A massive beer festival is coming to Victoria Warehouse next month
Breweries announced so far include Beer Ink, Caps Off, Strange Times, Farm Yard Brew Co, Electric Bear Brewing, Mad Squirrel and Hackney Church Brew Co.
A massive beer festival is coming to Trafford next month as VIctoria Warehouse prepares to host its first ever Craft Brew Festival.
Bringing together a selection of the best micro and independent craft breweries from across the UK, it will feature a diverse range of beers.
Punters heading down can expect to find everything from hoppy IPAs and rich stouts to sours, saisons and everything in between, all carefully selected by beer experts.
Offering punters the chance to explore new and exciting craft breweries, festival organisers promise an ‘unforgettable tasting experience’ for those attending the event.
Breweries announced so far include Beer Ink, Caps Off, Strange Times, Farm Yard Brew Co, Electric Bear Brewing, Mad Squirrel and Hackney Church Brew Co, with more to be announced soon.
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Image: Victoria Warehouse
Image: Electric Bear Brewery
However, If for any reason beer is not your thing then not to worry, as the festival will also have a large selection of discovery wines and fine craft spirits.
In addition to the delicious drinks, visitors can also look forward to award-winning artisan street food, live music and entertainment throughout the weekend.
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Due to take place from 19 to 20 May 2023, tickets are priced at £15 and include entry, free samples, souvenir glass, festival programme, a goodie bag and opportunities to meet the brewers, plus plenty of live music, fun and games.
Speaking on the upcoming event, festival organiser Simon Robinson said: “I’m thrilled to be launching the inaugural Craft Brew Festival at such an iconic Manchester venue, that has such a rich industrial heritage.
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“Manchester has a long and proud tradition of brewing, and we’re excited to be bringing together some of the most talented and innovative craft brewers from across the UK all under one roof and putting on one hell of a party.”
Tickets for Manchester Craft Brew Festival are selling fast with the Saturday afternoon session already sold out.
Lively Irish pub Nancy Spains set to open in Manchester for the first time
Daisy Jackson
An Irish bar famed for its live music is heading up to Manchester for the first time, and is promising £2.50 pints to lure us in.
Nancy Spains will be venturing out of London for the first time promising to bring the ‘ultimate traditional Irish pub experience’ to the Northern Quarter.
If you were to ask what the hottest trend in hospitality is right now the answer would, apparently, be Guinness. We’re drowning in the stuff.
This latest opening is more about Murphy’s, another Irish stout, than Guinness (they actually won’t serve Guinness at all) but the craic will be much the same.
Nancy Spains is actually set to open almost directly opposite the aforementioned Salmon of Knowledge, taking over the former Corner Boy unit on Stevenson Square in the heart of Manchester.
To celebrate its opening, the pub will be serving its first 5000 pints of Murphy’s for just £2.50, so that it can show off the atmosphere that’s established it as ‘one of London’s favourite pubs’.
They’re promising an array of Irish whiskeys behind the bar, live music performances, and a lively late-night setting.
Nancy Spains was set up by three brothers who travelled all over their home county of rural Kerry researching Irish pubs, before launching two venues down in London.
They want it to balance a traditional pub with the vibrancy of the city.
Peter O’Halloran, co-founder of Nancy Spains commented, “We’re so excited to be launching in Manchester, bringing Nancy Spains to the heart of the Northern Quarter.
“After the success of our two venues in London, it was only right to bring Nancy Spains’ infectious spirit and Irish pride to Manchester. Slainte!”
Nancy Spains will open its first Manchester pub on Saturday 15 March at 21 Hilton Street.
Lucky Mama’s – The Italian restaurant serving pasta in a dough bowl and ‘pregnant’ pizzas
Daisy Jackson
Lucky Mama’s is a local sensation, thanks to its slightly whacky but delicious Italian creations like pasta served in a bowl made of pizza dough and its latest offering, a ‘pregnant’ pizza.
What on Earth is a pregnant pizza, you ask? Firstly we should stress this is a nickname we’ve bestowed upon the dish, rather than Lucky Mama’s chosen branding.
But essentially it’s a helping of fresh pasta that’s folded into the bubble crust of the pizza, like a half-calzone.
Lucky Mama’s started life when founders Mamadou Dhiam and Gaby Santos set up a trailer in their backyard in Eccles in the depths of lockdown.
But thanks to a formidably loyal following that’s spread the word of Lucky Mama’s far and wide, it now has two pretty pink restaurants in Greater Manchester.
Back in 2022, they threw open the doors to their Chorlton restaurant, before returning back to home turf for spot number two in Monton in 2024.
The recipes are fresh and pretty authentically Italian up until the last step, when they throw a curveball by loading their pasta into unconventional vessels.
‘Pregnant’ pizzas at Lucky Mama’sTraditional Roman pizzasLucky Mama’s pink restaurant in Chorlton
Their pasta pizza bowls are what they’re best known for and they fly out of the kitchen – this is where pizza dough is placed around a metal bowl before being baked in an oven.
Then it’s piled high with freshly made pasta, with popular flavours like cacio e pepe, mushroom alfredo, and rasta pasta.
Pasta is available in a regular ceramic bowl too.
You’ll find Lucky Mama’s at 565 Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton; and 217 Monton Road in Eccles.
Georgina Pellant -
20th April 2023 
