Nomadic Brewster sets up unique experience for Manchester Beer and Cider Festival.

Visitors to Manchester Beer and Cider Festival will be able to sample the results of a unique experiment in brewing – comparing the same beer brewed at four different breweries across the length of the UK. Organisers at the festival which comes to Manchester Central next week have commissioned an award-winning brewer to take one of her most popular beer recipes on a tour of the nation.

When South Wales’ Waen Brewery announced it was closing its brewery in September, it sent shockwaves round the UK’s craft beer scene. Over seven years, the brewery had picked up numerous awards for its popular brews including Snowball, Lemon Drizzle & Chilli Plum Porter. But brewster Sue Hayward announced she planned to keep the beers alive by brewing her recipes at other breweries, festival beer manager John O’Donnell spotted an opportunity to set up a unique experiment.

Over the past six weeks, Sue has travelled to four of the UK’s most respected craft beer breweries to recreate her most popular beer, the golden citrus ale Pamplemousse. All four versions will feature side by side at the North’s largest beer festival. Sue Hayward herself will be on hand on Friday 20th January to take visitors through the subtle differences in the different versions.

John O’Donnell said :“Corporate takeovers sometimes see popular beers recreated by new brewers at the owner’s breweries, often to the disappointment of drinkers. We thought it would be really interesting to see what happen when the original brewer gets to recreate their own recipe with the same love and attention, but using the host brewery’s equipment and yeast.”

Sue’s tour began just down the road from home at Hopcraft Brewery in Pontyclun, now a regular host for her cuckoo activities. Next, she travelled to Stroud Brewery in Gloucestershire where she teamed up with fellow brewster Chloe Brooks to brew an organic version of the beer. The new year began with Sue taking the long journey to Scotland to Loch Lomond brewery where Sue was welcomed by another brewster, Fiona MacEachern. The final brew on the tour will have the shortest distance to travel to the festival, with Manchester’s Blackjack Beers throwing its mash tun open to Sue.

“When I was first asked, I thought it was a crazy idea” said Sue. “However, it’s been a really good experience, brewing with some of my favourite brewers, learning how to make the best of different equipment and generally having a great time. I’m really looking forward to coming to Manchester to taste the different versions side by side.”

Manchester Beer and Cider Festival is at Manchester Central from Thursday 19th to Saturday 21st January. Sue Hayward will be at the festival on Friday 20th to host a Meet The Brewster session at 5.30pm. Entry tickets to the festival and the Meet The Brewster session are available from www.mancbeerfest.uk

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