WAY back in 1973, the newly formed Northamptonshire branch of the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) held their first beer festival in the old Derngate Green Bus Station.
At this time, all around Britain, enthusiasts were taking up arms against what they saw as the destruction of the traditional brewing heritage. Cask ale had been the best British pint for centuries, served from wood firkins, foaming fruity full flavoured and hopped with English Fogless and Goldings from Kent and Herefordshire.
The very next year Bill Urquhart, the last head brewer at Phipps Bridge Street Brewery before it was demolished, opened the world’s first microbrewery in Litchborough, Northants. Over the years the county’s independent brewing scene has grown and with it the beer festival also grew to become an established date in the calendar.
In 2013, the local CAMRA branch found it no longer had the members capable of staging what had become a large outdoor event at Delapre Abbey, and the Borough Council stepped in to keep the festival rolling for a couple of years.
In 2015, Phipps NBC took over running the event and brought CAMRA back in as partners. Since the move to Becket’s Park, closer to the town centre, the festival has expanded to become a showcase for the whole Northamptonshire independent drinks industry, one of the county’s success stories. Every one of the 20-plus commercial microbrewers in the county gets a chance to offer their full range of brews, which CAMRA judge and award coveted prizes in various categories, up to the champion ale of the festival.
Along with real or cask ale, newer craft beers, a wide variety of real ciders both local and national, gin, rum, mead and wine all vie for the customer’s attention in the riverside setting of Becket’s Park. Street and festival food keep the event going and local musicians provide the background to a weekend celebrating all that’s great in our county.
Join over 10,000 people over the weekend of 31 May, 1 June and 2 June from lunchtime until late, closing tea time Sunday.