First Bury St Edmunds Annual Winter Beer Festival receives 'overwhelming response'

Beer enthusiasts raised a glass at a new festival celebrating winter ale over the weekend.

The first Bury St Edmunds Annual Winter Beer Festival at the town's Constitutional Club proved popular on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with the majority of the more than 30 beers and ciders on offer selling out.

Club manager Neil Rayson, who organised the event with Martin Bate from West Suffolk CAMRA, said they wanted to give the town a boost on the weekend that the cancelled Christmas Fayre would have been held.

"It was quite an overwhelming response. It was quieter on the Sunday but much better on the Friday and Saturday than we imagined it would be," he said.

The festival featured a key keg bar from the Three Blind Mice Brewery in Ely, while Mr Rayson and his team of volunteers ran two other bars.

Several breweries sponsored the event including Nethergate, Woodforde's, Shortts and Mighty Oak.

Mr Rayson added: "We're talking about how we take this forward for the town in future years."

Tickets are also now on sale for the 2022 East Anglian Beer and Cider Festival, which will be held at St Edmundsbury Cathedral from Tuesday, June 14th to Sunday, June 19.

Visit burystedmundsbeerfestival.com