Roll out the barrels for York Beer and Cider Festival (From York Press)
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Roll out the barrels for York Beer and Cider Festival
8:52am Tuesday 18th September 2012 in News
York Beer Festival organiser Melissa Reed hammers a tap into a barrel inside the festival marquee on Knavesmire
THE barrels have been rolled out and pumps are primed and ready for this year’s York Beer and Cider Festival at Knavesmire.
The four-day event begins tomorrow with organisers, York CAMRA, promising the biggest and best festival so far showcasing 320 beers and 100 ciders from our region’s brewers and cidermakers.
With Yorkshire now recognised as having more breweries than any other county in the UK, prominence at the festival is promised to brewers within a 25-mile radius of York.
Matthew Grant, chairman of CAMRA’s York branch, said: “We are very much looking forward to this year’s festival, especially with the added theme of York 800 .
“With the recent Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the fantastically successful Olympic Games, national pride should be high, so we hope more people than ever will come along to support the event and celebrate Britain’s national drink.”
This year’s beer brewed specially for the festival is called Osiemset, Polish for 800, and was created at the award-winning Rudgate Brewery by four York CAMRA members using three hop varieties. These were marynka from Poland; aramis from France and cluster from America. As well as the official festival ale, five Yorkshire breweries have also brewed and supplied beers which will be exclusive to the festival.
The large number of visitors last year has seen organisers introduce a larger second marquee to accommodate more people and beers.
CAMRA said: “Due to the unprecedented attendance last year of more than 7,000 visitors, the festival is opening for the first time a day earlier on the Wednesday instead of the Thursday.
“That will be four days of beer and cider heaven for all lovers of real ale and cider in Yorkshire and further afield.”
Tomorrow afternoon there will be a networking event for those in the brewing and pub trade, and the festival opens to the public at 5.30pm. For more details, go to yorkbeerfestival.org.uk/2012
