Meet Beavertown / IMBC 17

MEET BEAVERTOWN
IMBC 17

Beaverwho? Said nobody ever. You can’t have turned a craft beer corner in the last however many latelies without happily stumbling into a new trick from the prolific Beavertown. We stole a precious moment with Nick Dwyer of Beavertown to find out the inside track on what’s really going on chez Beaver. Beavertown are the sponsors of the Pineapple Room at IMBC 17. Here’s Nick to take it away…

Hey Nick, tell us a little about your role at Beavertown – because it’s a goodie!

It sure is.  Im “Creative Director,” a title I was given when no one knew what it meant but it stuck and sounds really grand and I love it. Basically I look after anything and everything visual at Beavertown, from designing our printed cans, labels, keg badges, merch and “POS” stuff through to deciding finishes, knocking up posters, beautifying the brewery, to liaising with production facilities and manufacturers to get all that stuff to us in time for events, beer launches and trips to other countries. I don’t think I’ve ever actually written that down before. Other little bits and bobs too, but that’s the jist of it. It’s by no means just me though, everybody will have input in one way or another too.

You guys are always busy beavers, what have Beavertown been working on lately?

Prep for our fest, The Beavertown Extravaganza in a couple of weeks! I’ve been on call for making signs and banners and other visuals etc, alongside an unrelenting list of collaboration artworks to do. These are my favourite, as I get to work with some really brilliant artists that work for other breweries, Trillium’s Kevin and Stillwater’s Mike being the most recent ones. Everyones really excited about it but its been manic! We also released our huge Firestone Walker collab, “Beavo”, recently, the first time we’ve had such a quantity of a collab beer made in the USA over here.  Other than that we’re continuing our rebranding of much of the core range, working with as many brands as possible to improve our merch and not being able to brew enough beer to satisfy the thirsty masses so all in all not much HBU?

Are you hyped for Beavertown Extravaganza? We certainly are! I’m guessing you’ve had a big role in the aesthetics of it?

Absolutely. It’s a massive undertaking that I can take only a very small amount of credit for. Sam and Kieran are the real dream facilitating one-two-punch, alongside the rest of the guys like keeping the wheels turning and everyone sort of half smiling half crying. Smying. Criling? But we are getting there, ticking things off the list by the minute!

Last year at IMBC 16 Beavertown killed it in Room 1 – you were pulling so many Tempus Project beers out of the hat alongside so much more, spaceships and spacemen, all that jazz. This year Beavertown are taking over the Pineapple Room – can you tell us a little about what to expect?

I would say bright colours, brilliant beers and good times. Kieran has just said we are going “Uber beaver” over my shoulder which is a worrying statement out of context. Every year we have whittled the playlist down via trial and error so hopefully this year we will have 100% approval!.. Also, hopefully, Logan in that super flattering Gamma Ray man costume again. “I promise that’s just my phone”


Last year as part of the IMBC fringe, you had an exhibition of your work up at Common as part of a Beavertown bar takeover. Magic Rock are up at Common this year for a bar takeover throughout IMBC 17. Hopefully Rich Norgate will be peppering the walls with his art. Who are your some of your favourites when it comes to beer artwork?

Rich is up there in that list and is also a solid dude which helps. Recognizable from a distance but really intricate up close – perfect. I have always admired his talent for making abstract shapes have so much personality. Similarly, Karl Grandin of Omnipollo with his ability to make the simplest concept so visually appealing, but when he really goes for the colours and shapes… look out retinas there’s a new sheriff in town. Like I mentioned I’ve also worked with Mike Van Hall (Stillwater), Kevin Cimo (Trillium) and Nana Gulbaek (Lervig) who are all really damn good at what they do. Also just been told I’m working with Keith Shore of Mikkeller himself (again) which is always the best news so watch this space. Im really lucky to work in an industry with such exciting artists involved. Hopefully we get to work together at some point, Dave! Donut Boy meets…well, probably skeletons.

What’s your Beavertown beer of choice? (Tricky question, I know)

Humuloid. Our first crack at one of them hazy ones the kids love so much and we knocked it out the park. I can say that, having nothing at all to do with the brewing of it. Skullwater, our Belgian pale with Stillwater is also a firm favourite of mine at the moment, as it’s something a little different to what we usually do.

Quick! I’m in London! Where do I go?

