One of Manchester’s biggest and best-loved food and drink events is making its big comeback this week, celebrating all things beer right across the city.
Indy Man Beer Con (or IMBC)’s cornerstone event is the beer festival at the historic Victoria Baths, where the old Edwardian swimming pool is filled with bunting and bars.
IMBC was founded by Jonny Heyes of Common & Co fame back in 2012, and now brings together more than 60 brilliant breweries, including Bristol’s Lost and Found and Cheltenham’s Deya.
But the celebrating won’t be confined to Victoria Baths, with a city-wide IMBC Fringe festival also taking over other venues around Manchester.
Takeovers, events and collaborations will seep into bars right through until Sunday evening.
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IMBC will be back at Victoria Baths. Credit: Jody Hartley
One of the big ones will be Runaway to Kampus, with Runaway Brewery Tap Room upping sticks and moving into the Bungalow at Kampus for the whole weekend.
The building-on-stilts at the canal-side neighbourhood will host the four-day residency, in conjunction with Nell’s Pizza and other friends of the brewery.
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There’ll be fresh beer on tap plus a full selection of bottles (including a few rarities from the cellar).
Elsewhere, the award-winning Salford brewery will land at Chorlton’s beloved The Beagle all weekend, taking over the taps with keg and cask offerings.
IMBC will be back at Victoria Baths. Credit: Jody HartleyIMBC will be back at Victoria Baths. Credit: Jody Hartley
On Saturday and Sunday, the Drop Project Den will pitch up at Common with a six-tap takeover and a Shifty special pizza from Nell’s.
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London’s Drop Project are known for creating fresh, premium beers that push creative boundaries.
Back at IMBC at Victoria Baths, there’ll be tasting areas, snug bars in the Turkish Baths, street food and – obviously – plenty of beer.
Traders on site will include Bundobust, Siop Shop, Tikka Chance on Me, Great North Pie, Dim Sum Su, Wholesome Junkies, Honest Crust, and Triple B.
Ticket-holders for the main event are advised to download theIMBC app, which will act as a total guide to all the beers on offer and where to find them, and will also send out alerts for pop-ups and more surprises.
Tickets get you access to the festival and a festival class, with tokens inside priced at £25 for 10 or £2.70 each, with each token entitling you to one third of beer at any Indy Man bar.
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It’s a completely cashless event, and you’re encouraged to take your own vessel for water as, to minimise waste, there won’t be bottles on sale.
Salon Madre – A new tequila bar and pool hall is opening in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
A new tequila bar and pool hall is set to open in Manchester in a couple of weeks, from the same team behind Madre.
The huge new space, Salon Madre, will be serving up the tacos and burritos that have made the Mexican restaurant at Kampus so well-loved.
And all that’s alongside a drinks menu that centres around tequila, including frozen, classic and flavoured margaritas and palomas.
Can’t stomach tequila? There’ll also be wines on draft, Corona and local beers.
The food menu will show off signature dishes like al pastor tacos, with daily rotating specials, plus Gringas, nachos and Madre’s huge burritos.
Salon Madre has taken over a spot just off Kampus’s lush garden that was previously home to a Seven Brothers taproom, right next door to Madre itself.
Salon Madre is a new Mexican pool hall and tequila bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc GroupSalon Madre is a new Mexican pool hall and tequila bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
As well as all the Mexican food and drink goodness, the bar will have four pool tables and will be screening Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling) and American sports.
The dream is to bring the fun and liveliness of a Mexican pool hall to the heart of Manchester, in this beautiful spot right near Piccadilly and Canal Street.
Salon Madre will open on 6 December at Kampus, with bookings for Christmas groups and parties now available.
First look at Stow as beautiful new open-fire restaurant opens in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new restaurant is set to open in Manchester this week, from the same team behind the Northern Quarter’s well-established Trof.
Stow is opening on Bridge Street this Friday, bringing live fire cooking and a seasonal menu, plus plenty of local beers to the mosaic-clad spot in the city centre.
The new Stow site has, at various points over the last few years, been a Grindsmith coffee shop, Thai BBQ Neon Tiger, and Juicebox wine bar.
We’ve had a sneak peek inside today ahead of its official launch later this week, and the Stow team have transformed this place into a cosy, relaxed restaurant space.
There are low pendant lights, white brick walls, and a beautiful tiled bar, in an understated and neutral interior.
As for the food, the entire Stow menu will be cooked over a custom-built grill from Firemade in Somerset, fuelled by wood and charcoal, with a concise menu of meet and fish plus veg-centric sides and snacks sourced from the ‘best produce they can get their hands on’.
Stow will be owned and operated by Matt Nellant and Jamie Pickles from Trof, who want to celebrate the ‘simplicity of great ingredients cooked over open fire with very little faff’.
The wine list will be exclusively French but the beer list will show off local breweries, and cocktails will feature classics with a twist like a Cremant Cocktail.
Inside Stow, a new restaurant in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Jame and Matt both come with a proper hospitality pedigree.
Jamie left restaurant management in 2018 to return to his hometown in the Peak District, working in The Devonshire Arms pub in Pilsley before holding a kitchen residency at Saint Francis Provisions in Kinsale, Ireland.
Once back in Manchester, he’s been developing dishes and writing menus for various restaurants, including Trof.
Dishes at Stow are seasonal and cooked over open fire. Credit: The Manc GroupStow is a new restaurant from the team at Trof. Credit: The Manc Group
Matt took over as general manager of Trof and eventually acquired the business from Mission Mars in 2020.
His career started in cocktail bartending but includes management roles for large groups like Living Ventures and Revolution.
Stow will open to the public on 22 November on Bridge Street in Manchester.
Daisy Jackson -
30th September 2022 
