Steve Brine joined Mayor Richard Izard at the Guildhall for the opening of an action-packed beer festival in Winchester on Friday 25 March.
The CAMRA Winchester Real Ale and Cider Festival, organised by the South Hants Branch of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale), has not been held at the historic Guildhall for over 25 years, and 450 tickets had been sold for this first session alone.
Festival organiser David Mackie (pictured front with Steve and the Mayor) said: “Despite the drinks market still being dominated by carbonated beers such as keg lager, last year cask ale outperformed the rest of the beer market for the third year running, increasing its share and growing its market by 5%.
“It’s encouraging that more than 8.6m people now drink cask beer- about one in every six pints sold, according to last year’s Cask Report. For those of you that haven’t tried real ale (or the sheer variety) before- now’s the chance!”
The festival will be taking place on Friday and all through Saturday, and has entertainment from acts such as Polly and the Billets Doux, The Winchester Morris Men and Hattie Jacques’ Playlist. Beers showcased in the event include Wallops Wood (4%), Fullers Past Masters (7.5%) and Anastasia’s Imperial Stout (a whopping 8%!).
Steve said: “After over quarter of a century it is fantastic to see this festival back in the Guildhall. Every town and city should have one in my view, and it was wonderful to see so many people who truly appreciate the taste of proper, quality ales!”
The Anthony Nolan Trust is this year’s nominated charity, and local students are going round collecting for this excellent local charity.
Pictured; Steve and Mayor Richard Izard have worked very closely over the past months, but today they decided to head for the bar!
More information...
Find out more about the festival (hurry, it finishes Saturday 26 March) at www.winchesterbeerfestival.org.uk
You can join the South Hants Branch of CAMRA at www.shantscamra.org.uk