Category: Branch News

Manchester needs you! You probably know the Greater Manchester branches of CAMRA organise the magnificent Manchester Beer and Cider Festival and have done so since its inception four years ago. We have now found our new (and hopefully permanent) home in the centre of Manchester in the Manchester Central Convention centre – which you may know better as G-Mex – and are already planning for the 2018 (24th – 27th January) and the 2019 (23rd – 26th January) events.

While we have an excellent Organising Committee, there is always room for new blood and new and different skills. We want to give more members the opportunity to get involved in the festival and want to assure every CAMRA member in the region that we are by no means a closed shop. Can you help? Professional qualifications that would make our event better:

Do you hold a Security Industry Authority badge – or would you like to be trained to get an SIA badge? We have paid for several members to gain such qualifications that some have then used to gain a new form of employment or enhance their own employment opportunities. Are you already, or have been, employed in the pub or brewing industry? Do you have design skills? Event Management skills? Organisational skills? Or are you just willing to get involved to ensure that our event becomes better and better every year?

Beer knowledge – if you have visited the event as a customer you will be aware of how big the event has become and how modern the event has become. Are you interested in craft beer? We now sell craft beer in both keykeg and cask form. We also research and purchase foreign beers from all over Europe. Have you an interest in Cider and Perry? Mead? Fruit wines – then yes, we have bars that sell these. You could help us source and sell them. Customer care and ‘back room’ skills: Do you have customer care skills? Interface well with the public? Or are you a “back room” person? We have opportunities for anybody who wishes to stay in the background whether during or before the event.

We need help in designing posters, website work, designing beer mats, thinking up a logo, ordering polo and T shirts for sale. Are you interested in food? You could organise the food for the Volunteers from a local hostelry? Or organise many other things? You could get involved with selling VIP packages? You could meet and greet people coming to the event? You could help to serve beers to customers who have paid for tasting sessions? Know your way around websites and coding, or systems automation? We need you.

There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer for all aspects of the festival, both before and during it.

Many of you will have skills from your working life that we could use in the organisation of the event or during the event itself. To reassure you, many jobs in these days of electronic communications and the good old fashioned phone don’t involve a lot of time at meetings, so perhaps you could think of offering us a little of your time and helping the campaign at the same time? We’re also keen to recruit deputies – so you could work alongside more experienced members to get a feel of festival organisation. It’s not all one way There are benefits to helping organise a beer festival…

We reward all participants with free beer (or cider). Free Volunteers T-shirt. Commemorative Polo pr T-shirt at cost price Free food during set up and take down. Organised nights out during set up. Some travel and accommodation benefits. A volunteer party with food, drink and awards. The pride you’ll feel of putting on a nationally-recognised event that attracts more than 13,500 visitors and serves over 62,000 pints.

I promise you that you’ll be very welcome and you’ll make new friends for sure. You can do as little or much as you feel able. If this is for you, or you want to know more, just drop me an email or ring me at the number below, or go to http://mancbeerfest.uk/volunteer

Graham Donning Festival Organiser

Phone: 07961 886696 Email: Organiser (at) mancbeerfest.uk
Web: www.mancbeerfest.uk
Facebook: http://facebook.com/ManchesterBeerFestival
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MancBeerFest

Wednesday 24th Trade and CAMRA Members only 1630 – 2100.
Thursday 25th – Saturday 27th 2018 Manchester Central Albion Street M1 5LN

 

Manchester has emerged as the cask beer capital of Britain, following a major new study into the beer sold in the city’s pubs and bars.

The Manchester Beer Audit 2017 found 411 different cask ales on sale in venues throughout the Manchester City Council area, beating nearest rival Sheffield, which boasted 385 beers in its last survey, as well as Nottingham (334), York (281), Norwich (254), Derby (213), and Leeds (211).

The survey also confirmed that Manchester is leading other cities in kegged “craft” beers too, with 234 different beers on sale throughout the city, an increase in variety that has been sparked by the recent boom in craft brewing.

More than 80 independent breweries now operate across Greater Manchester and these breweries account for 38 per cent of all cask beers on sale and 36 per cent of craft keg beers.

“The figures confirm what Mancunians already know – this is one of the best beer cities in Britain and possibly the best place in the world to enjoy great cask beer,” said Connor Murphy, organiser of Manchester Beer Week.

“Manchester has a healthy respect for cask and not only is there a huge variety available but the quality of cask ale in this city is hard to beat. The growth of craft keg beer is also heartening and raises hope that our independent brewing scene can continue to thrive and grow.

“But venues could still do more to support the independent Mancunian brewing scene. Although variety remains important and it is great to try beers from across the world, the fact that less than 40 per cent of all available cask and craft keg beers are from Greater Manchester shows there is still room for improvement.”

CAMRA Regional director Graham Donning said: “Our volunteer members took little persuading to comb the city’s pubs and bars. The audit united branches, and confirmed Manchester as top of the cask league. With so much choice, I’d recommend drinkers use CAMRA’s Whatpub.com site to help find the city’s real ale offerings.”

The Manchester Beer Audit 2017 was organised by the Greater Manchester Branches of CAMRA (The Campaign For Real Ale) in association with Manchester Beer Week and saw 311 pubs and bars surveyed by more than 100 volunteers on one day in May

It found 824 handpumps and 1,957 keg fonts on bars across the city, with 72 per cent of all pubs and bars selling cask ale.

Guinness is the most common beer in the city, appearing in 50 per cent of all venues, while Sharp’s Doom Bar and Joseph Holt Bitter are the most common cask beers, found in 31 and 29 venues respectively.

However, Robinsons is the most prominent cask brewery, featuring in 36 venues, while Manchester’s own Shindigger topped the craft keg charts, featuring on the bar in 23 venues.

ENDS

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Manchester Beer Audit was carried out on Saturday May 20, 2017 from Noon to 5pm.

The survey covered all pubs and bars in the Manchester City Council area which were open during the survey period including the City Centre and suburbs from Wythenshaw to Chorlton, Gorton to Crumpsall.

About Manchester Beer Week

Manchester Beer Week is Manchester’s only city-wide beer festival, taking place between June 23 and July 2, 2017.

Unlike most beer festivals, which take place in one specific venue, Manchester Beer Week will include a series of different events at venues across the city, including pubs, bars, breweries and restaurants.

The aim is to raise awareness around good beer and promote Greater Manchester as one of the United Kingdom’s premier destinations for beer enthusiasts.

www.mcrbeerweek.co.uk

About CAMRA Greater Manchester

The Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) has 9 branches across the region with over 8000 members.

The consumer group organises the annual Manchester Beer & Cider Festival which will return to Manchester Central in January 2018 as well as local beer festivals across the region,

Media contacts

Connor Murphy, event organiser
Telephone: 07824 557 927
Email: manchesterbeerweek (at) gmail.com

David Rigby
Press Officer – CAMRA Greater Manchester
Telephone: 07538 702875
Email: press (at) mancbeerfest.uk