We are sad to announce that IMBC will not be taking place at our beloved Victoria Baths this year.

This cancellation, for the most part, has been necessary because it would be almost impossible to manage social distancing within the baths. We would have to enforce a one-way system, which would dramatically reduce the amount of people allowed in the baths at a certain time and it would make accessing each of the rooms really difficult. It would also place an immense burden on our volunteers and partners. This would impact the spirit of the festival greatly and it just wouldn’t be the IMBC experience you know and expect.

We are still determined to deliver a line-up of sweet activity over the IMBC weekend and we are certainly not going to let it go by without raising a glass to our craft beer community that has been hit particularly hard by this pandemic. We are committed to using the IMBC brand to help uplift and support the industry that we are part of. Stay tuned for updates.

The way that the beer community has mobilised and adapted to ever-changing new normal obstacles over the past months has been inspirational. Please continue to support independent breweries, bottle shops, and pubs where you can. Your patronage will be vital to them in the coming months. Stay safe and enjoy good beer responsibly.

Dear IMBC class of 2019,

After a few days to recover, we’re now reflecting on what was our best Indy Man yet. We wanted to say a monumentally HUGE thank you for coming along and supporting independent craft beer in Manchester and across the globe. From your posts on social media to chatting to you in person, it’s clear that what we do makes so many people happy. That is our single most important aim and makes all of our hard work totally worth it.

Beer, as ever, was the real hero and we would like to extend big thanks to the brewers thereof, our wonderful volunteers, Victoria Baths and the awesome team there, IMBC food vendors, festival supporters and sponsors, everyone who helped out in the production, and again – YOU! We’d just be an empty swimming pool full of beer without you. Which sounds cool but we’d be bankrupt in a day. And very drunk.

We diverged from a single token system this year and hope you all understand why. Craft beer is expensive and it is getting more so. We needed to reflect this in our pricing and also make sure that the token price was kept low for those who didn’t want the super spenny stuff. The range of pricing was such that using 2018’s system would have seen 2019’s token price rise to over £3.30, but we actually managed to reduce the average cost to £2.63. Nevertheless, this wasn’t a decision we took lightly and we thank you for your understanding.

We would like to extend our gratitude to IMBC ’19 sponsors for helping to make this year so memorable. Each room guardian did an incredible job of making Victoria Baths their own: Beer Merchants, Burning Sky, Cloudwater, Deya, Fierce, Lervig, Siren, Verdant and Wylam. We’re sure you’ll agree that their spaces were a joy to visit.

Let’s also thank our IMBC ’19 supporters. This year’s glass was one of our finest yet and was brought to you with the help of Kegstar. Official keg supporters Kegstar also performed stainless steel keg heroics as usual, Simply Hops took wonderful care of the brewers in the lounge (tea, snacks, games and comfy spots galore) and The Brewer’s Eye app kept beer lovers in the know. Telcom boosted the WiFi at Victoria Baths and enabled us all to ‘gram faster, thank you! Awesome Merch made our swag dreams come true by printing all of this year’s merch (please do use them for all your print needs) and TicketWeb made ticketing an absolute breeze. Last but not least, KeyKeg were a great help as Keg Management Supporter with the recycling of their kegs that you guys helped empty!

We must also thank our Thirsty Games supporters Lallemand, Simpson’s Malt and Yakima Chief Hops. What an honour it was to crown Manchester-based ÖL Brewery our 2019 winners! If you voted on the app, good on ya. Make sure to pay a visit to ÖL at Hatch on Oxford Road. You can read more about all of our sponsors here.

2019’s Food Village was stacked with incredible vendors: Diamond Dogs, Dim Sum Su, Donner Summer, Firebird Hope, Great North Pie, Honest Crust, Neato Burrito, and Vaso Kitchen, thanks for lining our stomachs so deliciously, and thanks to Siop Shop and Holy Crab for bossing the Snack Shelf. Our ever-growing array of non-beer drinks came courtesy of the lovely folk from Kwas, Booch & Brew, Square Root Soda, Idle Hands and our Cocktail Bar. Thanks for helping us create a festival with something for everyone.

