Ale festival back after 25-year gap
4:30pm Friday 14th January 2011
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Winchester is serving up a real ale renaissance with the first beer festival at the city’s guildhall for a generation.
It has been 25 years since the last pints were served at the event, which used to be held annually.
It is making a comeback for 2011 with live music and more than 100 beers spread across two halls in the Victorian venue.
The decision to bring the festival back is down to the rising demand for real ale and the recent launches of several Hampshire breweries.
They have included Bowman Ales at Droxford, Flack Manor in Romsey, the Botley Brewery in Botley, and the Hensting and Upham Breweries near Winchester.
They have joined the list of established firms including Itchen Valley in Alresford, Flowerpots at Cheriton and Triple FFF at four marks.
Several are expected to send 18-gallon casks to the revived Winchester festival, which will take place in late March.
while several venues have staged beer festivals in the district since the mid-1980s, none have been at the city’s guildhall.
They have also not been officially backed by the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), but the new one will be.
Organiser, David Mackie, said they were “very excited” to bring the event back to its traditional home, which is currently having a £3m revamp.
“There’s sure to be a wide variety of ales and there should be something there for everyone’s taste, so come along and we’ll find you something you’ll like,” he added.
Along with real ales there will also be rare continental beers along with ciders and perries.
there will be two daytime sessions along with two evening sessions featuring live music. Polly and the Billets Doux will perform on this first night, and Dr Feelgood on the second.
The event will run on Friday, March 25 and Saturday, March 26 and details about tickets will be made available later this month (January).
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Ale festival back after 25-year gap (From Hampshire Chronicle)