Macivors

The White Hag is having a festival and we are going! Hagtastic!

This is going to be a cracker.

The White Hag Irish Brewing Company is once again hosting an International Brewery Festival in Ballymote, Sligo and we will be there on July 29 with some of the greatest brewers.

‘Beers not poured in Ireland’ is the theme for Hagstravaganza which will see over 60 beers from around the world available for the first time to Irish craft beer fans.

The White Hag is hosting the festival as a collaborative, collective aspiration to work together in pursuit of endless possibilities.

Mac Ivors Cider Co is one of eight Irish producers and brewers attending – the rest are from Holland, Spain, Norway, Italy, UK, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, France and USA.

The White Hag will be bringing a total of 22 breweries from 11 countries to Ireland to pour their beers for the first time with 85 per cent of guests expected to come from outside Sligo.

Fans of craft beer and craft cider will be flocking to the West Coast for this ticketed event. Tastings are obviously a crucial element of this festival but there’ll also be live music from Sligo band Rackhouse Pilfer who did three gigs at Glastonbury this year.

But craft fans will also get to meet ourselves along with other brewers from across the globe. Barrel ageing experts will be there as well as yeast fermentation experts and of course, the sours will be a popular gargle of choice.

And a festival like this of course wouldn’t be a festival without a fantastic choice of food being available for punters. The best of local food from the Sligo Food Trail, the Strandhill People’s Market and the Wild Atlantic Oyster Cart will be there.

This is going to be something pretty special. Paul Mullin, White Hag’s MD, has said the festival will also host the first tasting of the brewery’s crowdfunded barrel programme, with funders getting to visit their barrel on the morning of the festival for the first time.

Tickets are €25 and include a festival glass and four drinks, as well as a free train to Sligo from the brewery on the night. All other drinks are €2.50, regardless of style.

So put July 29 in your crafty calendar and get yourself and your mates over to Sligo for a festival like no other. See you there. #followthefox

The entire list of breweries represented at the festival can be seen in full below:

The White Hag (Ireland)

Oersoep (Holland)

Basqueland (Spain)

Haandbryggeriet (Norway)

Brewfist (Italy)

Beavertown (UK)

White Frontier (Switzerland)

BRLO (Germany)

40FT (UK)

Brasserie De La Senne (Belgium)