Pub boss says buzz over real ales at 30-year high

Kate Wood, owner of the Queen's Head at Bramfield, hoped Cask Ale Week would promote real ale and shine a spotlight on pubs and breweries.

The owner of an award-winning pub said the real ale industry was enjoying its most exciting and innovative time for 30 years.

The Queen's Head in Bramfield, Suffolk, is celebrating Cask Ale Week - the annual celebration of cask beer- as part of its beer festival, until 22 September.

Kate Wood was hopeful the event would help to promote real ale from the area and shine a spotlight on new beers and breweries.

Cask Ale Week is supported by the major trade organisations, brewers and pub groups as well as The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

The forth Queen's Head Beer Festival in Bramfield featured live music and a selection of street food.

Mrs Wood said: "I would say it's the most exciting time in real ale brewing for the past thirty years. We are seeing a lot more vegan beers coming through and we are getting a lot more gluten-free beers too.

"I think it's important to showcase the smaller breweries as well as the bigger ones and we've got some really traditional ales on offer but there's some really cool, modern progressive brewing going on too and and it's a great chance to showcase that and to show people what cask ale is all about "

There will be 17 cask beers on offer at The Queen’s Head, which this year was awarded the title of best destination pub in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire at The Muddy Stilettos Awards.

Other festivals

Cask Ale Week will take place until 29 September with events happening all over Suffolk and beyond.

The Rumburgh Buck, in Halesworth, will be celebrating the event with its fifth Annual Beer Festival running from 27 – 29 September and organisers said there would be 18 cask ales on offer from local breweries plus live music and food.

The Old Cannon Brewery, in Bury St Edmunds, will be hosting a beer festival from 26 – 28 September featuring beers from its own brewery.

Aldeburgh Food Festival will be taking place at Snape Maltings during Cask Ale Week and the event will include cask ales from the Adnams Brewery in Southwold.

Cask Marque, which monitors beer standards, said it had worked closely with industry organisations, including CAMRA, The British Beer and Pub Association and The British Institute of Innkeeping for more than 20 years to hold the annual campaign.

Paul Nunny, director of Cask Marque, said: "Cask Ale Week is an annual event helping to not only promote cask beer as a national favourite but also highlight the importance that pubs bring to local communities.

"There has been impressive engagement from pubs and breweries already this year bringing an even more exciting and interesting programme to reach more drinkers and spread the word about Britain’s national drink."