The pressure is real… Walthamstow! Massively biased as I live there but Yardsale Pizza, Sodo Pizza, Eat 17, Clapton Craft and a choice of about 10 pubs all within walking radius means I absolutely love it up there. More centrally I usually find myself at The Mermaid or The Clapton Hart as both have outside spaces and I’m a sucker for a beer in a garden.


I know you’ve got a soft spot for Manchester, if you manage to make it up for IMBC weekend – where are you hitting in town? 

You know exactly where Dave, let’s not do this. (Ed: I’ve previously sighted Nick in Manchester in Common, Port Street, Kosmonaut, Heaton Hops, and Manchester Piccadilly Train Station) 

Lastly, what was your gateway into craft beer? 

The burning desire for people to see my work. I did the initial bottle labels for Black Betty and Gamma Ray as a freelance illustration gig (paid in “exposure”,) but getting a bit of insight into the passion within the beer world led to asking for a job in Dukes, then Beavertown’s home by day, and gaming it so Logan saw more of my sketchbook and designs than he otherwise might have. Through mutual interests we became close / I became employed. Long story short I offered as much help as I could, and here I am.

Anything else to add? 

I already feel hungover thinking about Indyman 17

Thanks Nick!

Independent Manchester Beer Convention
Thursday 28th September – Sunday 1st October 2017 / Victoria Baths, Manchester
Tickets available HERE. 

Posted on 23rd August 2017

We Want YOU!

UPDATE: We are looking for volunteers for Friday evening, Saturday evening, and Sunday sessions. Get in touch if you can make any of these sessions! 

We want YOU to volunteer at IMBC 17…

VOLUNTEER APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN

Every year we work with an amazing volunteer team to help us deliver Indy Man Beer Con – we are now looking for our team for 2017!

In return for volunteering at 0ne session, you will get:

1 x ticket to a session of your choice

15 x beer tokens

1 x IMBC 17 t-shirt

1 x food voucher for the session that you work

1 x good time

Most of our volunteers help out breweries with pouring beer and running their bars. Other volunteers help in other areas such as set-up, event support, information and token desks. As a volunteer you will work in the friendly, dynamic environment of IMBC and be valued as a core part of our event.

We ask that you:

Bring a positive, friendly attitude and be willing to muck in and help wherever needed

Don’t drink on shift – asides tasting what you’re pouring – leave this for your free session

We are also interested in volunteers who would like to volunteer for more one session. If you are interested in volunteering on multiple sessions, please state your interest in your application. See below! Rewards for multi-session volunteers will be announced upon approval of your given shifts.

 

If you would like to apply, please read ~ IMBC_Volunteer Information_2017  ~ and then submit the Volunteer Application Form below,

APPLY HERE! APPLY HERE! APPLY HERE!

The application deadline is 5pm Monday 11th September, but we encourage you to apply ASAP to avoid disappointment. We have limited places available and will be filling roles as we go.

IMBC 17 runs Thursday 28th September – Sunday 1st October 2017 but we are also looking for volunteers to help with the setup and takedown on either side of those dates. See form above for more details.

Before you apply, please make sure you will be available to attend one of our volunteer briefing sessions on Sunday 17th September at 5pm or Monday 18th September at 6.30pm.

Posted on 8th August 2017

Meet Fourpure / IMBC 17

MEET FOURPURE
IMBC 17

We’re sure you’ve already met many many times but allow us to introduce you to Fourpure as Adrian Lugg shines a light on what Fourpure are up to and what to expect from them at Victoria Baths for IMBC 17. Last week we travelled to Fourpure to brew a collaboration beer that will be available nationwide mid to late August 2017. Look out for Bath Bomb in the very near future.

Fourpure are the sponsors of Room 1 at IMBC 17. You’ll find Fourpure at every session of IMBC 17. We asked Adrian a few questions…

You’ve just brewed an IMBC collaboration beer at Fourpure – thank you kindly – can you tell us a little about Bath Bomb?

It’s a tropical pale ale, it’s going to taste amazing. We hope. No pressure.

Sneaky peek of the Bath Bomb can artwork by Steve Hockett

Tell us a bit about your recent Juicebox 500 tour

It was a super good time. Logistically it was a lot of hard work but it definitely paid off. We hit 11 cities in 11 days and met some brilliant people from all over the country. There’s something about the craft beer crowd, both those that own and work in venues and the humble beer drinker who just wants to turn up and have a chat. There was such a good vibe at every new city we went to and it was a great opportunity for our team to get out and about and meet some really cool people.

