The Nottingham branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is hard at work today preparing for the opening of the Nottingham Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival. The festival, which takes place at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, will open on Wednesday, October 12, at 4pm.
This year there are almost 800 beers and over 150 different ciders across the many different bars on the festival grounds which are being assembled and ready for visitors. Volunteers have joined CAMRA to ensure festival set up, and sampling goes without a hitch.
There are many different bars from favourite breweries such as Blue Monkey, the Navigation and Castle Rock. Some of the beers are set to pack a punch this year with one offering from Navigation brewery clocking in at 23 percent.
Read more: Nottingham Beer Robin Hood Beer Festival opening times
It's one of the strongest beers on offer at the festival although it won't be available as a pint and is limited to how many each visitor can buy. Andrew Ludlow, secretary of Nottingham CAMRA, said that this year is set to be even bigger and better than ever before. He highlighted the hard work that goes into preparing the festival.
"We managed to enlarge it this year as feedback was that it had felt a bit cramped so we have extended it out. It means that people will have even more space and will be able to walk around two sides of the ground. We've also got the seating that overlooks the pitch," he explained.
"It's a phenomenal amount of work and we have between 300 to 400 volunteers working on-site in our infrastructure team." They start the Thursday before the beer festival so that's a week ahead of when the public gets to enter. Professionals need to put up the scaffolding but the rest is down to volunteers.
He added: "All of these people give up their time, free of charge to come down here but they get free beer and cider. If you are interested in the beer trade then this is a great opportunity to explore the options and learn about the different tastes. We have in excess of 800 beers and nearly 200 ciders so there is an awful lot of tasting that needs to take place."
When it comes to the tasting responsibilities, it can be a tough job but someone has to do it. CAMRA are not short of volunteers when it comes to testing the latest creations from different breweries.
Andy Sales is the head cellarman who organises the ordering of which beers and ciders appear at the festival. He says testing can often take hours to complete.
"This is my hobby as well so I try to get some that I know are interesting. It means getting calls from groups across the country and if there are different brewers in an area then they will collectively get the best together," Andy said. "We haven't tried them all yet but we are about to start this afternoon to sample every one of them. It takes about four hours and you really need a glass of water by the end."
When people hear beer festivals, they may automatically assume that there may not be any other options available. However, CAMRA has thought of everything as there are non-alcoholic beers, gluten-free options, or even vegetarian or vegan beers and ciders on offer. All of these are clearly marked on the information tags displayed at the bars facing customers.
The impressive cider bar has been set up with almost 200 different drinks on display from all over the county. There are some weighing in at 4.5 percent which is the average for a cider up to a whopping 8 percent which may require a glass of water or two afterward.
Heather Stretton is the cider officer and she is responsible for the selection and organising of the bar. She is an encyclopaedia of all things cider and is ready to make a recommendation or two. When it comes to organisation, the bar has all the East Midland breweries on one side, Welsh ciders in the middle to Somerset at the other end.
"We are lucky to have a huge sidebar here with 150 different ciders and perry ciders which is a mix of apple and pears. We have everything from 3.8 percent to 8.4 percent in sweet, medium, dry, or oak barrels. There really is a huge variety and something for everyone," she said.
"We have a full range from East Midlands down at one end which includes Nottingham, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. It moves on to Wales where we have ciders from Pembrokeshire then we move on to the rest of the country and England with Cambridgeshire. We have lots from Herefordshire, Devon and Dorset along with Somerset too."
Although the festival hasn't yet begun, talk has already turned to the following festival as preparation often begins for CAMRA immediately afterward. Mr Ludlow is keen to see more expansion for 2023.
"As we've expanded for this year, the intention is to see if we could take the other side of the cricket ground to go even further next year. Ultimately our aim is to make it the entire area of the cricket ground and we are working with professional people here who have been very helpful," he said.
"There are great facilities here and opportunities to sit down with a lovely view of the cricket pitch with a glass of beer or cider too."
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