Victoria Baths, Hathersage Rd, Manchester.
“A joyous event held in the crumbling splendour of the Victoria Baths” – The Guardian
“Indy Man Beer Con has rewritten the rules on what a British beer festival looks like” – Financial Times
Independent Manchester Beer Convention (Indy Man Beer Con/IMBC) is a world class showcase for the best breweries from the UK and beyond. Returning to the stunning surrounds of the Grade II listed, architectural gem Victoria Baths for it’s 3rd year, running from Thursday 9th October to Sunday 12th October, IMBC brings together the most progressive, forward thinking breweries from across the UK, Europe and USA for a multisensory, headlong, hop-forward beer extravaganza.
Spread across 5 rooms over 4 days with more than 80 taps serving up the finest beers on both cask and keg (from a swimming pool no less) each day offers a new experience, with an array of local, national and international brewers mingling and pouring their own beer, secret tastings, pop-up beer talks plus one-off beers made especially for the Convention. There will be beer-matched meals from Masterchef finalist Jackie Kearney aka The Hungry Gecko, specially curated live music and a plethora of the best street food traders.
Festival organiser Jonny Heyes explains “The beer world is a dynamic industry, more women and young people are drinking beer and it’s losing it’s stuffy, old man image, yet something was lacking in Britain’s beer festivals so we thought we’d change that.”
Last year’s event SOLD OUT months in advance, welcoming over 3000 attendees who mingled with 47 brewers, there serving beers and answering questions. Tickets go on sale at 9am on Tuesday 1st April starting at £10; don’t miss out.
Session times:
Thursday 9th October / 5.30pm – 11.30pm
Friday 10th October / 5.30pm – 11.30pm
Saturday 11th October / 11.00am – 4:30pm and 5.30pm – 11.30pm
Sunday 12th October / 1pm – 7pm
See you in the baths; bring your trunks (and your thirst)
Other quotes:
“If you love beer and/or historic architecture be sure to go at least once – if not every year” – Sophie Atherton, Beer Sommelier
“The most forward thinking beer festival seen in the UK, combining the most exciting beers from the UK, served by the brewers themselves, in an amazing venue.” – Evening Brews
“Nothing like this has ever been done in the UK, a lot of UK festivals go for volume and not overall quality, whereas this is all about picking the best possible beers even though there is a smaller number of them. This is about intimacy, it’s about atmosphere and creating the right sort of vibe to enjoy the beer in.” – Summer Wine Brewery
Independent Manchester Beer Convention is brought to you by the team behind Common, Port Street Beer House & The Beagle. IMBC came about through being inspired by the UK’s craft beer movement and frustration that beer festivals in their current form weren’t really representative of this exciting and dynamic part of the industry. We wanted to put on an event that has amazing beer (obviously) but was open-minded, inclusive and modern.
—