Community Beer Festivals

- in which we move from a discussion of the specific, to the generic, and muse upon the phenomenon of community beer festivals.

A couple of events to plug, which may be of interest if you happen to be local to Leeds. This weekend, there is a beer festival in Rothwell. It's for charity, which is why it's a fiver to get in, but for me the reason that this is a big deal is that it is about 200 yards from my front door, and obviously I'd be a fool not to go. The beer list looks OK too. I'm particularly looking forward to trying some beer from the Five Towns brewery, run on a part-time basis by a nursing assistant, and Mallinsons, whose beers I've tried in bottle but not from cask. That's a couple of pints right there.

Also this weekend is the inaugural LS6 Beer Festival. Leeds 6 (the postcode) has long been a hotbed of creative hipster activity, having a great concentration of students, musicians, and generally bohemian types. The line up of beers is pretty great, and they have a load of bands on too. It's got all the makings of a great day out.

What I find really heartening is that both of these events are charity fundraisers. The church hall in Rothwell has never hosted a beer festival before, but it's been selected as an event that will make people turn up and donate to a good cause. Perhaps in days gone buy, the event would be a fete, with a jumble sale, tombola, and WI stall. But this week it's beer. And the usual mode of fundraising in LS6 is a music all-dayer at the Brudenell Social Club. To see real ale at the heart of this event is great news.

So, in Leeds this weekend, the suburbs and the inner city will be hosting inaugural beer festivals. Is interest in real ale starting to become as widespread as these festivals might suggest?