Thousands visit York beer and cider festival (From York Press)

Thousands visit York beer and cider festival

8:09am Monday 24th September 2012 in News

ABOUT 8,000 people – some from as far away as London and Scotland – turned up to York’s biggest beer and cider festival.

Numbers were up by about 1,000 on last year’s event, following the decision to start the festival a day earlier, said Matthew Grant, chairman of organisers, the York branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

“It was a massive success,” he said. “It’s now one of the biggest outdoor festivals in the north.”

The four-day event, which was held in marquees on Knavesmire and finished on Saturday, had the York 800 celebrations as its theme. It showcased 320 beers and 100 ciders from the region’s brewers and cidermakers.

The beer brewed specially for the festival, called Osiemset, which is Polish for 800, was created at the award-winning Rudgate Brewery by four York CAMRA members using three hop varieties.