Birmingham Beer Bash Interview

This beer festival stone just keeps rollin' & rollin' - with Craft Beer Rising (London), Indy Beer Manchester Convention, Liverpool Craft Beer Expo & Leeds International Beer festival  all adding to the building beer scene in the UK.......now for Birmingham.

David Shipman, Director of Birmingham Craft Beer Limited and one of the organisers of the Birmingham Beer Bash kindly agreed to share his story and a little insight as to what we might expect at the do:

Q: Please tell us a little about you & the team behind the new Birmingham Beer Bash......I'd love to know your beer story; were you the originator, what inspired you to organise this celebration of beer?

Birmingham Beer Bash is very much a team effort born out of social media. In the early part of 2012 a group of us who had never met before other than through (usually beer-related) conversations via twitter got together at the first Birmingham "Twissup" - an event specifically designed as an opportunity to meet the faces behind the tweets. From there we all got talking about what we'd really like to see happen with our local beer scene, and a couple of meets later decided that if we wanted a new and modern kind of beer festival, with the sort of beers that we wanted to see more of locally, then we'd better organise it ourselves!

There are ten of us in the team, all with slightly different backgrounds and beer stories. As well as all having a Twitter presence, some of us blog about beer or food, some of us brew at home ourselves, others work in pubs or even run their own businesses with a beer connection. We all share a passion for great beer though.

Q: Why Birmingham?

First and foremost it is because this is where most of us are based, and we all have a connection to the area. The whole idea of the Beer Bash was to bring something exciting to our local area - one of the things driving us was our perception, which seems to be commonly shared, that Birmingham and the West Midlands was always some way behind other major, and not so major, cities in the "real ale revolution" of what is probably the last 20 years now. We could see the exciting developments occurring elsewhere (and this was before the Leeds and Manchester festivals of autumn 2012 had really even appeared on the radar) and wanted to make sure our region was at the forefront rather than bringing up the rear.

Q: The Birmingham venue is a regenerated canalside area of Victorian buildings (the Bond Company) in Digbeth. It's not a development you would automatically pass by as it's located within an industrial part of the inner city. How did you come across the venue and why did you decide to host the Brum Beer Bash here?

Searching for a venue was, quite frankly, a nightmare. By this time IndyMan had already set the bar really high with their choice of the stunning Victoria Baths in Manchester, and we similarly wanted to get away from the very traditional town hall real ale festival feel. We looked everywhere we could but struggled to find somewhere that delivered what we needed. Space was a big factor - there just aren't that many large facilities in the centre of Birmingham, and even those that were a bit too small were mostly far too expensive. Location was hugely important as well - we wanted to make sure that it was central and accessible by public transport, particularly for people who might be travelling in from other parts of the country and don't want another onward connection once they get to the central stations.

We were close to giving up on achieving our aim of an early summer event when by chance one of the team spotted the Bond Co. A few of us went for a look around, and were hooked. As well as having suitable spaces for us to work with it had that extra something special we needed. Birmingham is known for its canals, and a former canalside warehouse provides a great link to that heritage. Despite being an industrial area this part of Digbeth is getting new lease of life with a growing community of arts, crafts and businesses, and it is great to be forming a part of that.

Q: You're putting on a number of fringe events covering hop and malt seminars from industry experts such as Charles Faram and Thornbridge Brewery. Can you give us a bit of insight into the fringe events and what they can offer those attending the beer festival?

From the outset we wanted to do more than just have beer available. We wanted to do something different, to give our visitors something more out of their time at the Beer Bash. We're well aware that many drinkers now want to know a little bit more about their beer than who made it and what strength it is. There's a definite move towards understanding how it is made, what goes into it, why it tastes the way it does, what the story is behind it. This is no different to what is happening with the food people eat too. So we created the fringe as a way to bring out some of that knowledge during the event. The two main seminars are the highlights of this, with two great industry experts sharing their knowledge and their passion for two of the main ingredients of beer. Further to these there will be a number of tutored tastings where smaller groups will get the chance to try a selected range of beers. Some of these tastings are run by a specific brewery to show off their range, others will showcase a range of beers from around the world reflecting the diversity of styles available today.

Q: Do you have any one off or collaborative special brews for Brum Beer Bash? Can you share with us a few of the specials to look out for (and any tasting notes)......

We've got a number of very special beers that will be gracing the bars. In particular there are at least two new launches that it is confirmed we'll be hosting over the two days - one is a collaboration between two fairly recent breweries and the other is a new venture into keg beers for a brewery that has so far specialised (very successfully) in cask - however final details are still under wraps so I can't reveal more than that at present. We're hoping for a third new beer to be launched in bottle format as part of our fringe tastings, but that isn't confirmed yet.

