Tuckers Maltings Beer Festival 2008

The weekend of April 24 - 26 2008 saw the 16th Tuckers Maltings Beer Festival in the Victorian Maltings in Newton Abbot, Devon close to the railway station. This festival has been on my to-do list for many years and so I decided to visit on the Thursday evening and Friday lunchtime. The Maltings also house a fantastic bottled beer shop and is the home to Teignworthy Brewery.

I travelled by train and based myself at the Great Western Hotel in Exeter, once a fantastic real ale pub and hotel but sadly nowadays it seems badly neglected by new owners and beer choice almost halved. I won't elect to stay there again in a hurry!

The beer festival is run by the South West branch of the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) and is a showcase for local brewers. The bar is staffed by local CAMRA members. There were more than 260 beers listed from over 55 breweries, all in the South West. The counties covered by this area are Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire and some of Dorset.

It is an ideal venue with no cooling required for the casks as they inside the Maltings ground floor. There was plenty of drinking space opposite on a grassed area where a marquee had been erected, and access in and out was by means of wearing a wristband. Toilets and food vendors were also outside.

The beer was very cheap too at £1.10 per half no matter what strength by means of 9 tokens for £10. I would recommend this festival to anyone and I am told there are several good pubs nearby which I did not have time to visit, also a Cider Bar.

Andy Sales

This page last updated: June 3, 2008

Full Archive.

This site copyright © 2001 - 2008 The Leicester branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale