National Winter Ales Festival

I have mentioned that I am preparing for the above which, for the uninitiated, begins next week. It is CAMRA's second National Festival and unlike the Great British Beer Festival, it is not being held in London, but here in Manchester. To add to its street cred, it is being held in that most Northern of institutions, the HQ of the Co-op, the wonderfully named " New Century House".

The National Winter Ales Festival is organised by CAMRA to showcase a wide range of beer styles, particularly winter warmers. It also hosts the Champion Winter Beer of Britain competition, and the winners will be announced on Thursday January 17th. It is a good event and attracts drinkers from near and far, but there has been no mention of it as far as I know in the National Press, or for that matter in Beer Blogs elsewhere. Nonetheless a visit to the Festival provides you with the opportunity to sample some 200 cask ales, foreign beers, plus Real Ale in a Bottle. And, if you must, there is cider!

I'll say no more about it for now, except that I'll be there doing a bit of work on Foreign beer, to show my beer knowledge and interest extends beyond cask. I hope some who read and this and other blogs will be there too. If so, come and say hello! For those who can't be arsed or just can't, I'll report here on proceedings.