Drinkers flock to Dudley for winter ales
Dudley Town Hall was packed over the three days of the annual Dudley Winter Ales Fair.
The 33rd annual event, run by the Dudley and South Staffordshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale, offered more than 80 beers from the West Midlands and all over the country as well as bottled international beers and real cider and perry.
The beer of the festival winner was Full Centurion, a 10 per cent strength beer from Kinver Brewery with Marston's taking second place with Owd Rodger – 7.6 per cent.
Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Dave Tyler, officially opened the fair for the second year in a row on Thursday evening. There was live music on Friday and Saturday including Kingswinford singer-songwriter Jess Silk, Liquid Brass, Bluebird Belles and Dead Bandits
The fair also saw the launch of a Dudley Borough Real Ale Trail guide, produced by the borough ouncil in conjunction with the Campaign for Real Ale.
It features 36 traditional Black Country pubs and is free to pick up at borough libraries, Dudley Council Plus, individual pubs and by downloading from the Discover Dudley website at www.discoverdudley.org.uk
Councillor Ian Kettle, cabinet member for planning and economic development, said: “We have so much tradition and heritage within Dudley and the wider Black Country, and it is through initiatives, such as this Real Ale Trail, that we get to celebrate it. Real Ale is making such resurgence at the moment due to the quality and variety of the beverages out there.
“This trail leads visitors to a number of independent and well known local breweries across the whole of the borough, many of which also offer food – as well as a warm welcome."
Pubs featured include The Beacon Hotel, Sedgley; The Lamp Tavern, Dudley; The Vine, Brierley Hill' The Old Swan, Netherton; The Duke William, Stourbridge; The Waggon and Horses, Halesowen and The Shovel, Lye.
The winter ales fair, which this year marked the 60th anniversary of the death of Dudley-born film director James Whale who made Frankenstein, was also raising money for charities Samaritans and Prostate Cancer UK with festivalgoers invited to donate unused beer tokens.
An image of Frankenstein's Monster featured on the special festival beer glass on sale at the event.
