ALE lovers turned out in their hundreds to enjoy a pint or five at the Hoole Beer Festival.

Hosted by local business Chester Beer & Wine, their first event also included artisan ciders and live music at the community centre.

Samantha Jackson, owner of Chester Beer and Wine, said: “After 12 months of planning it was great to see the event getting such amazing support from the local community as well as
many visitors from all over the North-West, who came for the beer festival but stayed for the weekend to explore Chester.

“The community centre was the only choice for the festival – not only is it a beautiful heritage building, it is a fantastic local resource which we love supporting, used by dozens of local clubs and groups ranging from babies to active seniors.”

Event organiser Sue Mason said: “We have delivered many events in Hoole, including the street festivals and the Christmas lights switch-on, so we know how to appeal to the entire community for a fun and safe event for all the family.

“We were thrilled with the positive feedback we received from those who attended.

“Everyone had a fantastic time and can’t wait to come back again next year. We have already booked the venue for 2018.”

There was plenty to keep everyone happy, including an interactive seminar from qualified beer sommelier Martin Hilton and a Q&A session with local brewer Dave Shaw. from Big Hand Brewery in Wrexham.

For the non-beer drinkers there was a speciality bar with eight different gins, as well as a wine and prosecco bar.

And for the youngsters there was facepainting, circus skills and creative activities allowing parents to enjoy all the fun of the carnival atmosphere.

Dave Calver, shop manager and beer buyer for Chester Beer and Wine, chose all the beers for the festival and was swamped with praise for his beer choices all weekend.

He said: “We knew we were on to a winner when we saw a tweet from one of our regular customers, Rhys Morgan: ‘Get down here. Something special is occurring’.

“It’s a great feeling when all your hard work behind the scenes pays off & you know you’ve got it right.”

The event also got the seal of approval from attendee Kelvin Lawson, a key organiser of the Chester Charity Beer Festival, now in its 30th year.

He said: “The team have done brilliantly and I’m very envious of the specially built bar with such a fantastic selection of real ales on handpull. We’ll be stealing a few ideas for next year, I’m sure.”