Wolverhampton beer festival brings friends and families together for good drink and a great atmosphere

The Wolverhampton Summer Festival of Beer & Cider, one of the biggest in the region, was once again a vibrant hub of activity and fun as people of all ages came to drink their favourites and try new beers and ciders between a trade day on Thursday and full festival days on Friday and Saturday.

Now in its 49th year, the festival showed no sign of slowing down yesterday (July 25), with volunteers talking to customers about the beers, suggesting their own personal preferences and pouring tasters, thirds and half-pints of the different beers on offer.

This included the final offering for the festival from Banks's Brewery, the Sesquicentennial IPA, a fruity and tangy beer which was enjoyed at great volume by those attending the festival and became the first beer to sell out, going at 7pm on Thursday.

It is set to be the last beer Banks's provide for the festival before its historic brewery closes this autumn.

The summery and hot weather also ensured that there was a steady flow of people coming in, consulting their programmes and picking what they wanted to try and then sitting either in the main hall or in the marquee outside.

Within the marquee in the main courtyard of the arts centre, entertainers from bands to solo musicians took to the stage to perform and provide a pleasant soundtrack to the festival.

Among those enjoying the festival was Stephen Ansell from Bridgnorth, who said he had enjoyed a few of the stouts and also enjoyed seeing how such a festival was run.

He said: "I've always had an interest in quality ale and more than just the beers you can get in the average pub, plus I lived in Wolverhampton until about 12 years ago, so this festival has always been an interest to me.

"It's run by very nice people and has a great atmosphere and I've already enjoyed some of the stouts, plus the Fox Prohibition from Wiley Brewery, although I did miss out on trying the Banks's beer as it went very quickly.

"I'm also organising my own festival in Bridgnorth this year, so I'm happy to be able to come here and follow on from what they're doing here, gain some knowledge and take what they've done to apply it to Bridgnorth."

The festival itself takes a lot of work to run, with dozens of volunteers working as stewards, bar staff, front door staff and on the tombola.

One of those people who has been a part of the festival for six years as a volunteer is Paul Beeston, who said that it was great to keep spreading the word about good ale.

He said: "I think this festival is a great way of spreading the word of real ale and I just want to encourage more people to have the opportunity to drink decent beers.

"It also has a great atmosphere and I think the range on offer is also a great thing as people can try so many different things, including the Banks's, although I missed that as it went in about three hours.

"The festival is alive and expanding and I think it's a great festival for people to come into and try something new."