Monday 13 March 2017

Norfolk Beer Awards – an evening of celebration

CAMRA is hosting an evening of awards and celebration on Saturday 25th March at Epic Studios in Norwich and is inviting brewers and CAMRA members.

The Norfolk Beer Awards is a joint awards event, with the Beer of the Festival Awards from the 39th Norwich Beer Festival plus the unveiling of the prestigious Norfolk Beer of the Year awards.

Ticket holders will be given a pint of award-winning ale, and will be served a quality buffet at their tables.  After the dinner, the bar will be open until late and those wishing to continue the celebrations will be invited to local hostelries along with their CAMRA hosts, to party into the night.

Ian Stamp, Chairman of Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA, comments: "This is Norwich & Norfolk CAMRA's version of the Oscars and the Golden Globes all rolled into one! This event is a fun and festive occasion, without being too formal, and a chance for Norfolk to celebrate the best of local and national ales."

The annual event attracts breweries and CAMRA members from all over the country.  The event started in 2016 with over 100 guests and proved so popular it has moved to a larger venue at Epic Studios.

The event starts at 7.30pm, with the bar opening from 6.30pm, and promises to be a great social evening for local brewers and ale-lovers alike. 

The evening of celebration will host the Norfolk Beer of the Year Awards and winners will be announced at the dinner.  These awards include best bottled and cask beers by Norfolk breweries in 8 style categories.

The winners of the 12 category and overall winners of the Norwich Beer Festival will also be invited to receive their awards.  The awards for the favourite beers, ciders and perries of the festival are voted each year by the drinkers at the festival and were announced during the festival in October.

A number of the award-winning beers will be available on the evening.  Tickets for the awards night are £15 per head, or £140 for a table of ten guests and can be purchased by brewers, CAMRA members and their guests at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/333265.

The presentations will be hosted by James Kearns, CE of BUILD Charity, Norwich Beer Festival’s chosen charity. 

This year the Norwich Beer Festival will be celebrating its 40th anniversary and there will be a number of special features and events planned for this year.  The 40th Norwich beer festival will take place from Monday 23th October until Saturday 28th October 2017 at St Andrew’s and Blackfriars’ Halls, Norwich.

The Norwich & Norfolk branch of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) is hosting The National Winter Ales Festival, also at the medieval friary halls, each February for three consecutive years from 2017 to 2019.

This year the February festival collected £3,726 for their chosen charity, ‘It’s On The Ball’.  Rebecca Bushell from the charity commented: "We'd like to add our heartfelt thanks to CAMRA for inviting us to be their chosen charity for NWAF. We thoroughly enjoyed it and feel very touched by the support we received from the staff, volunteers and those who attended.

"Thanks to all who spoke to us, who bought our merchandise and made donations. The funds raised will help us to continue the awareness work we are doing and will also help local testicular cancer patients too."