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.
Manchester cafe Idle Hands mobbed by huge swarm of bees who took over outdoor tables
Daisy Jackson
One of the Northern Quarter’s most popular cafes had an unusual issue on Saturday afternoon, when tens of thousands of bees paid a visit.
It seems the swarm of bees had got wind of Idle Hands’ legendary pies and took over one of the venue’s outdoor tables.
The cafe had to call in a local beekeeper after the busy insects rendered their outside space too risky for customers to use.
Incredible photos captured by local photographer Andrew Stuart and shared by the cafe show a jaw-dropping mass of the insects congregating beneath a table.
The cafe, on the corner of Dale Street and Tariff Street, was saved by the Manchester Honey Company, who humanely scooped them away to safety.
Idle Hands wrote on Instagram: “So, fun day at the shop today, with thousands of bees moving home and deciding to drop in on our shop and cluster under one of our tables (now forever to be known as the bee table) whilst on their journey.
“Massive thanks to @manchesterhoneycompany for coming and safely taking them away to a far more suitable home. And to @andrewstuart1 for capturing the event so well!”
They had previously posted on their stories: “Erm, anyone know what we do about this??? Swarm of thousands out of nowhere.”
Manchester Honey Company said: “This swarm landed @idlehandscoffee in Manchester and was collected by @manchesterhoneycompany. The bees were so friendly and calm and we were so well looked after by the friendly staff.
“The bees were collected from under a table and put in the hive. The queen was in the hive so the rest of the bees followed her in.”
The incident with Idle Hands is far from the first time that swarms of bees have caused disruption in the city centre.
Hit Christmas market stall opens permanently at Piccadilly Gardens
Georgina Pellant
Crunch Korean Gansig has become a must-try foodie stall at the Manchester Christma Markets, now it’s pulled up at Picadilly Gardens permanently.
The hit Korean hot dog stall has wowed visitors over the past few years with its cheese, potato and meat-filled creations.
Deep-fried in a crispy waffle coating and then lightly rolled in sugar, these sausages on a stick come drizzled in sweet ketchup and mustard.
Incredibly moreish if we do say so ourselves, since first making their appearance at the 2021 Manchester Christmas Markets they’ve consistently been ranked one of the event’s best food traders.
Now, thanks to a new permanent stall popping up where it all began for the team, Manc foodies can enjoy their hot meaty and cheesy Korean goodies all year long.
Popular flavour choices include all-cheese, all-sausage and half-and-half versions, with a vegetarian-friendly cheese-filled version wrapped in a potato waffle coating, and halal-friendly options that are made using separate batter and fryers.
This really is a hot dog stand that caters to everyone. With owners having previously said they would work on a vegan hot dog once they got their own permanent stand, we don’t expect the plant-powered gang will be left waiting too much longer.
Sharing the news to Instagram, the Crunch Korean Gansig team wrote: “Hey guys, we’ve got exciting news to share! We are launching a new market stall in the Piccadilly garden street food market from tomorrow.
“After two years of successful Christmas trading, we are ready to take on a new challenge, and love to serve our hotdogs to you guys again!
“So come on down to the market and say hi, we love to see you there! See you soon!”
Fans of the Korean hot dog stall have responded to the news with enthusiasm, flooding into the comments to share their excitement.
One person wrote: “So excited we will have to go!!”
Another person said: “Nooooo stop!!! I’m so happy I could cry”
Daisy Jackson -
30th September 2022 
