Knutsford Beer Festival returns on 28th May after a year hiatus. David Morgan, the festival’s craft beer curator speaks to Hush Brewery.
One of my favourite things about Knutsford Beer Festival is celebrating the connections we have with the independent breweries on our doorstep.
Cheshire boasts a really buzzing nanobrewery scene at the moment thanks to the likes of Middlewich’s one-man operation Tay Brew Co and Small Batch Brewing, which has recently made the leap from making beers at the bottom of the garden to running a successful bar in Runcorn.
These are the people who put their heart and soul into brewing – often balancing their passion project between a day job and family life.
So highlighting their successes and pouring their beer is something that feels rewarding for all involved.
Some of those connections have deepened over the years, and now we’re at the stage where we’re even making our own beers with those breweries to make something really special and unique for the festival.
So for KBF 2026, we’re proud to bring you Low Flying Panic Attack, an affogato imperial stout I made with Hush Brewing Co especially for the event and all our dark beer fans out there!
From providing beer and running tasting masterclasses to lending us supplies and giving us advice, Hush have been friends of our festival for years. So when co-founder Chris Birtwistle kindly invited me down to the brewery in Northwich I didn’t hesitate.
On the day, I was joined by Chris and brewer Ken Bebbington who were fully on board with our mission to make something big and silly and one-off for the festival. With that in mind, Chris was kind enough to let us make use of the small brew kit he and Simon Appleton started on five years ago.
Now a test kit, it is used for experimental beers that are a bit financially risky to brew on a larger scale. In other words, it allowed us to really push the limits without worrying too much about ‘boring stuff’ such as, you know, how financially viable the end product was going to be!
Perhaps a good thing considering Chris affectionately called the stout a ‘beast’. We’re talking a huge double mash of five malts and two grains with additions of tonka beans and fresh hand roasted Columbian and Ugandan coffee during fermentation.
You could sense how rich it was just by looking at it bubbling away in the tank. At time of writing, it is expected to come out at around 10 or 11% ABV so our advice is enjoy and indulge but treat it with a little care and respect!
It wasn’t just a collaboration in name. I got thoroughly stuck in – measuring out and pouring in all the malt and grain (twice actually – hence ‘double mash’) , and then helping to transfer the brew into the kettle to boil before it finally made its way into the fermenter with a Kveik yeast from Norway.
Interesting fact: The fermenter of Hush’s test kit used to belong to Cornish craft beer legends, Verdant.
There were lots of jobs to help out with in between too such as filling and sealing casks ready to be sent out to pubs and cleaning the tanks!
They certainly kept me busy, but it was such a rewarding experience with Chris and Ken explaining all the steps and processes and science.
Another fantastic element of the day was meeting Jonathan Cook from Weaverham’s Creation Coffee.
Jonathan brought over three single origin coffees that he’d hand roasted around 20 minutes before his arrival. You simply couldn’t get fresher.
We were taught a number of techniques that helped us appreciate and understand the complex aroma and taste of each – and were amazed how different each one was.
Eventually, we settled on a Colombian and Ugandan blend that we thought would complement the beer’s bold characteristics.
Hush have always been about championing local, and bringing Creation Coffee on board brought the collaboration to another level – deeply embedded within the community.
So I hope you enjoy this sampling this special one-off beer as much as I enjoyed making it!
I’ve started naming my beers after song lyrics so answers on a postcard if you know what band and song I’m referring to with Low Flying Panic Attack!
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Chris and Ken so much for their time, expertise and hospitality.
And meanwhile plans for KBF ’26 continue in earnest. Come and raise a toast with us from 28 to 30 May all in aid of our two amazing charities – Stable Minds and Knutsford Men’s Shed. We’ll say cheers to that.
Knutsford Beer Festival runs from 28th to 30th May. Ticket information and further details can be found here – https://www.knutsfordbeerfestival.org.uk/
