Beers & Years - Wedmore Real Ale Festival

Held over the weekend of the 14th, 15th and 16th of September 2001 at Wedmore Village Hall the inaugural "Thirst" Annual Wedmore Real Ale Festival was a huge success.

International Recognition
With visitors from as far away as Swindon, Poole, Cardiff, London, Manchester and even Canada (although not specifically!) three days of fun and real ale appreciation ensued.

Thirsty Villagers
Over twenty great quality ales and ciders were available to choose from, all of which were sponsored by well wishing businesses - see below. In excess of 800 people passed through the doors during the weekend and quaffed over 2400 pints of real ale and cider as well as bottled beer, wine and soft drinks. Many people also enjoyed ploughmans lunches made with local cheese and fresh local bread and salad.

Live Music
Friday nights live music was provided by "Whitchdoctor" who were excellent entertainment and very generously donated a large proportion of their fee back towards our worthy causes. Daytime entertainment came from the beautiful "Funky Diva's". Saturday nights band was "Black, white and ginger". Both evenings entertainment was supported by Olly Eade who kept revellers bopping and thirsty until the early hours.

To find out about how much we raised and what happened to the money please visit our Fundraising Page.

Ales and Sponsors
Listed are the Ales and Sponsors of the "Thirst" Annual Wedmore Real Ale Festival. If you you would like information about how to sponsor barrel of beer at the next Real Ale Festival then please visit our Fundraising Page.

Abbey Ales - Bellringer
ABV: 4.2%

With a citrus and pale malt aroma, this notably hoppy golden ale is light bodied, clean tasting and refreshingly dry, with a balancing sweetness. Dry, bitter finish.

Sponsor:

Rotamec are a team of specialists in electro-mechanical engineering. The main line of work includes repairs and rewinds to electric motors, fans, pumps, gearboxes and generators. Rotamec also sponsor Cheddar Football Club.

Adnams Bitter - Southwold
ABV:3.7%

An excellent drinking beer, with the characteristic Adnams aroma of hops, citrus fruits and sulphur. The flavour is dry and hoppy with some fruit. The finish is long, dry and hoppy.

Sponsor:

With a chain of outlets throughout the West Country, Autopoint Car Care has grown through the success of selling a varied range of motor accessories and car care products with a friendly and professional workforce. Tuning and styling comes under the name of AP Motorsport.

Batemans - XXXB
ABV: 4.8%

A brilliant blend of malt, hops and fruit on the nose with a bitter bite over the top of a faintly banana maltiness that stays the course. A russet-tan classic.

Sponsor

The Bondi Beach Bar. Want to party in the summer? Cheer yourself up in the winter? This chain of themed pubs and nightclubs will certainly do the trick! Burnham, Weston and Torquay have the privilege of housing these beach bars, complete with sand, water features and a flooding dancefloor in Weston-Super-Mare!

Beer Engine - Piston
ABV: 4.3%

A mid-brown sweet-tasting beer with a pleasant, bitter sweet aftertaste.

Sponsor

The New Inn Wedmore - Favoured for its well kept and served pint of real ale. Many guest beers throughout the year. Pete and Liz Bevan offer a warm welcome to their traditional pub, serving great home cooked food and a wide variety of beverages!

Berrow Brewery - Best Bitter
ABV: 3.9%

A pleasant, pale brown session beer, with a fruity aroma, a malty, fruity flavour and a bitterness in the palate and finish.

Sponsor

JP Baker & Sons, Wedmore

Serving local meat, cheese and dairy products, JP Baker is certainly the butchers every village needs. If you go for a pound of sausages, you will probably leave with bagfuls of local produce and excellent meats (pork & apple burgers, pork & cider sausages etc etc).

Branscombe Vale - Branoc
ABV: 3.8%

A pale brown session beer. Fruit and malt aroma with a very bitter taste and finish.

Sponsor

The Paper Shop, Wedmore

Your average 'newsagent' conjures up images of dark shops selling papers and tobacco. Ask a Wedmore resident what a newsagent is and expect a tale of fine wines, chilled lagers, bottled ales, spirits, newspapers, magazines, food, confectionary, soft drinks, cards, presents, cash machine, tobacco, household goods, lottery and frozen food! More than a village store!

