The Manchester Beer and Cider Festival taking place from 23-25 January at Manchester Central will play host to CAMRA’s second annual Discovery Zone, aimed at empowering visitors to make more informed decisions at the bar.
Volunteers have organised daily beer and cider tastings led by exciting and innovative brewers and cider makers. They will also showcase high-quality brewing ingredients to help drinkers calibrate their senses.
Breweries involved this year include Cloudwater, Wild Beer Co., Hawkshead and Thirst Class Ale.
The festival’s theme, ‘ReThink Cider’ will also include demonstrations about the cider apple varieties with producers such as Bartistree, New Union, Beardspoon and Dunham Press cider on hand to help visitors discover traditional cider and perry.
CAMRA piloted its very first Discovery Zone at last year’s festival, which was then followed by successful events at Thanet Beer Festival, Cambridge Beer Festival, and the flagship Great British Beer Festival at Olympia London in August. This year, the Discovery Zone will be fully run and managed by local volunteers committed to providing information, education and training to all those with an interest in beer, cider and perry.
Alex Metcalfe, CAMRA Learning & Discovery Manager, said: “After overwhelmingly positive feedback last year, we are excited to bring the DIscovery Zone back to Manchester Beer and Cider Festival. It is fantastic that we’ve been able to involve some of the innovative local brewers and cider makers who can share their expertise with festival attendees.
“We hope everybody who visits the festival comes away knowing a little bit more about their favourite drink. As always, thank you to the festival organisers and our dedicated volunteers who put so much work into this event, and without whom this wouldn’t be possible!”
John O’Donnell, one of the festival organisers, said: “Throughout Manchester’s seven years, we set out to educate our visitors by showcasing traditional beer styles against the more modern face of brewing. We are delighted to extend that to cider this year and offer an expanded Discovery Zone to act as a hub for education at the festival.”
