All hands to the (beer) pumps as real ale fans flock to Shrewsbury church for festival
There were no signs of Storm Agnes putting dedicated real ale fans off their pints during the opening day in Shrewsbury of a beer and cider festival, in fact the wind and rain could have the opposite effect.
Shrewsbury CAMRA Beer and Cider Festival got off to a good start on Wednesday, with visitors happy to pull up a pew and pay homage to 101 beers in the stunning surroundings of St Mary's Church.
"It seems to be better than last year and 2019," said Norrie Porter, convener of the festival working party.
"But we won't know until the end of the day or even tomorrow how much beer has been drunk.
"It seems to be going OK, with the only effect of Storm Agnes being that it wasn't raining when we opened, so people are putting their heads out of the door, seeing the weather and heading straight back inside."
Two new local beers also had their first pours and were being lapped up by the pub-loving crowds.
Salopian Brewing Company, from nearby Hadnall, is the main festival sponsor and it gave festival goers the chance to savour a new seasonal golden bitter called As One Door Closes.
Autofiction, the return leg of a Salopian collaboration with Thornbridge Brewery, was the other first pour. They joined the Shropshire brewers other acclaimed ales on the bar, alongside many others that are making their first appearance in the county.
The event, at a medieval church in the town centre, will also see the official West Midlands regional launch of the Campaign for Real Ale's Good Beer Guide on Thursday.
The festival will run from September 27 to 30, and will also have 16 ciders and perries, 12 craft gins and three rums.
Across the four days the festival is set to attract around 2,500 visitors, with about half coming from outside the town.
Public opening runs from 11am-11pm on Wednesday 27 to Friday 29, and 11-9.30pm on Saturday 30.
The church remains open to non-drinking visitors from 10am-4pm each day.
Entry is free for CAMRA members, with an entry package of £9 including £6.30 worth of drinks vouchers and a refundable deposit of £3 on a souvenir glass.
Non-members pay an additional £2.70 for entry (£12 in total), but that is refundable if you join CAMRA, and new members get free vouchers for two pints of beer or cider.
Drinks will be purchased by tokens which can be bought by card or cash.
Shrewsbury and West Shropshire CAMRA is a branch of the national Campaign for Real Ale, a not-for-profit organisation which campaigns to support traditional brewers and pubs. Its beer festivals, which are organised and staffed exclusively by volunteers, encourage people to sample wide range of beers than are normally available in pubs.
The surplus made at the festival is used to support campaigning.
