The north’s biggest beer festival is coming back to Manchester this October, as Indy Man Beer Con (IMBC) announces its official 2023 dates.
The beloved Manchester beer festival will return to its home at Victoria Baths from Thursday 5 to Sunday 8 October, welcoming some of the finest brewers from the UK and across the globe for four days of tastings, talks, and special beer collaborations.
Tickets have gone live as of today, 17 May, with presale tickets available from Port Street Beer House and The Beagle between6 and 9pm for those who want to make sure they don’t miss out.
Tickets for 2023 start from £14.50 and prices have been frozen, and for the first time ever customers can pre-order bundles of tokens with their tickets – also frozen from last year at a discounted rate of 10 for £25 that won’t be available anywhere else.
Breweries taking part are yet to be confirmed, but in previous years IMBC has welcomes the likes of … X
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Some of these breweries will be with IMBC for the entire weekend, and others will only be in attendance for either the first half of the festival (Thursday/Friday) or the second half (Saturday/Sunday), with the changeover happening in advance of the opening session on Saturday.
As ever, there will also be a street food village at the event with pop-ups from a range of different eateries with everything from pies to pizzas, burgers and chips on hand.
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First launched in Manchester in 2012, the festival has become somewhat of a mecca for northern beer lovers – with people travelling from far and wide to attend and sample all the different weird and wonderful beers on offer.
How to get tickets to IMBC 2023
This year, ticket have been frozen for IMBC despite a rise in costs. This also applies to token prices for those who purchase before 17 June.
Your ticket gains you admission to the festival, as well as a commemorative glass to keep (or to leave, if you’d rather not take it). To be clear: drinks tokens, ticketed tasting sessions, and food are not included with your ticket.
Refunds on both tickets and pre-ordered tokens will be available up until 11:59pm on Wednesday 20 September 2023 – after this point, IMBC will be unable to provide any refunds under any circumstances.
Token pre-order can only be done at the point of the ticket being purchased, as your pre-order will be linked to your tickets..
Tokens will function in the same way as they did in 2022: namely, in that it’ll be one token for one third of a beer across all three days.
Featured image – IMBC
Manchester
One of Manchester’s grandest restaurants has finally reopened TWO YEARS after fire
Daisy Jackson
One of the most historic restaurants in Manchester has reopened at last, two years after a fire forced its closure.
Mount Street Dining Room & Bar – which many of us may remember as Mr Cooper’s – stands within the Grade II-listed Midland Hotel.
The grand dining room dates all the way back to 1903, when it opened with the hotel as the Grill Room.
The restaurant was at the epicentre of the Industrial Revolution and was frequented by railway travellers, perhaps best-known for hosting a lunch between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce in 1904, who went on to form the world-famous Rolls-Royce brand.
The Midland’s restaurants has gone through several changes in the decades since, undergoing a major £14 million refurb in 2020 to relaunch as Mount Street Dining Room & Bar.
Its interiors are inspired by the hotel’s early 1900s art deco and railway heritage, with a menu that focuses on locally-sourced British produce.
But the restaurant has been shut since early 2024, when a fire damaged the entrance and trellising around its main entrance on Mount Street.
The beautiful bar areaA glimpse of the menu at Mount StreetCocktails and British food
The Midland has finally managed to get the restaurant back open again this month, with a new food and cocktail menus, which aims to offer refined but simple British dining.
Expect dishes like pork and black pudding bonbons, white onion soup with crispy potatoes, smoked British salmon with lemon gel and dill mascarpone, and slow cooked beef daube with confit garlic mash.
Plus desserts such as rice pudding with Anise glazed pearsand Bakewell pudding with cherry syrup.
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen inside this beautiful, storied dining room – and it looks just as beautiful as we remember.
Review | Leon Thomas at Manchester Academy – ‘Mutts Don’t Heel’ but this gig healed me
Thomas Melia
American singer-songwriter Leon Thomas visited Manchester Academy last night, performing hits from his deluxe album to a sold-out crowd of more than 2,600.
One year after an exclusive London MUTT Live date, Mr Thomas returns to the UK with the ‘MUTTS DON’T HEEL’ Tour, venturing to five cities, including the music capital of the North: Manchester.
The night started off just how it should’ve done with ‘HEEL’, as the audience were welcomed by the drum-loop and a chill atmosphere from the start.
Now, it wouldn’t be a Leon Thomas gig without at least one Ty Dolla $ign collaboration making the setlist, and there’s plenty to choose from with a new one dropping just over a month ago, ‘miss u 2’.
Leon Thomas performing hits at Manchester Academy (Credit: Audio North)
The funk-influenced musician opted for ‘FAR FETCHED’, and the audience was in the palm of his hand. No matter which of the four link-ups he chose, it was always going to go down well – Manchester never disappoints.
Leon didn’t even have to ask the crowd to bring more energy; they already matched him. When he sings, “For someone who don’t ask for favours, I’ve done way too many favours”, on ‘PARTY FAVORS’, he really meant it.
Last year, Leon Thomas dropped PHOLKS, a project which saw him exploring old-school funk and soul sounds even further and ‘Just How You Are’ had even the shyest dancer pulling out a little two step.
This isn’t the only hit that sent the crowd into a frenzy; ‘Baccarat’ and its impressive psychedelic guitar solo had jaws literally falling to the floor at Manchester Academy.
His songs might not be dramatic or extravagant, but they don’t need to be. Leon’s artistry prevails when he’s softly singing, and you’re still able to detect each instrument.
Leon Thomas brought the MUTTS DON’T HEEL Tour to Manchester Academy (Credit: The Manc)
‘Breaking Point’ is an easy-listening soul track that had all 2,600 Leon Thomas fans in our feelings as we realised we were coming to the end of a phenomenal concert.
And of course, ‘Mutt’ – his biggest single to date: a bouncy and swag-filled number that sticks in your head for weeks on end – sounded even better when backed by a live band as I discovered last night.
There was some insane musicality, distinct bangers and impeccable live arrangements that elevated the original studio recordings. Maybe ‘Mutts Don’t Heel’, but Leon Thomas definitely healed me.
He wasn’t the only cool cat playing last night either:
Georgina Pellant -
17th May 2023 
