Skipton Beer Festival 2011
The fifth annual Skipton Beer Festival, held in the Town Hall from Thursday 19th May to Saturday 21st May, was an outstanding success. A record attendance of 2,158 customers drank their way through 859 gallons (3,910 litres) of 74 different cask-conditioned real ales and 66 gallons (250 litres) of 16 different ciders and perries. As is usual on these occasions, there was absolutely no trouble reported and a happy, relaxed atmosphere prevailed throughout the festival. An innovation this year was the outside drinking area which proved to be very popular, especially on the warm, sunny Saturday afternoon.
Customers voted Black Band Porter, from the new Kirkstall Brewery in Leeds, as "Beer of the Festival" - Skipton being the first festival to sell their products. This was also the first beer to run out, the second being the new offering from local Copper Dragon brewery - Conqueror. The "Cider of the Festival" award was a major coup for a Craven brewery, Naylor's of Crosshills, whose excellent "Emporium Press No.2" was a result of their community apple-pressing day last October.
May being CAMRA’s “Mild Month”, the festival again featured a “Mild Trail” with 15 milds available including light milds, dark milds, a rye mild and a maple mild.
The festival was visited by Julian Smith MP and the Mayor's charities, the Alzheimer's Society and Parkinson's UK, benefited to the tune of £519 from raffles, cash donations and unused beer tokens. Commemorative glasses and T-shirts, bearing the festival logo "A fifth ewe, a fifth ewe - we all fall down!" were very popular and almost sold-out.
The festival committee would like to thank all the volunteer staff and, of course, the customers with special thanks going to the events sponsors listed below.
Sponsors
Copper Dragon Brewery, Skipton
Naylors Brewery, Cross Hills
The Red Lion, High Street, Skipton
The Castle Inn, Skipton
Moorhouses Brewery, Burnley
Dark Horse Brewery, Hetton, Skipton
The Swan, Addingham
