Three CAMRA branches (West Cumbria, Solway and Westmorland) joined forces to run the real ale bar at the first Cumbria Food and Drink Festival
at Rheged over the May Day weekend. There were 27 beers from 14 Cumbrian breweries, possibly the most comprehensive range of Cumbrian beers on sale at any one time.
The event also saw the launch of the Cumbria Real Ale Trail, produced by Leader + Fells and Dales programme. This beautifully produced leaflet details all 14 Cumbrian breweries and some of the pubs in rural Cumbria which sell their products.
The launch was attended by brewers from seven of the 14 breweries.
Visitors to the beer festival came from all over the UK as well as across Cumbria. Some were surprised to find such a variety and range of beers on sale and most expressed the hope that the event will be repeated.
Drinkers voted one of Hesket Newmarket brewery's best known beers, Doris's 90th Birthday Ale, as Beer of the Festival. Aptly for CAMRA's Mild Month, a close second place went to Foxfield's Dark Mild, described as a 'luscious fruity dark roast beer'. This is quite an achievement, considering that big brewers would have us believe that mild is a beer style which is no longer popular. Third place went to Skinner's Old Strong from Cockermouth's Bitter End Brewery.