Fact
But, as the dust is settling, just a quick post to say that the International IPA Day feels to have been a huge success, in my humble opinion. I can’t really put it better than Pete Brown does in his blog post ‘Cheers to International IPA Day‘. However, if you don’t have the time to read that then Pete sums the event up nicely when he says: “…As far as I can tell there is no central organisational structure, no big budget or organisation, and yet it’s an idea that has caught the imaginations of beer lovers and gone global.” And as I have commented on one blog already this morning, the concept and execution of this global event is testament to the notion that ‘Beer People are Good People’ or that “Good people drink good beer.” (Hunter S. Thompson).
IPAin
Eating isn’t Cheating
Make Mine a Half
She Likes Beer
The Pub Diaries
The Crafty Pint
I’n Here For The Hops
For my IPA Day celebrations I decided to join the crowd at Mr Foleys (@MrFoleys), Leeds. I knew from my advanced stages of acute Twitteritus that there would be at least a couple of people going along that I already knew well enough to recognise and to talk to, as well as many others who I had yet to meet, but hoped to. It was a tough call between Mr Foleys, The Grove and The Sparrow all of which were treating beer lovers to a veritable hop feast, but a persuasive Dean (Manager of Foleys) and a cracking line up on the bar gently twisted my arm. I managed to sample all of the cask selection and a couple of the bottles/cans and can honestly say I enjoyed each and everyone. Most importantly to me though, I was lucky enough to chat (briefly) with brewers and owners alike, from Roosters, Hardknott, Magic Rock, Buxton and Ilkley (the latter just there as punters like the rest of us – i.e. they did not have a beer on the bar on this occasion, but see Lotus IPA if you are yet to try their superb offering. It’s not often that you get to ‘meet the brewer’ in the flesh, so to speak, but I took the opportunity to let most of them know that they inspire me to believe that I can make my brewery dreams a reality. Along with the beer writers and bloggers there were the geeks and fanatics adding their own brand of passion to the evening, some more amorous than others. But probably most poignantly for me, and by total chance, I found myself talking to a young guy who, in all fairness looked like he might have walked into the wrong bar, sharp suit and proud fiancé on his arm, he was making strides to convince his wife-to-be that beer is amazing and that she should jolly well drink some. Despite his enthusiasm it transpired that the lady wasn’t for turning, but you can’t win em’ all. He also revealed he is a blogger, new to the scene with – Geek Leeds, but who has been watching from a safe distance. Each person I tried to name-drop, he responded with a knowing nod of the head. This meeting may not seem too impressive to most, but he wasn’t connected to anyone else in the room and wasn’t even on Twitter! yet the friendly atmosphere and sense of occasion presented everyone there with the opportunity to talk about good beer.
Anyway, I’m sure there will be more in-depth blogs to come to show and describe the night at Foleys with more finesse, but that was my two-penneth. I look forward to the next beer event whenever or wherever that may be. Thanks to one and all for a great night out (especially Dean and his staff @MrFoleys – bravo!).
(Honorary affiliates: @Filrd @Tunks23)
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