Manchester’s Beer and Cider festival opens on Wednesday of this week and some special brews are being mixed for the occasion.

MBCF teamed up with Real Radio XS to produce a special festival ale on Wednesday, January 7 with BlackEdge brewery in Horwich.

In commemoration of 100 years since the great war, brewers Shaun and Wayne produced a golden session ale combining hops from Britain and Germany.
The station’s Steve Berry headed to the recently expanded brewery to help out with the brew while listeners of the classic rock station on 106.1 FM will have the opportunity to name the beer by entering a competition.

The first in an incredible line up of collaboration brews saw the hand of friendship extended in the War Of The Roses with Yorkshire’s Ilkley Brewery coming over to Manchester in December to brew with brewer Rich Andrews at Blackjack Beers.

Their beer, Betting Cap, is described as a very hoppy amber ale made with the Belgian yeast which is becoming a signature of Rich’s Blackjack brews and Galaxy, Chinook, Belma and Columbus hops.

Another of the collaborative brews got underway in East Yorkshire when one of the most exciting new names of Scottish brewing, Edinburgh’s Elixir Brewing Company, joined up with Hull’s Atom Beers which has grown massively after only launching just over one year ago.

The resultant beer named Devil’s Bilge Water is a bit of a beast, weighing in at 7% ABV. A smokey porter style beer, a special secret mix of spices has been added to give a unique flavour. Despite the heritage of the beer, it will make its debut on the right side of the Pennines and Hadrian’s Wall at the festival.

Tuesday, January 6 was a big day for special brews with no fewer than three being completed in one day. The day began when one of the festival’s bar managers, Caroline O’Donnell, headed to Rochdale’s Pictish Brewery for a 5am ‘mash in’ with owner and brewer, Paul Wesley.

The beer they came up with is the appropriately named ‘Tandem,’ a 4.2% pale and hoppy brew featuring two malts and two hops – Pacific Gem from New Zealand and Cascade from the USA.

As Paul and Caroline mashed in, Matt Clarke, head brewer of the multi-award winning Hawkshead Brewery was setting off from his Lake District home heading to Manchester to meet up with his counterpart, Matthew Howgate, at Marble Beers, for what is set to be one of the most highly anticipated beers brewed in Manchester for some time.

The brewers were being tight lipped about exactly what they were brewing up, but Hawkshead’s twitter feed let slip, tweeting “Think a mash up of Lagonda IPA and Cumbrian Five Hop…. lots of hops!” Given that Lagonda has a string of awards to its name and Cumbrian Five Hop was voted ‘Champion Beer Of The North West’ last year, beer fans are in for a treat.

The third brew of the day took place in Bury when Amanda Seddon from Middleton’s Wilson Potter Brewery joined up with Alex Lord of Outstanding Beers to brew up the intriguingly named ‘Honey Badger.’ Fresh honey will be added to the brew during fermentation to produce a beer which the brewers describe as “Pale amber coloured with aromatic malt, light hops and sweet honey.”

The Manchester Beer and Cider Festival is organised by the Greater Manchester Branches of The Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA). It will feature over 500 beers, ciders and perries.

It takes place at the Manchester Velodrome located on the Manchester Sportcity Complex in East Manchester close to Manchester City’s Stadium. The centre is approximately 1.5 miles from Manchester city centre with great transport links.

Opening Times
Wednesday 21st January: 4pm – 10.30pm
Thursday 22nd January: Noon – 10.30pm
Friday 23rd January: Noon – 10.30pm
Saturday 24th January: Noon – 7pm

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