Indy Man Beer Con

After missing Indy Man Beer Con last year, we bought tickets as soon as they were released, choosing the Friday evening session so we could attend straight from work. Not a beer drinker by nature, I was still eager to attend — the food offering alone was enough to get me interested…
Hosted in the spectacular Victoria Baths, I couldn’t think of a better venue for this event. Lots of hidden rooms mean there’s always something new to stumble upon (potentially quite literally, if you’re a bit further into your evening…) and areas to discover. The changing cubicles surrounding the baths were a firm crowd favourite, with plenty of selfies and snaps being taken across the weekend.
Tokens were 10 for £10 and half tokens were given from the bars and food vendors. By the Saturday evening the food vendors were also taking cash, making it a bit easier to get your grub on. There were a few token stations around the building, meaning you didn’t have to walk far to restock, and service was super speedy on every visit.
My beer experience was obviously limited, though I very much enjoyed every visit to the cider bar. The cask cider in particular was delicious with a slightly smoky aftertaste. Not as quick to drink as the lighter 5% but totally worth it. The other half enjoyed his selections other than a lime based glass — serves him right for taking someone’s suggestion straight away — but he moved quickly on.
Food was predominantly set in the outside area, where there was some covered seating in case of any traditional Manchester weather. Although tempted by Bundobust (very excited for them to join us in Manchester) we couldn’t resist the pull of the Almost Famous Wondertruck and a pizza. Both options were delicious and the pizza certainly drew a lot of attention as I was walking back through the main bar area
The range of options is something very special and I can see why this sells out every year. It’s well run, perfectly branded (the glasses alone are something to write home about) and, in my opinion, worth the money.

The first two years of my Manchester existence I missed out on tickets for Indy Man. This year I managed to get one and I’m very glad I did!
I’d never been to Victoria Baths but what a stunning and fascinating venue. It’s definitely an unusual place to explore while drinking beer. Also, great photo opportunities in the old changing cubicles, although an obnoxious passer-​by tried to tell me how to pose so that it looked more like I was naked — thanks but no thanks dude!
You bought tokens (10 for £10) and used them to pay for beer, and you could also use them to pay for food. Someone I work with claims she got ripped off and was only given 9, which is concerning, but nobody I was with experienced this.
A lot of the beers were expensive but that’s to be expected if you ask me. You don’t go to a beer festival to get some cheap beer and have a frugal time. I don’t know how much I spent overall but it was more than I should have spent in one afternoon — oh well.
Annoyingly I have lost my list of beers I had (I’ll post it as a tip if I find it) but there was a huge choice. There were a lot of sour beers and I got chatting to a lovely couple who knew their sour beers and recommended a few. Everyone I was with enjoyed all the beer (and cider) they had, with the notable exception of one from The Yeastie Boys which smelt like TCP and didn’t taste much better.
The food offering was also excellent, and so I went with my usual day-​drinking tactic which is to eat at regular intervals. This way you don’t get really drunk and end up with an evening hangover! We had a cheese and meat plate from Epicerie Ludo which was of course excellent. This was not cheap at £8 but included four generous cheese portions of my choice (gouda with cumin seeds was particularly good), a ramekin of salami, half a baguette, and two types of chutney. We also tried beef & onion and chicken & stuffing pies from Great North Pie Co, a bacon cheeseburger from Almost Famous, and chilli cheese fries from Diamond Dogs.
Overall I had a really excellent day — fingers crossed I get tickets next year!

Indy Man Beer Con has established itself as one of the UK’s premier beer festivals. Certainly not the biggest but I would say the best if you have a beer fanboy. Other beer festivals cater to expanding the beer experience to the wider public or simply making an enjoyable night out. Indy Man whilst it achieves both of these in spades is certainly focussed primarily on the established beer fan. The guy who owns a couple of t-​shirts emblazoned with his favourite craft brewer or wants to speak the the brewer and ask him how he achieved the end result.
Most if not all breweries that featured over the weekend had a presence from the brewery attending at some point and many are around for the entire weekend. It’s a great resource for them to make new connections with other brewery people and see what their hardcore drinkers think of their products.
It is a great experience to be trying a new brewery and really enjoy it and then realise that the brewer is the guy pouring the beer, you get to ask him about how he came to brewing, what kind of beers he likes to make, what plans the brewery has next.
The jewel in the crown for Indy Man is the building itself. You could not find a better location in Manchester than Victoria Baths both in size and uniqueness. I don’t think the festival would maintain it’s bespoke feel in many locations in the city and it’s multiple large spaces and balconies allow a large number of people whilst not feeling massively crowded.
Noteable changes this year was the fact that food has now been moved outside with street food on offer and big carnival marquee with tables and chairs. This is always a bit of risk with Manchester weather but it was a beautiful weekend so the choice was a roaring success I believe. There were also more small bars focussing on 1 – 3 breweries so it spread punters around more. The use of small off shoot rooms creates snug like spaces throughout the building such as Northern Monk’s dimly lit Turkish Baths, or the curated mix of International breweries represented in the UK by Vertical Brands (Leeds).
Potentially my only gripes this year is the ever increasing cost of the beers, being served in ¹⁄₃ measures with some as much as £6−7 though these were a rarity and were down to high abv, international import and small batch. The other is more about beer trends, there was a significant focus on sour beers which is great and I like seeing these trends, but after a few hours of drinking sours your mouth can be quite shredded and depending on the beer selection it can be difficult to find a lower abv balanced option.
The best and cheapest way to experience this festival in my opinion is to volunteer for at least one session.
Beers of note
Põhjala — Mutant Disco, White IPA tequila barrel aged. (Actually everything from Põhjala was very good but many were upwards of 8%)
Mad Hatter — Tzatziki Sour
Hawkshead — Tonka Bean and Choc (Amazing dark beer reminded me of an Aussie Lamington, with chocolate, coconut and fruit flavours)
Firestone Walker — Wookey Jack, Black Rye IPA

Now in its fourth year, IMBC has become one of the best beer festivals in the UK and could probably take the crown as the greatest one in the north of England. In a short amount of time it’s cemented itself on beer-​lovers’ calendars as the not-​to-​be-​missed event of the year.
The fact that it’s held in the stunning surroundings of the Grade II listed Victoria Baths, an architectural gem in the city, only adds to the epicness. The building is gorgeous inside and out and hosting events such as this allows it to remain well loved and looked after.
IMBC aims to bring together a wide range of breweries from across the UK, Europe and USA — some have become regular attendees year-​on-​year, whereas others are invited for being forward thinking and completely new.
Every year there’s something novel to be seen (and drunk) which is why it remains so popular.
As well as the dozens upon dozens of beers available in the multiple rooms of the Victorian swimming baths — some of the bars are down inside the emptied pools themselves — there are food stalls outside where you can grab something to help line the stomach.
Beers and food are paid for with tokens that you can get within the venue — no cash is accepted.
Tickets usually go on sale online several months beforehand (though they do hold back a few for walk-​ups on the day). It’s advised to book them when you can though to avoid disappointment.
If you’re a fan of beer, a buzzing atmosphere in fantastic surroundings, IMBC is for you!
Tip: Consider volunteering for one of the sessions. It’s a great way to learn more about the beers plus you’re awarded with food and beer tokens plus free entry to another session.