3/5/2019 2 Comments North Hop X Haddo HouseFood & drink event specialists North Hop are returning to Aberdeenshire this weekend, for a very special collaboration event at Haddo House. Taking place over the course of this Saturday & Sunday (4th & 5th May), North Hop have teamed up with the National Trust for Scotland to bring together a special market of some of the best food & drink Aberdeenshire has to offer, all set against the stunning backdrop of the historic Haddo House. North Hop have teamed up with a number of fantastic food and drink vendors, along with market traders, and plenty of family/children's activities, ensuring that there is something for everyone. A fantastic selection of local food vendors have been assembled including Muchacho, who will be bringing their signature tacos, Yum Tum on the Run who will offer a selection of Middle Eastern dishes, Cheese 'n' Tomatin will be serving up wood fired pizzas and Edelwurst will be showcasing bratwursts & fries. Along with their signature North Hop Bar, which will be serving up local spirits, cocktails, fizz & cider, local brewing legends, and firm favourite of mine, Brew Toon, will be bringing along a selection of their excellent craft beers. For those who are driving, or just fancy a cuppa, local loose leaf tea specialists Unravel Tea will also be there (on Sunday). A number of local market traders will be showcasing their products including Hungry Squirrel, The Bread Guy, Louise's Farm Kitchen, Picky Pencil, KimberlyART & more. Special kids activities have been arranged for the weekend, including a Haddo House scavenger hunt, and local charity Me Too! will be onsite with some old-fashioned fun fair games, and a dedicated Sensory Space for those attending with additional support needs. North Hop events organiser Michelle Russell said: “We have been blown away by the response for this event, and it shows a demand for something a bit different in Aberdeenshire. We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone May Day Bank Holiday Weekend! And if this weekend is a success we have the potential to use more National Trust for Scotland venues to do further pop-up events throughout the year…”
Haddo House events Manager Fiona Milne added: “This is an exciting new partnership for us and will make for a great day out for folk from Aberdeenshire and beyond!” It sure promises to be a great weekend, so be sure to get your tickets, and get along and check out some amazing local produce, along with a stunning, historic, local attraction. Advance tickets for North Hop x Haddo House : Food & Drink Market are on sale now for £4 + BF (£5 on the door), kids under 12 go free. Visit www.northhop.co.uk/events Follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @NorthHop #haddohousemarket
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3/4/2018 0 Comments #northhopabzThe Final FlingOver the past weekend, North Hop descended on the AECC to celebrate its final fling as we know it. I was lucky enough to get invited along & attended the opening session on Friday night. Having been to North Hop previously, and its sister festival - The Spirit of North Hop last year, I was super excited for this. The list of breweries, food vendors & everything else made for such an awesome lineup. The BeerThere were loads of great beers at North Hop this year. There were beers from great local breweries I'd already had plenty of experience with like Brew Toon, Beer Story & Fierce Beer and then there were breweries that were new to me such as Out of Town Brewing & Top Out Brewery. It was great to have such a range of beers to enjoy throughout the night and also being able to chat to the people from the breweries themselves - they were all extremely friendly, sharing stories about the breweries & the beers. Overall, the beer of the show for me was Fierce Beer - Very Big Moose (Tonka), their 12.5% ABV imperial chocolate stout. This beer was immense...I had one sip of my friends beer & knew straight away I had to get one for myself. Unfortunately this was towards the end of the night, so my photography skills had greatly diminished, and I wasn't able to get a photo of the beer. Keep an eye out for a full review of this one in the near future. Other highlights for me included M'ango Unchained by Brew Toon, the new Outsiders IPA from Beer Story, Orange Pale Ale & Property IPA from Out of Town - I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more from these guys. A quick note on the creme brulee doughnut crush from Out of Town - I didn't get much doughnut taste in the beer, I would definitely be interested in trying this again to see if it is just a gimmick or if you can actually make out the flavours. My only regret is not taking my glass home! Every time I have been at North Hop I have headed out afterwards so on each occasion I have unfortunately had to leave my glass behind. The FoodThere was also some top notch food on show at North Hop with Aberdeen favourites Melt on hand with their epic cheese toasties. I opted for the classic mac & cheese with Kerry going for the haggis one. As always, they were awesome, and the perfect way to kick off the night. My only regret was not buying one of those cream egg brownies (seriously, what was I thinking?!). Aberdeen restaurant So...were there showcasing their "On Fire" street food