I’m getting drunk for you

The return of Vegan Beer Fest UK 2018

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It is around this time of year when my inbox starts filling up with queries about Vegan Beer Fest UK, especially in regards to dates and venues.

This series of events has built a loving and loyal following over the years (can you believe it will be the 6th annual London version?!) and people are keen to have advance warning in order to book time off work.

I’m thrilled to be able to announce the following dates for 2018:

  • 6th annual London Vegan Beer Fest – Saturday July 14, 2018 – Hackney Downs Studios – Facebook event page
  • Coventry Vegan Beer Fest – Saturday July 28, 2018 – Twisted Barrel Taproom – Facebook event page
  • 3rd annual Glasgow Vegan Beer Fest – Sunday August 5, 2018 – Mono – Facebook event page
  • 2nd annual Sheffield Vegan Beer Fest – Saturday August 18, 2018 – Yellow Arch Studios – Facebook event page

As you can gather from the list of dates, we are yet to lock in a date or venue for Manchester.

We are working overtime to find a suitable location for what will be the 3rd annual Manchester Vegan Beer Fest. The venue we used for the past two years has been closed for refurbishment until 2019.

I am extremely keen to make this event happen in Manchester, so stay tuned for updates.

You can follow Vegan Beer Fest UK on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Free vegan pizza and cider in Cardiff

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The Stable pizza restaurant chain is famous for it’s vegan pizza giveaways and now it’s Cardiff’s turn to get in on the act.

Similar giveaways in the London branches of The Stable have seen hundreds and hundreds of vegan and vegan-curious diners line up for free plant-based pizza.

This chain restaurant is now set to run the free vegan food promotion at it’s location on Bridge Street, Cardiff on Wednesday February 28, 2018.

There is no sales catch here.

Show up and order a vegan pizza after 6pm on that date and you won’t pay for it. They also have gluten free options.

Of course if the dough runs out you don’t get a pizza, so if you plan on attending make sure you get along early to secure your free food.

In extra exciting news, there will also be free vegan cider tastings so you can make a whole meal of it! LOL.

It is important to note that this pizza deal is limited to one pizza per person and the restaurant will not be taking bookings.

You can follow The Stable on Instagram. You can RSVP and invite friends over on the Facebook event page for the Cardiff giveaway.

The Stable has locations in multiple UK cities so please visit their website to search if there is one near you.

Vegan wine from London

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One part of learning to live vegan that comes as a surprise to a lot of people is needing to shop carefully for wine.

Yes, that’s correct. Wine is often not suitable for vegans.

Animal derived products such as egg albumen, casein and isinglass are used as fining agents to clarify the wine before bottling.

But there are more and more vegan-suitable wines hitting shelves all the time, including this boutique brand from London!

Forty Hall Vineyard makes a few varieties, including this Brut they are selling and shipping in time for Valentine’s Day.

A little about the vineyard: 

Forty Hall Vineyard is an exciting social enterprise which has established a new 10 acre organic vineyard in north London. Run and managed by local people, the vineyard is the first commercial scale vineyard in London since the middle ages. The vineyard produces and sells quality English still and sparkling wines.

A bit about the Brut:

  • Believed to be London’s first Sparkling Brut
  • Made in the traditional Champagne Method
  • ‘Single Estate’; Produced exclusively from grapes grown on Forty Hall Vineyard
  • Certified Organic
  • Natural and unfiltered
  • Vegan and produced using biodynamic practices
  • 11.5 % Vol

You can order your own bottle (or case) of the Forty Hall Vineyard Brut by clicking here.

You can also follow Forty Hall Vineyard on Instagram.

Vegan pub food in London

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Here is a quick little bite sized chunk of news you can eat.

I’m just about to head back to Mexico City for six months so I gathered my friends in London for a farewell party at The Blacksmith and The Toffeemaker in Islington.

This pub on St John Street is a gorgeous pub that has just switched it’s entire food menu to be 100% vegan.

Check out this short Instagram video I made showing the current menu.

The polenta fries with added cheese were fabulous and I loved the toasted sandwich.

Not all of the alcohol being served is vegan, however they assure me this is being worded on and will be rectified soon.

In the meantime, all of the booze that is vegan suitable is clearly labelled.

You can follow The Blacksmith and The Toffeemaker on Instagram and see the pub’s exact location thanks to Google Maps.

Vegan NYE in London

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Are you in London with no plans for New Year’s Eve?

Gabriel Moreno and the Intrepid Bard Society are hosting a New Year’s party to remember with some of the top performers from The Lantern Society London and Poetry Brothel London.

They will entertain you until 11:45 pm performing the most refreshing music and poetry in the London Underground Alternative folk, troubadour, singer songwriter scene.

