Washing Up & Moving Forward - #VISBF

Well. That was……. Interesting.

I was really worried. All the way through this process. REALLY worried.

There were times where I doubted my sanity in taking on such an undertaking. A logistical nightmare. But - just about - in typical ISBF style, we winged it.

And - with an awful lot of last minute driving around Greater Manchester dropping off boxes - we got to Thursday evening with few outstanding issues.

Other than my inexperience of hosting Zoom meetings!

And a Cider case that arrived in Glasgow. That should have been in Glastonbury…

Quite HOW that Cider (having been repacked into another box, with just bubble wrap as protection!) made it to Glastonbury - WITH THE GLASS - intact, is beyond me.

But I'm glad it did. I hate letting anyone down. Especially a Cider loving friend like “The Gasman”…

Thursday evening.

Predictably, Andy “The Nicest Man In Brewing”© Parker was a star. Speaking passionately about his love of the Black IPA - treating us to a tasting - and a discussion on hops, the conversation flowed. The messaging function on Zoom contributing hugely (with all bar 3 of us muted). He even offered to pass a recipe for home brewing a BIPA!

Andy is a friend of ISBF and was a star. Having 70+ on the Zoom being testament to that.

And I thank him hugely for his time, eloquence and passion for his craft. He's a star. And IMHO, one of the UK's finest brewers. Something that - owing to his innate modesty - he would never say.

So I will.

Diverging from the zoom, some free advice. If you get a box of 12 beers with an average abv of over 7%, DON'T drink them all on the same evening. I took one for the team that evening…..

Friday. And the lovely Melissa Cole.

As I said at the start of that Zoom session, without Melissa and her fabulous book “Let Me Tell You About Beer”, there would not have been a #VISBF. There wouldn't have been an ISBF.

Full. Stop.

Guided by that wonderful book, I was taken on a journey in how to really taste beer. Extract maximum flavour and aroma. Which led to the trust I gained in the posts on my blog, writing about beers at home.

It led me into the foolish endeavour that was the first ISBF.

6 years later…

Melissa led us on a tasting of 4 beers. Then was joined by Joe Ince (Marble Head Brewer) and Stuart Neilson (Owner / Brewer at North Riding) in what started in a chat about the Blended Chocolate Ginger Porter.

And descended into

Pic Courtesy Stu at North Riding Brewery

It turned into something akin to pub banter. And - for me - just made me smile like I haven't in months. (Don't we all miss the pub?) Well, other than when Melissa turned up in her Sparkly Motown dress (Cheers m'dear!)

I'm immensely grateful - and equally flattered - that Melissa agreed to take part. She really knows her stuff and is one hell of an ally! Her agreeing was a big emotional thing for me. Which I tried to repay at the start of the evening.

Thank you also to her “accomplices”, Joe Ince & Stuart Neilson. Getting them together was my dream Collab. And I can't be more grateful.

Generally, I think that Zoom worked well. The message functionality enabling a degree of interaction which facilitated and enhanced the conversation.

There were one or two Zoom room after parties too. After Thursday's “misadventure”, I bowed out slightly more gracefully on the Friday. At a rather sedate 2am….

The Cider event - limited to Cider box purchasers - was a delight. With Charlie Hooson-Sykes chatting with Grant Hutchinson (of re:stalk Cider). Grant, being a former Professional drummer with the ace band Frightened Rabbit, also has fabulous musical taste. And the chat about each Cider was accompanied by a playlist curated by Grant, which was as eclectic and well judged as was the Cider list.

From the US Ciders - The bright, spritzy Anxos to the elegant (and more complex) Albee Hill, through the UK Ciders from Caledonian, Ross, Little Pomona to the Pomologik from Sweden, what we were tasting was simply exceptional. And Grant took us through them with passion and eloquence. With tunes on the playlist matched to each Cider. A great effort. And it really enhanced the drinking for me in particular. Introducing me to bands and music that I'd never heard but will do again.

What came across from the Cider discussion - quite clearly - is that Cider/Perry is a broad church. But within that broad church there are great passions both for modernity and heritage. For tradition and innovation. That much was evident.

I want to thank the lovely (and most excellent interviewer!) Charlie. She's been a friend of ISBF from dot. And she's a bloody good egg.

And Grant. For his grace, eloquence, charm and passion for what he loves. The Ciders that he sells, (and he's got great taste) which was exceptional. And for the brilliant idea of matching great Ciders - diverse in styles and flavours - with an equally diverse musical playlist.

I adore music. And that playlist put a fabulous seal on my weekend.

Thanks also to Albert (Ross Cider - more later….) and Blair (Little Pomona) for their joining us to shoot the breeze and chat about their bloody lovely Ciders.

As for Cath Potter & Dick Withecombe, words really do fail me. So I won't try. They are now a big part of this event - whatever form it takes.

So.

Where does this leave us?

Well. The feedback was genuinely overwhelming in its positivity both for the beers and Ciders - every beer was excellent - and for the fact that we held such an event at all!

The warmth of response set me back a little. I don't handle praise well, I get a bit emotional.

If I had one major regret, it would be my lack of ambition in not having a concurrent Saturday beer Zoom tasting event. I didn't think I could do that.

Now I know better.

The beers. And your favourites. Well…….

Like I said earlier, the feedback on the beers (and Ciders) was almost universally excellent, with most of the beers receiving votes for Beer Of The Festival. A testament to the great brewers involved.

But, to keep this simple, there has to be a 1, 2 & 3. And voting was close….

So.

Joint 3rd

Marble / North Riding - Blended Chocolate Ginger

Marble - Extra Special Marble

Five Towns - Black Tie White Noise

Ross Cider - Kingston Black Cider

2nd Place Campervan Brewing - Lost in Leith, Chocolate Orange Milk Stout

1st Place Bexar County - El Fin (Oud Bruin over Damsons)

Congratulations all.

Bexar County winning is quite a finish (hopefully temporary) for the brewery and the maverick brewing genius that is Steve Saldana. Steve has brought some serious “Weird Science” style alchemy to Salford over the years. For his final beer to win, well, I'm made up for him. Bravo my Texan buddy.

But after those deserved plaudits, the Raison D'Etre of ISBF.

How did we - you, the drinker - do. Well…

#VISBF was conceived as something roughly 30% of the scale of a “conventional” ISBF. On that basis, I estimated (conservatively) that - IF this made a profit - it would be in the order of around £3-3.5k.

Er…..

Thank you. The drinkers. Thank you, the Brewers, the Cider makers, thank you to our sponsors, to Petersgate Tap, Black Jack, Marble for their financial and logistical assistance.

Thank you to James (aka “The Usurper” aka “@BeerFinderGen”) for all his help. To Charlie, Chris, Alan & Jaz for their help getting those pesky packages out.

To the #VISBF “Brains Trust” (James, Chris, Jock & Steve) for being my sounding board and keeping me grounded.

To Andy for the beautiful design adorning website, T-Shirts, Hoodies, masks and bags. Genius.

To Jo and Mike for the fabulous music. Mwah.

Thanks to you all, this afternoon, I transferred £7000 to the bank account of Start Inspiring Minds. A figure that messes with my head a little bit.

You did good.

Thank you.

Jim x

Washing Up & Moving Forward - #VISBF

Thank You.

The Presents Are In The Post….