menu. For me, the food highlight of the evening was their Firecracker loaded fries - they were EPIC. Perfectly seasoned crispy fries, topped with cheese, chillies & coriander. So... is a restaurant that I have crazily never actually visited. They often hold pop up events with their street food menu, and for whatever reason - I have never actually gone along. However, this will definitely change following my experience with these fries...they were SO damn good! Everything ElseAside from the awesome beer & food, there was plenty else to enjoy at North Hop including an array of awesome music throughout the night. Ranging from a piper in full highland dress kicking things off, a host of acoustic acts, before things being rounded off by the electric "Sweet White" who put in an excellent performance full of energy. Along with the fantastic beer selection there was also the first ever North Hop bar, which showcased a bunch of really cool cocktails served up by a team of local barmen. These cocktails were expertly made & looked great and whilst I never had any myself, Kerry had one and assured me it was great. Overall, we had a fantastic time at North Hop and I would like to thank the North Hop team again for putting on such a great event & for inviting me along. While it's a sad farewell for now, I'm incredibly excited to see how the next chapter looks - and if this is anything to go by, then I will be first in line 🍻
8/3/2018 0 Comments #northhopabz 2018The Final FlingWith a little just over three weeks to go, Aberdeen's premier craft beer festival North Hop is nearly upon us. Dubbed "The Final Fling", because it is the last North Hop festival in its current form, this year's North Hop Aberdeen will again be held at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre on 30 and 31 March (Easter weekend). North Hop Festival Director, Michelle Russell, said: “This is our 4th Aberdeen festival and it will be our 12th festival since North Hop began in Inverness in 2014. It has been an amazing journey so far and we have worked with some awesome producers and folk from across Scotland and beyond. But the time has come to take a step back and some time out to come up with fresh ideas for the future of the North Hop brand.” Michelle continued: “We have always been at the forefront of new trends and like to keep things fresh and unique. Aberdeen has always massively supported North Hop and we love running festivals in the city and that is exactly why we have chosen Aberdeen for our final fling to send the current festivals out in style!” Having been to the festival a couple of times over the last few years, I can say from experience that festival goers are in for a great time. As always North Hop will be bringing along some of the best breweries & food vendors that the North East has to offer, with several returning from previous festival years along with some first timers. Alongside the wide range of beer, cider & street food on offer, there will be a cocktail lounge & a specially designed "North Hop Bar" that will feature five spirits from Berry Bros & Rudd (including a newly-launched London Dry Gin), natural mixers from Lamb & Watt, and the finest ice from Edinburgh Ice Co. In the cocktail lounge, there will also be a special pop-up market place featuring hand-crafted goods from local creative curated by the Aberdeen Etsy team.
On the music front, the line-up very much echoes the "support local" message with all acoustic acts and bands linked to Aberdeenshire. Sweet White headline the Friday evening session, The 101 will top the bill for the Saturday afternoon session and North Hop favourites The Harmonica Movement headline and close the festival on the Saturday evening session. As this is The Final Fling, famous bagpiper Spud the Piper has been invited to the AECC to accompany Festival MC Nicola McAlley from STV News to open and close the festival sessions. Over 2500 people are expected to descend on the AECC across the three sessions for ‘The Final Fling’ & with nearly half the tickets already sold, it really is shaping up to be one hell of a bash.
Full dates & ticketing info are as follows: NORTH HOP ABERDEEN “THE FINAL FLING” AT THE AECC Friday 30 March 2018 - Evening Session - 7pm till 12am Saturday 31 March 2018 - Afternoon Session - 12pm till 5pm Saturday 31 March 2018 - Evening Session - 7pm till 12am TICKETS: £16.00 plus Booking Fee per session. Each session lasts 5 hours, and the ticket price includes festival access on the specified days/times, a North Hop glass, festival programme and drink tasters on arrival. Available at http://northhop.co.uk/festivals/aberdeen, via Ticketmaster or locally at DogTap (Ellon), Brew Toon (Peterhead), BrewDog Aberdeen (Flagship), BrewDog Castlegate and Melt. ACCOMMODATION: North Hop has teamed with the Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express next door to the AECC to offer festival goers discounted rates for the weekend of the festival. Deals are as follows: Holiday Inn Express - £45 per night* B&B (continental breakfast) Holiday Inn - £49 per night* B&B (full cooked breakfast) *Discounted rate available for Thursday 29th, Friday 30th, and Saturday 31st March 2018. You can keep up to date with all things #northhopabz on the following channels: Website |
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