The 14th Manchester Food & Drink Festival takes place in Albert Square and across the region from 7th – 17th October 2011.

As part of the Food & Drink Festival for the third year running, the Greater Manchester Ale Festival returns to Albert Square  and the opening session, running from Friday 7th – Wednesday 12th October with FREE ENTRY.

There is also a programme of live entertainment and the festival includes a competition to find ‘The People’s Pint’.

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This weeks Desert Island Beers features beer lover and eccentric Richard Chennells. Born and bred in Zululand, South Africa, Richard has worked extensively in the tourism industry for SA and did a brew masters course through The American Brewers Guild.

He worked in the UK for The London Stock Exchange, Barclays Capital and finished in 2005 at The Bank of America. After brewing school in the USA in 2005, he went home, bought a family hotel and with his brother Graham established the Zululand Brewing Co. in Eshowe, Zululand.

In 2010 Richard was invited to brew Zululand Brewery’s flagship beer Zulu Blonde Ale at Marston’s Brewery for the JDW International Real Ale Festival. Of the 50 ales in the festival Zulu Blonde was voted number 1. Richard was then invited back to the UK to brew a further 120,000 pints of Zulu Blonde but this time at Everards’s brewery to supply the pub chain in time for the World Cup Kick off. Richard has been invited back again to the Real Ale Festival in 2012 and the brewery is launching ZB in bottles in late 2012. (more…)

Welcome to the latest episode of our all new co-produced Desert Island Beers which features Martin Townshend. Martin started home brewing in the mid-nineties with two Swedes, a South African and another Pom whilst saving hard during an apple picking season in New Zealand during 1995.

When returning to live in New Zealand permanently in 2001, a weekly slot to talk about beer on a local radio station arose, that lasted over a year and a half. On the back of the radio appearances a fortnightly beer column in the local newspaper led him to meet a fellow brewing enthusiast and Craftbrewers , a small marketing company dedicated to the (then) 5 breweries at the top of the South Island, was born. (more…)

The SIBA Great Northern Beer Festival is organised by SIBA in conjunction with Greater Manchester CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) and this year runs from Thursday 27th October to Saturday 29th October.

The venue is The Ramada Hotel, Piccadilly, Portland Street, Manchester, M1 4PH.

There will be over 250 real ales and 100 bottled beers available.

The SIBA North Region Beer Competition is the starting point for the festival with the competition beers been available to the public from the formal festival opening, on the Thursday. (more…)

I see that  during my recent absence on holiday in Eire, my local, The Taps in Lytham St Anne’s featured in The Telegraph,  The Famous Grouse, Famous Pubs 2011 series. 

Good to see yet more accolades for Ian, John and the team.

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