160 Newark Beer Festival

“An old castle in ruins, and a magnificent church, marks the Nottinghamshire town of malt and brewing. Other towns in the county may be more picturesque and more famous for their manufacturers, but non can vie with Newark in its malthouses and kilns, or beat the quality of malt manufactured or the beer brewed in that historic Trentside town.”

Alfred Barnard from his ‘Noted Breweries of Great Britain and Ireland’ of 1889-91.

If you like beer, then you probably know where to find it. But for beer tasting newbies, what better place to start to appreciate the UK’s rich brewing heritage, than at the Annual Newark Beer Festival, ‘the event in the tent’.

2007 will be the twelth year and since its humble beginnings, the festival has progressed from event number one, when drowned in popularity from intrigued punters, the festival ran out of beer.

We spoke to Chris Constantine, one of the early organisers of the festival on its tenth anniversary. “We thought that 40 beers would be enough, by the Saturday afternoon, we had to go on national TV and tell everyone not to come. Even radio 5 added to the end of their travel report, don’t go to the Newark Beer Festival if you are passing by, as they don’t have beer.” Coupled with the existing marketing campaign that they had instigated, the Festival had well and truly made its mark, albeit not all positive. Having reached the tenth festival - Chris commented that it was ‘quite liberating to not have to worry and to beable to come to the festival, buy his own glass and beer tokens, sit in the sun with his family and relax.’ And relax anyone can - the festival is just the right size and ambience.

The first suprise, of course, is the choice of beers, over 120 of them. Whilst many are brewed by medium and large sized breweries, there are some that brew beer in their back gardens. The choice of flavours means that anyone can find one favourite they like. They are chosen for the festival by Steve the cellarman, who works long and hard to bring a selection of beers from around the country. We had never even heard of many of the varieties, let alone sampled them. One thing was for sure, none of them were flat, warm or lumpy which is apparantly a ‘popular misconception amongst the uninitiated.’

The festival is organised by the Newark branch of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale). Anyone can become a member of the branch, numbers of which currently stand at over 100, with a large percentage of those being active members. Having joined CAMRA (which incidently is for individuals, not pubs) you get discounts on entry to CAMRA organised beer festivals, discounted offers on publications, such as the hugely popular Good Beer Guide, a monthly newspaper on pubs, beers and breweries and a nice warm glow, knowing that you have helped the campaign for real ale.

So mark in your diaries for next year, the 12th festival around the last May Bank Holiday, will be well worth visiting. But don’t worry if you miss it, real ales can be sampled at any time at many pubs across the country. One only has to research in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide, to find real ales in their area. A copy can be found in your local library.

159 Newark on Trent

Welcome to our page for Newark on Trent

:: UPCOMING EVENTS IN NEWARK & SHERWOOD ::

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Newark on Trent - Copyright Jonathan Mita

Newark is a really pretty market town with many attractions and a suprisingly active event calendar. It also boasts an pro-active business club and a bustling market place. With a one and a half hour train link to Kings Cross, Newark is popular with commuters.

Roz Edwards

Editor Roz Edwards

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Annual Events in Newark

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Attractions in Newark

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Business Links for Newark

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Charities in Newark

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Clubs in Newark

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Local information for Newark

  • Useful Telephone Numbers

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Night Life in Newark

  • Palace Theatre
  • The Navigation Waterfront
  • The Old Post Office
  • Time Diva 

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Restaurants in Newark

Our Food Editor for Newark is Graham Keale

  • Asha Tandoori
  • Il Castello
  • Le Cafe Bleu
  • Mandarin Cantonese
  • Millgate House
  • New Island
  • Posh Nosh
  • Reeds Restaurant
  • Sorrento
  • The Atrium
  • The Friendly Farmer
  • The Rose Cottage
  • Trumps
  • Zizzi

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Venues in Newark

  • The Bearings
  • Beesthorpe Hall
  • Kelham Hall
  • Newark Town Hall
  • The Red House Country Manor Hotel

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