FINAL preparations are being put in place for Yorkshire’s largest beer festival at York Racecourse.

Boasting a selection of 530 ales and 100 ciders - 300 from the county - the York Beer and Cider Festival is set to have something to suit every drinker’s taste.

The four day festival begins tomorrow with beers from all over the world, including two from Sardinia that have never been sold in the UK before.

Yorkshire, as the capital of brewing in the UK with more than 170 breweries, will be very well represented at the festival with the largest selection ever available under one roof.

In a first this year there will be a Festival Fringe with events such as expert briefings; pub protection forums; cooking with beer as well as tastings.

There will be a huge beer garden as usual serving a great selection of takeaway cuisines from around the world with something for everyone, including high quality vegetarian options.

The guest VIP this year is the beer author Roger Protz, also editor of the Good Beer Guide, who will be at the festival on Wednesday and Thursday to sign copies of his new book “IPA – A Legend in our Time” and conduct IPA tasting sessions.

Melissa Reid, festival organiser, said: “We’re really excited to be delivering a festival this year that breaks yet more boundaries.

“We’ve more beers than ever, a new festival fringe, a very special VIP in Roger Protz who is one of the world’s leading beer authors and Good Beer Guide editor; plus we’ve listened to feedback and have partnered with Pullman to provide an even easier way to get to the festival in the form of a special return bus service from York Station.”

Organisers have signed a varied line-up of live acts to entertain the festival-goers, with most sessions featuring a roster of talented local artists performing a wide range of different musical genres.

The festival’s communications manager Nick Love added: “The festival is drawing national recognition and attracting the attention of global travel sites such as TripAdvisor who named York Beer Festival as one of the top UK attractions to visit in September on their Holiday Lettings portal which attracts an audience of around seven million visitors per month.”