Fourpure are the guardians, as it were, of Room 1 at Victoria Baths for IMBC 17. What can we expect from Fourpure?

Sophie (much-loved Fourpure events manager) has been pulling together some really fun ideas, there’s going to be lots of lights, some interactive stuff and we’re talking to a local arts school so it should be a pretty good show.

James IMBC touches things at Fourpure

Deucebox was one of the hits at last year’s IMBC. Will you be unearthing more gems at this year’s festival?

We hope so. We’ve got some absolute belters coming through now and more in time for the festival. We’re looking to have a decent size bar with a few taps so you’ll see a range, there’ll be some Fourpure favourites like Juicebox, Deucebox and Shape Shifter, I believe we’ll also be pouring Bath Bomb so that’s exciting. Truth be told we started planning our Indy Man beer list towards the end of last year so we’re also bringing a range of small batch and one-offs that we’re hoping go down well.

Who are you looking forward to sharing the stage with at IMBC 17?

Dave Grohl? Is he going to be there? It’s not that we’re huge Foo Fighter fans but apparently he’s a nice guy. It’s probably not fair to single out any one brewery as everyone brings their A Game to IMBC, it’s such a great event with a unique vibe and good people. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves around this event, there’s just so many great breweries with exciting beers.

What are your tips for the ultimate IMBC experience?

Visit as many breweries and try as many beers as you possibly can. Drink lots of water. Stay hydrated. Don’t take any preconceptions in with you, your new favourite beer might be something you’d never think to try, your new favourite brewery might not have previously been on your radar. Don’t take it too seriously, it’s beer, have fun.

Photographs by Fourpure

How do you feel about the current London brewing scene?

It’s really hard to keep up with what’s happening in London right now, the momentum just keeps building and it’s incredible to see the support across the city for (relatively) well-established breweries and new comers alike. The focus on craft in London is really exciting, it’s the beers we like to drink and there’s plenty of opportunities to share ideas and collaborate.

What’s next for Fourpure? What should we look out for?

We’re pretty close to installing our new brew house, there’s an abundance of new tanks and new toys in production and some stuff is en-route as we write this. The increased capacity is going to free up a lot of time to focus on innovation, and our entire team, brewing and beyond are chomping at the bit to get some fun recipes in tank. We’re also pretty close to getting some of our barrel aged projects in keg, there’s always something new and different happening at Fourpure but sometimes we like stop and appreciate an old favourite. We’re going to be brewing Beartooth again in Autumn, it’s a seasonal American Brown that we’ve brewed before and it’s one of our favourite beers for any occasion.

Thanks Fourpure, I like you

Tickets for IMBC 17 / Thursday 28th September – Sunday 1st October 2017 are available HERE. 

Posted on 2nd August 2017

IMBC 17 Fringe

IMBC 17 FRINGE
Thursday 28th September – Sunday 1st October 2017

At IMBC time each year we like to lay on a few outer Victoria Baths experiences to get you in the beery mood. This year we are exciting to announce that we have the following events happening at our bars. As ever we wanna throw the net wider and get some great beer happenings going on city-wide that you can enjoy before and after IMBC – if you’re a pub / bottle shop / other and you want us to include your event in our programming, get in touch!

Meanwhile, here’s what we’ve got going on so far…

BURNING SKY TAKEOVER PORT STREET BEER HOUSE
Rarities, classics and new classics wall to wall across cask and keg from master brewers and blenders, Burning Sky.

MAGIC ROCK TAKEOVER COMMON
Huddersfield honchos Magic Rock bring a bag of tricks to Common for back to back Magic cask and keg. Expect tastings, new releases, rare batches, artwork, food specials and the unexpected.

WEIRD BEARD TAKEOVER THE PILCROW
Weird Beard bring the immaculate haul to The Pilcrow for a four day showcase of all things Weird. Newbies, golden oldies, pop-up tastings, specials galore.

THORNBRIDGE TAKEOVER THE BEAGLE
Bakewell’s always excellent Thornbridge make tracks to The Beagle in Chorlton for the long weekend to provide the ultimate offering of essential cask and keg. All the stone cold classics will be there alongside rarities, Thornbridge food specials, pop-ups and much more.

Artwork by David Bailey

Got your ticket to the big dog yet? IMBC 17 wants YOU (to attend). Thursday 28th September and Sunday 1st October are the only dates that remain. Pick up your tickets HERE!

