Festival offers a taste of real ale (From Keighley News)

Festival offers a taste of real ale

3:17pm Thursday 6th September 2012 in News By Alistair Shand

Keighley Beer Festival is on course to be a heady success.

The annual event starts today and has switched from Victoria Hall – its home for several years – to a new town centre venue at Central Hall in Alice Street, close to where it began in the Drill Hall in 1986.

A spokesman for the organisers, Keighley and Craven Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), said: “Festival volunteers will be encouraging visitors to try different beer styles and real cider and perry.

“Over 65 beers have been ordered, covering a wide range of styles, so there will be something new to sample. Barley Bottom, a new brewery in Silsden, is providing a beer for the first time.

“All the breweries supplying the festival direct have been invited to the Thursday session, so anyone wanting to meet the brewer should come along then.”

The festival is open from 3pm to 10.30pm today, 11am to 10.30pm tomorrow and from 11am to 9pm on Saturday. Admission is £2, or free to Camra members.

Main backers include Keighley brewery Timothy Taylor – which is sponsoring souvenir glasses and will have its own bar – and Skipton-based Copper Dragon, which has sponsored festival T-shirts and will be offering three of its beers.

Food on offer will include a range of products commissioned from Stables Pies, recently taken over by one-time Stables worker Dave Smith.

He and his wife Janet will supply pub favourites such as pork and steak and kidney pies and Cornish and cheese and onion pasties.

Visitors will also be urged to support the Camra-led Save Your Pint campaign, by signing a petition calling for a parliamentary debate on escalating beer duty.

For further details about the festival, visit keighleybeerfestival.org.uk.