Joseph Holt’s First Ever Beer Festival at The Woodthorpe in Prestwich

On the weekend of the 24th November, we proudly hosted our first ever beer festival at The Woodthorpe in Prestwich, Manchester, a fitting location as this is the former home of the Holt family. It was a glorious weekend for cask ale connoisseurs, with 20 delicious ales on the menu, there really was something for every palate. Not only was there Joseph Holt cask, including our legendary SIXEX, we also had special guest kegs from local, national and international brews.

The ale was flowing and the charity night included an array of live music from talented local singers, bands and DJ’s. Those who attended were also lucky enough to see talk sessions from brewing specialists who gave insights on the beer industry, and it’s needless to say there was food involved – Bratwurst’s all round, the perfect food with a pint. We even had traditional “pub games” with the coveted “toss the barrel” being the punters’ highlight.

All of the profits during the festival weekend were donated to The Christie charity, contributing to our £500,000 appeal that is an ongoing campaign for Joseph Holt.

Andrew Kershaw, our sixth generation family member, oversaw The Woodthorpe Beer Festival, stating – “Joseph Holt was built on cask ale, and when it comes to cask ale, the UK is a world leader in its production,” as we continue our ever evolving journey of maintaining our traditional values whilst innovating along the way, our first beer festival pays homage to our roots and we can safely say it was a huge success. It was a privilege to see ale lovers of all ages uniting on a cold November weekend in the city where it all started for us, Manchester.

A Star-studded Cask

Check out the full line-up

Bratwurst anyone?

The Woodthorpe Beer Festival Poster