Britain’s second city hosts forward thinking craft beer festival

The craft ale industry is enjoying a period of massive growth. CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide 2013 lists 1,025 breweries in the UK alone.

There is an undeniable thirst from consumers to try new ales and support their local breweries. However with so many cask and keg ales to choose from and breweries being located up and down the country tracking down the best ales can be a daunting challenge.

Luckily a new breed of beer festivals are popping up to bring the best beer to consumers. These festival are not for commercial gain and they’re not sponsored by the big corporate breweries. They are set up by passionate ale fans with a desire to share their love of great beer.

The UK’s second city Birmingham recently hosted the city’s first ale festival to include keg beer, Birmingham Beer Bash.

Set up by a group of beer enthusiasts from across the West Midlands Birmingham Beer Bash was an alternative festival that drew crowds of ale lovers from a cross section of society.

From trendy urbanites to drinks bloggers such as City Suppers a host of people gathered over one weekend to celebrate the independent beer scene in the UK.

More than 70 keg beers were represented at the festival and 24 cask ales with some on handpull, showcasing the best beer Britain has to offer.

The international bar served up 18 beers styles from around the world from much loved European classics to North American varieties.

To accompany the beery delights the event also paired food with street food and Michelin star restaurants showcasing the diversity of beer.

To read a review of Birmingham Beer Bash visit citysuppers.wordpress.com