Bolton, Greater Manchester: Bolton CAMRA Beer Festival

Saturday 6th April 2013

Bob Thompson

This was a revival as there hasn't been a local CAMRA Beer Festival for around fifteen years. Sensibly, they started off relatively small and advertised 40+ beers and 8 ciders and perries. It was held in the Bolton Ukrainian Social Club which provided an excellent venue. Incidentally this club regularly serves cask ales, including guests, and was Bolton CAMRA's Club of the Year in 2011 and 2012.

Inside the building there was a medium sized room that contained all the beer stillages and cider. As Linda and I were there just after opening time it was easy to get a seat at a table. In an adjacent room there were more tables and this was a club's bar. This was where the food was to be found and, although we were a little disappointed that there was no Ukrainian cuisine on offer, we noticed that the quality of that served was really high and at very reasonable prices.

Naturally the beer selection featured several local Bolton breweries such as Bank Top, Blackedge and Dunscar Bridge but they had also sourced many more from around the country. Of course, I won't bore you with a list but I do like to mention breweries that I've not previously come across, although I suppose many others have, so don't laugh when you read the following.

These were Blackjack of Manchester: Deeply Vale of Bury, Greater Manchester; Just a Minute of Spennymoor, Co Durham; Off Beat of Crewe, Cheshire; Old School from Warton, Lancashire; Outstanding of Bury, Greater Manchester; Privateer from Manchester and Prospect of Standish, Greater Manchester.

There were also six ciders and two perries. One aspect of this beer festival that deserves to be mentioned was the quality of the beers. Nearly every one we tried was in superb condition and this greatly added to the experience and for this we must thank the organisers and volunteers. So, it is hoped that the festival was a success and is repeated next year.

Important Information:

The Ukrainian Social Club is on Castle Street and this is around fifteen minutes walk from Bolton railway station. The 544 bus runs along Castle Street and starts from Bolton Bus Station. Buses 471 and 510 run along Bradford Road close by, and also start from the Bus Station and pass near the railway station.

For details on future Bolton Beer Festivals please look at www.boltoncamra.org.uk