Beer Compurgation

It was a Saturday morning in November and my face was drained of all colour. I clung to the nearest pillar on platform 4 of Manchester Piccadilly. I casually wondered whether 16-year-old me had been right all along; that I would indeed die from too much Irish stout. Whilst the majority of my matter was silently screaming for my bed, my heart wished it was on the now-departing train to New Mills that I had been watching from several platforms away.  It was the first morning of Smokefest 2019 , hosted by Torrside Brewery, and I'd been looking forward to the event ever since I purchased ticket numbers 3 & 4 as they went on sale. (I am still not sure which rascal snapped up 1 & 2.) My only saving grace, that kept me going as I continued to feel very sorry for myself for the next 24 hours, was a ticket for the following day and a determination to be well enough in time for it.  I've never made much of a secret of my love for smoked beer. From pre social m...

Dear Beer Con Whilst attending your festival there was some confusion in the queue that led to my hair getting wet. On arrival I wasn’t presented with numerous free tokens. Do you know who I am?. It’s a disgrace. It is no secret that the beer industry can be a pugnacious space. Fuelled by the natural negativity of social media, there are more arguments and squabbles in this vacuous void than ever before. The unrelenting antagonism became a little too much for me last year until a visit to Salford beer festival tore me from the doldrums of despair. The positivity of this particular festival space acted as a personal patronus against the beer Dementors that were slowly sucking the joy from anything to do with this hobby In the ensuing 10 months though the joy began to fade once more. Expense, repetitiveness, FOMO, guilds, Facebook forums and the constant fight for power by the networkers all brought me back within the group of silent, aimless, beer Hattifatte...

The problem with an on-the-fence opinion that discusses the merits of both fields is that those situated far from the fence on either side only listen to the cons of their particular grassy plain. It was through this that my last post, a discussion on the pros and cons of the“All-in” beer festival ticket , led to the greatest example of others looking only for negatives. If points one through to five sided with the views of one person, you can bet that they approached me over point 6, fists waving all the way. However, as my comments came before I had ever experienced any beer festivals that provided the “all-you-can-drink” experience, it felt remiss of me not to follow up that post now that I have been through the process. The festival was Dark City 2018; Northern Monk Brew Co’s annual dedication to all beers that are dark. Alongside the two incarnations of their lighter festival – Hop city – this was the first time there had been change to the ticket structure. A...

It’s June 2018 and Taylor Swift is due to play the City of Manchester Stadium. I have two tickets to the occasion and it is fairly safe to assume that a slightly underwhelmed partner is to accompany me with less enthusiasm than myself. Despite the presence of non-fans, Taylor didn’t indulge the mixed audience. There were no covers of Lady Antebellum songs or stage sharing with James Bay. It was almost as if the entire show was tailored towards Swifties, the assumption being that those with tickets had paid for such an experience. Because there isn’t an alternative to such a show. This was the one off opportunity. My partner didn’t say, “I don’t think I’ll get value for money seeing Taylor Swift at City’s stadium – why don’t we see a Bay City Rollers tribute act at the New Inn instead?” There is no equivalence. The New Wave of Tickers   There has been further movement within the beer industry in the last couple of years to keep taking influence in styles...