THE countdown to Manchester Beer Week is hotting up. The official festival beer was launched on Thursday, May 26, at the JW Lees-owned Rain Bar on Great Bridgewater Street. It’s a one-off collaboration between Lees, the region’s oldest brewery, and high profile newcomers Cloudwater Brewing Co.
Brewed at Lees’ Greengate Brewery, MCR Fold is a 4.8 per hop-driven auburn-coloured ale, made with Olicana and Goldings hops, which will be available in cask and keg at a variety of venues during the citywide festival (June 10-19).
It’s the first beer brewed by JW Lees in partnership with another brewer in 15 years, following on from a collaboration with Brooklyn Brewery in 2001, which resulted in the creation of Brooklyn Best and the award-winning Manchester Star.
It’s quite a coup for event organiser Connor Murphy, who says: “Manchester is renowned for both its rich brewing history and for an exciting modern scene that has made it one of the best beer destinations in the country. So it’s incredibly exciting to bring two of the most respected breweries from each scene together to create something unique for Manchester Beer Week. “
Cloudwater have made a big splash on the UK beer scene since launching early last year, forging an approach focused on seasonality. This means the Ancoats-based outfit has shunned the traditional practice of developing a core range, instead creating different beers according to the time of year, in a bid to showcase seasonal ingredients at their very best. Its DIPAv3, the third version of its double IPA, has just got a 100/100 score and been rated 26th in the world by RateBeer http://www.ratebeer.com.
JW Lees are sponsoring the eagerly-anticipated Manchester Beer Week, which launches at the Marble Arch, Rochdale Road, on the evening of Friday June 10 and climaxes with a party at Old Granada Studios on Saturday, June 18 – a free entry day of beer, street food, music, events and games.
In between there are brewery takeovers of bars, beer dinners, a First Chop can launch, even a tour of Manchester’s Heineken Brewery, while the grande dame of beer writers, Melissa Cole, will match beer to chef David Gale’s food at 57 Thomas Street on Sunday June 12.
We are in geekier territory for ‘The Power of Yeast’ on Wednesday, June 15 at Brewdog, where brewing’s unsung hero, overshadowed by the mighty hop, is supposed to come into its own. Or at least that’s what collaborators Lallemand Yeast hope as four breweries brew exactly the same base beer, using the same malts and hops but fermented with a different yeast strain. Over to you Torrside, Runaway, Thirst Class and Tickety Brew.
JW Lees have also contributed historic recipes as four breweries seek to revive long-forgotten styles for one of the festival’s most fascinating events, ‘A Taste of Manchester’s Brewing Past’ at the Smithfield on Monday, June 13.
The whole event is still evolving. Keep up to date via @mcrbeerweek