Thousands sample rare beers

About 11,160 pints of rare beers, including cask-conditioned bitters, milds, stouts, lagers and pale ales, were drunk at the three-day Newark Beer Festival.

More than 140 real ales from breweries near and far were available and all were sold out by 6pm on Sunday.

Visitors — an estimated 4,300 — also drank about 1,600 pints of ciders and perries and 110 litres of wine during the event, which started at the Riverside Park on Friday.

The festival organisers, the Campaign For Real Ale, signed about 25 new members.

A committee member of the Newark branch, Mr Paul Murphy, said the festival, which began in a small tent in the castle grounds, had grown over the years and they were now at the right size.

He said the event, Newark’s 13th beer festival, attracted visitors from across the country.

“There are bigger festivals but people like this because of the atmosphere. It is very friendly,” Mr Murphy said.

He said a lot of the festival’s popularity was down to the choices made by the cellarman, Mr Steve Westby, of the Nottingham branch of Camra.

Mr Murphy said they were putting a strong emphasis on locally-brewed beers with a focus on the Camra LocAle scheme. Through this scheme pubs can achieve accreditation for promising to keep at least one locally-brewed beer on tap.

He said: “It is good for the economy. It is good for the local workforce and ecologically it is good, as it reduces beer miles.”

Newark area breweries featured at the festival were: Milestone of Cromwell, Nottinghamshire’s Caythorpe Brewery, Maypole of Wellow, Poachers of Witham St Hughs and Springhead of Sutton-on-Trent.

The guest of honour was the chairman of Newark Civic Trust, Mr George Wilkinson, who has a keen interest in the history of the local brewing and malting industry.

Mr Wilkinson attended the event for the first time on Friday and was impressed with the the scale of the festival and how well everyone behaved.

Mr Wilkinson said: “If you can attract 4,000 people to the town that has got to be good.”