Norwich’s beer festival is set to open with some well-loved and ‘wow!’ beers and ciders to delight the new, the selective and the connoisseur!
On Monday 24th October, the Norwich Beer Festival will open the doors to its 44th festival at The Halls with a 4pm preview for CAMRA members and a 5pm public opening.
For a modest entry fee, or free for CAMRA members and joiners, over the week visitors can enjoy 320 cask-conditioned beers, world beers and local ciders and perries.
Lunchtime sessions are 11.30am until 3pm and evening sessions start at 5pm – with all-day opening on Saturday until 9pm. Visitors can pay on the door for all sessions or advanced tickets are available for many sessions.
Norwich & District CAMRA are promising a fun festival, with music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and many popular golden session beers including Cold Black Label’s Singing Sword, Red Willow’s Weightless and some lighter options such as Saltaire’s South Island and a light, refreshing Ploughmans Lunch by 8 Sail.
Or you might want to try Ritual, a floral IPA, or check out the ‘Bad Day at the Office’ from the aptly-named Scottish Alechemy, along with other session and premium goldens, such as Deya’s juicy, hazy Steady Rolling Man and Liquid Light’s Vacuum Boots with surprising hints of peach and mango!
For those wanting something special, organisers recommend looking out for Downton’s Elderquad or Honey Blonde, Spey Valley’s Stillman’s IPA, Bristol Beer Factory’s Expresso Martini Stout, Brew York’s Rhubarbra Streisand, Portobello’s Market Porter, Green Jack’s Fruit Bat or Big Dog, Nethergate’s Venture Point 5, Opa Hays’ Das Bier, S&P’s Blackberry Porter, Humpty Dumpty’s Radschlaeger, Tombstone’s Blackfoot or Papworth’s Saison D’Etre - with premium beers, stouts, porters, bitters, milds, with every shade from golden, to reds, browns, coppers and dark beers.
For those wishing to ‘keep it local’, we are promised East Anglian and Norfolk’s best, with beers from Ampersand, Barsham, Beccles Brew, Beeston, Billericay, Boudicca, Brancaster, Bruha, Bull of the Woods, Chalk Hill, Cliff Quay, Earl Soham, Elgoods, Elmtree, Fat Cat, Fengate, Golden Triangle, Grain, Green Jack, Humber Doucy, Humpty Dumpty, Lacons, Leigh on Sea, Mighty Oak, Mile Tree, Milton, Moongazer, Moonshine, Mr Winters, Nethergate, Old Chimneys, Opa Hays, Panther, Papworth, Pell & Co, Peoples, Poppyland, S&P, Shortts, St Peter’s, Stow Fen, Tindall, Tombstone, Three Blind Mice, Tydd Steam, Wildcraft, Wolf, Woodfordes and Xtreme – with a Moonshine raspberry and Xtreme Xion of particular note for porter lovers.
The select beers of the Curiosity Bar this year will showcase Brecon Brewery, with beers created from the fabled waters of the Brecon Beacons, including a dark burgundy hopped porter and a raspberry and vanilla salt black and pale saison.
Also featured are some Rat Brewery beers, such as the Lumber Rat and Rat Attack, alongside some rhubarb and strawberry flavoured options from Xtreme and other speciality, differently flavoured choices.
Featuring in St Andrew’s for 2022 is a bay of traditional wooden casks known as ‘Beers from the Wood’. Wooden-served beers are distinctive, gently carbonated with soft aromatics and infused with delicate flavours, such as chocolate, different hops and capsaicin.
Wooden-served beers will include Clun Brewery’s Citadel, a premium blonde hoppy IPA and Darwin’s Galapagos chocolate stout and Ossett’s dry hopped ale and chocolate orange porter, along with Vocations aged imperial smoked Lady of the Glen, alongside many more.
For a lighter wooden-cask experience, there will be Harrogate’s Blond, a delicate zesty fusion of English and American hops, or Half Moon’s Dark Masquerade mild or Darwin’s malty, golden Expedition and more.
Live music can be enjoyed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Blackfriars Hall, with local artists playing some well-known classic covers and originals! Hot and cold food is available throughout.
Craig Harmer, Beer Festival Organiser ,adds: ‘If you’re new to real ale, real cider or world beers, our bar staff are knowledgeable and can make recommendations. If you’re new to the festival, we advise you to collect your drinks stamp card then take a look around the different areas.
‘Grab a free programme and ask staff about the colour coding on the barrels. Perhaps first consider joining CAMRA and enjoying the 2-pint and entrance refunded offer? One other bit of advice, do please avoid bringing heavy bags and coats as there’s no storage in The Halls.’
Soft drinks and water are available on request at most bars, along with alcohol-free and low-alcohol options at the World Beer Bar. Also look out for our ‘free from’ area with all gluten-free, along with ‘free from’ options at the Curiosity Bar.
Vegan beers will be marked and can be selected at the ‘free from’ area or throughout the festival. The free-from range includes beers from Ampersand, Barsham, Brentwood, Fat Cat, Moongazer, Nene Valley, St Peter’s, Totally Brewed, Wildcraft and Poppyland.
Track the state of all the festival beers by viewing the live listing.
For more information can be found on the Norwich & District CAMRA website.
