Comments on the beer and range available have been mostly positive, with the public very happy with the range of styles from light golden beers to the traditional autumnal porters and stouts, with a good variety in between.
Numbers of festival goers did seem slightly down on previous years with around 19,000 people through the door and sales down by around 5%, so perhaps the recession is still biting, however we did also have to compete with two football matches, Hallowe'en and fireworks night.
The tasting sessions were well received again and all the session leaders seem pleased with those attending and their enthusiasm to acquire knowledge on the styles of beer and cider available and insight into how such products are made and where they came from.
The branch's charity, Norfolk Lowland Search and Rescue (NORLSAR), raised their profile through their attendance and also some much needed cash which will be used to purchase essential items to enable the volunteers to perform future searches and rescues.
Through donations of unused tokens, £2,200 was been raised and along with £1,300 cash donated during the week the total has reached a very impressive £3,500.
Paul Webber of NORLSAR says: “The committee will decide how best to allocate the money in January but items we are looking at are team radios, portable weatherproof shelters for the team and personal protection equipment for riverbank searches”.
