Manchester, so much to answer for

I went to the Manchester Beer and Cider Festival at the National Cycling Centre, a.k.a. the Velodrome, yesterday.

I blogged about the first beer festival there last year which, unfairly I thought, got quite a bit of flak on several fronts, including accessibility for disabled drinkers and beer shortages on the Saturday.

The organisers have responded to those issues by introducing bars and seating areas on the concourse level and substantially increasing the beer order. At the risk of repeating myself, I'm a fan of the new venue, both because it's impressive to see cyclists whizzing round the track as you stand in the middle with a pint and the ease of getting to it on a tram from the city centre.

New Year, new beers

The hanging up of a new calendar inevitably gets me thinking about beer travels in the next twelve months.

There are three big gaps in my beer travels: Belgium, Austria and the Czech Republic; I'd also like to get to a few places I've not been to in Bavaria, such as Regensburg and Buttenheim.

I'll almost certainly head for Belgium first, partly because it's the easiest to get to. Beyond that however, where should I go next?