple Coriander Smoothy, 4.4%, Keg – A beer smoothy, brewed with Pineapple, Coriander and Szuchuan pepper
Odell Brewing Company, Duck Tickler, 4.4%, Keg – Easy drinking Belgian Golden Ale
North Brewing Company, Pinata, 4.4%, Keg – A softly tropical pale ale with stone fruit aromas of guava and mango and a strong hoppy finish
Thornbridge, Green Mountain, 4.3%, Keg – Juicy New England session pale
Verdant, Quiet Charge, 4%, Keg – American style pale ale with citra and amarillo hops
Roosters, Jubilee, 4%, Keg – Refreshing cucumber ale
Ossett Brewery, Inception, 4%, Cask – A heavy hopped American IPA
Wild Beer Company, Sleeping Lemons, 4.6% (breaking the rules slightly!), Keg – A salty lemon gose
Basqueland Brewing, Fruit Boot JR, 4.3%, Keg – Milkshake IPA with passion fruit and mango
Kirkstall Brewery, Three Swords, 4.5%, Cask – Thirst quenching English pale ale
Left Handed Giant, Distinct Phases, 3.5%, Keg – Sour red ale
North Riding Brewery, Mosaic Pale, 4.3%, Cask – American Mosaic pale ale with blueberry and citrus flavours
Northern Monk, Patrons Project 5.01// Striding Edge, 3%, Keg – A light IPA with big flavours