Real ale can help clubs tap into local community

CRICKET and beer have earned their place as essential elements of the Great British summer and now more and more clubs are using the humble pint as a means of getting punters through the gate and involved with their local team.

A quick scour of Google suggests that a huge number of beer festivals are taking place on cricket grounds up and down the country this summer as clubs look to cash in on the rising popularity of locally brewed real ale.

Not only is this helping bar takings at increasingly hard-up clubs, it’s also introducing an increasing number of people to facilities that may be on their doorstep but certainly aren’t otherwise on their radar.

Harefield CC in Uxbridge is one such club, running a two-day beer festival for the first time last summer.

“It was a great way of getting people along and the more people that do come along, the more likely they are to come back the following Saturday evening,” says Steve Finch, who runs the bar at the Home Counties Premier League club.

“It was really successful last summer and I’m definitely planning another one this season too. It’s good for the club, good for the brewer and good for the local area too.”

The Rebellion brewery in Marlow is just one of a myriad of brewers to benefit from a trend that is providing a financial lifeline for clubs that have been struggling to get people through the door and into the bar in recent times.

Even persuading the players to stay behind for a hard-earned beer after an afternoon of hard slog on the field isn’t as easy as it used to be, a symptom of the wider-issues affecting the club game in this country.

Combining a beer festival with a weekend of events, though, appears to be turning the tide and placing the local cricket club back where it should be – at the heart of the local community.

With many starting on Friday night and then running on to incorporate the Saturday afternoon fixture and the evening that follows. All that remains is for the British weather to behave itself.

“A couple of years ago we decided to arrange one with a dozen beers and a few ciders,” says Damian Dixon, former chairman of Leamington CC and the organiser of the their 2017 beer festival, which takes place in June.

“Sods law, of course, meant the first Saturday was a complete washout and we had a poor Friday night weather-wise last year. We’re hoping for more luck this summer!”

Leamington, like a great many others, rely on sponsors to make the event a commercial success but over and above the money coming in from local businesses, Dixon believes it’s the perfect opportunity for the club to market itself.

“The idea is to get a bit of sponsorship into the club, they pay the cost of the barrel, about £75, they then head down on the Friday night or the Saturday and see what we can offer,” he says. “From there we’ve got some additional bookings in terms of social events.

“The members love it and if we get a good Friday night weatherwise then it’s a really busy night. Mum and dad will bring down their next-door neighbour for example. It’s done by word of mouth but it’s a great way of getting some interest in the club. It also offers us real beer lovers the chance to ween our younger players off the continental lager and to something more discerning!”

Those of a certain vintage will raise a glass to that.