Craft Beer Expo will return to Liverpool in summer 2026 with its ‘biggest ever’ two-day event at Black Lodge Brewery in the Baltic Triangle. Tony McDonough reports
For more than a decade Craft Beer Expo has been a fixture of Liverpool’s independent scene and it is set to return for its “biggest ever” event in summer 2026.
Taking place at Black Lodge Brewery in the Baltic Triangle, Craft Beer Expo will offer a mix of food, drink and music. It will also coincide with Black Lodge Brewery’s 10th birthday year.
What began as a small beer-led gathering has grown steadily into a well-attended summer fixture that attracts visitors from across the region. It takes place in 2026 on Friday 12 and Saturday, June 13.
For 2026, the team have broadened the drinks offer beyond beer, including independent cider, cocktails and summer serves, alongside an expanded brewery list and food offer. More space will be used across indoor and outdoor areas.
Paul Seiffert, founder of Black Lodge Brewery, said: “We wanted the 10th year of the brewery to feel like an opportunity to add more to the weekend.
“The beer list remains central to what the expo is about, and widening the food and drink side gives people more to enjoy throughout the session without changing the feel of the event.”
Black Lodge has hosted the Expo for the past five years and has become one of the Baltic Triangle’s most recognisable independents. The brewery is known for its collaborations, one off releases and the regular markets, pop ups and community events.
More than thirty breweries feature in the first announcement for 2026, including Amity, Balance, Colbier, Courier, Dark Element, Duration, Farmyard, Firerock, Fell, Kirkstall, Lakes, Lark Hill, Only With Love, Pixie, Rigg and Furrow, Spookton, Talking Tides, Tartarus, Trig, Vaux, Vibrant Forest and Wylam.
Additional breweries will be confirmed in the new year. This will also be the most extensive food line up the Expo has hosted so far. Confirmed traders include Damn Fine Burger Co, Saffa Soul, Dough Bros Pizza, Aunty’s Kitchen and Burner Kitchen.
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More traders will be announced as the festival approaches, alongside details of the DJ sets and live performances planned across the indoor and outdoor spaces.
Paul added: “We see a wide mix of visitors now. Some people come mainly for the beer, others prefer the food or the music, and many make a full afternoon or evening of it.
“The brewery’s tenth year gives us room to build on that without changing what people recognise.”
Tickets are now on sale, with four sessions available alongside day passes and a full weekend ticket. Prices start at £15 plus fees, and each ticket includes a limited-edition beer brewed for the event.