The town hall will host the celebratory clink of glasses and the acclaim of thousands of drinkers as the Oxford Beer and Cider Festival returns for the first time since the pandemic.
About 20 local brewers are among the 80-plus breweries invited to showcase their products, with a wide range of beer styles including bitter, IPA (India Pale Ale), mild, stout and porter.
What they have in common is they are all ‘real’ or cask ales, rather than pressurised keg beers made fizzy using carbon dioxide.
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The festival in the main hall is organised by the Oxford branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), with CAMRA celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2021.
More recently it has widened its remit to promote cider and perry (pear cider) produced in a similar way, while it also campaigns for the protection and promotion of pubs.
Oxford CAMRA spokesman Dave Richardson said: “The last two years have of course been very hard for brewers and cider makers, who faced the total loss of the pub trade during the Covid lockdowns and are now threatened by soaring energy costs and the squeeze on people’s disposable income.
“Times remain tough, but the festival is an opportunity to celebrate the best of real ale and cider whether produced locally, or from around the UK.
“Real ale and cider are traditional British products that you can only normally buy in a pub or at a festival like this, but they have been losing ground to so-called craft beers that are served cold and fizzy from the keg or can.
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“But we don’t see any reason to offer keg beers or other drinks at our festival, because real ale and cider have made past our festivals very successful.”
The organisers are expecting about 2,500 visitors over the two days of the festival (3pm-11pm on Thursday, October 20 and 11am-11pm on Friday, October 21).
There will be no Saturday opening this year due to lower visitor numbers on Saturdays at previous events.
Entry costs £15 including glass and £10 worth of drinks vouchers, reduced to £13 for CAMRA members.
“We can’t be sure what to expect after a three-year hiatus, but we know there is great interest in real ale and cider, and similar festivals held already this year have been very successful,” added Mr Richardson.
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“We look forward to showcasing the diversity of real ale and cider, and giving local producers in particular a much needed boost.”
Mr Richardson is editor of the CAMRA magazine Oxford Drinker, which can be found online at oxforddrinker.camra.org.uk.
For more information about the festival at the town hall in St Aldates, contact Dave Richardson at davidrichardson2017@gmail.com.
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This story was written by Andy Ffrench, he joined the team more than 20 years ago and now covers community news across Oxfordshire.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Andy.ffrench@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter @OxMailAndyF
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