In pictures: Raise a glass as Cambridge Beer Festival returns
People flocked to Jesus Green in Cambridge as the annual social event that is the Cambridge Beer Festival got under way on Monday (19 May).
Visitors to the festival, which continues until Saturday (24 May), can expect more than 200 British cask beers from more than 100 breweries, and 80 ciders and perries from near and far – along with mead and wine.
Cambridge Camra’s cheese counter boasts cheese from around Britain, accompanied by pork pies, scotch eggs, olives, breads and more.
Every year the festival has a theme – and this year it is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Monty Python’s Holy Grail.
Keep an eye out for some beers brewed specially for this festival with suitable names!
Neil McGovern, festival organiser, said around 3,000 people attended the event on Monday.
He said: “We sold about 60 odd casks of beer. There were lots of people coming along and having a really great time.
“The first cask we finished was Mangotron by Elusive Brewing, but there’s still quite a lot of it left...
“And it looks like the first box of cider to sell out was Biddenden’s Strong Kentish Cider, but there’s still some boxes that are coming this week.
“It looks nice and busy; we’ve opened the doors again today [Tuesday] and it’s got a really good feeling. The weather’s looking fantastic and hopefully people carry on coming in.”
Neil added: “We’ve had the Champion Beer of Britain judging for the semi-finals as well.”
CAMRA named the top IPAs, milds, bitters, blonds, pales and golden beers in the UK, in an announcement at the festival on Tuesday.
The winners in the six categories will join the finalists announced at the Great British Beer Festival Winter, and all 12 will battle it out to be crowned Champion Beer of Britain 2025.
The overall winner will be announced at the Great British Beer Festival, NEC Birmingham, in August.
The winners in the six categories were:
Mild: Penzance, Mild (3.6 per cent). Grainy malt coffee and chocolate dominates the taste with dried fruit notes.
Session Bitter: Butcombe, Butcombe Original (4 per cent). Sweet tasting bitter with malt dominating over a trace of dark fruit.
Premium Bitter: Cairngorm, Wildcat (5.1 per cent). Malt predominates but there is an underlying hop character through to the well-balanced aftertaste.
IPAs (English and New World): Elusive, Oregon Trail (5.8 per cent). A bold and bitter classically-styled west coast IPA.
Session Pale, Blond and Golden Ales: Track, Sonoma (3.8 per cent). A well-balanced sweet, fruity beer with moderate bitterness and plenty of citrus hops.
Premium Pale, Blond and Golden Ales: Church End, Fallen Angel (5 per cent). Sharp, full flavoured bitter with an edge of lemon.
The festival opens from 5-10.30pm on weekdays and from 12-10.30pm on Saturday. Tickets are £6 today (Thursday) and Friday and £4 on Saturday.
This year, the festival’s chosen charity is The Red Hen Project.
Founded more than 26 years ago, the charity provides hands-on support through home visits, as well as working with children in schools and their families in the community.
Visit cambridgebeerfestival.com.
