Ale-Thirsty Pirates Descend into Bromsgrove

The thirteenth Bromsgrove Beer and Cider Festival took place at the end of June. Over 3,000 drinkers

and thirsty pirates came through the door, which made it the biggest event ever. This year the bar team had sourced extra beer and cider to see the event through to the end, which meant that only five hundred pints were left out of the 10,500+ pints available.

The festival was officially opened by Reverend Ray Khan of St. John’s Baptist Church, who began proceedings by blessing the beer. Members of Redditch and Bromsgrove CAMRA also held a tapping ceremony of Fixed Wheel’s Paxo’s Pale Ale which was brewed in memory of Branch Committee member Dave Morton; and a memorial plaque was presented to his family alongside pub licensee John Humphreys of the Weighbridge in Alvechurch.

Friday evening saw a very crowded marquee and drinkers were also entertained by Nite Train and Dog named Steve. On Saturday Blackwell Concert Band made a welcome return alongside the tutored ale tastings with support from local bands from across the West Midlands.

Of the 144 ales on offer there can be only be one festival favourite; and this year’s winner as voted by customers was Instant Kalmer; a pale ale brewed by the Rock’ n’ Roll brewery in Digbeth, Birmingham. Not far behind was Kinver’s Cutting Edge and Olde Swan (Ma Pardoe’s) Original. Meanwhile, cider lovers enjoyed Butford Organics Perry, Gwynty Draig’s Black Dragon, and Headless Cross Community Orchard’s Cider.  The festival recruited 62 new members to the Campaign, and generous drinkers also donated over £450 in drink tokens to Macmillan Cancer Support.