SMOKEFEST 2026
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When:
April 11th & 12th (2026, obviously): 12 noon - 8pm Where: At the Brewery (see notes below) How much? £16 per person (includes entry, glassware, first drink). How do I get a ticket? Here, from 8pm on December 1st! Look right! (or maybe scroll down if you're on mobile) |
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Yes, but what is Smokefest?
Smokefest is the UK’s first (and only!) all-smoked-beer festival (with a high likelihood it will always be). The Torrside brewers love smoked beer, and we believe every right-thinking person would too, given a proper opportunity. Which this is! The aim is to showcase the range of flavours and interesting nuances that different smoked ingredients can bring. Whether you’ve been a rauchbier and grodziskie fanatic for decades, or you're just curious to see what all the hype is about, there'll be plenty to suit anyone’s tastes! Smokefest is advance-ticketed to keep numbers sensibly limited. Our intent is to have the whole beer list available on both days, and also to keep enough space and elbow room that it's a comfortable environment throughout. Tickets are £16 each, which covers your entry, the traditional Smokefest memorabilia/glassware, and your 'welcome aboard' first drink to get you settled in. We'll have somewhere around 20 smoked beers on draft, and more in bottle/can. There are two all-day sessions, each from 12 noon till 8pm. This makes sure there's plenty of time to work through whatever you like on the beer list, socialise, fuss brewery dogs, and chat, all while avoiding palate fatigue (our water supply continues to be unsmoked and freely available, and there'll be other soft drinks). We're still working on arranging some hot food, but we're aiming to have something on-site; and there are various local establishments too, for nipping out to or getting them to deliver. We'll also have our smoking gun on hand once again, so we can enhance any snacks you bring along! |
Where is it, and how do I get there?
The brewery is within New Mills Marina (postcode SK22 3JJ). Trains are convenient! - we're 3 minutes from New Mills Newtown station, and 10 mins from New Mills Central. We're around a 40 minute journey direct from Manchester Piccadilly or from Sheffield. And we'll be watching for service announcements and changes on the day to make sure you all get home. If someone drives you, while there's no parking possible at the brewery, there is nearby on-road parking (or the Newtown station car park). If you're the caravanning sort, you could book a spot at the Marina and join us for both days! Please note: Over-18s only, with an exception for dogs - no canine age limitations. The Marina is private property and the residents' living space - please don't wander around outside the brewery. And for the occasional non-smoke or non-beer drinker who just wants to come along for the company or experience, we will have a smattering of other beverages in our fridges/kettle areas. |
A bit of Smokefest history
We started Smokefest in 2018. It was one of those silly ideas that crop up during a Sunday afternoon bottling session, but it was so silly it might just work.... so we picked a date and announced it before cold common sense could kick in.
2018 was for one day only, a Saturday: we managed a very solid range of beer with various styles of smoke; some very small batch festival exclusives; and a guarantee of like-minded company. Since 2019, we've done the whole weekend. We initially held it early November, around bonfire night, but the brewery building isn't designed for heat retention so it ended up a couple of months earlier in the year (no doubt to the dismay of frostbite aficionados).
There's always been a good range of smoked snacks – cheeses, meats, nuts – and from 2019, guests have also brought various intriguing things for our on-demand cold smoking. Tea-cakes, flying saucers, and a bottle of Coca-cola all worked surprisingly well. For the last couple of years we've also had our friends from the Cheese Wheel along, with smoked cheese sets to accompany the beers.
We had to skip 2020/21, for obvious reasons; and then Autumn 2025 would have been too difficult with our 10th birthday brewery tap as well, so we moved it out 6 months to April.
And now here we are!
We started Smokefest in 2018. It was one of those silly ideas that crop up during a Sunday afternoon bottling session, but it was so silly it might just work.... so we picked a date and announced it before cold common sense could kick in.
2018 was for one day only, a Saturday: we managed a very solid range of beer with various styles of smoke; some very small batch festival exclusives; and a guarantee of like-minded company. Since 2019, we've done the whole weekend. We initially held it early November, around bonfire night, but the brewery building isn't designed for heat retention so it ended up a couple of months earlier in the year (no doubt to the dismay of frostbite aficionados).
There's always been a good range of smoked snacks – cheeses, meats, nuts – and from 2019, guests have also brought various intriguing things for our on-demand cold smoking. Tea-cakes, flying saucers, and a bottle of Coca-cola all worked surprisingly well. For the last couple of years we've also had our friends from the Cheese Wheel along, with smoked cheese sets to accompany the beers.
We had to skip 2020/21, for obvious reasons; and then Autumn 2025 would have been too difficult with our 10th birthday brewery tap as well, so we moved it out 6 months to April.
And now here we are!