Keighley Beer Festival 2001

Keighley Beer Festival 2001, held over the weekend 27^th, 28^th and 29^th September at Victoria Hall, the Leisure Centre, Keighley was an overwhelming success.Just under 1400 real ale fans visited the festival, the Branch's 13th, and they all but drank the event dry. At the start of the festival, 85 different cask ales were available including a special festival brew from Keighley-based Timothy Taylor, a new brew from their near neighbours, Goose Eye, and two beers from the re-launched West Yorkshire Brewery in Luddenden Foot, near Halifax, now run by one of our own Branch members. By the end of Saturday night less than fifty gallons were left, proving that, despite what the major national brewers say, local beer drinkers enjoy well-kept quality real ales. The foreign bottled beers and ciders also proved very popular showing that there is local demand for these too. As always, we encouraged our customers to support a local charity by donating their unused beer tokens as they left the festival. Just under £350 was raised in this way for Manorlands, a local hospice.

The top three beers of the festival were:

Our thanks go to all who assisted us in organising the event, particularly:

• Victoria Hall staff for being so helpful during the event

• Flying Firkin Distribution and Iceni Brewery for bringing the bulk of the beer

• Timothy Taylor for sponsoring the Festival Programme and for producing and supplying a special Festival beer along with their regular beers

• Boat Brewery for the loan of most of the handpumps and for supplying beer

• Goose Eye Brewery for selecting us to launch their new beer, Yorkshire Tyke, and for supplying us with some of their regular ales

• Tetley Brewery for donating a cask of Mild for the Mild Trail

• West Yorkshire Brewery for all their assistance with beer selection, loan of equipment and transport.

• the other breweries who supplied beer and lent us equipment: Anglo Dutch Brewery, Barge and Barrel Brewery Company, Boggart Hole Brewing Company, Brown Cow Brewery, Crown Brewery, Fernandes Brewery, Foxfield Brewery, Golcar Brewery, Old Bear Brewery, Pictish Brewery, Rudgate Brewery, Salamander Brewery, Tiger Tops Brewery, Turkey Brewery, Wentworth Brewery, West Yorkshire Brewery

• John Hallam for supplying the cider and perry

• Schellenburg UK Ltd for supplying the German beers

• John Lindley of the Cricketers Arms, Keighley for being the licensee and for selling advance tickets

• the Grove Inn, Holbeck, Leeds for sponsoring some of the publicity material and selling advance tickets

• the other pubs who sold the advance tickets: the Narrowboat, Skipton; The Bar T'at, Ilkley; the Boltmakers Arms, Keighley; the Corn Dolly, Bradford and Fanny's Ale House, Saltaire

• all pubs, breweries and anyone else who donated prizes for the Tombola

• Peg Leg and the Low Town Blues Band for providing the entertainment

• Chris Jopling for designing the logo(s)

• Premier Badges Limited for making such a good job of the commemorative badges

• Peacock Print and The Copy Shop for doing our printing

• all the volunteer staff

Thanks must also go, of course, to our customers.