Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival, 2011
Posted on 19. Jun, 2011 by Robert Gale in Beer Festivals
About the Festival
The Great Welsh Beer and Cider festival is billed as the ‘biggest pub in Wales’ and it certainly is big. For three days in June, the Motorpoint Arena (previously known as the CIA) is taken over and a giant u-shaped bar is positioned in the centre of the main hall and stocked with over 150 beers and ciders.
This is the fourth year at this venue and each year the festival has become increasingly popular. An estimated 6,000 beer and cider fans visited the festival and for the first time in its history they drank every last drop.
By the evening on the last day of the festival an estimated 20,000 pints of beer and 5,000 pints of cider and perry had been consumed and the festival had to end early.
The Beer
The festival features over 150 different beers, ciders, perries and German lagers. Welsh breweries feature heavily in the lineup but there are also breweries from other parts of the country such as Fullers and Thornbridge.
The German lager bar is always popular and features a good selection of both bottled and draught beers. A highlight was three smoked beers from the Heller brewery – Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen, Urbock and Eiche Dopplebock.
The Champion Beers of Wales featured Rhymney which won both the gold and silver champion beer award as well as best mild and best strong bitter, Otley which won the bronze champion beer award as well as best speciality beer and best barley wine and Purple Moose which won best old ale. The complete list of winners can be found on the GWBCF blog.
More Photos of the Great Welsh Beer and Cider Festival, 2011
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