And no, Brewdog are not collaborating with Ronald McDonald this Christmas.
If you're not feeling festive this year, or would simply rather forego the hassle of cooking an entire turkey dinner- Brewdog have come up with the ultimate solution for Christmas dinner.
Embrace your inner child and opt for a very grown up 'Hoppy Meal' box to enjoy over the Christmas period.
Similar to a McDonald's Happy Meal, the takeaway meal is served from a cardboard box and complete with fries, a burger and a toy.
Image: Brewdog
To make it a festive box, the brewery giants haven't just popped a bauble on the box, but they're serving their special Blitzen Burger: a monster meal in a burger that features all your Christmas favourites, and all the trimmings.
No reindeers included.
Instead, think buttermilk fried turkey, roast gammon, sausage, stuffing, brussel sprout slaw, turkey gravy dipping sauce, garnished with a pig in blanket.
Image: Brewdog
Or for vegans, a plant-based alternative is available that's just as tasty. Derived from a Beyond Meat patty and served with vegan chipotle slaw, vegan gouda cheese, roasted red peppers, baby gem and pickles, all encased between two slices of vegan beetroot brioche buns.
To complete the Hoppy Meal, guests will also receive either sweet potato fries or regular fries and an eco-friendly cracker.
To wash it all down with and to differentiate your meal deal from a Children's portion, the Hoppy Meal also comes with a festive-flavoured drink to wash it all down with: the Hoppy Xmas beer.
Image: Brewdog
Of course, to purchase the entire Hoppy Meal, you must be over 18 and within distance of one of the Brewdog stores to collect from participating stores.
Here in Leeds we have two Brewdogs, one on North Street in the city centre, and the other in Headingley on Otley Road and although neither store have actively promoted the Christmas Hoppy Meal, the stores both stock the non-festive version, so it's fairly likely the staff will accommodate your Hoppy Meal over the Christmas period.
Feature Image- Brewdog
Leeds
No Greek Tragedy, just indie bangers – The Wombats set Leeds’ First Direct Arena alight
The Wombats aren’t just still going strong - they’re getting better. And honestly? Long may they reign.
The Wombats absolutely tore the roof off the First Direct Arena in Leeds last night, Wednesday 26 March and what a night it was.
From the second they hit the stage it wasn’t just a gig, it was a full-blown indie-pop spectacle, packed with infectious energy, nostalgia, and a whole lot of dancing.
They kicked things off with “Moving to New York,” and honestly? The crowd was in from the first note.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Matthew Murphy’s unmistakable vocals rang through the arena and suddenly, thousands of people were screaming every lyric like it was 2007 all over again. It was one of those moments where you could just feel how much this band still means to people.
Despite the massive venue, The Wombats somehow made it feel intimate. The lights? Pure chaos in the best way - vibrant, colourful, and totally in sync with the band’s wild, bouncy sound.
Murphy’s cheeky banter between songs made it feel less like a polished arena show and more like a jam session with a few thousand of your closest mates.
Setlist-wise, they nailed it. “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” and “Greek Tragedy” had the whole place losing it, while the stripped-down version of “Techno Fan” gave everyone a minute to breathe (and maybe get a little emotional).
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Those quieter moments just made the high-energy choruses hit even harder. It was a rollercoaster - in the best way possible.
Then came the encore. If you thought the crowd was loud before, “Kill the Director” took things to another level. Pure, chaotic indie bliss. The kind of moment you don’t want to end.
Here’s the thing about The Wombats: some might say their older songs hit harder than their newer stuff, but is that just nostalgia talking? Or maybe it’s a generational thing?
Either way, they proved they’re still one of the most exciting live bands out there. They’ve still got the hooks, the humour, and the ability to turn a massive arena into a sweaty, euphoric singalong.
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Sophie Smith -
20th December 2021 
