IndyManBeerCon 2013
Last Friday, as I was surrounded by a crowd of drinkers in an empty swimming pool, a thought crossed my mind. Why do people go to beer festivals? Only a few years ago, the answer would have been immediately obvious (the clue being in the question, after all); it would be for the beer. To get some in with friends, to go somewhere with loads of options under one roof, to try new things. That’s all still as true as it ever was, of course – more so, in fact, as the numbers of British breweries continue to skyrocket. But as vital as good beer is to a festival, is it enough? I’ve written before about whether these events are changing, but having returned to the second Indy Man festival, I’m now convinced they are.
Almost exactly twelve months ago the first Independent Manchester Beer Convention drew to a close, sending people home tipsily clutching small tasting glasses and notes scribbled on bits of paper. The praise for IMBC was near-universal – aside from some comments on only being able to get third-pints, it was clear that Indy Man had gone down hugely well. It was new, different, and enormously entertaining. Well, having just returned from Manchester again, I can say that not only was the second Indy Man even better, I’ve now realised why. Aside from the beer (more on which later), IndyMan triumphs because of the location; Manchester’s Victorian Baths.
The baths are IndyMan, pure and simple. As wonderful as the festival is, and how it benefits from the key point of having people from the breweries pouring their own products, IndyMan totally revolves around the tiled splendour of the Hathersage Road bathhouse. I’ve been to so many events where the beer is great, and/or the affable brewers are on-hand to talk about their ideologies, yet the atmosphere is too business-like, or overly hot and stuffy, or simply resembles a ‘bring and buy’ sale at the church hall. The restored Victorian Baths fit with IndyMan so well, they have become utterly integral to the event – I can’t imagine it now being held elsewhere.
The talks and workshops also make Indy Man a touch different from other festivals, and I was invited to take part in one of them – a panel discussion on experimentation in modern British brewing. Alongside Harriet Carr from Marble, Rik Garner from First Chop, Geoff Quinn from Buxton, and Lee Williams from Thwaites, we had an interesting chat on why breweries should push the envelope, and how they can reconcile that with running a business on tight margins. Just prior to that, I was also on-hand to preside over the first tasting of Dead Metaphor, the Scottish Chocolate Breakfast Stout I collaborated on with BrewDog and Rob from Hopzine.com*, which, thankfully, was tasting really nice and attracted plenty of welcome comments.
*If you’re in Edinburgh, the official launch of Dead Metaphor is taking place this Thursday (the 17th), at BrewDog Edinburgh in the Cowgate. Come down for 7pm and hear the story behind the beer, and sample it and other beers ‘curated’ (i.e. picked from a list) by me
Talking of the beer, there were so many tempting options there that it was pretty much fruitless to try and get round them all. Yes, the baths maketh IndyMan, but the beer isn’t far behind. In the end, I resorted to wandering from bar to bar, picking the first thing I liked the look of and had the tokens to acquire. As it turned out, my standouts were Buxton’s Tea Saison (opaque and muddy, but a fabulous, deep raspberry fruit flavour), Hawkshead’s Great White (a sheer, golden wheat beer), and To Øl’s spanking 12% Liquid Confidence – a stunning chilli-infused imperial stout that was, to all intents and purposes, perfect; a fitting discovery for such an event as IndyManBeerCon – the festival that has stepped forward from all the others, and drawn a line behind it.