Headline performances by:

  • Adam Beattie
  • Gabriel Moreno
  • RADIO PICTURE
  • Holly Augustine

After midnight they will have top music from the darkest and most vibrant corners of the human psyche with a DJ set including music by Arcade Fire, Nick Cave, Calexico, Marc Ribot, Wilco Bill Callahan, The National Congreso, Band of Horses, Patti Smit, Warren Zevon, Franco Battiato, Neil Young, Morphine, Georges Brasens, tindersticks, Tom Waits, and more dark and upbeat classics.

£10 entry (CASH ONLY)

They will also take requests for their New Year’s Playlist but you need to let them know in advance. Place your requests on the Facebook event page.

The venue will be open from7pm, serving vegan food (tapas style) and prosecco for a very moderate price.

To reserve a place for this night send an email to with your name, amount of people coming and a telephone number to gabrielangelmoreno@gmail.com and then have a fab time!

Chocolate coconut drink

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This has just reached our house:

This chocolate coconut drink is currently available for £6 at Marks and Spencer stores.

That’s the good news. And the bad?

The drink is only seasonal so you need to get in there quickly before it all disappears.

Yay for inexpensive festive booze!

Vegan Baileys Christmas Hamper

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I was sent a gift this week that I suspect quite a few readers will love.

I reported a while back about the new vegan Baileys and how it is now available through Whole Foods Market stores in the UK.

Well, now you can get your hands on a bottle even if you can’t get along to one of those stores.

Online retailer The Goodness Project is currently selling a Christmas hamper that contains the vegan Baileys as the centrepiece.

The box contains a bottle of the drink, truffles, biscotti and chocolate.

The web retailer is also selling single bottles of the drink and you can order your own supply by clicking here.

Get into this fab vegan pop up

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Biff’s Jack Shack is a totally fab food company. Remember when I mentioned their burgers, wings and fries at the Camden Town Brewery residency they did?

Now they have a new kitchen residency at Haunt, an all-vegan bar and venue in the Stoke Newington area.

This residency is the first time they have been able to put together a full evening menu and they told me they are super excited by all of the new dishes they’ve been able to launch as a result.

And as well as their evening menu, they’re also going to be offering a ‘vegan AF’ brunch at the weekends, and a Sunday roast burger.

You need to follow Biff’s on Instagram to keep updated with all of their glorious food creations and also keep scrolling to see some of these beautiful food photos highlighting their Haunt menu (pics by Kim Burrows).

Eat ALL of this amazing food. Brownies with ice cream. Cheesecake. Poutine! Salads. Wings. Burgers.

Click here to see the location of Haunt thanks to Google Maps.

 

Vegan pub in Liverpool

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I’m not sure I know a more magical combination of two words than ‘vegan pub’.

A few readers have been getting in touch lately to let me know about a vegan pub in Liverpool, so I reached out to the owner of The Caledonia to get a bit of background information to share with you.

Here is what pub owner Laura King had to say:

I’m the licensee/owner of the pub and kitchen manager. I’m also on team vegan! I’ve had the pub seven and a half years and last summer I decided to close the kitchen for a year off. I decided that when we relaunched the menu would be vegan comfort/junk foods and that is how CVK was born.
I decided to make the whole pub vegan too, because, why not?! It seemed silly not to. Over this last summer our team has been busy working through everything we sell to ensure that our entire offer was vegan. We use a lot of local businesses, particularly for real ale and craft beers so we contacted all of them to see if they could accommodate us and most could! The response has been amazing and support from the community (vegan peeps & the pub’s regulars) has been overwhelming. I’m so pleased to be able to do something like this in Liverpool. We’re also incredibly dog friendly and currently we’re in the running for Dog Buddy’s “Dog Friendly Pub Awards”. We also have GF & Kids menus.

I adore this pub already and can’t wait to visit in the future.

You can see the full vegan food menu for The Caledonia on their website. See the exact location of the pub online thanks to Google Maps.

Now, let’s look at some food.

New vegan product by Baileys

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It has been a very long time coming, but the new Almande vegan drink by Baileys has arrived in the UK and is well worth the wait.

I was invited along to a product tasting session a few nights ago and was blown away by this drink. I think it is going to make a lot of vegans very happy in the UK.

I got chatting with the Baileys team at the event and threw down a challenge.

I said that I was so confident of my photo of their drink getting 1,000 likes on Instagram that I would bet on it.

If the post did get 1,000 likes, Baileys would have to send their team to Hackney Downs Vegan Market this Saturday (September 30, 2017) with bottles of Almande for free taste sampling.

Well, guess what.

The post got more than 1,000 likes in just under an hour!

You can get a free tasting of the new vegan Baileys Almande this Saturday at Hackney Downs Vegan Market. Get full market details here and RSVP to the Facebook event here.

A bet is a bet.

Almande is currently available to buy in Whole Foods Market stores around the UK. New retailers to be added soon.

Extra note: The tasting is for those 18+ and you might be asked for ID. Always drink responsibly.