Butcombe Bitter
ABV: 4.0%

A malty and notably bitter beer, with subtle citrus fruit qualities. It has a hoppy, malty, citrus and very slightly sulphur aroma and a long, dry, bitter finish with light fruit notes. Amber coloured.

Sponsor

Kindly donated by Mark Jackson

Cotleigh - Barn Owl
ABV: 4.5%

A dark amber beer with a malty aroma backed by hops; smooth, full-bodied taste with hops dominating, followed by malt. The finish is hoppy balanced with a little malt.

Sponsor

Kindly donated by Joan Jackson

Cottage Brewery - Somerset & Dorset Ale
ABV: 4.4%

A well hopped, malty brew, with a deep red colour.

Sponsor:

NC Tucker Builders

Local builders with a skill for building work. Conservatories, factory units & steel frame constructions a speciality.
Tel: 07771 562255

Exe Valley - Dobs Best Bitter
ABV: 4.1%

Malt and fruit aroma with a pleasant fruity taste and bitter finish.

Sponsor:

Dedicated to being the quality leader in the development and distribution of global travel services and information. From corporate travel management to vacation planning to currency conversions. Recognized as one of the best places to work by Fortune Magazine and Philadelphia Magazine.
Tel: 020 7847 2600
Web: www.rosenbluth.com

Tim Taylor - Landlord
ABV: 4.3%

An increasingly dry, bitter finish compliments the pungent hoppiness and complex fruitiness of this full-flavoured and well balanced beer.

Sponsor:

Ratcliffe Bros

Andrew and Duncan Ratcliffe operate the garage at Dunnick's Mead where plenty of Wedmore's cars go to be serviced, MOT'd, repaired and even bought or sold.
Tel: 01934 712170

Uley - Old Spot
ABV: 4.8%

A distinctive, full bodied, red/brown ale with a fruity aroma, a malty, fruity taste, with a hoppy bitterness and a strong, balanced aftertaste.

Sponsor:

Sand Engineering Consultants are a local company of chartered structural engineers. We provide professional advice on all structural building matters including design, surveys and reports.
Tel: 01934 713585

RCH - Pitchfork
ABV: 4.3%

Yellow/gold bitter with a floral, citric hop aroma with a pale malt. Hops predominate in a full bodied similar taste, which is slightly sweet. Finish is just as good, if longer.

Sponsor:

Based in Mark, RP Building Services are highly competent builders. Extensions and restorations a speciality. All types of stonework undertaken.
Tel: 07785 934893

Ringwood - True Glory
ABV: 4.3%

A malty aroma leads to a hoppy taste with a malt and fruit, followed by a malty, hoppy and fruity aftertaste. Copper coloured.

Sponsor:

Stones Bakery

The village bakers has been in the hands of the Stone family for many decades, probably explaining the excellent quality of bread, rolls, pastries and savoury goods. All baked fresh on site in Wedmore.
Tel: 01934 712271

Oakham - JHB
ABV: 3.8%

Impressive straw coloured quaffing bitter with bold floral, grassy hop, grapefruit and kiwi fruit and a little sweetness followed by a long, dry aftertaste.

Sponsor:

A team of highly skilled individuals makes Baroque what it is known as today. A group of craftsmen with individual abilities capable of all manner of building, restoration and decoration projects. The team consists of Neil Ellis - a highly experienced and proficient builder and decorator; Dan Beauchamp - a stone mason with years of tuition and experience; Darrin Fear - a lifelong woodworker incorporating tradition and creativity.
Tel: 07773 125637

Wilkins Farmhouse Cider
ABV: 6.0%

Wedmore's most famous export! Traditional, simple, divine! Try it for yourself. If you want to take some home, please alert bar staff who will be driving to the farm to collect orders throughout the weekend.

Sponsors:

Medium: Kindly donated by Emma Jackson & Pete Wilkins
Dry: Kindly donated by Roger Wilkins
Sweet:
Kofax Image Products offer world leading data and document capture software, developed in our worldwide headquarters in Irvine, California. The Ascent Capture software runs 75% of worldwide scanning solutions from tens of documents per day through to hundreds of thousands.
www.kofax.com

Butcombe Bright
ABV: 4.0%

Managing the leisure facilites on all our local lakes, including Chew Valley Lake, home of a tea shop, picnic area, fishing waters, restaurant & bar and the sailing club.
Tel: 01275 333345

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