Liverpool is stirring. One event is set to return. Think mind-bending bingo mixed with the best beers around. It could be a very special event to many who adore both hops and chaos.
This festival has been described by people as the “Bongo’s Bingo of beer festivals”. That isn’t a literal name. It’s a way to conjure an idea. A beer fest where shenanigans can be as important as the ales. Where having a beer doesn’t mean sipping a beer — it’s ON. Where the crowd joins in. Where the freak flag is consciously not sober.
Now that sort of thing is back. Liverpool is ready.
What fell off the map — and what’s back
A few beer festivals have fallen off in recent years. Rising costs. Licensing issues. Venue problems. Hundreds of organisers had to suspend or cancel. Some downsized from large formats. Others shifted indoors. Some vanished altogether.
One of Liverpool’s bigger craft‑beer events did return. After years away, the Craft Beer Expo returned in May 2025. It attracted in participants: more than 30 breweries, food traders, live music. It demonstrated that there is still appetite.”
And, the four‑day Beer & Cider Festival at St Luke’s Bombed Out Church has just recently been through. The beer garden you remember offered local and craft brews, street food, live music. It was a reminder that Liverpool can still host big, fun drink‑fueled gatherings.
So the ground has been laid. The infrastructure, the desire, the mob.
Why “Bongo’s Bingo of beer festivals” fits
That phrase captures something more than a roll of the dice. It’s making a mash-up of showmanship, crowd connection, ridiculousness with alcohol. Think Bongo’s Bingo: bingo cards, OMGWTF moments, shout‑along, glitter, dancing and silly games. Now exchange traditional bingo with craft ales, cider, unusual beers, brewers you don’t often come across.
At this type of beer fest, you do not just sample. You also watch, you laugh, you queue, you dance.… You belly‑laugh when someone wins something daft. It’s the part where you join in this really loud, kind of unhinged thing.
Festivals such as Craft Beer Expo realize that. They have DJs, street food, all the nice beers. They choose locations where people can wander. Breweries that try new flavours. Think sours, dark stouts, experimental brews. You receive breweries beyond the Pale of the city, along with newer names and old favorites. That mix matters. It just contributes to the bizarre atmosphere.
What’s coming back, and where
The comeback isn’t just nostalgia. Specific events are returning. A local CAMRA branch organises the Liverpool Beer Festival running in February each year at the Crypt of the Metropolitan Cathedral. In 2025 it served more than 200 real ales and ciders. It’s not small. It holds a certain gravitas in the beer fans world.
St Luke’s Bombed Out Church St Luke’s Bombed Out Church has taken place over 4 days in o April 2025 beer & cider fest. It carried out multiple sessions. It struck the right balance of beer, food, music in that exotic location. And it’s made a commitment to the monument.
Then there’s the Craft Beer Expo in the Baltic Triangle. Late May 2025. It was an example of how to blend street‑food with music and breweries to connect people. That one was the test unit for what the words “Bongo’s Bingo of beer festivals” seem to imply.
What makes the revival possible
Several things have aligned.
- First, there’s this pent-up urge for live social stuff. After quarantines, after quiet nights, venues shuttered, many yearned to be in crowds. Beer festivals offer that opportunity: to intersect, have a pint, let alone taste something new.
- Second, smaller breweries want stages. They want eyeballs. Beer‑festivals provide that in a way bars sometimes cannot.
- Third, spaces that were formerly marginal are now more hospitable. Good sound, good layout, licensing, safety, food stalls, mobile bars — all that stuff is more grown-up now. Organisers have learnt from previous mistakes.
- Fourth, demand for quirky beers, craft styles, hard seltzers and novelty cans has grown. People like to taste things they haven’t tasted before, not just the tried and true. It’s a demand that is making festivals bolder.
Challenges ahead
It isn’t easy. Costs have crept up. Staff, venues, licensing, security, temporary structures — it all costs money. Weather is a threat. And people want more (better music, better food, better service). That raises the bar.
Tickets must be priced well. If too high folks won’t come. If too low, however, organisers lose money. Sponsors needed. Logistics difficult: crowd control, lavatories, bar lines. And transportation as well, taking people in and out.
Also there can be licensing and planning permission delays. There are legal rows: over rights, naming, who owns what. Certain locations are in hot water if they host big events without the proper permission.
How this revival might reshape Liverpool’s beer culture
Should this “Bongo’s Bingo style beer fest” become a regular feature Liverpool may just redefine the way it does beer and fest nights.
Smaller breweries might be that much more aggressive attempting to do experimental things, knowing that there’s a funnel. Drinkers might expect more than “just keg, just stout” — novelty flavours, collaborations, limited editions. Beer-joint street food culture will expand.
The city centre sites may well evolve. Some unused spaces might be repurposed. More pop‑ups. More temporary beer gardens. New festivals could draw from this blueprint. Combine drinking, performance, theatre, comedy. Crowd participation. Games. Not just bank after bank of taps, but moments to surprise.
Beer tourism could grow. People from elsewhere in Liverpool would probably travel just to see these types of festivals. To make that work, transport, hotels, food have all got to keep up.
What people are saying
Fans are excited. Brew‑nerds on Instagram are sharing photos from fests gone by, tagging friends and commenting “can’t wait for the next one”. People from the area who attended the St. Luke’s church event say they enjoyed the atmosphere, how the space contributed to their enjoyment of the beer. Some suggest that the contrast of dance vendors and soft music works: you can chill or go full-out.
Organisers admit there’s pressure. “We want to bring something that feels loose, feels alive, not polished perfection,” said one of those beer event makers. Another adds: “If we lose the quirks, we lose the reason this kind of fest is worth waiting for.”
What to watch for
When such a festival does come back, look for signs.
- Venue: Is it iconic? Unusual? Does it lend character (a stately old church, a warehouse, an open square)? That tends to raise interest.
- Archon of beers: Are there local breweries? Experimental ones? Are styles being pushed? Or is it just the same old suspects?
- Side attractions: Games? Music? Food vendors? More features other than that it serves beer, that make the whole process feel alive.
- Ticket format: Multiple sessions? Evening and afternoon? Quiet times? That offers flexibility — some want hard‑core, some want softer.
- How crowd is handled: Bad lines? Is transport organised? Are things easy to find? That factors in to whether people will come back.
You also asked when it is and isn’t fair, whether there are good deals, whether investors get value for their money.
The future looks juicy
If all goes right, we may see a return of beer festivals that are more party with motive. The sort of brewery where you’re not just drinking beer but are part of something strange and glorious. Liverpool’s well set up for that: creative people, breweries, drinkers, and places that are game to give things a go.
The “Bongo’s Bingo of beer festivals” concept might seem cheeky. But cheeky ideas often inspire real change. If the return is as bold as everyone hopes, anticipate scenes, anticipate beers you never ever thought of, anticipate nights that linger.
Liverpool’s next beer‑fest chapter in history will be its best, perhaps. Would you like me to write one where one festival in particular that is being brought back and I interview the organisers? Do you want that?
