Due to COVID the brewing industry took a major hit, but this year saw the return of the Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) flagship beer festival, the Great British Beer Festival, held in August at Olympia in London. Showcasing some of the finest UK and international ales, unfortunately closer to home both the Great Welsh Beer Festival and Swansea Festivals have not made a return this year. However the great news is that the West’s own Carmarthen Beer Festival is going ahead after a 3 year gap!
Having studied in Carmarthen I make an annual pilgrimage to Carmarthen to volunteer at the annual beer festival. This year marks the 26th annual festival and unlike other events has remained at the same venue at roughly the same date every year. The 3 day event will be held between Thursday October 6th to Saturday 8th October and hosts approximately 40 real ales with Country Wines, Cider and Perry also on offer. It is based in the comfy and friendly St Peters Civic Hall in the town centre, only a short walk (or stagger back) from the train station.
It’s always a pleasure to help out behind the bar, the fellow volunteers are a friendly and welcoming bunch so I took the opportunity to catch up with the captain of the ship, festival organiser Stephen Griffiths. A Carmarthen boy who is now an IT professional in Cardiff as well as a Vale of Glamorgan County Council Councillor who took on the reigns a couple of years ago after many years as an attendee before making the transition to the other side of the bar.
He loves the festival and everything about it and tells me: “It was important for us as a branch, to make an effort to host a beer festival this year, as it had been three years since the last due to the pandemic. Having CAMRA champion local breweries via the festival, feels like a calling even more so since the disruption COVID caused. The festival again will have over forty real ales and a selection of ciders, with live music on both Friday and Saturday nights.”
Glamorgan Brewing will be main festival sponsors again this year, alongside Evan Evans and Tomos Watkin, who have donated beer to the festival.
Entry is £10 and grants entry over three days, along with free drinks tokens, a commemorative glass and programme. CAMRA members who show their membership card on entry will have extra free drink tokens.