A special thanks goes to official IMBC ’19 illustrator Kate Prior for creating the unforgettable fish artwork in its many guises (you snapped up the “Jaws” tee quicker than we could say ‘gimbagagompa coffee vanilla granola breakfast stout’, obvs), and Patrick Cavanagh for building the Indy Man app, a true feat of digital engi-beering.

The dates for IMBC ’20 are set; Thursday 1st October – Sunday 4th October. The venue remains the same; Victoria Baths, our one true love. More details about the ticket release date will follow in 2020 so keep an eye on our social mediums and sign up to our newsletter for further information.

Phew, thirsty for next year now. Until 2020 stay safe, keep experimenting with new beers and supporting the independent. The IMBC team are also responsible for year-round fun at Port Street Beer House, Common, The Beagle and The Pilcrow, plus your warm weather beer fix at Summer Beer Thing. Come and say hi!

We’d love to hear any feedback you have about this year’s event. Drop us a line or complete this short survey. If you go the survey route we’ll enter you into a competition to win two tickets for IMBC ’20 and a £50 bar tab at Port Street Beer House. Wahey!

Thank YOU,

Team IMBC

P.S.

A very special thanks goes to our colleague Seb Mariner. If you’ve visited a sponsor’s room or lucked out with a pop-up tasting, you did so because of Seb’s tireless work to make IMBC bloody awesome. After years of dedicated service Seb is moving on, but he’ll always be part of the IMBC Crew. Best of luck, mate x

We’d love to get your feedback on this year’s event so we can continue to deliver the best possible version of Indy Man Beer Con.

Complete this short survey (your answers will be anonymous) and we’ll enter you into a competition to win two tickets for IMBC’20 and a £50 bar tab at Port Street Beer House. Bring on the beers.

Indy Man simply wouldn’t happen without the support of a dedicated network of businesses, each committed to the betterment of the independent craft beer industry. Show them some love!

IMBC 19 ROOM SPONSORS

We are proud to partner with the following breweries in their own individual spaces at Victoria Baths for Indy Man Beer Con 2019…

Room 1 | CLOUDWATER

Manchester’s very own Cloudwater Brew Co. are guardians of the old Males First Class / Gala pool aka IMBC Room 1. Cloudwater march to the beat of the changing seasons, bringing an invitation to enjoy the scarcity and abundance the natural world offers.

Room 2 | BURNING SKY

In the VB Sports Hall (the old Males Second Class Pool) we have Burning Sky. Conceived by ex Dark Star head brewer Mark Tranter in a Sussex barn, Burning Sky brewery is hidden away in the south downs and as such allows them to brew uncompromising brews of quality and tradition. They use traditional techniques that involve slower yeasts and long maturation times.

Room 3 | WYLAM

Wylam are back for another year, manning the old Females Pool aka IMBC Room 3. Founded in 2000, Wylam is a 30 Barrel Micro Brewery that resides at the Palace of Arts in Exhibition Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Green Room | SIREN

The Turkish Rest Room or Green Room is tiled from floor to ceiling and has four unique stained glass windows including the remarkable Angel of Purity window. Siren Craft Brew hope to lure you into this amazing space with their adventurous but drinkable beers, designed to be accessible yet flavourful enough for those seasoned beer fans to return to time and time again.

Turkish Baths | DEYA

Cheltenham natives Deya Brewing are Siren’s neighbours in the intimate surroundings of the Turkish Baths. Founded on a passion for outstanding beer and the vision to create fresh, intense, delicious beers, Deya’s focus is predominantly on soft, hoppy beers.

Pineapple Room | VERDANT

Named after its distinctive stained glass window, the Pineapple Room is home to Cornwall’s Verdant Brewing Co. in 2019. Since Verdant started brewing back in 2014, they decided that hoppy beers were what we wanted to be drinking; juicy, hoppy, unfiltered hazy beers and always vegan.

