THE very best of the North-east’s brewers and drink producers are set to expand into new markets at a new craft beer festival.
Up and coming businesses from across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire will travel to Inverness later this month for the inaugural North Hop festival at Eden Court on 29 and 30 August.
North-east craft beer producers Deeside Brewery, Six Degrees North and BrewDog will be joined by Aberdeen bar operators and events company, 10 Dollar Shake, and soft drinks maker Summerhouse Drinks, from Rosehearty, at North Hop, which is the first large scale craft beer festival to take place in the Highlands.
The group of rapidly expanding businesses will be exhibiting at the Highland festival, which will feature beers and ciders from ten breweries from across Scotland, as well as artisan gins, cocktails, street foods and local musicians.
Deeside Brewery from Banchory, will be showcasing their range of craft ales, made with Deeside spring water at North Hop.
Business development manager, Neil Strachan, said: “We are really excited to take our products to North Hop and hope they will be as popular with Highland beer fans as they are with customers in Aberdeen and the North-east.
“So far, 2014 has been a really busy year for us, recently being listed in Sainsburys and winning a great taste award.
“We have some exciting new products to unveil soon, so North Hop will be a great opportunity to get our brand out there to a wider audience.”
As well as fine Scottish craft beers, artisan gins and beer cocktails will be served by the 10 Dollar Shake team at their pop-up bar.
Adrian Gomes, who runs Aberdeen’s Tippling House and has recently launched two quirky new Aberdeen bars; Bos’n and Rye and Soda, is looking forward to showcasing craft beers in a different way.
He commented: “There are so many different cocktails which can be made with both gins and craft beers, so I’m looking forward to being able to create something to suit all tastes at North Hop.
“It will be great for us to show customers outside of Aberdeen what we can do, whilst bringing some of our current fans north for the festival.
“It’s great that local Aberdeen businesses can grow together and North Hop will be a great opportunity to catch up with friends in the industry.
“We work closely with Deeside Brewery and stock their beers in our bars so heading to North Hop will allow us to all catch up whilst experiencing everything the festival has to offer.”
North Hop, will also see in Stonehaven brewery, Six Degrees North, which opened its own bar on Aberdeen’s Littlejohn Street last year and has since won a legion of fans for its take on classic Belgian beer styles.
Claire Rennie, of Berry Scrumptious, will be giving festivalgoers some fantastic, handcrafted, alternatives to traditional lemonades with her new Summerhouse Drinks range, which includes a Hint o’ Mint and Scottish Raspberry flavours.
With less than two weeks left until North Hop, tickets are selling fast and anyone planning to attend is encouraged to book early to avoid disappointment.
Festival organiser, Michelle Russell, said: “I am delighted that popular North-east brands like 10 Dollar Shake, Six Degrees North and Deeside Brewery, which already have a massive following in and around Aberdeen, will be coming to North Hop to highlight what they can do.
“The festival is shaping up to be fantastic and I would encourage as many people as possible to book early rather than risk missing out on the hottest ticket in town.”
Tickets for North Hop are available from the website, www.northhop.co.uk or can be purchased at the Eden Court box office and are priced at £15 for the Friday session, £20 for the Saturday session and £30 for a two-day pass for both days; all prices are subject to booking fees.
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