Real ale fans toast start of Watford beer festival (From Watford Observer)

Real ale fans toast start of Watford beer festival

11:40am Friday 20th November 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

Drinkers poured into a West Watford sports club yesterday (Thursday) to raise a toast to the start of the 15th Watford and District Beer Festival.

Members of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, arrived at West Herts Sports Club, in Park Avenue, for the first day of the three-day event where more than 70 brews and ten perries and ciders are available to try.

Andrew Vaughan, chairman of Watford and District CAMRA, said the festival had been growing in size over the past few years.

He said: “We've got a lot more beer and a lot more cider. We're still wondering if it's enough.

“We're expecting to be hit pretty badly but you can never easily predict how much beer, cider and perry you need to buy.”

Among the brews available are selections from Tring Beers and Red Squirrel, both from Hertfordshire.

But Andrew said it was always unpredictable which variety would emerge as the festival favourite.

He said: “There's never a traditional favourite. It's totally unpredictable.

“We're hoping we don't sell out. We deliberately buy more beer so we don't. But you can never predict how many people turn up and how much people will drink.”

As part of the opening night, two awards were presented by the East Anglia CAMRA organisation, which includes Hertfordshire.

Millwhites Cider, which is based near Hemel Hempstead, received first prize in the East Anglia draft cider competition for its Rum Cask variety.

Earlier this year it had also won third place in the East Anglia bottled cider contest for its Yardington Mill variety.

John White, a former Watford FC player who runs the company with his wife Jennie, said: “We're really pleased. We're quite a new producer and this type of accolades are really valuable in terms of confidence that you're producing a good product and helps spread the word that there's good cider being produced in Hertfordshire.”

Meanwhile, West Herts Sports Club was voted East Anglia Regional Club of the Year.

The venue will now compete against 16 other regional winners for the national title, which it previously won in 1987.

The club became one of the first members of CAMRA when the organisation was launched in the early 1970s.

Andrea Briers, the East Anglia regional director for CAMRA, said: “They have a very good selection of beer and the beer is in good condition. It was clear the club was supporting real ale and promoting it.”

Geoffrey Hunter, club president, said: “We're a sports club and the bar is here to provide refreshments to members but we have had real ale for many, many years.”

Steward John Langhorne added: “It's an honour because the club has only been back in the Good Beer Guide for three years. Now we have won this. They have managed to turn it around.”

The Watford and District CAMRA beer festival continues from 11am to 11pm today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday). Entry is £2 or free to CAMRA members.

For more information, visit www.watfordcamra.org.uk.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)