Winter Ales Festival
England is known for its ales, and Manchester is known for its Winter Ales Festival, set for January 19-22, 2011. OK, Road Trips Foodies, it’s also a beer festival — but there will be more than 200 real ales and ciders (plus, of course, local food and life music).
It’s held at the Venue in Sheridan Suite, 371 Oldham Road, Manchester — just about a mile from the center of town. And, there’s plenty of room: it can accommodate up to 1838 guests.
There’s lots to learn about British ales. Did you know that “real ale in a bottle” is a natural live product which contains yeast for a slow secondary fermentation? If you are in any doubt about whether a beer is a real ale in a bottle, just hold it up to the light and see if it contains any sediment — aka yeast.
British beer styles are difficult to categorize precisely (one person’s mild is another person’s old ale). That said, here are some broad categories (all of which can be sampled at the festival): bitter, mild, golden, stout, porter and old ale. Of course, then there all the specialty brews…
Guess you’ll just have to wing your way across the pond and head to the Winter Ales Festival for a sampling! After all, it’s sponsored by CAMRA — the Campaign for Real Ale. If you can’t make it to Manchester next month, check out CAMRA’s calendar for other options.
(Photo courtesy of John Howard, CAMRA’s National Press Officer)
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