St Austell Beer Festival huge success once again

l Cheers! St Austell head Brewer Roger Ryman (left) and managing director James Staughton enjoy a pint of the brewery's flagship beer, Tribute

December 13, 2006: The St Austell Beer Festival is one of my favourites of the year, and not without good reason. It's held in the vaults of the brewery, which provide an ideal atmosphere, and there is always excellent, beer-drinking music and good conversation.

This year was not different, attracting around 3,000 visitors from all over Cornwall and ebyond to try a huge selection of beers from the brewery itself, from throughout the UK and mainland Europe.

	CHARITY CASH
	Takings for the day amounted to nearly £25,000 and all profits will be going St Austell Brewery’s Charitable Trust. Next year’s festival will be held on December 1.

The stars of the shows are always the Celtic ales, though, and this year was no different. St Austell head brewer Roger Ryman's one-off creations were as excellent as ever, and the brew from Scotland and Wales were particularly highly praised.

St Austell managing director James Staughton said: “Judging by the numbers, the festival has proved as popular as ever, if not more so. Every year the event takes more and more work to set up, but when you see how much people enjoy the event it's all worthwhile. Yet again we hope our Charitable Trust benefits from the success of the day.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Truro chartered accountant Nigel Trethewey, who said: “It’s a really enjoyable event, improved by the thought of the money raised going to charity. Personally I wish there were more of them; Cornish beer festivals are good humoured and very much part of our social scene — celebrating some great Cornish beers!”

Roger Ryman claims the Celtic Beer Festival is the best test of his beers, and welcomes the opportunity to see what’s popular. He said: “We know people come because they enjoy the socialising, tasting their favourite beers and experimenting with new ones too.

“This year our coffee beer has proved popular, as has our McAustell, and we are testing our new summer beer for next year, Liquid Sunshine. It’s always nice to see the ladies here too, many of whom seem to appreciate beer more and more.”

Certainly the social aspects of the Celtic Beer Festival are a big draw for women, as Jila Walker and Cecil Varcoe of Fowey both agree, commenting that they “like to support a local event and it’s a great place to meet up with lots of friends in the run up to Christmas".

Jila added: “I used to live in the States where beer festivals have great community spirit like this. I think St Austell Brewery do a great job.”

With nearly 80 staff volunteering to run the festival for the 12 hours it’s open, let alone all the time taken in setting up and making arrangements, the event is a major undertaking for St Austell Brewery.

Mike Voyzey, operations director, said: “It’s become a really big logistical exercise for us, but runs like a well-oiled machine, being our eighth event. We hope, despite there being so many people attending the festival in the day, that all enjoy themselves in a safe, protected environment, with all the right facilities. We work hard to make sure everyone has all they need on the day.”

The reputation of the Celtic Beer Festival is spreading beyond Cornwall, as head of marketing Jeremy Mitchell confirmed: “We’re gaining a regional and national reputation and people are travelling across the country to come to our festival. It’s a fantastic atmosphere and our staff are brilliant to volunteer.

“Each year we push the boundaries in the imaginative use of different ingredients in our beers, and everyone is up for tasting something new at the festival. This year, for instance, Café Crème, our coffee beer, has proved especially popular and we have had a very successful pilot run for a potential new beer for next summer — Liquid Sunshine, which is a very light and tasty 3.8abv summer ale.”

The Celtic Beer Festival is a popular event in the St Austell Brewery calendar with many landlords and ladies arranging mini buses to bring their customers to the brewery.

Human resources director, Vicky Crossingham, said: “It’s wonderful to see the St Austell Brewery tenants turning up with their customers because they think so much of the brewery. It’s a real gathering of the clan; with almost a family feel about the whole day.”

And family connections were very much in evidence on stage as well as in the running of the festival, when Bevel Luck took to the stage in the brewery’s own band. Bevel’s grandfather, George Luck, was a past managing director of St Austell Brewery and his uncle, Adam Luck, is estate director.

Adam said: “The Celtic Beer Festival started after head brewer Roger Ryman and I came back from a fascinating trip to some German beer festivals. We were impressed by the entertainment, the great community spirit and the wonderful opportunity for relaxed sampling of lots of different beers. We thought it would be a great idea to hold our own.

"Seeing the popularity of the Celtic Beer Festival today we are amazed, but delighted. I don’t think any of us realised just how popular and what fantastic support there would be for our beer festival.”