Leicester CAMRA Beer Festival 2004

Leicester Branch have only been holding beer festivals for 5 years after a 10 year gap. The 25^th to 27^th March saw their best festival to date with 2,700 people visiting, including CAMRA parties from Manchester, Somerset and individuals from most branch areas.

The feature for Leicester has always been focused on the local brewing expertise as well as beers from surrounding Counties. With so much to choose from, there doesn’t seem much point in going further afield.

This year, we featured “Space Travel” as our theme for naming “Festival Specials”, to which 21 of the 44 featured breweries contributed a special with names both serious and amusing. Names such as: Valentina from Brewsters, Armstrong Ale from Shardlow, Buzz Lightbeer from Langton, Big Bang Bitter from Everards, Beagle Phone Home from Old Cottage and one brewed at Tower by 5 of our beer festival committee, Saturn Uranus, which went on to win “Beer Of The Festival”. See Brewing a Winner.

By closing time on Saturday, we had 9 beers left out of 124 and had almost sold all 81 kils. A small amount of Cider was also left.  35 new members were recruited taking us to a branch total of 770. Once again, the authentic Indian curries were a winner, what other festival has these?

We wish to thank Everards Brewery Limited for their sponsorship and Loughborough and Mansfield & Ashfield CAMRA Branches for their assistance with equipment and our customers who, as well as nearly drinking us dry, also helped raise £650.72 for LOROS our local hospice.

Next year? Well, let us all recover from this year first!

Keith Williams (Festival Organiser/Branch Chairman)

Previous Beer Festival Reports

This page last updated: May 28, 2008

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