Thousands set to gather for Sheffield beer festival
Julian Grocock, chief executive of SIBA, with Sheffield Council leader Coun Julie Dore at the Sheffield Tap pub
Up to 700 real ales from across the UK will be served when hosts the Society of Independent Brewers’ holds its annual festival in Sheffield.
The BeerX Festival is set to be one of the biggest in Britain – and is set to attract at least 5,000 people when it takes place at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in the city centre from Thursday to Saturday, March 14 to 16 .
During the event, there will be the society’s annual brewing conference during the daytime, while the beer festival is on Thursday and Friday evenings and all day on the Saturday.
The conference starts a day earlier on Wednesday, March 13.
Julian Grocock, society chief executive, said: “Our vision for BeerX has been to create an event that captures the diversity, passion and excitement of the UK’s local brewing industry and we are on track to deliver this to an anticipated 5,000-plus visitors.
“Brewers who have already offered to send beers to Sheffield come from all corners of the country – as far north as the Isle of Arran to the Isle of Wight in the south and from Lowestoft in the east to Penzance in the west.”
Beer X is being backed by Sheffield Council, with Coun Julie Dore, council leader, helping to publicise it.
The daytime conference will include the final judging and presentations for the society’s national brewing competition, business awards and an associate members’ forum to discuss issues facing the brewing industry.
The festival will be the biggest in the UK to serve keg as well as cask and bottled beers.
There will be a ‘diverse range’ from pale craft lagers to dark porters, golden and pale ales, milds and stouts, as well as beers brewed with honey, elderflower and coffee
Tickets to the festival, which is open from 5pm to 11pm on the Thursday and Friday, and from noon to 5pm, and 6pm to 11pm on the Saturday, are available on the door or in advance from. siba.co.uk/beerx
Entry is £5, or £3 for Campaign for Real Ale members, students and armed forces personnel.
Story found at www.thestar.co.uk