Food Village 1 | LERVIG x BEER MERCHANTS

Located behind the Baths is the Lervig x Beer Merchants tent. Hailing from Norway, Lervig are a force in the world of craft beer. Created after the townspeople of Stavanger revolted against the mass brewery attempt to sell them substandard beer. Now known for bold tastes and consistency of their brews, Lervig are making craft beer for the masses not just beer geeks.

Long-time supporters of IMBC, head to Beer Merchants for the best take away beers in town. One of the UK’s first online beer retailers, Beer Merchants have worked with partners in the beer industry for nearly two decades, sourcing world-class craft beer from all around the globe and delivering it direct to people’s doors.

Food Village 2 | FIERCE BEER

On the other side of the food village you’ll find our Aberdonian pals Fierce, making their debut as a room sponsor at IMBC19. Fierce don’t make boring beer. They are passionate about provenance too, using local Scottish ingredients, services and equipment to produce their mouthwatering selection.

IMBC 19 SUPPORTERS

It’s not just the breweries that make Indy Man so special. Here’s a rundown of our lovely 2019 supporters…

Glass | KEGSTAR

IMBC19’s glass is brought to you by global beverage container solution specialists Kegstar. Kegstar lead the way in stainless steel kegs principally for beer and cider businesses operating in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and USA.

Brewers Lounge | SIMPLY HOPS

Keeping all of our brewers refreshed and rested, Simply Hops are the masters of a festival brewers lounge. SH provide the best quality whole hops to the beer industry.

Beer Mats | THE BREWERS EYE

2019’s beer mats are brought to you by The Brewer’s Eye, the perfect app to enjoy, experience and explore the wonderful world of beer in a relaxed rating-free zone. Download the app for iPhone or Android now and join a new beer community today.

Merchandise | AWESOME MERCH

Boy, do we have some corking merch for you this year. All of our branded goodies are expertly made by Awesome Merch, THE go-to company for custom merchandise. Awesome Merch make branded stuff for all kinds of people, all in-house, from T-shirts for bands, stickers for artists, to banners for events. They make us look good!

Wifi | TELCOM

Helping us ‘gram faster at IMBC19 is Telcom, another Manchester business making waves in their sector. Telcom are on a mission to change the country’s internet, providing ultrafast business broadband and dedicated leased lines over wireless or fibre.

Keg Management | KEYKEG

Our wonderful Keg Management Supporter is KeyKeg, an award-winning, world-leading sustainable keg provider.

Tastings & Ticket Partner | TICKETWEB

TicketWeb is a leading self-service online marketing and ticketing company, explicitly dedicated to the independent venue and promoter. They make ticketing for Indy Man easy peasy.

Thirsty Games | LALLEMAND, SIMPSONS MALT & YAKIMA CHIEF HOPS

2019’s Thirsty Games competition is supported by Lallemand, Simpson’s Malt and YCH.

Lallemand’s presence in the brewing industry dates from the early 1970s when the company started producing dried pure culture brewing yeasts for beer kit manufacturers in Canada. In subsequent years, their activity has expanded to the production of other specific ale and lager beer yeasts for different clients in the United States, Europe and Australasia.

The home of good malt since 1862, Simpsons Malt are fifth-generation malt company and brewers malt suppliers supplying the global beer and whisky industries, based in Northumberland.

As a 100% grower-owned network of family hop farms, Yakima Chief Hops is uniquely positioned to establish strong relationships between the growers who supply their super-premium hops and their innovative brewing customers. YCH’s mission is to connect family hop farms with the world’s finest brewers, providing the highest quality hop products.

TASTINGS! TASTINGS! TASTINGS!

Join us in the atrium of activity that is our beer warehouse at IMBC 19 as we lay on a selection of very special tastings. Reserve your places via the links below. Expect tastings to last around 20 – 30 minutes.

