HUNDREDS of people will head to York Racecourse this week for the city’s biggest-ever beer and cider festival.

Final preparations are under way for the event, which is organised by the York branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), and which runs from Thursday to Saturday in large marquees on Knavesmire.

There will be more than 250 beers, 70 ciders, a foreign beer bar, wine and soft drinks, as well as live music and food.

This year’s beer list includes offerings from a number of newly-established breweries, including Brass Castle in Pocklington, Magic Rock in Huddersfield, Yorkshire Heart in Nun Monkton and Junction Brewhouse in Leeman Road, York.

Other local breweries, including Cropton, Hambleton, Brown Cow, York, Roosters, Rudgate will also be represented, with 50 Yorkshire breweries at the festival in all.

York Camra chairman Matthew Grant said: “The festival will only continue to be a success with support from the public. So, if you came along last year and enjoyed it, then come again with your friends and family. If you missed it last year, then why not come along and see what you missed? We hope to see you there.”

The ales debuting at the festival include a special “protest beer” called Propaganda, a stout with a 7.8 per cent ABV, from Revolutions Brewery, in Castleford.

The brewery generally produces beers reflecting old music turntable speeds, with ABVs of 3.3, 4.5 and 7.8 per cent, but has had to change its plans due to the imposition later this year of a new tax on beers with ABVs over 7.5 per cent.

Mark Seaman, from the brewery, said: “This completely scuppered our plans for a range of 7.8 per cent beers since it just doesn’t make commercial sense to brew just over the threshold. So, we decided that we’d make one batch of a 7.8 per cent before the duty level came in on October 1. The beer is a Russian Imperial Stout which we have called Propaganda. As well as referencing a German band from the 80s, it expresses our desire to make our feelings known to the Government that the changes in duty do everything to hit the already beleaguered pub sector and do nothing to tackle the retailers who continue to sell high strength alcohol at ridiculously cheap prices.”

There will be a LocAle bar at the festival, featuring beers from in or near York Camra’s area.

Other beers will mostly be on the main UK bar, although there are also six Yorkshire Brewery Bars in attendance this year – from Bridestones, Ilkley, T & R Theakston, Cropton, Old Mill and York.

There will be live music in one of the marquees on Friday and Saturday. This year’s line-up features Two Bob and Los Yobos on Friday (3pm and 8pm respectively) and Bejazzled and The Basement Band on Saturday (3pm and 7.30pm respectively).

There will be a range of food stalls, and a bouncy castle for children.

The festival runs from 2pm to 11pm on Thursday, noon to 11pm on Friday and noon to 11pm on Saturday.

For a full beer list, visit yorkbeerfestival.org.uk