The curtain is about to go up on more than 50 ales and ciders appearing at the Great Yarmouth Beer and Cider Festival in a line-up which features newcomers along with some old hands.
For the first time the annual celebration is being staged at the newly refurbished St George’s Theatre, where a programme of live music with have everyone toe-tapping as they sup.
Returning to take a bow in the spotlight is Lacons brewing in Great Yarmouth, providing perhaps the most anticipated brews on offer with their Encore, Affinity and Legacy ales all up for tasting at the festival.
Among the popular brewers returning to the annual festival will be Woodfordes, Ole Slewfoot, Green Jack, Nethergate, Beavertown, Wolf and Adnams, each supplying a variety of their current ales.
Some of the brewers new to Great Yarmouth Beer and Cider Festival are Castle Rock with their Harvest Pale, which was crowned Supreme Champion at the 2010 British Beer Festival and Oakham Ales JHB (Jeffrey Hudson Bitter), which has received numerous awards at beer festivals up and down the country including the overall champion beer of East Anglia by the independent brewers organisation SIBA.
The festival will also feature beers from some of Norfolk’s up and coming microbreweries including Jo C’s based near Fakenham with their Bitter Old Bustard and Norfolk Kiwi ales.
The festival will be open for a number of lunch and evening sessions starting with the opening on Thursday, May 23 at 6pm, a lunch time session 11-3pm and evening session 5-11pm on both Friday 24 and Saturday 25, finishing with a lunch time session 12-3pm on Sunday May 26. As in previous years, live music will play an important part of the festival, with the new stage at St Georges providing the perfect back drop.
Advance tickets for all sessions are available through the St Georges Theatre booking office via their website www.stgeorges theatre.com in person at the theatre in King Street or over the phone to the box office on 01493 331484.
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