The National Winter Ales Festival (NWAF) is organised annually by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). From 2018 it was marketed as Great British Beer Festival Winter. The event showcases real ales available in the UK in the winter months, especially strong ales, stouts and porters. It was first held in 1997, alongside the Great British Beer Festival. Great British Beer Festival Winter is also home to the Champion Winter Beer of Britain awards.
The festival is generally held in January or February of each year; however there were two festivals in 1997, one at each end of the year. The first one gave the awards for 1996/7 and the second for 1997/8; there was no festival in 1998.
While the summer event has been exclusive to London since 1991, the Great British Beer Festival Winter moves between host cities, allocated on 3-year cycle. Branches of CAMRA around the United Kingdom bid for the event. Derby was the host city for 2014 to 2016 where the event was held at the Roundhouse. The final Derby festival drew 13,832 attendees, the largest in the event's history. [1] They drank a combined 57,000 pints of the 470 beers on offer. [1]
Norwich and Norfolk CAMRA hosted the event in 2017, 2018 and 2019, at The Halls, a medieval complex in Norwich consisting of St Andrew's Hall and Blackfriars' Hall.
| Year | Location | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Old Fruit Market, Glasgow | ||
| 1999–2002 | Upper Campfield Market, Manchester | ||
| 2003–2004 | Old Town Hall, Burton-on-Trent | ||
| 2005–2009 | New Century Hall, Manchester | ||
| 2010–2013 | Sheridan Suite, Manchester | ||
| 2014–2016 | The Roundhouse, Derby | ||
| 2017–2019 | The Halls, Norwich | ||
| 2020–2022 | The New Bingley Hall, Birmingham | 2021 and 2022 events cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. | |
| 2023–2024 | Burton Town Hall, Burton-on-Trent | Incorporated at Burton Beer & Cider Festival | [2] |
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just over 150,000 members, it is the largest single-issue consumer group in the UK, and is a founding member of the European Beer Consumers Union (EBCU).
Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for beer that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide".
Beer has been brewed in England for thousands of years. As a beer brewing country, it is known for top fermented cask beer which finishes maturing in the cellar of the pub rather than at the brewery and is served with only natural carbonation.
The Great British Beer Festival is an annual beer festival organised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). It presents a selection of cask ales, and the Champion Beer of Britain awards, and is held in August of each year. GBBF's sister festival, the Great British Beer Festival Winter, is held in February each year.
The Champion Beer of Britain is an award presented by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), at its annual Great British Beer Festival in early August.
A beer festival is an event at which a variety of beers are available for purchase. There may be a theme, for instance beers from a particular area, or a particular brewing style such as winter ales.
The Champion Winter Beer of Britain is an award presented by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) at its annual Great British Beer Festival Winter. The award is similar to the Champion Beer of Britain which is presented at the Great British Beer Festival.
Jennings Brewery was established as a family concern in 1828 in the village of Lorton, between Buttermere and Cockermouth in the Lake District, England. The brewery was started by John Jennings Snr, son of William Jennings. Jennings brewed exclusively in Lorton until 1874 when its present home, the Castle Brewery in Cockermouth, was purchased. The Lorton brewery closed some five years later.
The summer Cambridge Beer Festival is the longest-running CAMRA beer festival in the United Kingdom, having started in 1974. It is held at the end of May just before the Whitsuntide Bank Holiday. The winter beer festival is a smaller, indoor event at the University Social Club, and since 2018 has been held in November. Both festivals are run by Cambridge & District CAMRA. The 2020 festival was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and it did not run again until 2023.
The Otley Brewing Company Limited, colloquially Otley Brewery, is a brewery located in Pontypridd, Wales. Established in 2005, it has won several awards, including the Champion Beer of Wales in 2006. The head brewer is Charlie Otley. In October 2016, the brewery was put up for sale by its owners. In February 2018 the brewery ceased trading.
York Brewery is a brewery, formerly located in York within the city walls, owned by Black Sheep Brewery in Masham where York Brewery beers are currently brewed.
The National Pub of the Year is an annual competition held by CAMRA, the winner of which is announced in the February of the year following that in which the competition is run, that finds the best pub in the UK. Established in 1988, the competition helps to highlight quality pubs around the UK that are worth seeking out and visiting. Each year, each local CAMRA branch nominates one pub in their area to be entered. These 200 pubs then go through to the regional competition, which then whittles down to 4 pubs to go to the national final.
Farnham Beer Exhibition, usually but informally known as Farnham Beerex, is the longest established beer festival in the United Kingdom to be held annually on the same premises. Held in Farnham, Surrey, the first Beerex took place in 1977, and serves as a charity fundraiser for the Lions Club of Farnham.
Bath Beer Festival is an annual beer festival held in the city of Bath, England.
The Society for the Preservation of Beers from the Wood (SPBW), founded in 1963, is the oldest consumer-based group interested in stimulating the brewing of, increasing the awareness of, and encouraging the drinking of traditional cask ale. The Society also supports and encourages the use of wooden casks for beer dispense.
Blue Monkey Brewery is a 20 barrel microbrewery located on the border of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Founded in Ilkeston in 2008, the company doubled its capacity and moved to Giltbrook in 2010. It produces beers, including Ape Ale and Guerrilla Porter. It currently has four outlets; The Organ Grinder Nottingham, The Organ Grinder Loughborough, The Organ Grinder Newark and The Coffee Grinder Arnold
The Rotherham Real Ale and Music Festival is an annual real ale festival that takes place in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
