Great British Beer Festival Winter - information update

The organisers of the Norwich Beer Festival are calling for all beer and cider lovers to enjoy another chance to sample many of their favourite ales, ciders and world beers in Norwich, in February!

The Norwich & Norfolk branch play host to CAMRA’s national event, the Great British Beer Festival Winter running from 21 to 24 February 2017 at The Halls - St Andrew's and Blackfriars' medieval friary halls – the home of the popular Norwich CAMRA Beer Festival, with a preview for CAMRA members on Tuesday 20 February.

Martin Ward, festival organiser, commented: “A year is far too long for beer drinkers to wait for their next great festival, so we are pleased to announce the dates for the Great British Beer Festival, Winter taking place in the beautiful city of Norwich.  It will attract lovers of the annual Norwich Beer Festival and visitors to the summer national festival in London."

The event has been likened to the national London Olympia event as ‘like it, but cosier!’.  If you’ve never visited the Halls, you will find the surroundings stunning as you’ll be sampling the beery beverages in the magnificent medieval friary halls, in the heart of Norwich. There will be hot food, snacks and live music to enjoy too.

Not to be confused with a beer festival for winter beers alone, this festival will have cask, KeyKeg and bottled ales of every style, season and shade!  Visitors will enjoy fruity ruby, full-bodied dark and popular light ales, as well as world beers and delicious real ciders and perries.

Local pubs will also be getting involved as the festival extends to The Fringe which runs for the whole of February, with organised crawls and treasure trails, special events, competitions, featured brewers and a unique fine dining and beer experience.
 
Tuesday 20 February is for CAMRA members only from 5.30pm to 10.30pm.  The rest of the week is free to CAMRA members and is open to members and the public all day from 12.00noon to 10.30pm 21-24 February.

Admission is by £4 cash-only payment on the door (£3 on Wednesday), or you can secure a quick entrance with advance tickets from the website, though hurry as these are selling fast!  For further details, visit winter.gbbf.org.uk.

Martin Ward explained: "This year is going to be a big one for the winter festival.  It’s now in its second year in Norwich and we have done much to raise awareness of the event.  Visitors have given excellent feedback on the choice and quality of the beers and we will have an equally extensive range this February."

Ian Stamp, Branch Chairman, added: "We are proud to be hosting CAMRA’s national winter festival here in Norwich.  The CAMRA summer event is hosted in London, whilst we will be hosting the winter event for three years, this being the second year.  We hope that both CAMRA members and non-members will enjoy the array of beers and ciders on offer."

As always at the national festival, the Champion Winter Beer of Britain competition will be judged.  Local and national brewers will compete to find a winner in each category and the winners and overall winner will also be selected and announced at the festival. 

For more information on the Great British Beer Festival Winter and The Fringe please visit the website winter.gbbf.org.uk.