Posted on 2nd August 2017

IMBC 17 SPONSORS

Howdy. Each year we assemble a dream team of breweries and beer-related folk that kindly sponsor Indy Man Beer Con. Some of the below, where listed, are room sponsors of Indy Man Beer Con 2017 at Victoria Baths. Encouraged to make their pitch their own, you’ll find all of the below at EVERY session across IMBC 17. Colour us excited…

IMBC 17 SPONSORS

BEAVERTOWN BREWERY
@ Pineapple Room

Them fabulous Beavers from London town surely need no introduction. Beavertown have brought the party consistently to IMBC over the past however many instalments. Last year they rocked Room One with their inflatable saucers, life-size spacemen cut-outs, OH and the most phenomenal range of rare Beavertown beers and stone cold classic cuts. This time Beavertown take the Pineapple Room at Victoria Baths by storm. Clear the way, spaceship incoming…

BUXTON BREWERY
@ Green Room


Hot damn on a cold-stored tin roof are we excited to welcome Buxton Brewery to IMBC 17 as the official room sponsor of the Green Room (answer: yes). This our first time welcoming the terrific Buxton onboard to Indy Man Beer Con as a room sponsor and we cannae wait to see how they deck out the place. Consistent hit makers and ice cream innovators (alongside their brother from another mother, Omnipollo), Buxton will be bringing out the big guns for IMBC 17.

CLOUDWATER BREW CO
@ Room Two

Cloudwater join us at IMBC for their THIRD appearance since their inception in 2015. To say the Manchester brewery have gone from strength to strength would be an understatement. Constantly moving things forward, learning and releasing great beers (often in waves), Cloudwater return to marshal Room Two for the second year running. Last year Cloudwater spilled a river of previously unreleased barrel aged beauties, and never-seen uber drinkable drops, this year we daresay to expect the unexpected once more. Cloudwater will be joined by brewery friends from the US, more on that soon…

FOURPURE
@ Room OneThe purest fourest, Fourpure, a force for the pure, return to Indy Man Beer Con for their second year as room sponsor. London’s Fourpure, a family brewery founded in 2013, have been knocking out the hits for fun over the last few years. Juicebox has become a staple, Fourpure’s core range much adored and their rarer releases highly sought after – luckily you’ll find all facets of the Fourpure oeuvre at Indy Man once more this year. Room One just got interesting!

LERVIG
@ Turkish Baths

Highly excited to welcome Lervig to IMBC 17, hosting their very own room in the Turkish Baths. Coming all the way to Manchester from Stavanger, Norway, Lervig are the creators of everything from easy drinking pales and barrel aged barley wines to exquisite sours. Over the last few years Lervig have touted some of the world’s best stouts and porters, their Hoppin’ Frog collab Sippin’ Into Darkness was gone in no time at IMBC 16 and their 3 Bean Stout Way collaboration is out of this world. Don’t miss the gems that Lervig will be unearthing in the Turkish Baths, flanked by their buddies Beer Merchants – more on that below.

NORTHERN MONK
@ Food VillageLeeds royalty Northern Monk traverse the pennines to bring you their grade A selection at IMBC 17. Hot off the back of their excellently curated Hop City, Northern Monk will be showcasing their ever broadening range of rarities, joyous collaborations, and their crowd pleasing standards. Last year they made two thrones out of cans, who knows what the brethren will emerge with this year. Cash them ousside (in the food village), how bow dah. Enter the Northern Monk tent for all your eternal needs.

SIREN CRAFT BREW
@ Room 3

Champs of Finchampstead, Berkshire’s best Siren Craft Brew are returning to IMBC once more – this time overseeing Room 3 as lords of the realm. Siren’s core range is a constant inspiration, as is their bountiful barrel ageing programme, their seasonal specials and their verve and innovation in collaboration with their peers in the beer world. At IMBC 16 Siren regularly dropped bombshell after bombshell with lesser seen, and in some cases NEVER seen specials, as well as touting the only cask of the festival. This year we already know it’s going to be a special Siren year as they are bringing THE RAINBOW PROJECT in full effect to IMBC 17. That means you’ll find all seven 2017 Rainbow Project beers pouring in room 3 at IMBC 17: Magic Rock x Casita Cerveceria, Partizan x New Belgium, Beavertown x Jester King, Hawkshead x Modern Times, SIREN x Sante Adairius, Wild Beer x Side Project, and Burning Sky x 3 Floyds. Wow.