Please note that tasting tickets are only valid for ticket holders to that specific session. If you don’t have a ticket for the session, please do not purchase a tasting ticket.

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THURSDAY SESSION
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THURSDAY 3rd OCTOBER 2019 @ 6.30pm
BURNING SKY: THEN AND NOW
***SOLD OUT***

Then and Now: Taste Burning Sky’s FIRST beer, Saison a la Provision, alongside their MOST RECENT beer, Coolship 2. The story behind the two will be regaled by Burning Sky head brewer, Mark Tranter.

Coolship No. 2

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THURSDAY 3rd OCTOBER 2019 @ 7.30pm
DEYA BLEND 1 TASTING
***SOLD OUT***

Deya crack out that rare rare with a bottle tasting of BLEND 1. Brewed in August 2018, this beer has spent 10 months in red wine barrels with different mixed cultures, bringing an acidity and Brettanomyces quality to the beer. This beer was then primed with elderflower syrup, made on site from locally foraged flowers.

THURSDAY 3rd OCTOBER 2019 @ 8.30pm
TRACK SONOMA AND BLUZON TASTING
Tickets HERE. 

Manchester heroes Track taste you through Sonoma (IN CANS!!!) and cans of Bluzon. Fans of local freshies ASSEMBLE!

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FRIDAY DAY SESSION
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FRIDAY 4th OCTOBER 2019 DAY SESSION @ 12.30pm
FANTÔME TASTING
Tickets HERE.

One of the most esteemed names in the saison biz invite you in for an intimate tasting of…BLANCHE (wit), DARK FOREST GHOST, TRIPLE GOURMET (strongest Fantôme so far!) and ROCK THE FARMHOUSE (Toccalmatto collab).​

FRIDAY 4th OCTOBER 2019 DAY SESSION @ 1.30pm
NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL AN OVERWORKS TASTING
Tickets HERE. 

One of the most expansive sour and wild projects in the UK, Overworks, bring you a tasting of the 2019 Overworks x IMBC collaboration, JOYOUS EVENT, alongside bottle pours of Overworks’ HOCUS POCUS and GYRONAUGHT. Led by OW mainman, Richard Kilcullen.

FRIDAY 4th OCTOBER 2019 DAY SESSION @ 2.30pm
ARCLIGHT TASTING
Tickets HERE.

Arclight Brewing Company (Michigan) join us at Victoria Baths for the very first time. To celebrate we invite them into our warehouse to chat shop and split bottles of Soursmith Red Raspberry and Black Raspberry. Get excited for Arclight beers, they are phenomenal.

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FRIDAY EVENING SESSION
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FRIDAY 4th OCTOBER 2019 EVENING SESSION @ 6.30pm
CASCADE: THAT’S PEARPAWSTEROUS! TASTING
Tickets HERE.

Cascade (Portland, Oregon) main man Big Mike pops bottles of KENTUCKY PEACH; a blend of sour wheat and quad ales aged in bourbon and wine barrels for up to 16 months with more than 7,000 lbs of fresh Northwest-grown peaches. PEARPAWSTEROUS; Upland Brewing collab w/ Oregon-grown pears and Indiana-grown paw paws – layered over a base of sour wheat ale aged for up to 12 month sin oak barrels. SANG DU CHENE; sour strong blond and triple ales aged in three large format oak casks: foudres, puncheons and hogsheads.

FRIDAY 4th OCTOBER 2019 EVENING SESSION @ 7.30pm
DRY & BITTER TOWER OF SOUR TASTING
Tickets HERE. 

Dry and Bitter (Gørløse, Denmark) pop bottles from their new sour project.

