Beer Compurgation

January on the beer calendar is synonymous with Manchester’s biggest Beer festival, these days known as the Manchester Beer and Cider Festival. After two years at the home of British c*cling, it debuted at Manchester Central for 2016. I didn't think I'd find much to write about this year but since it's been blog tradition since year one to review this festival - and following on from my post about taking criticisms - I thought I'd speak about the experience, changes and developments from the weekend simply as positive and negative points. This year I attended Wednesday's trade session and Saturday's afternoon closing session. As usual, both were very different. POSITIVES Venue - For those outside of this city, Manchester Central is an old railway station now known to many as the G-Mex exhibition centre. The switch to such a centralised location was welcomed by all. My fear was that it would create an atmosphere akin to being at the sort

It’s the morning of Manchester’s biggest Beer Festival . For this writer personally it’s been a stalwart staple in the diary since 2006. For some it will have been much longer. It is no longer officially the National Winter Ales Festival but everything feels like a continuation from the days that it was. The past three years I’ve reviewed the festival on here. 2013 was mostly negative. 2014 was just an accurate description of what actually happened. 2015 was mostly positive, with the inclusion of minor criticisms being no different from reviews of any other festival. (I'm not linking.)  Preparing anything for public consumption and approval can be daunting. Essentially, you are putting your own creations into the ether that can be loved or hated. Nothing is going to be perfect or to everybody’s taste so you have to prepare yourself for negativity. Producing beer or food that is going to be critiqued and reviewed must be incredibly daunting. Writing prose, whether in boo

Another Christmas and festive period complete. Another Beer Advent Calendar complete. And another need for a post to round it off for completion's sake. As has become the norm now after year 4 of this calendar, I was missing a few of the final posts. Really any beer behind any windows succeeding Window 21 are doomed to never have a post produced about them. It’s when the season, the frivolity and the full calendar really makes the chance to write anything down very difficult.I drink the beers, jot down a few tasting notes usually on a smartphone memo app, and then never get to translate them further. That has proved the case even in the first few weeks of this year. I'm a social butterfly. Yet, for completions sake, I must always provide this January follow up post for those extra beers that definitely deserve the attention. I may not be able to give them the entire build-up they deserve, information on the brewery or feelings of that day, but they deserve something.