myPUBGUIDE Blog

Macclesfield beer festival

Best in Cheshire

We attended the Macclesfield Beer Festival on 7th May 2011. I still believe this to be the most impressive one in Cheshire.

Positive areas

1) Easy enough to find. There is a number 4 bus available from Bay 6 at Macclesfield Bus station. It takes around twenty minutes or you could take the 130 which takes slightly longer. We took a taxi. Nothing has changed much in the last two years on this front: travelling arrangements in 2009.

2) Entry to the family session was free.

3) The drinks menu was categorised logically. Some drinks menus force the reader to wade through a ton of advertising and then punctuate the list with more advertising.

4) The drinks menu was free. Believe it or not, some CAMRA organised festivals have their prospective customers charge for a drinks menu. I know it sounds absurd but one such festival did just this last year. What is more absurd is that customers conformed. So, the next time you go to a restuarant, offer to pay for the wine list; even though it is not chock-full of advertising, see what response you receive.

5) Every drink I attempted to buy from the drinks menu was actually present. I cannot say the same for most beer festivals I have been to anywhere. So, it would be unfair to list examples.

6) Every drink was either in good condition or better. I know when a drink is dispensed by gravity it can taste rather different. However, the condition of beer at some festivals has been worse than rank. This is what I wrote when I visited this festival in 2009: Beer selection.

This time around I had:

Steel City - Decadent and Desperate

Beartown - Ginger Bear

Broakoak - Perry (x2)

7) The festival had ediable and substantial food available from £2.50. These were cheese and/or ham sandwiches. Red Leicester is always a favourite; the Black Bob was magical.

8) The entertainment was not imposive. We saw Morris Dancers, bar games, Tombola, and animal shaped balloons. We secured an octopus for £2.50.

9) There were no imposive sponsorships stalls or posters.

10) Soft drinks were available but the price was not value for money.

Areas for improvement

1) We were turned away because we arrived early. As it was raining heavily, we had to scout around for somewhere to shelter until the rain had stopped. Inviting us to shelter in the large tent would have been not only polite but helpful. It was clearly that not everyone in the tent at that time had any involvement in the setting-up of the event.

2) When inquiring about whether tokens are refundable, we did not expect a smart arse an answer. So, the manners at reception could improve.

3) The use of tokens can become an irritation when having to wade through crowds to re-queue to buy more from a reception area. I wrote on the token usage before: token schemes.

4) Seating inside the tent was scarce to say the least.

5) Soft drinks were available at £1.25 for a can. Eat your heart out Mr. Cineworld Vending Machine because this is expensive.

6) One elderly chap after leaving fell over three times at the gates. He was clearly out of his tree. Please do not serve drunks. They are a danger to themselves and everyone else.

Summary

Other than the price of soft drinks and the token system, which are forgivable, it was well planned and executed. Well done chaps.