Category: Salford Beer Festival

It’s done! Independent Salford Beer Festival 10 is officially over! Until next year, please, Jim!

And I’m home! The van clutch master cylinder made it back to Cheadle Hulme for one last time. I’ve one on order which should be here in a few days and I’ll have a dabble at replacing it.

Having arrived back to the car park at around 9pm, I packed away the shopping into cupboards and the fridge and began writing yesterday’s blog. Them my phone ran out of battery, so I put it on charge whilst I had a rest.

The rest turned into sleep and the phone charged overnight, until I woke up almost 12 hours later! That has not happened in a very long time. Even the Doppler sirens didn’t wake me!

What did though was the alarm for Hemsley House. Someone official had entered and propped the back door open for too long, which tripped the alarm.  Eventually someone figured it out and turned it off.

During this time, I washed, dressed and converted the camper back into the van, with bed becoming seat and front seat swivelling 180 degrees to face forwards. It’s always a good look when camping after consuming alcohol – making it very clear you are not in charge of an operative motor vehicle!

Once converted, I couldn’t be arsed to make my breakfast so sacked that idea off and went back to the Old Firestation Bakery for a take out bacon butty and a large black Americano.

I then headed in to Hemsley to help set up for the first of two sessions that I’ll be volunteering at today. This combined with driving home means it’ll be water and ‘little taster sips at most for me. No biggie though, as I love being behind the bars and serving folk.

The doors opened for the morning session and we readied ourselves behind the leg bar for the initial rush.

Serving beer well is a skill and takes practice. The beers will be carbonated to different levels based on style (e.g. stouts low, lagers high). But on top of that, the pour will change as to how far through the keg you are and also the ambient temperature of the room, and therefore the last section of beer line.

I won’t pretend to be any expert but I’m definitely getting better at pouring some of the ‘tricky beers’.

During the session, I’d got to meet and chat with loads of great people, one of whom has the monicker of being “The Nicest Man In Brewing”. Andy Parker was a bloody good homebrewer who now operates seriously good brewery in Reading called Elusive. He & Elusive make one of my all time favourite beers – Oregon Trail.

It’s a beer I had a go at replicating as a homebrew last October. I gave Jim a bottle to try when I was volunteering at ISBF9 and Jim, being Jim stitched me up like a kipper.

I was serving, and then I saw Jim approaching with my homebrew and two glasses. He has Andy at his side! The pair then opened and drank my homebrew homage to Andy’s beer. I was star-struck and he was incredibly generous with his critique of my beer. It will remain a highlight of mine, for sure!

The session was a whirlwind and seemed to be over very quickly even though it was 4:30pm!

A quick change around, tidy up and cleandown before the next session and then a brief respite and a sit down.

And then we go again!

At 6pm the doors opened to the final session. In a slight change-around I was asked to work with Chris on the Cask Bar. 

Unlike on the keg bar, when beer is forced from the keg using direct or indirect pressure, on Cask, it’s either gravity (open a tap and it runs out) or using a hand pull (sometimes know as a beer engine), where you pull beer from the cask and push it into the glass.

Somehow, at 55 years old, I have never pulled a pint! A quick but thorough demo from Chris of do’s & dont’s and I gave it a go.

From my limited experience, as with pouring keg, there’s a bit of art involved in the perfect cask pour, for me at this basic level, it’s primarily gap between beer and outlet on the initial pull and then backing the glass away as you then increase the pressure on the pump handle until to correct volume has been served.

It was good fun and another life experience ‘tick’!

For the last half of the session I moved back onto the keg bar to give yet another wonderful chap some support. ‘Doctor Rob’ was manning the keg fort along with Tim, and it gets busy, hence me switching.

Finally time was called and we breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone seemed happy, no one was being lairy & so we began the tidy up. Drip trays, bins, ‘slop buckets’ etc

Once done, and with all the punters gone, I said my fairwells and headed home. Even with a pain in the arse clutch pedal, I found it hard to wipe the grin from my face. Tired, yes, but it’s such a privilege to have worked at “My Best Beer Festival In The World” for another year!

I’ve been very lucky to have been on this journey and met all these great people. I hope I get the opportunity to do it all again next year.

