Ale champ goes for gold as nod to 50 years
AWINNING brew was announced on the opening day of the Newcastle Beer & Cider Festival which this year also celebrated a very special anniversary.
With 2024 marking 50 years of CAMRA – the Campaign for Real Ale – in Tyneside and Northumberland, the challenge of the festival’s annual Battle of the Beers was this time to make a Golden Ale in honour of the golden milestone.
The competition involved 16 local breweries and, when the festival opened on Wednesday at Northumbria University Students Union, Hexhamshire Brewery was announced as the winner for its Shire Gold beer. Second place went to Northumberland’s farmhouse brewery Rigg & Furrow, with Run Hop Run, while Newcastle’s Hadrian Border Brewery – which is gearing up for its own festival in June to mark its 30th birthday – took third with its Golden Pearl brew.
The stiff competition was a lively start to the Newcastle event, which followed up on Thursday with its traditional unusual hat day – with staff and visitors sporting an array of headwear – and sessions continued
Every year we get better and better, both in terms of the breweries taking part and visitor numbers
Anthony McMullen
yesterday and today from noon.
And there will be plenty to enjoy throughout the 46th outing of the festival, from Easter-theme chocolate beers to a special brew to mark today’s National Damson Day.
In all, the bar is stocked with around 100 beers and 50 ciders from across the UK and representing lesser-known micro-breweries alongside established names.
Among those travelling from far and wide to take part are Bill and Sheila Downs who are here from their Suncreek Brewery in Florida and are
serving up a Sun Squishy beer on tap.
Besides top beers, festival-goers can find other tipples including rum, whisky and gin and plenty of add-on attractions such as traditional entertainment from pub games to Monkseaton Morris dances.
And there’s a cracking array of live music too, headlined by Queen tribute band We Are Champion.
Organiser Anthony McMullen has said of the festival: “Every year we get better and better, both in terms of the breweries taking part and visitor numbers.”