Pendle Beer Festival pulls in the punters

The 14th annual treat for beer lovers attracting more than 2,400 people to the three-day event at The Muni.

And while the majority may have been local punters, organisers tracked visitors from Edinburgh, Essex and South Devon.

One couple even set off from their Coventry home at 6am to sample the beers on offer, making a return trip as they had enjoyed last year’s event so much.

And for a group from the Isle of Man, the event has become something of a beer pilgrimage, they have yet to miss a Pendle Beer Festival.

An official Campaign for Real Ale event, the festival this year had more than 100 beers to chose from. There was also a large selection of cider and a Prosecco bar and food was available through the weekend.

Organiser Martyn Pashley looked back at another successful event and said: “Over the weekend we had over 2,400 visitors to the festival and between them they drank more than 9,000 pints of real ale.

“We raise money for Pendleside Hospice with a raffle and with visitors donating unused beer tokens and not claiming the deposits on their festival beer glasses back.

“This year we are predicting that we will have raised over £6,000 for Pendleside, with a lot of that money coming from generous individuals and companies sponsoring barrels of beer.

“Feedback from landlords in Colne reported a large number of visitors taking time to savour some beers from our local hostelries so the whole event is good for the area.

“The event would not be possible with the help of a large team of volunteers and I would like to thanks all the volunteers without whom we would not have a festival. And I would also like to thanks Pendle Leisure Trust staff for their support and patience.”

This year’s festival theme was North versus South woth the array of beers on offer geographically split across the country. And in a change from usual tradition, the beer of the festival was not a vote among visitors, it was a simple case of which sold out first with the winner being Plum Porter Grand Reserve from the Titanic brewery in Stoke.