But for now, I’ll sign off knowing everyone that came raised a good chunk of change for the START Inspiring Minds Charity!

Brilliant work, folks!

I had a rubbish nights sleep. Not sure why, because the bed is comfy, the van is warm, I was relaxed, I played a little Andy Williams tune or two, and the neighbours played soothing Doppler sounds occasionally. Well, police and ambulance sirens passing by at speed. At least they were passing by!

Anyway, it was time to rise at the crack of 9am so the roof went up on the van, so I can stand, wash & dress and reset the layout to ‘day van’ from ‘boudoir’ mode.

Clean & as presentable I’m likely to be, I lowered the roof, left and locked up and headed a few doors down to The Old Firestation. It’s a Salford University led bakery and brewery! And the food is very good! 

I headed back, passing Jim and Jazz on their way to pick up the orders for the early arrivals. I had had two poached eggs on a really nice sourdough base bread with a decent cup of black Americano.

I’d arrived back to Hemsley sated, as did Jim and Jazz with food. That was generous enough, but Mark in the kitchen (who works his cahoonas off, with his team) then served up a load of bacon butties on rolls, accommodating to allergies in a unexpected and random group). There was no way I wasn’t going to have more bacon butties! It happened.

So, after readying ourselves for the next session and being as organised as ever, the doors opened.

From the other side, it’s brilliant to watch all of a sudden a lot of people come piling in, try and bag their spaces and tables which is the only frantic rush that you’ll see.

After which everyone settles down, has an excitable conversation with their mates about what their first beer will be and then they head to the bar. I love watching that bit. It’s ace.

Then there’s a phase of ‘not to style’ or ‘missing body’ stuff. And then. And then…

It settles. It just becomes something else. Beyond a beer festival, in my humble opinion. It’s folks around tables. Who have different views about what’s good and bad and they talk and discuss. There is respect for a difference opinion. A debate where  facts are thrown around to substantiate. It’s a nice place to be. Hope it catches on.

So, whilst we’re doing our ‘supping thing’, some people aren’t. 

I mentioned I now know a load of people through this. And whilst it’s unfair of me to pick people out. I do think that there are two people in particular that help make the ‘vibe’ on both sides of the bars.

Like two mischievous nephews of Jim, Chris and Tim both put their all into making this the best beer festival in the world but all the while winding Jim up as much as possible. It’s an honourable role that they fulfil with gusto! Happens they are really, really nice people as well.

We supped. We enjoyed. We also decanted after the session to The New Oxford, down the road. No particularly a shock, but as we walked in we did see a few others from the lunchtime #ISBFX session.

Eventually, sometime after 8pm, we all headed off on our various ways home. Mine being back to the van, via the Co-op (bread, butter, eggs, bacon) in the hope that I would have the bother to make my own breakfast in the van in the morning. Spoiler alert. It didn’t happen. I did take some light reading back to the ‘Van though.

So, on to Saturday!

I had (always 3rds) more beers than last night but that’s because it’s my last as a punter. I can’t wait for tomorrow as I’ve missed being behind the bar. 

From my limited experience, the first session (Thursday evening) is considered by some as the session to get to if you have a ‘FOMO’ – a fear of missing out, on some of the lower volume beers at ISBFs.

I may well stand corrected, but having served behind the keg bar on “Last Day” Saturdays, I would suggest this is a misnomer. I wont quote a percentage (but it’ll be high), and I’m sure I know one or two that do, but most of the beers put on on the Thursday make it through to the Saturday early session.

That said, the Thursdays & Friday lunchtime sessions do attract homebrewers, often on a ‘club outing’, or with a few mates. And I can understand why. I’ll repeat this ad infinitum, but this Beer Festival is special. Pro-brewers put tonnes of effort into brewing something they’re proud of for this event. And many of them turn up over the weekend to see what the others are serving. The homebrewers get to meet the very generous brewery teams and get to sneak a few hints and tips. Its a very collaborative and generous community from what I’ve seen.

My own homebrewing journey went the way most things I attempt goes – big and full on, because the more craft beer I drank, the more I wanted to understand how to make it. And as I’ve found, the more you learn, the more you realise there are improvements you can make and that you will never know it all. It’s the perfect storm for my passions – to be half decent you need to be an artisan chef, a chemist, microbiologist, mechanical engineer, plumber, electrician, and enjoy sharing experiences with friends!

