Over 30,000 beer lovers made the annual ale pilgrimage to sample some of the 1250 beers on offer at this years Beer and Cider Festival, the biggest selection in Europe, beating the record set by last years festival.
Hundreds were there for the launch of the Extravaganza of real ale, cider and perry which ran from Wednesday 8th October – Saturday 11th October. 
Back for its 7th year in the superb setting of Nottingham Castle, and made possible by the 400 Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) volunteers who were on hand to make it all happen, the festival boasted that around 40 per cent of the volume of beer is brewed with 20 miles of the Castle itself.
Other good news for the local economy is that 1.5 million is set to be pumped in from visitors to the festival with Hotels and restaurants seeing an increase in business. Keith Laird, head of business development at Experience Nottinghamshire, the county’s tourism promoter, said “The knock-on effect for the local visitor economy is fantastic – festival-goers often stay overnight in the city, and are keen to visit nearby attractions’
Entertainment was in the form of live music on the castle bandstand, around which there was space for four breweries and six caterers. Acts included Euler, No fixed Abode, Booda Dust and Pesky Alligators(SIBA) The Society of Independent Brewers also held their annual competition to find the beer of the year – 340 different cask beers are judged in 8 categories in a blind tasting by panels consisting of both experts and beer lovers.
Beer munches were catered for, with lots of choices including Homemade – we tried their lovely Paella, we also had the traditional visit to the sausage stall for a Bratwurst. We tried all things bacon from the Crafty Crow which included the bacon topped chocolate biscuit pictured. Award winning Memsaab dished up dishes for those who liked things a little warmer or there were Cornish Pasties or even Salty Dog Crisps for those that like something more traditional with their ale. 
The fun didn’t stop there as CAMRA joined 17 local pubs to create the Festival Fringe Fortnight and involved pubs offering special foods and meals matched to local cask beers and ciders.
Were you there? Tell us your thoughts (and your favourite beers)
By Tanya Raybould
