Here's a novelty - a beer festival in a swimming pool. Not actually a pool full of beer, you understand, that would be a bit boring, it would all be the same beer. Though I suppose you could have shower cubicles offering alternative beers. Anyway, it's the restored Victoria Baths in East Manchester, drained and with various beers on handpump.
I should also warn those of a nervous disposition that some keg beers will be on offer; in fact, the whole event is something of a reaction to traditional cask beer festivals, but that doesn't mean you're forced to drink keg.
The Cask beers will be from the following breweries:
Beavertown Black Jack Brodies Burscough Buxton Camden Cantillon - in cask Darkstar First Chop Gadds Hackney Hardknott Harviestoun Hawkshead Ilkley Kirkstall Liverpool Craft Magic Rock Mallinsons Marble Quantum Red Willow Redemption Sierra Nevada - in cask Steel City Tyne Bank
This list is of course Subject to Change.
The beers have been sourced by the good people at the Port Street Beer House and Common (another pub, if you're not familiar with the name).
More information: . It's not clear what they'll be charging, and it looks as though tickets have to be bought in advance. They seem to start at 6 quid plus a handling fee. Most odd. But then, both Port Street and Common are reassuringly expensive, to borrow a phrase from a mega-kegger.
-- Pat Ricroft, City of Salford, UK ===============================