I’m very lucky. I now have a 28ft x 8ft space at the bottom of my garden, that is a garden kitchen & entertainment space (TV, wood fired pizza overn & BBQs), along with a 20x8ft shed that acts as a “pub” with up to 7x 19L Kegs available (over 180 pints) and of course a little (“nano”?) brewery, which as tradition dictates needed naming.

My homebrewery is called Sick Swan Brewing. I’m a Manchester City Supporter as it happens, so the name became an easy choice. The logo was a tad more tricky, but I got there in the end. Sorry to remind any ManU fans out there, but El Mago’s left foot swish to Dzeko was a dream of a pass.

So what of today? Well, I got up, showered etc and then had a bacon butty (brown sauce is the only way) for breakfast, along with many espressos.

Before I left, I filled a 1L brown bottle with my latest homebrew & loaded it into the van fridge. It’s an homage to Sureshot Brewery’s flagship beer, Milson, a very hoppy New England pale ale brewed with Citra, Galaxy & Mosaic. Hope to get some knowledgeable folks to critique it if I can, perhaps on the Friday session.

I packed my bag into the VW Cali’ and took the plunge! I was in it for the duration assuming the ‘Van made it there!

And it did! I had to ‘play’ the clutch pedal like a church organ but it got there! New clutch master cylinder ordered & will have a go at fitting it next week sometime, after I’ve replaced the wiper motor on my sons car.

Parked up and settled, I joined the #ISBF Family (it’s close knit, that’s for sure!), and we put the finishing touches on the bars, labelling up the tap wall and bar taps.

With almost everything under control or completed, it was time for a cuppa (“Builders Tea” for me) before the session, and the Festival officially started at 6pm.

I now probably know about 20+ great people purely because of being a part of the #ISBF Family. I may tell you a little bit about a few of them over the next day or so, as there are a fair few without which, I doubt this shebang would happen.

Jim Cullen, the founder/organiser/puppet master/beer assembler extraordinaire!

Since the first and every year since, this begins to happen because of him. He has a drive to raise money for a Charity close to his heart, START Inspiring Minds’. It’s a charity that has been delivering mental health recovery and prevention services in Salford for over 30 years. It’s personal for Jim.

He also has a passion for finding the best beers from the best breweries. The passion and personality of Jim have formed this assembly of people who are friendly, kind & relaxed. To be clear I don’t just mean the volunteers (“The Family”), but also the punters, a significant proportion of come year after year.

It really is something quite special.

From 6pm onwards, I was one of those punters. I got my glass, my pen, my programme and my £10 worth of tokens and headed in to the Keg Bar.

Unsurprisingly, within minutes, I had met a few familiar faces and sat with a few friends I’d met through BrewClub a cracker of a pub in Stockport called The Petersgate Tap, and on a Brewday up at Torrside, New Mills.

My first beer was 1/3 of a pint of a 3.7% West Coast IPA, and the second was a 3rd of a Blood Orange & Nettle Barrel Aged Sour.

Third was another 3rd of an Apple & Rhubarb Sour, followed by a 3rd of a Biere De Saison Sour made with Morello Cherries.

Spotted some patterns? No pints and lots of sours so far!

I’ll not bore on and list everything I tried, but over a 5 hour session I drank 7 beers that were amazing, all bar one in 3rds, along with sips of other people’s beers and they were all well worth trying.

So now I sit in my van, in the carpark writing this. Before I get my head down & ready myself for tomorrow, when I will help prep for the lunchtime session, before once again, and for the final time this weekend be a punter.

I have an urge to “waffle in type” or “type waffle”. It’s the readers prerogative to decide their view so read on with that in mind.

This is about my relationship with beer. First thing to note is that it’s a different thing to my relationship with alcohol, but inevitably those paths will cross.

A lot of friends would probably say “oh yeah, he’s a big drinker”. I have never smoked, vaped, or ‘done’ any drugs and I know I won’t ever, I don’t often drink spirits and I do drink lots of coffee and am on Lisinopril for blood pressure. And whether right or wrong, I do know I drink more beer by units than I’m supposed to.

