Manchester is set to host the first-ever international Brewing & Cider Festival, it has been revealed.
Set to take place in March next year, the two-day ticketed event will showcase the best beers and ciders from around the world.
It is being organised by the world’s most historic international beer and cider competition, The International Brewing & Cider Awards – a 137-year-old organisation known as the ‘Oscars’ of the brewing and cider world.
For the past decade, the event has been held at The National Brewery Centre in Burton-Upon-Trent, but as of 2024, it will relocate to Depot Mayfield – offering. a rare opportunity to taste a vast range of award-winning local, national, and international beers and ciders.
For the first time in its 137-year history, the Awards will be accompanied by a public festival – something that represents a significant milestone in the Awards’ commitment to promoting and supporting the brewing and cider industries.
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Founded in 1886, The International Brewing & Cider Awards takes place every two years and has been the gold standard in rewarding the passion and craftsmanship of breweries and cidermakers across the world.
The Awards are judged by a panel of worldwide judges, who are all practicing brewers and cider-makers considered experts in their field.
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This one-of-a-kind Festival aims to bring together beer and cider enthusiasts, industry professionals and the general public for a weekend filled with great beer and cider, live music, and mouthwatering street food.
Speaking on the event Ruth Evans MBE, Director of the International Brewing & Cider Awards and organiser of the Festival, said: “We are thrilled that, 137 years into our history, we are hosting our first ever International Brewing & Cider Festival and bringing our world-renowned Awards to Manchester.
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“The International Brewing & Cider Awards is the most historic international competition of its kind, and it is important that we innovate and expand, and our move to Manchester and the introduction of our Festival is part of that evolution.
“The city has a rich history in brewing and an up-and-coming cider scene making it a fitting location for our expansion. Our ethos has always been to support the brewing and cidermaking industry on a not-for-profit basis and celebrate the best beers and ciders from around the world, providing the recognition they truly deserve.
“The Festival provides a fantastic opportunity for us to celebrate the incredible talent of brewers and cidermakers and to share their passion with the public. The move to Manchester also allows us to forge valuable new partnerships with local organisations and community stakeholders, as well as extend the knowledge and appreciation of a win at the competition.
“We hope this festival becomes a tradition, opening to the public once our Awards concludes on the Friday – this is a hugely exciting time for us and we are very excited to be descending on Manchester in March.”
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Tickets to the International Brewing & Cider Festival will be available for purchase from November on the official festival website here.
A queer comedy night is coming to Manchester next month
Thomas Melia
A comedy night packed with raunch and hilarious storytelling is heading to Manchester and its fronted by one of comedy’s leading queer comedians.
Titled ‘Queer as F*ck’ (we love a good pun), this night is devoted especially to queer comedy and sees Welsh comedian Morgan Rees taking the wheel with a wonderful roster of acts set to play too.
Taking inspiration from the cult-favourite queer comedy, this leading comedian is no stranger to seeing his work in the limelight as he has written for some of the funniest flagship shows like Mock The Week and The Great American Joke-Off.
Rees also doubles as the co-writer for smash internet hit The Uncle Roger Show, starring fellow comic Nigel Ng, and will definitely be bringing some of his razor-sharp one-liners on the night.
Ben Hodge, the MC for the queer comedy night in Manchester.Morgan Rees, the comedian headlining ‘Queer as F*ck’.Jenny Hart, one of the acts lined up for the queer comedy night in Manchester.Credit: Press Images (supplied)
The event, which has the full title of ‘brew. haha: Queer as F*ck comedy night’ will be MC’d by trans-male stand-up Ben Hodge and lesbian comedian Louise Young.
The latter may be a familiar name as she is currently supporting Alan Carr and Tom Allen on their latest tour while also stopping off in Manchester for this very special occasion.
Along with Rees and co., finishing the line-up are two impressive performers ready to raise the roof at this comedy night in Manchester: gay author Martin Dixon and trans comedian Jenny Hart.
Obviously, Rees doesn’t want to give everything away, but he has revealed an insight into what guests can expect to be chuckling away at in their seats.
Morgan Rees is excited to talk about “bad one night stands, growing up queer in a Welsh working class town, coming out late, and starting my first relationship in my 30s – it’s all in there.”
Taking place at Contact Theatre, this much-loved arts space is tucked away just behind the University of Manchester and another impressive city centre venue, Manchester Academy.
And if all this comedy talk wasn’t enough to get you down there, brew will be serving up Detroit-style pizzas with a range of draft beers and ciders – what a night you’re in for.
‘brew. haha: Queer as F*ck’ is coming to the Contact in Manchester on Wednesday, 9 April and ttickets are already on sale.
Featured Images — Rachel Sherlock/Press Shots (supplied)
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Two Greater Manchester-based Paralympians pick up MBEs following Paris 2024 heroics
Danny Jones
A pair of Paralympians born just down the road and honed two discipline-leading national performance centres here in Manchester have officially been awarded MBEs.
The Northerners doing the country proud – sounds about right.
First off, if the name Poppy Maskill doesn’t ring a bell, the promising Paralympic was Team GB’s best-performing para-athlete at Paris 2024 this past summer, contributing a total of five medals towards the nation’s joint-third-highest tally.
After her heroics at the Games, the teenager who turns 20 this weekend (Saturday, 29 March) was the recipient of an early and very prestigious birthday present, becoming one of the youngest individuals to be made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in history.
She was named on the New Year’s Honours list back in December but finally collected her latest medal in person this week following a ceremony at Windsor Castle, being honoured by King Charles III personally.
Hailing from Middlewich just less than an hour away from our city centre, Maskill might be a Cheshire girl by birth, but this young sporting gem is being polished right here at the state-of-the-art Manchester Aquatics Centre (MAC).
The youngster became the first Paralympian to pick up gold back in August after not only winning the 100m butterfly but smashing the world record in the process, too.
Competing in the S14 class – a category for athletes with intellectual impairments – she finished the heat with in just 1:03, surpassing the previous best by more than half a minute. But her impressive performance didn’t stop there.
MAC regular Maskill went on to win two more golds in the S14 100m backstroke and 4 x100m S14 freestyle relay, as well as a pair of silver medals in the 200m freestyle and 200m individual medley S14. Just incredible.
Poppy Maskill wasn’t the only Greater Manchester-based para-athlete who was recognised this month, though, as Stockport‘s very own two-time Paralympic champion Sophie Unwin was also presented with the accolade for her services to sport.
Named a member of the Order along with her co-pilot Jenny Holl, Unwin’s Paris 2024 medal haul included a double of golds in the women’s B 3000m individual pursuit and the road race tandem B, not to mention a silver in the road time trial and a bronze in the 1000m time trial at Paris 2024.
Following in the footsteps of fellow MBE and Stopfordian cycling legend, Dame Sarah Storey, who won her 19th gold medal to become Britain’s greatest Paralympian of all time – having made the most of MAC and the National Cycling Centre over in East Manchester during her career – the borough did us proud.
30-year-old Unwin has kicked on just as strong in the new year as well, notching a narrow victory to set an unofficial (unfortunately) world record of 4:36.737 in the women’s tandem at the 2025 Lloyds National Track Championships here in Manchester.
Georgina Pellant -
4th September 2023 
