The festival will then head to Aberdeen (30th April - 1st May) and Glasgow (18th - 19th June) before finishing up in a Highland location, soon to be announced by organisers. Tickets for each festival are priced at £17.50 per person.
Speaking of the festival's plans for 2016, North Hop founder and festival organiser Michelle Russell said:
"To be taking North Hop 2016 ‘on the road’ is incredibly exciting. What started as a wee festival in the Highlands has now evolved into a year-round, nationwide programme celebrating the very that craft beer culture in Scotland has to offer. What's more, all the dates are indoors, so we won’t be at the mercy of the Scottish weather"
North Hop participants (clockwise from top: Kirsty Dunsmore, Adam Blair, James Porteous & Flora Manson) warm-up ahead of the first tour date which takes place at Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms on 5th March
Taking place across two sessions on 5th March, festival-goers at the Edinburgh festival can look forward to sampling a wide variety of beer styles in a selection of cask, keg, bottles and cans from 13 Scottish breweries, including Stewart, WooHa, Fallen, Drygate, Windswept, Tempest, and one of Edinburgh’s newest breweries Edinburgh Beer Factory.
Edinburgh-based brewers, Stewart Brewing are creating a limited edition craft brew for the Edinburgh festival. The beer will be a ‘Moscow Mule Saison – Festival Brew’, inspired by the well-known cocktail and will feature notes of lime and ginger, with an IBU of 30 and ABV at 5.3%.
Stewart Brewing’s Head Brewer, Bruce Smith said of the Festival Brew:
"With North Hop bringing together so many elements of craft beer, craft spirits, and cocktails, I took inspiration from a classic vodka cocktail, The Moscow Mule.
"The fresh, Saison-style beer will be infused with lime and ginger and will have distinct citrusy characteristics from the blend of American hops we're using; Mosaic, Belma, Crystal and Willamette."
The festival will also boast a cocktail lounge, featuring mixology and drinks from companies including 10 Dollar Shake, Solid Liquids and Bijou Wine. Leith-based newcomer Electric Spirit Co. will distil a special limited edition small-batch gin for North Hop, which will be exclusively available at the Edinburgh festival.
A street food offering will include Mexican food from local restaurant El Cartel, the perfect craft beer accompaniment of Scotch eggs from Aye Love Real Food and seasonal Scottish-sourced dishes from Fresh Revolution.
A full programme of music, curated by Inverness-based creative industries festival XpoNorth, will complete the festival highlights.
Not forgetting their ‘home city’, North Hop will also co-ordinate a programme of ‘pop-up’ and ‘taster’ events in Inverness throughout 2016.
