by Nick Smith (co-owner of Steam Machine Brewing Co.)
Beer Festivals! They can be wonderful places to have exciting conversations, to engage with brewers and other beer enthusiasts, to sample obscure and popular beers alike, and a chance to really immerse yourself in the love of all things beer.
Beer festivals take many different formats, from DJ-driven and NEIPA-fuelled fun in a modern hype brewery to vintage rock bands alongside wood-aged traditional beers in a train station, and everything else in between.
At Steam Machine we’ve always strived to go in our own direction, whether it’s for the experience we offer our guests, the brewing techniques we employ, or the diverse beers we experiment with. Our love of the very eclectic nature of beer resulted in two successful beer festivals called The Big MASH-UP, running each autumn, which saw a range of international, continental, national, local beers and collaborative brews, each showcasing completely different styles, colours, strengths etc to demonstrate how diverse beer actually is.
On top of this, we have always had a super popular summer party to celebrate our birthday.
Winter has always felt a bit left out
Far too many people seem to think that winter ends each year on the 31st of December. Then they have a huge shock when the ice and snow begin in late January and February!
The coldest time of year can be the most miserable. It’s the time that mental health takes a battering, and everything that is filled with fun, laughter and sunshine seems so distant…
But it’s also a time of great natural beauty; of low suns, pastel skies, frozen waterfalls, and visiting birds from far distant shores. It is a time that our ancestors would celebrate as the Heart of Winter. They would make merry, tap barrels of rare ale and mead, tell tales to each other, and sing and dance by the firelight.
Various festivals and celebrations around Europe still exist to brighten the soul during this deep winter period, from local Scotland’s Burns Night and Burning the Clavie to Switzerland’s Tschäggättu (where residents from Alpine villages dress as furred monsters and roam the night causing mischief), and Slovenia’s Kurentovanje (a Slavic festival, again featuring people dressed as nightmarish furry monsters, singing, dancing and parading).
Some of these festivals have ancient roots, some less so. Ultimately though, what they all have in common is bringing people together for fun and a drink in the low times that many people experience post-Christmas.
Our Winter Festival
Steam Machine’s Winter Festival takes inspiration from many of the musings above. Whilst not a beer festival per se, we have saved many imperial and unique beers from our own collection for the occasion, and then we have hunted down seasonal specialities from elsewhere. Strong Belgian beers, Trappist reserves, German celebration beers, rare barrel-aged beauties, and more. This tap list has risen to around the forty mark.
Our kitchen has been busy concocting hearty food that’ll warm everyone’s cockles, and then we have the entertainment…
For us, winter is about folk
Whilst we don’t want to reveal too much, we will say that we are working with some amazing musicians to bring you a taste of medieval celebration, roaming bagpipers, songs to make you smile, and jigs to make you dance.
As for the décor and atmosphere that we want to create? You’ll just have to see it for yourself…
NOTE: Furs and cloaks are encouraged.
Guest blog post by Nick Smith. The Winter Festival takes place on 28th – 29th January 2022 at Steam Machine Brewing Co. in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. Tickets are available to buy direct from the brewery or online via Eventbrite.
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