Naturally we think all the beers we've got at the event are examples of the best in their class but there are some things that are fairly new, experimental or rarely seen on draft. We've the first beer produced by the Northern Monk Brew Co, their New World IPA, and hops so new in Art Brew's Experimental 366 that they don't even have a name yet. Beer comes no more experimental that Compass Brewery's Berry, described as an experimental forced Lambic, or there is the unusual combination of the Howling Hops Russian Imperial Stout fermented with a Saison yeast. There are some beers of which we have the very last casks available for the foreseeable future - another one from Art Brew, Anarchist Party Bitter, and Automaton from Salopian. And there are collaborations aplenty - Arbor and Moor, Howling Hops and Pressure Drop, Weird Beard and Sweden's Sad Robot plus a couple more still shrouded in secrecy. And all that is just a selection.

Q: You have a number of overseas breweries on board such as De Molen, Ska Brewing and Schneider Weisse. Is there a common thread behind the overseas breweries that are attending Brum Beer Bash?


As with the rest of our beer list, we've been looking for the kind of beers that between us we all think are great representatives of the brewer's craft, while trying also to maintain a range of styles, strengths and flavours (and nationalities). The international bar is no different. We think they are all fantastic beers, and offer something for everyone, while complementing the rest of the beers available from UK brewers. In some ways though, many of the "UK" beers are as international as the ones from America or Europe, with styles such as HefeWeisen, Wit, Saison, American Pale Ale, Koln-style lager, Berliner Weisse and Lambic all appearing from sources much closer to home than where the style originates from. As wonderful as our own heritage of cask ales is the option of serving beers in keg allows the brewers to give us a much wider range of beers that simply wouldn't suit the cask format.

Q: At a number of other beer festivals, brewers and owners have manned the bars themselves. Will we have this to look forward to at your event?

Bringing the producer and the consumer closer together is important to us, and we're thrilled to have a number of the featured breweries appearing in person. They will indeed be serving beers, and some of them will be nipping off to run fringe sessions as well. It's a fabulous opportunity to talk to someone who's had a hand in the beer you're purchasing and to find out a bit more about it from the brewer's perspective, so we'd urge anyone attending not to be shy – they’re there to talk to you!




Carter's



Q: The dining sessions with renowned Birmingham chefs looks to be an interesting proposition. Carter's of Moseley and Simpsons - with each chef delivering a 5 course menu matched with beers. How did this idea develop and are there any particular beer and food pairings from the menus you're really excited about (and why)?

We're honoured to have Simpsons and Carter's on-board - how many beer festivals can boast a Michelin-starred chef providing some of the catering? And we understand that Carter's restaurant will be closed for the evening just so they can present their food at the Beer Bash, so that is an indication of just how highly they regard the opportunity to pair their food with quality beers. It started as just a flicker of an idea, to provide a high-class element to the evenings and show the flexibility of great beer. We discussed the concept with our sponsors at Purity when we were outlining our plans for the event, and they have been quite instrumental in bringing the right people together. The menus are quite stunning, and have all been designed with the beers in mind from the outset - and you can see common themes from both chefs when pairing with a particular beer style. I'm particularly intrigued by Crispy Pig's Head Midlands Rarebit and the Pickled Hops that accompany the Beef Cheek on the Carter's menu, but it all sounds delicious.


Q: For the main beer crowd at the festival, what food stalls will there be on site throughout to look forward to?

We've rounded up a few of the finest street food providers from the local area to provide some tasty treats. Pop Up Dosa produce some cracking Southern Indian cuisine for those who want a bit of spice, and the Stirchley community bakery Loaf will be bringing some great bread-based goods. At the Saturday sessions they'll be joined by the Original Patty Men and their delicious take on the humble (or in their hands, not so humble) burger. There's a final caterer yet to be confirmed but we're expecting some great Italian deli-style food. As with the beers there should be something for everyone.

Q: Just wondering if there are any bands or DJs playing at the bash? If so could you drop a heads up as to who's performing?

Music is always an interesting prospect at beer festivals. I've been to too many events where the music has just been over the top, making it impossible to hold down a conversation, and one thing we want to do is get people talking about the beer. That said, music provides atmosphere and done well is a great addition to the ambiance. So we're hoping to have a few local acts appearing at the evening sessions and hopefully Saturday afternoon too, and they'll be performing in the outdoor space between the main bar areas so hopefully that will provide the right balance. The performers are still being confirmed however - we'll put details up on the website nearer the time.


Q: As a final thought, what beer are you currently enjoying supping?

Right now? Well I'm on the train on the way into work so no beer for me I'm afraid. However, as an amateur brewer myself I'm able to enjoy a variety of my own beers which currently includes my American Pale Ale and a fairly powerful Saison. I'm also trying to make sure I'm familiar with a few more of the beers we'll be having at the Beer Bash when I can get hold of them in bottle. The most recent of these was Wild Beer's Ninkasi, which I loved, and will be on keg at the Bash.

 

@birminghamcubed

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