The reason why I differentiate between alcohol and beer is that they “do” different things for me.

So let’s clear the first and the one that is easier to chat about. My relationship with alcohol is quite one dimensional and basically I wholeheartedly, and without any pressure, confess that I use alcohol to help me sleep because for much of my last years I’ve struggled to turn my head off at night and so my sleep has been terrible.

I have used a mindfulness app (Headspace) for the last 11 or 12 years and it makes a big difference, of course it does, but sometimes especially when I was working in a more corporate environment it wasn’t enough.

Since changing my career “and working more casual roles” rather than a corporate role, my mental health regarding sleep has been improved significantly. But my head still races with thoughts and ideas and enthusiasm long after I really wanted to when I’m tired. So I still “self medicate”, apparently the term of choice.

It’s actually about that simple but it’s not a distinction that some people would make because I do love almost everything* about beer!

Just to be clear (and this is something that most people that know me would acknowledge is) it’s about the only thing I do drink so it’s a volume product. And by the way, when I can be bothered, I might decide to have a night off, maybe even two or three, but that will depend on how I’m sleeping.

*I dont like the way non-macro breweries are restricted, not encouraged, when the multinational corporations duck taxes and duty. 

Here’s a bit after all that boring contextual intro that I really want to talk about and it’s my relationship with beer.

Beer is a fermented product that is generally considered to contain only four ingredients – water, malt, hops & yeast.

I grew up drinking exactly what you expect in terms of beer which was crap lager interspersed with the odd macro produced cream flow Boddies, which I eventually got sick of drinking. I tried drinking wine and I now definitely know what wine I like (and it’s massive Tuscan “smash-you-around-the-head”, bold juicy knockout wines).

That is definitely not something that’s sustainable so I started to move back to drinking the same old crap that I was used to drinking. 

Then there was an epiphany in so much as myself, my mate Gary and Ian went to a local beer and wine festival where I tried a beer from a brewery called Thornbridge called Jaipur which was a at the time classically brewed East India Pale Ale. I bloody loved it! I had some other beers that night, some of which were more well known & accepted tastes, like Guinness. I didn’t enjoy them as much as I enjoyed Jaipur.

I remember that I was amazed that you could make such different beers using four basic ingredients. So here’s the wormhole moment.

I openly describe myself as a compulsively obsessive obsessive compulsive and I think my parents would have agreed to that description as I was growing up. 

Because of this I needed to know more about how those things could be made to be so different with such simple ingredients. Then one evening, coming home from a Manchester City home game I bumped into an old school friend, Noz, who I’ve known since I was four years old who was with his mates.

They were very welcoming and we ended up going to visit a few brewery tap rooms that had set up under the arches in Manchester along Sheffield Street. My mind was blown! I enjoyed the company, the environment, the product and the fact it made me question even more. How on earth you could make so many different beers from so few ingredients. 

From that point on it was inevitable that I was going to have a go at home brewing a beer because I’m one of those people we’re doing something is the best way I learn.

I did a small bit of research and bought a very very simple bucket brew kit that came with a kit of beer and some basic instructions and I gave it a go. It was a kit and the beer was a kit as well. I put a bag of something into some hot water and then put that syrup into some more hot water. The beer wasn’t very good and I learned nothing about what made be different from the four ingredients.  

And that’s when, me being me, I moved up and began what is known as “all grain” brewing where you pick the specific varieties of grain, you choose the specific hops for that beer, and you decide on a yeast that fits that type of beer. And that’s put in simple terms, as I now know!

With the help of many people, some of whom are from the Chiverton Tap Homebrew Club, some of whom are professional breweries who I have had the absolute honour of brewing with, such as Andrew from The Mounting Stone in Bramhall, Toby from Redwillow in Macclesfield, all the folks at Torrside up in New Mills, and latterly Mark and his team at Runaway Brewery in Stockport, I have learned a lot!

Whilst I am no expert, I now have a good grasp on why you can make a Guinness or a Grisette from the same four basic ingredients: water, malt, hops and yeast.

I sort of apologise for the long intro. But then again. 

If you’ve got this far, then the next blog or two might be of interest because I then went to the best beer festival in the world, and the next bits aren’t about the beer as much as you might think…