by LST CAMRA
September sees the return of the annual Tamworth Beer Festival to the Assembly Rooms on Corporation Street. Organised by local members of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), it runs from Thursday 5th to Saturday 7th September, opening from 11am to 11pm.
The festival is now in its 30th year, and draws visitors from across the country. This year the town has an added beery attraction, with the Tamworth Tap being CAMRA’s current National Pub of the Year, a prize which it has scooped for two consecutive years. As in previous years, Tamworth’s pubs and businesses are expected to benefit from the extra footfall over the weekend.
This year’s festival theme celebrates ABBA’s Eurovision Song Contest win with Waterloo, and the ensuing 50 years of ABBA super stardom. This will be marked with special festival T-shirts and tankards, inevitably featuring the Tamworth ‘Sandyback’ pig, a festival constant. And they may even play a few tunes by ABBA! Friday evening will feature a respite from the Swedish supergroup with live music from local acoustic duo Fitzy.
The festival will feature a wide range of real ales from across the UK, with both traditional-style and new-wave beers appearing among the 75-plus choices. A number of local breweries will also be featured, many of them producing bespoke beers for the occasion. Local Church End Brewery – also celebrating its 30th anniversary – will lead the way in providing a range of special one-off beers. Real cider drinkers are not forgotten, with a range including both traditional and flavoured ciders. The venue’s bar will be open for a further range of drinks including spirits and soft drinks, and the venue will also be offering hot and cold food.
The festival will be supporting its long-standing charity partner, St Giles Hospice. Last year, generous customers donated over £1500 to the charity, and the festival organisers hope to exceed that figure this year. Once again, local home brewer Dave Jackson will be providing one of his popular brews for the charitable effort. The beer, made under the Dexter label, will be available by donation to St Giles, with the proceeds from the entire cask going to the charity. The festival is also expecting to host a second charity beer made by another local home brewer – go along to find out about it!
Admission to the festival is £3 (£4 after 5pm on Friday), with CAMRA members enjoying a discounted rate of £1 throughout. People joining CAMRA at the festival will have their entry refunded.
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