MORE than 3,000 pints of real ale were consumed by 1,200 thirsty drinkers at this year’s Coventry Beer Festival which returned for the first time in three years.
More than 200 pints of cider and perry and over 200 pints of keykeg beer from local breweries’ Mashionistas and Twisted Barrel were consumed.
And another local brewery Triumph supplied the festival’s first ever keg beer ‘1907 Pale Ale’ which sold out.
The event, organised by the Coventry and District CAMRA (Campaign For Real Ale) branch and held at the Butts Park Arena on Friday and Saturday, also hosted the Champion Bottled Beer of Britain.
After judging, Harvey’s Imperial Extra Double Stout once again took the crown and became the best bottle-conditioned real ale in the country.
The 9 per cent Imperial Extra Double Stout was described by judges as ‘one of the best they had ever had’.
Joint runners-up in the contest were Hobson’s Dhustone Stout (4.3 per cent) and Runaway IPA (5.5 per cent).
One of the organisers Steve Edwards described the weekend as ‘tiring but rewarding’.
He said: “The feedback we received was fabulous – everyone said how great it was for the festival to be back after three years.
“The pandemic has had a devastating impact on pubs and the brewing industry so this was welcome.”
More than £370 was raised for the festival’s chosen charity – Guide Dogs For The Blind from unused tokens, donations and other activities.
And 7.6 per cent Anti Imperial Stout called ‘Resist’ brewed by ‘First and Last’ – a collaborative group of eight independent Northumbrian breweries – raised funds for Ukrainian humanitarian support.