Beer festivals aren’t just about the drinking - they’re also trade fairs for the brewing industry and a vital showcase for small firms.
That was my excuse for attending Liverpool Craft Beer Expo’s trade session on Thursday afternoon, at least.
I’m a craft beer fan, and used to write a weekly beer column in Liverpool’s Sunday Echo, so I’ve always been a big fan of Mersey brewers and a regular attendee at the region’s beer festivals.
But it’s been a long time now since I’ve been able to attend a festival, as the pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns and restrictions made such events impossible.
READ MORE: Major festival postponed for a year due to Covid supply chain problems
But now restrictions have largely lifted, pubs and bars have been able to reopen, and now the beer festival calendar is coming back to life.
So I thought I’d attend the Expo, in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle to try to understand how the region’s innovative small breweries have coped with Covid and how they are bouncing back.
I may also have tried some beers on the way.
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Here’s what I learned:
Things aren’t normal yet - Covid safety is still paramount
The Expo was immediately different to any other event I’ve been to for the past 18 months - there were few masks on show.
As the event was largely outside, and in the blazing sunshine, people no longer felt the need to mask up. And, of course, there’s no requirement to in those circumstances.
But while that felt like a return to normality, there were still some differences to a classic beer festival to help make it Covid-safe.
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As at most festivals, admission gets you a branded glass. But this time, staff couldn’t fill your glass directly. Instead, they poured beer into plastic cups which you could then empty into your own half-pint pot.
Paul Seiffert, organiser of the festival and MD of hosts Black Lodge Brewery, said: “Making it COVID safe is tough. We can’t reuse glasses. We need more outside space. The cost of doing events is a lot more.”
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But, looking at Thursday’s bright sunshine, he smiled: “Thankfully the weather is good.”
Outdoor venues (or adaptable ones) are here to stay
Black Lodge Brewery, home to the expo, sits in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle where venues have been making creative use of outdoor spaces for years.
Black Lodge and neighbour Sub Rosa have some indoor space but also have a large outdoor seating area - and another large. Airy and well-ventilated multi-purpose seating and events space below a high roof in a former timber yard.
Since the pandemic began, more and more bars and venues have been adding and expanding their outdoor space, both to meet Government rules in the early stages of lockdown lifting but also to give customers confidence that venues are Covid-safe.
That means that businesses like Black Lodge, with outdoor space at their heart, should be well-placed to survive and thrive in a world where many people will still want to socialise in open and well-ventilated spaces.
Small businesses are brilliantly adaptable
Julie and Les O’Grady founded Neptune Brewery in 2015 and have grown it into one of Merseyside’s best-known breweries, even opening a taproom in 2019 in Maghull.
The pandemic and lockdowns hit them hard at first, closing not only their taproom but also many of the pubs they supplied.
But the O’Grady family wasn’t going to be beaten - and, like many other breweries, they began adapting their business to see it through the pandemic.
At the Expo, Julie said they had decided to buy a canning machine so they could start selling cans on e-commerce site Shopify. As restrictions changed they were also able to sell draft takeout ale from their taproom.
Customers stayed loyal. And now Julie says things are “looking good” for the future, with the taproom set to reopen alongside Neptune’s e-commerce and takeaway businesses.
The hospitality industry was one of the hardest hit during the pandemic. But as Neptune and so many other breweries have shown, determined businesses have been able to find ways to survive and even thrive during these toughest of times.
People are being brave and entrepreneurial despite the pandemic
Lakes Brew Co was born during the pandemic when a team of brewers lost their jobs and decided to go it alone - and this weekend’s Expo was their first chance to show off their beers.
The brewery’s four co-founders were made redundant from well-known brewer Hawkshead when lockdown restrictions kicked in last March.
But Matt Clarke, Michelle Gay, Steve Ricketts and Paul Sheldon didn’t want to leave brewing behind - so they came together as Lakes Brew Co, in Kendal.
Michelle, who was at the Expo with Paul to sell beers including DDH Pale, said: “We couldn’t see ourselves doing anything else.
“We wanted to create a progressive Cumbrian brewery again.
“Trying to build a brewery during a pandemic was tough going - with the lack of materials, and shipping costs… but we got there. It took a little longer, but good things come to those who wait.”
People are doing smart things with old brands
I couldn’t resist stopping to speak to the team from Vaux Brewery to toast their revival of one of Northern beer’s biggest names.
Vaux was a Sunderland icon whose branding once adorned Sunderland AFC’s shirts. But the original brewery was closed down in 1999 and the company soon bought by Whitbread.
20 years after the brewery’s closure, Steven Smith and Michael Thompson . Their brewery and taproom opened last year.
Steven and his team were at the expo to show off beers including their Hazy Shade of Citra pale ale - and were happily chatting to punters about their brand;s history and about the future of Sunderland as a craft beer destination.
Pandemic and Brexit still having a lingering impact
Things may have looked normal at the Expo, but the lingering economic impact of the pandemic could still be felt.
The demand for outdoor events, for example, means marquees are more in demand than ever.
Organiser Paul Seiffert said: “We couldn’t grab a marquee - the company we use couldn’t get one as it seemed like there were none in Europe - hence us using 16 gazebos instead.”
Paul also said small brewers had been struggling when staff had been “pinged” by the NHS Covid app, making it tough for them
Meanwhile brewers are also having to navigate changes in supply chains following Brexit.
Paul said getting keg beers in from Europe had proved “impossible”. Polish firm Browar was able to serve cans, but Paul said: “his kegs are stuck in customs”.
Things are looking up
Despite all the challenges they’ve faced and continue to face, the entrepreneurs and drinkers I spoke to were confident that things were looking up and were on the way back to normality.
The festival was a landmark for many of those attending - especially for Lakes Brewing Co - and a stepping stone towards more growth as the country continues its return to something approaching normality.
There will be more festivals soon - while taproom owners, including Neptune and Vaux, are hopeful they will soon be busy again.
Paul said that while brewers had had a tough 18 months, they were “really excited to be here” showing off their beers and raising their glasses to a better future.