“ You hear me callin' Callin' brother, are you listenin'? We need to cool at night for our future For the little bitty boys and girls We need to take our time, come together Are you willing? So we...

It started off so simply. A little beer festival. To raise money for a small Community Centre in the heart of Salford. A place with a multiplicity of pulls on the strings of my heart. I didn’…

It has been over 3 months since the last webpost. Teasing of plans, things already organised, ISBF spreading its wings, doing things we'd never done before…. and then? Just 3 months ago. It feels...

Yes. People matter. That’s the whole THING that underpins everything to do with The Independent Salford Beer Festival. People. Helping. Trying to make a difference. Of course the beer helps, but if...

Since it’s inception in 2014, this event had always seemed to do things ……. a little differently. It had been described with many different phrases over the years from “DIY” to “Niche”. I (Jim) am...

Hello there! It's been a while… To those who came, I hope you enjoyed #ISBF7. We had some truly heartwarming feedback that got me all emotional and stuff. I really don't handle that kind of thing...

I have absolutely no idea where to start this post. The last week has been a combination of blur and surprises to me. But, I’ll give it a go. People. People matter. Things, beer, don’t matter...

@designmynight

Well. Kind of……

So here we are. From Salford with love…

Hello there! It's been a while. Since the last Webpost that is. And in a massive change from my normal behaviour, I adopted an attitude of not posting until there was something to say. So…. Firstly -...

“ …… So I turned to Jim and this is what I said…. Shall we just go to the place with many a familiar face, the pub we should have went tae from the off? There's never any loons there's a jukebox full...

Well. That was……. Interesting.

These things take time. And frequently (as Rabbie Burns is famously quoted as saying) “The best laid plans o mice an men aft gang agley. And oh BOY do they go agley! From deciding/desiring to “go...

Happy New Year! The end of each year is always the time when I (Jim) attempt to catch those beers I missed on the bar at ISBF. 2018 was no different. Ah.... The perils of being – or attempting to be...

Well. It's done. Or at least, it will be. At the end of this post. An event yet again held together by spider's Web, filigree and sheer goodwill. Without sounding self-pitying, it's difficult to...

“Do you remember the bills you have to pay? Or even yesterday?”

A long time ago. On a planet (that seems) far, far away, the Alter Ego tweeted about agreeing to “do” a beer festival. And my world changed. With the veritable flood of offers of help, I realised...

That light at the end of the tunnel? For once, it's not an oncoming train… Like everyone else, I miss people. Miss the physicality of seeing flesh, not pixels. Like many, if I could jump in my own,...

So. It started as a random suggestion. A hopeful thought. To raise at least some money for the festival charity. About which I spun a Web of possibilities. But with each possibility, my negative...

This. This is what it's all about.

“Welcome to the garden of earthly delights. Welcome to a billion Arabian nights. This is your life and you do what you want to do, This is your life and you spend it all. This is your life and you do...

The first thing that I need to say is - The Independent Salford Beer Festival exists (and always has) to support a good cause. This event is decidedly “Not For Profit”…. It was founded in early 2014...

When I say this next sentence, I truly mean it….. I have had the most profound doubts about hosting another ISBF. I know, with absolute certainty, that my friends will wink. And nod knowingly at that...

When I (Jim) first set about creating The Independent Salford Beer Festival, back in 2014, I had no idea about anything. Well, almost anything. The only thing I was certain of, was who brewed good...

Whatever has been said about Brew Dog, to those who know anything about Modern Beer and Manchester that bar is a very significant part of the Manchester Craft Beer (a phrase I've never liked) Family...