FRIDAY 4th OCTOBER 2019 EVENING SESSION @ 8.30pm
OMNIPOLLO YOU GLAD I DIDN’T SAY BANANA TASTING
***SOLD OUT***

It’s that super rare from Stockholm space cadets, Omnipollo. Hand painted magnums of OMNIPOLLOSCOPE #1 will be cracked. Omnipolloscope #1 is a RASPBERRIED/BLUEBERRIED/BLACKBERRIED WOOD AGED SOUR JAM multi-blaster collab with American Solera, Brouwerij De Molen, Stillwater Artisanal, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, Superstition Meadery, Side Project Brewing, Anchorage Brewing Company, and Prairie Artisan Ales. +++ AGAMEMNON MONSTER SHAKE. Cans will be split of Omnipollo’s 12% imperial stout with maple syrup, toasted almonds, bacon, coconut and vanilla. Caution! Contains actual nuts and real bacon.

—
SATURDAY DAY SESSION
—

SATURDAY 5th OCTOBER 2019 DAY SESSION @ 12.30pm
CREATURE COMFORTS: SO WILD, SO CLEAN TASTING
***SOLD OUT*** 

Creature Comforts (Athens, USA) have a deep archive of amazing beers both wild and clean. Chris Herron, CEO of Creature Comforts, brings you an expression of each as he pops bottles of LIFE IN FLUX – a 13% blended imperial stout aged in whiskey barrels, and ANICCA – a 7.5% oak aged saison collaboration with Cloudwater.

—

SATURDAY 5th OCTOBER 2019 DAY SESSION @ 1.30pm
BURNING SKY FOUR FRIENDS TASTING
***SOLD OUT***

Four friends found a united love for wild and mixed fermentation beer and cider. In April 2018 we embarked on a collaboration project that represented this. One brew of beer into our coolship for wild inoculation, with each brewery & cider maker having three barrels each to express their mixed fermentation culture. One barrel of each iteration was selected for a mono release to express the different yeast cultures, the rest for a blend unique to our project.

SATURDAY 5th OCTOBER 2019 DAY SESSION @ 2.30pm
WILD BEER: FRUITS OF OUR LABOUR TASTING
Tickets HERE.

Brett Ellis, co-founder of the Wild Beer Co will be talking about and tasting their 2019 fruit harvest beers, Fruits Of Our Labour.

SATURDAY 5th OCTOBER 2019 DAY SESSION @ 3.10pm
MIKKELLER BAGHAVEN BONUS ROUND
Tickets HERE.

Super rare opportunity to sample the fruits from Mikkeller’s sour project at Baghaven, Copenhagen. Big bottles will be cracked of: Violet Beverage, Granadilla Blend 1,
and Rubus of Rose Blend 2.

—
SATURDAY EVENING SESSION
—

SATURDAY 5th OCTOBER 2019 EVENING SESSION @ 6.30pm
TO ØL MR BROWN TASTING
Tickets HERE.

A tasting of the big winner from To Ol’s expansive and brilliant Mr series, MR BROWN, a 9% imperial brown ale teeming with roasted malts, vanilla, chocolate, hazelnuts, coffee and salted caramel.

SATURDAY 5th OCTOBER 2019 EVENING SESSION @ 7.30pm
FUERST WIACEK CAN PARTY
Tickets HERE.

Berlin favourites, FUERST WIACEK, bring you fresh big fruity IPAs and fruity fruit led beers. Have a chat with the brewers and find out what its been like for Fuerst riding the juice wave in lager country. Taste Airhead, Cloud Theory, and Smooth Move.

—

SATURDAY 5th OCTOBER 2019 EVENING SESSION @ 8.30pm
A SWEET SWEET POHJALA TASTING
Tickets HERE.

A special tasting of a sweet range of beers from one of the world’s most creative breweries, Estonia’s Pohjala. Here you will taste TORM (8% gose brewed with lingonberry, heather tips and honey), COCOBANGER (12.5% imperial stout brewed with coconut and Caturra coffee) and PIME Oo PX (13.9% Sherry barrel aged limited version of PIME Oo.)

SATURDAY 5th OCTOBER 2019 EVENING SESSION @ 9.10pm
MIKKELLER BAGHAVEN x SAN DIEGO TASTING
Tickets HERE.

