What Indy Man Beer Con does

Indy Man Beer Con (IMBC) is a craft beer festival organized annually at Victoria Baths, a Grade II listed building in Manchester, UK. Founded in 2012 by Jonny and the team behind Common&Co's Manchester hospitality venues (including Port Street Beer House, The Beagle, Common, and Nell's Pizza), IMBC ran for ten editions over twelve years (with a pandemic hiatus) before announcing its closure in March 2024. The festival operated a multi-day, multi-session format (Thursday evening through Sunday) with session tickets ranging from £14.50 to £19 and a Full Fat all-sessions pass at £75, supplemented by a token-based purchasing system (£2.70 per token, or £25 for a 10-token bundle) where one token entitled the holder to a third of any beer across all four days. Supporting products included a dedicated iOS/Android mobile app for event information, ticketed tastings and talks at £9 per session, a trade session for industry professionals with a charity donation element, and a fringe events programme spanning Manchester bars.

The core technology is comparatively light: a Universe-platform-integrated ticketing website, a mobile app for festival information, and a cashless token economy at the venue. Revenue derived from three primary streams—session ticket sales, token sales (effectively a per-drink transaction fee), and tasting session tickets—each priced to capture different demand segments. The customer base was horizontally segmented between craft beer enthusiasts (primary) and beer industry professionals (secondary), with no enterprise software-style customer concentration. Marketing relied on owned channels (website, mailing list, Instagram, app) plus earned media coverage from The Guardian, Financial Times, and beer industry publications. The Common&Co parent structure provided operational leverage through shared venue infrastructure, brewery relationships, and cross-promotion with the sister Summer Beer Thing event.

Name

Indy Man Beer Con

Legal name

Indy Man Beer Con

Website

https://indymanbeercon.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Indy Man Beer Con (IMBC) was an annual craft beer festival held at Victoria Baths in Manchester, UK, from 2012 to 2023. It served craft beer enthusiasts and industry professionals with multi-session ticketed events, curated brewery showcases, tastings, and educational talks before announcing its closure in March 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Festival Ticket Sales: Revenue from selling session tickets to the Independent Manchester Beer Convention festival. Multiple session types offered including Thursday evening, Friday morning/evening, Saturday morning/evening, Sunday, and Full Fat (all sessions) tickets.
2. Token Sales: Festival tokens sold as bundles (10 tokens for £25 pre-order) or individually at £2.70 each. Tokens exchanged for beer samples (thirds) at the festival. One token per third of beer across all four days.
3. Tasting Session Tickets: Ticketed tasting events featuring curated beer selections with industry experts and brewers. Priced at £9 per session, includes all drinks at the tasting.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Indy Man Beer Con (IMBC) operated an annual multi-day, multi-session craft beer festival at the Grade II listed Victoria Baths in Manchester, showcasing 60+ top-tier UK and international breweries alongside food vendors, ticketed tasting sessions, industry talks, fringe events, and entertainment. Tickets were sold per session (Thursday evening, Friday/Saturday morning and evening, Sunday, or Full Fat all-sessions pass), with beer purchased on-site using a cashless token system at one token per third of beer.

Product overview

Indy Man Beer Con (IMBC) is a craft beer festival and event company operating as part of the Common&Co group of Manchester bars and venues. The core product is the IMBC Festival — a multi-day, multi-session craft beer convention held annually at Victoria Baths in Manchester — which serves as the primary product. Supporting the festival are the IMBC Mobile App (iOS/Android), the IMBC Token System (a currency-based purchasing mechanism), the IMBC Beer City Fringe programme of satellite events, and ticketed add-ons including Tastings & Talks sessions and the Trade Session for industry professionals. IMBC is produced by the Common&Co venue group, whose constituent bars (Nell's Pizza, Port Street Beer House, The Beagle, The Pilcrow, Common) and sister event Summer Beer Thing form an affiliated network of products and venues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IMBC Festival (Independent Manchester Beer Convention) Annual four-day multi-session craft beer festival held at Victoria Baths in Manchester, offering per-session and Full Fat all-sessions tickets (Thursday evening, Friday/Saturday morning and evening, Sunday) featuring 60+ UK and international breweries, food vendors, and live entertainment.
• IMBC Tastings & Talks Sessions Ticketed tasting sessions and industry talks (£9 per session) featuring curated beer selections with industry experts and brewers, valid only with a festival session ticket.
• IMBC Trade Session Industry-exclusive first-day festival session for brewers, bar owners, distributors, and beer journalists offering early access to the festival and networking opportunities, with a charitable donation to Mind Manchester.
• IMBC Beer City Fringe Programme of independent pub and bar events held across Manchester during the festival weekend, featuring tap takeovers, meet-the-brewer events, and collaborative beer tastings hosted by Common&Co bars and partner breweries citywide.
• IMBC Mobile Application Dedicated iOS and Android mobile application providing real-time event information, fringe event listings, beer lists, and session schedules for attendees throughout the festival weekend.
• Summer Beer Thing Seasonal outdoor beer event run by the same team as IMBC, held annually at Kampus in Manchester across the June–July weekend, serving as IMBC's 'little sister' event under the Common&Co group.

