Summer Beer Thing

Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor
Summer Beer Thing
Summer Beer Thing

Summer Beer Thing at Kampus, Manchester 30 June — 2 July 2023 Tickets from £6.00 — Book now

An impressive collection of independent breweries is set to descend on Manchester this weekend, thanks to the Summer Beer Thing festival. The sister festival to the wildly popular Indy Man Beer Con will be at the Kampus garden neighbourhood, from Friday 30 June to Sunday 2 July. Expect 26 breweries hosting pop-up beer stands, alongside the existing Kampus indie operators each creating one-off ‘festival special’ drinks.

Expect 26 breweries hosting pop-up beer stands

Some of Manchester’s best known breweries will be represented, with Sureshot, Track and Squawk all hosting stands. They’ll be joined by a great line-up of visitors, including Sheffield’s Triple Point, Dundee’s Holy Goat, Bristol’s Left-Handed Giant and FLOC, from Canterbury.

Rivington Brewing Co and Verdant, from Cornwall, will be there too, with Talking Tides, from Redcar, and the Lake District’s Lakes Brew Co also attending. Coinciding with the end of Pride Month, London’s Queer Brewing, the project set up to provide visibility for LGBTQ+ people in and around beer, will also be making an appearance.

There’ll also be guest kegs from international names including Collective Arts (Toronto, Canada), Jester King (Austin, Texas) and Frau Gruber (Swabia, Germany).

It’ll be heaven for beer lovers, with loads of beer taps nestled throughout the garden all weekend and DJs bringing the party vibes. And for the first time, this year’s Summer Beer Thing will see each of the indie operators at the foodie neighbourhood also open their doors to festival-goers, offering up one-off special drinks, able to buy with festival tokens.

 Pollen are serving up a delicious batch of cold brew for coffee lovers; Nell’s will be pouring a special Schoffertopper – Grapefruit Schofferhofer with frozen grapefruit margarita float; and Great North Pie their twist on a Spanish classic with Tinto De Vimto. Elsewhere, Three Little Words are putting on a specially-mixed Raspberry Gin Punch, The Beeswing offer ‘The Bees’ting’, whilst Redlight keep it classy with Mini Pomme Verte Martinis.

Heaven for beer lovers

Attendees can purchase tokens to spend at a range of festival bars featuring craft beers, fruits and sours, hoppy, hoppier and session beers as well as a range of non-beer drinks. A ticket gains you access to the festival site, a commemorative half-pint glass (which also acts as your drinking vessel for the day), and exclusive access to Summer Beer Thing bars across the Kampus gardens, as well as the ability to take part in tastings and other events or offers you might stumble across.

Session times are: Friday 30 June, 4pm – 10pm; Saturday 1 July, 12pm – 10pm; and Sunday 2 July, 1pm – 6pm.

Where to go near Summer Beer Thing

Manchester
Restaurant
House of Fu Manchester

First Leeds, now Manchester. Expect picture perfect ramen, gyoza and cocktails at the upcoming restaurant and cocktail bar.

Roby 1844
Manchester
Bar or Pub
Roby 1844

Roby 1844 is a new canalside terrace bar and restaurant based on Aytoun Street in the heart of Manchester.

Bundobust Manchester
Manchester
Restaurant
Bundobust Manchester

Head to Bundobust Manchester for fantastic and endlessly original Indian street food, all vegetarian (and often vegan).

Malmaison Manchester
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Hotel
Malmaison Manchester

Malmaison Manchester has stylish rooms and an excellent bar, all situated conveniently on the doorstep of Piccadilly train station. Rooms start from as little as £90, if you’re looking for a boutique experience on a budget, look no further. 

Photo of the restaurant interior, with wood floors and dark tables
Manchester
Restaurant
ABode Restaurant

ABode Restaurant is a fine dining option in Manchester that often gets forgotten about. This might have something to do with its out of the way location, hidden away on a back street near Piccadilly, but it might also be because its offering is just a little outdated.

ABode Manchester
Manchester
Hotel
ABode Manchester

ABode Manchester is a boutique hotel in Manchester with a range of rooms and suites available. It has its own restaurant and plays host to live events. All conveniently situated just a couple of minutes from Piccadilly Station.

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