North London

Campaign for Real Ale

Campaign for Real Ale

London Drinker Beer & Cider Festival

The dates for the 2018 Festival were: Wednesday 14th to Friday 16th March.

This was our last ever event. The hall is closed.

at Camden Centre, Bidborough Street, London WC1H 9AU.

This was one of the longest running beer festivals in London and once again, the main hall was dedicated to real ales and craft keg beers brewed in London. We ran a short CAMRA only VIP session on Wednesday sponsored by Moncada Brewery. See VIP Farewell Session for CAMRA members.

You can see some 2017 interviews at the Festival, conducted by Winkball, at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qOD38SVXLU.

In total there were over 200 London cask Cask Beer 2018, keg beers keg & bottled beer 2018 bottled beer descriptions 2018, imported beers from Belgium, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Germany, Canada and Australia 2018 imported beer (and a few American American Beer ), ciders and perries (see Cider & Perry List 2018 for the 2018 list featuring 17 different counties).

We had 58 beers suitable for vegans see:Vegan friendly draught beer.

2018, also saw a small selection of English wine and some mead; see: Wine & Mead.


The Festival judged the Champion Beers of London on Thursday morning and the selected beers were available from Thursday lunchtime onwards. At the same time, we judged the Keg of the Festival, sponsored by Kegstar. You can see all the 2017 results here: Champion Beer of London Results 2017 and the 2018 shortlisted beers Champion Beer of London shortlist 2018 and the 2018 results at Champion Beer of London.

On Wednesday, we judged the very first lower alcohol beer of London, supported by Drinkaware. More details can be found here:Lower Alcohol Beer of London

To add to the enjoyment, there was a Tombola, Shut the Box, Devil Among the Tailors and excellent home cooked food every session from Phil's Pop Up Kitchen to suit meat eaters and vegetarians alike. The Tombola was sponsored by Signature Brew the prizes, in addition to their lovely beer, included a fluffy bunny!

To read the 2018 Festival newsletter, covering all aspects of the Festival, click here:2018 newsletter.

The Festival was opened on Wednesday lunchtime by John Keeling of Fullers

Wednesday evening there was a Free Pub Quiz and a bring & buy book sale Friday lunch in aid of charity.

Friday lunchtime we also be judged the London's Amateur Cider Maker of the Year.. Read on for further details London Amateur Cider Maker of the Year.

The 2018 opening times were:

Wed: 11.30 - 3pm free, 5pm -10.30pm £4 (£3 CAMRA members)

Thu: 11.30-2.30pm free, 5pm -10.30pm £4 (£3 CAMRA members) Note earlier lunchtime closing

Fri: 12 - 10.30pm £4 (£3 CAMRA members)

Last admission 10pm. Wheelchair accessible. Over 18s only.

Once again, we offered a fantastic opportunity to brew for the beer festival. This year it was Alphabeta. Competition now closed.

Last year it was Signature, set up by two cousins, Sam and Tom, their aim was to link beer with music and, in particular, getting decent beer into music venues. The names of their beers reflect this link; try their canned Roadie or draught Black Vinyl Stout.

In the photo, the winner of the 2016 competition was Tom Kearney (second left), whose story you can find on the News page. The photo also shows John Cryne (CAMRA branch chairman) to the left, Colin Coyne (competition winner runner up, second right) and head brewer Rich White (right). The resulting beer was an American Brown Ale, named Highgate Lifebuoy, at 4.1% ABV using Calypso and Cascade hops.

The beer was on sale at the 2016 London Drinker Beer & Cider Festival Camden Centre, Bidborough Street, London WC1H 9AU. You can see some clips of the brewing at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI8p3NqWm3o&feature=em-upload_owner; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn5kKzcxPXU&feature=em-upload_owner; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlH6iH6-39A&feature=em-share_video_user






Give us a hand

Our festival is run entirely by volunteers.

If you fancy giving us a hand, have a look at London Drinker Beer & Cider Festival Volunteering. We still need extra help on Friday night .

No experience is necessary and it's a great way of learning new skills and making new friends. If you don't fancy serving the public, then maybe helping during set up and take down is for you.

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/LDbeerfest (@LDbeerfest) Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/London-Drinker-Beer-Festival/126727707385567

You can find photos from the 2015 event here: London Drinker Beer & Cider Pictures. Were you there?


and posters of all previous events here https://www.northlondon.camra.org.uk/viewnode.php?id=64591








Purchase this year's commemorative teeshirts at the festival (short & longsleeve) with the Year of the Dog logo




Photos setting up the Festival. To see a video of putting up the barrels go to: http://youtu.be/4U5r2v-3Rv8

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