WILD BEER CO
@ Food Village

Shepton Mallet’s Wild Beer Co, they of the magical blend, the house of a hundred (and then some) barrels, they of the sprawling styles and vigorous experimentation, return to IMBC for the second year running to pitch a tent in our outside arena. Inside the tent, nay cave of wonders, you’ll find a mile long (pretty much) Wild Beer bar pouring all you could ever fawn over. Last year they brought the biggest block of cheese you ever did see. This year we daresay Wild Beer will bring the house down once more. Find them out the back with neighbouring tent dwellers, Northern Monk.

Thems the breweries, now let us focus a lil attention on our non-brewery partners for IMBC 17.

BEER MERCHANTS

Beer Merchants are our glass sponsor for IMBC 17. It won’t be the first, nor last time, you’ll drink an exquisite beer aided by Beer Merchants. Beer Merchants stock the world’s best craft beer, an online cavalcade of the hottest drops from the modern beer scene. They will be operating a physical shop in Room 3 alongside their bezzies Lervig for all your takeout needs at IMBC 17. Visit them you must.

KEGSTAR

Kegstar is a keg and cask rental business and innovative tech company. Their aim is simple; to help free up valuable time and money spent maintaining, tracking and collecting kegs and casks. Using app enabled technology (free to download from your app store) each of Kegstars steel containers are scanned with a smart device, allowing them to be tracked through the supply chain to the venue. All the producer needs to do is fill, deliver, scan and repeat. When the time comes for empty kegs and casks to be collected, venue staff simply scan for a pick-up or alternatively phone or email us and we’ll collect as quickly as possible.

SIMPLY HOPS

Simply Hops are purveyors of wholesale hops and hop pellets for the UK and Europe. Buy your hops, pellets, PHA, anti foam, and more from Simply Hops. Passionate about the business of hops and champing at the bit to provide the very best for all your brewing needs.

LALLEMAND

Lallemand kindly sponsor The Thirsty Games, our yearly showcasing of the best new small breweries in the UK. Lallemand is a global leader in the development, production and marketing of yeast, bacteria and specialty ingredients. What Lallemand don’t know about yeast *probably* isn’t worth knowing.

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And thus concludes the list of our illustrious partners. Fancy partying with them? Join us 28th September – 1st October for Indy Man Beer Con 2017. Friday and Saturday sessions are SOLD OUT but you can pick up tickets for the opening Thursday 28th September session and closing Sunday 1st October party. Tickets available HERE. 

Posted on 19th July 2017

Tickets for IMBC 17 now on sale

Yes yes y’all!

Pick yours up HERE!

IMBC 17
28th September – 1st October 2017
Victoria Baths, Manchester

Thursday 28th September session / 5.30pm-11.30pm @ £8.50
Friday 29th September day session / 11.30am-4.30pm @ £8.50
Friday 29th September evening session / 5.30pm-11.30pm @ £13.50
Saturday 30th September day session / 11.30am-4.30pm @ £13.50 SOLD OUT
Saturday 30th September evening session / 5.30pm-11.30pm @ £13.50 SOLD OUT
Sunday 1st October session / 1pm-7pm @ £8.50
Full Fat Ticket / entrance to ALL sessions @ £50

Posted on 7th June 2017

IMBC 17 ticket launch events


To celebrate the launch of IMBC 17 tickets (general release Wednesday 24th May @ 9pm via HERE) we are holding TWO launch events at Port Street Beer House AND The Beagle on Wednesday 24th May from 6pm. If you can make it in person to either pub you will have the chance to pick up limited advance tickets from 6pm, limited to four tickets per person per session, ahead of the general website ticket release at 9pm.

See posters below for what’s happening. There will be free tacos galore from IMBC food vendors Al Pastor Paul at both pubs PLUS very special tastings from Buxton, Hawkshead, and Cloudwater at Port Street Beer House. Meanwhile, The Beagle will be pouring out free halves of Beavertown Neck Oil until the keg runs dry. Alongside this fervour there will also be a host of IMBC picks pouring across each bar.

Last but not leastly, we recently revealed the artwork for IMBC 17. Made by the fair hand, as ever, by Steve Hockett of Wonder Room Studio. 


Posted on 23rd May 2017

IMBC 17 Tickets

Tickets for IMBC 17 (Thursday 28th September – Sunday 1st October 2017 at Victoria Baths) will go on sale on Wednesday 24th May 2017 from 9pm on this very website. I know, I could hardly believe it either.

See you here!

Posted on 25th April 2017