Beer festival returns after 'exhausting' set-up

The 46th Peterborough Beer Festival will be on until Saturday at the Embankment

An organiser of an annual beer festival which attracts thousands of people said the recent hot weather had made it challenging to prepare for the event.

Peterborough Beer Festival is back from Tuesday at the Embankment, with more than 350 different types of beers from around the country, including some new tipples, available to try.

Chief organiser Mike Lane said the heat "killed them" while preparing for the five-day event and called it "exhausting".

"It is a greenfield site - there's nothing there - we have to put the fences up, get the marquees erected and in that heat it was extraordinarily hard work," he said.

"There's been lots of water and lots of ice. The beer came on Saturday and the idea is to get it racked up and get it cooled as soon as possible to keep it in good condition."

'Be responsible'

Mike Lane said it is a "privilege" to be part of the beer festival

Mr Lane said real effort had gone into making the festival a "family-friendly exercise" and described it as a "community event", with a fun fair and food stalls which offered something for everyone.

The popular beer bar, believed to be the UK's longest continuous beer bar, at more than 91m (328 ft), has also made its return for this year's event.

"This is a community event," Mr Lane said.

"I am not 100% convinced that the non-alcoholic trend is growing, but we have to recognise that it is needed. When people come to the festival, a lot of people don't want to drink with alcohol.

"So we have gin, wine and beer without alcohol, and if that's your choice, we will look after you.

"We want people to come and enjoy themselves and be responsible and treat it as a family event."

More than 350 varieties of beer can be sampled at the five-day festival

Last year the event attracted about 25,000 people, organisers said, and raised nearly £19,000 for Sue Ryder's Thorpe Hall Hospice.

Mr Lane hoped to build on the success at the 46th edition of the festival.

"If we can raise £20,000, then it would be brilliant", he said.

Steve Dunkley, 50, is a beer and brewing historian and will be manning the CAMRA Learn and Discover bar this year.

He said: "At this bar, we hand out samples so people can get a better understanding of ingredients and the process of making that particular beer, so they can make out themselves what they like when they go to order at the bar.

"We just want to see everybody enjoying themselves. The smiles on people's faces makes it all worth it."