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Common&CocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization encompassing bars and events across Manchester. Includes A Place Called Common Ltd, A Place Called Beagle Ltd, All Our Yesterdays Ltd, Indy Man Beer Con, and Summer Beer Thing. Provides venue infrastructure and operational support for IMBC.
• Nell's PizzacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor offering 25% off pizza at all Nell's sites for IMBC ticket holders Thursday-Sunday. Part of Common&Co group. Provides volunteer vouchers and festival support.
• KegstarminorOthersGlass sponsor for IMBC 2022 festival. Provided Mosella glasses made by Rostal for festival attendees.
• Summer Beer ThingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated seasonal ale event under Common&Co. Described as IMBC's 'little sister' event held at Kampus, Manchester.
• TelcomminorOthersOnsite WiFi provider for the festival venue.
• Good Night Out CampaigncoreOthersOrganization providing training to IMBC core team on responding to sexual assault and harassment and supporting LGBTQ+ customers. IMBC is accredited by them as an event.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cloudwater Brew Co: Manchester-based craft brewery featured as a headline IMBC participant and operator of its own tap room and beer events. Comparable as a Manchester craft-beer brand running event-driven consumer experiences, complementing IMBC's festival model.
• Beavertown Brewery: Major London-based craft brewery that runs its own brewery tap events, collab festivals and seasonal celebrations. Comparable as a craft beer brand that operates event-style consumer experiences at scale, though as a producer rather than a pure festival operator.
• Northern Monk Brew Co: Leeds-based craft brewery operating a major brewery tap (Refectory) and running consumer-facing beer events and festivals. Comparable as a UK craft beer brand combining production with significant event programming.

Regional players

• Manchester Beer & Cider Festival (CAMRA): CAMRA's regional Manchester beer and cider festival held annually in the same city as IMBC. Comparable as a multi-session beer event but oriented toward traditional cask/CAMRA selection rather than IMBC's indie/craft positioning.

Direct peers

• Craft Beer Rising: London-based craft beer festival and trade event combining consumer sessions with a trade/industry day. Comparable business model: ticketed sessions, brewery showcases, industry networking, food pairings, and educational tastings.
• Great British Beer Festival (CAMRA): CAMRA's flagship annual UK beer festival held in London, the country's largest and most established consumer-facing beer festival. Directly comparable as a multi-session, multi-day craft beer event selling session tickets and drink tokens, though at much larger scale and a wider CAMRA/cask orientation.
• London Craft Beer Festival: Annual multi-session craft beer festival in London featuring UK and international breweries. Closest direct peer to IMBC given similar premium positioning, curated brewery line-up, token-based pouring model, and indie/craft focus.
• Bristol Craft Beer Festival: Multi-session craft beer festival in Bristol featuring independent UK breweries with food and music programming. Comparable festival format, curated brewery focus and indie aesthetic to IMBC.
• SIBA BeerX: Society of Independent Brewers' annual UK trade and consumer beer event featuring independent breweries, awards, seminars and tastings. Directly comparable as a curated multi-day beer event with both trade and consumer components.
• Alltech Craft Brews & Food Fair: Long-running international craft beer and food festival held in Lexington, Kentucky (and formerly Dublin). Comparable multi-day beer festival with brewery showcases, food pairings and ticketed sessions, providing a US/international benchmark for IMBC's curated indie format.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/indymanbeercon
• Instagraminstagram.com/indymanbeercon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/indymanbeercon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Indy Man Beer Con