A very special tasting of Mikkeller’s much drooled over Baghaven and San Diego armoury. Biere des Champs Blend 2 (Chardonnay barrel fermented and citra dry hopped farmhouse pale) bottles from Mikkeller Baghaven AND
Mikkeller San Diego Traeblod BA: Imperial Stout brewed with Maple Syrup & Coffee Aged in Bourbon Barrels. Holy shit.

—
SUNDAY SESSION
—

SUNDAY 6th OCTOBER 2019 @ 2pm
RARE BURNING SKY ASSEMBLAGE TASTING
***SOLD OUT***

Assemblage 1 is a blend from four exceptional barrels; one coolship beer from April 2017, then three barrels of Saison Provision aged for at least 18 months: one in a donated barrel from Bokker, one a barrel previously used for ageing lambic from Girardin and lastly a  barrel used for fermenting our coolship wort. Each barrel exhibited unique characteristics, blended they created this complex and harmonious beer.

SUNDAY 6th OCTOBER 2019 @ 3pm 
SAINT MARS OF THE DESERT: SAISON THING INTERESTING
Tickets HERE.

Dann and Martha from hot new things, Saint Mars of the Desert, taste you through the seminal saison, JACK D’OR – the beer credited by many to kick off the saison explosion in the USA in 2008 (a beer first brewed by Dann and Martha’s then Boston brewery, Pretty Things). Following this SMOD will crack bottles of their 2019 IMBC collaboration, CRUMBLING SPLENDOUR, a koelship saison with Sorachi Ace and Belgian Goldings.

SUNDAY 6th OCTOBER 2019 @ 4pm
BIG MIKE CASCADE TASTING
***SOLD OUT***

Cascade (Portland, Oregon) main man Big Mike pops bottles of MANHATTAN; a sour quad and blond ale blend aged in bourbon barrels with sour pie cherries and apricot noyaux, a tribute to the Manhattan cocktail. PECHE FUME; Péche Fumé is a blend of wheat ales brewed with cherrywood smoked malt and aged in oak barrels for up to 14 months with Northwest-grown peaches. NOYAUX; a blend of sour blond ales aged in white wine barrels for up to 24 months with fresh raspberries and apricot noyaux.

This year there are more IMBC fringe events across Manchester (and beyond) than ever before. INDY MAN BEER CITY is alive and teeming with beer happenings…

Search #IMBCity to see what’s happening at your fave pubs, bars and taprooms across the North.

See below for details on what’s occurring at Port Street Beer House, Common, The Pilcrow and The Beagle, brought to you by the team behind IMBC:

Port Street Beer House Port Street, Manchester, M1 2EQ

Wednesday 2 October
12pm-12am: Deya Tap Takeover

Thursday 3 October
12pm-12am: Jester King (Texas) Showcase

Friday 4 October
12pm-12am: Magnify (New Jersey) Can & Bottle Release
5pm-late: Donzoko 2nd Birthday Bash

Saturday 5 October
5pm-late: Garage (Barcelona) Tap Takeover

Sunday 6 October
2pm: Cascade Bottle Launch

The Pilcrow Sadler’s Yard, Hanover Street, Manchester, M60 0AB

Wednesday 2 October
12pm-late: Thin Man (New York) Tap Takeover

Friday 4 October
12pm-late: Verdant Showcase

Sunday 6 October
12pm-late: Kernel Showcase

Common 39-41 Edge Street, Manchester, M4 1HW

Thursday 3 October
12pm-12am: Overworks Tap Takeover
5pm: Overworks x IMBC Can Launch

Saturday 5 October
12pm-late: Collective Arts (Canada) Tap Takeover – food pairings, live art & DJs

All weekend
Hangover Food & Drink Specials

The Beagle 456-458 Barlow Moor Rd, Chorlton, Manchester, M21 0BQ

Thursday 3 October
12pm-late: Pomona Island Tap Takeover
7pm-late: Live music from the Campbell & Jaquet Duo

Saturday 5 October
12pm-late: Squawk Showcase