Our bi-annual spectacular showcase of beers is, this time, celebrating female brewers from the UK and international breweries.
The event is taking place at all Wetherspoon pubs, across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, from Wednesday 25 March until Sunday 5 April, inclusive.
Five female festival brewers from overseas will be producing their ale recipes right here in the UK, to line up alongside 25 beers, some from Britain’s best female brewers, who have brewed award-winning and several exclusive festival ales.
Antipodean
Belinda Gould joined us from Brew Moon Brewing Company, New Zealand, to produce Antipodean (5.5% ABV) at Shepherd Neame; Terrapin Beer Co’s Jess Hurd travelled from the US to brew Terrapin Hey Pal (4.2% ABV) at Banks’s Brewery; Australia-based Wheaty Brewing Corps’ Thebby Bitter (3.9% ABV) has been brewed by Steph Cope, at Wadworth.
Italy’s Luana Meola brings us Chocolate Porter (5.0% ABV) from Fabbrica della Birra Perugia, via Adnams Brewery, while Tessa Gabiniewicz journeyed from Land & Sea Brewing Company, in Canada, to brew her Estuary Session IPA (4.5% ABV) at Hook Norton Brewery.
Tessa said: “I have never travelled overseas before – and there is nothing more exciting to me than to be travelling to a place with such a rich history, culture and brewing tradition.
“My admiration for Wetherspoon’s pubs runs deep, as I have heard only remarkable things about what a staple the pubs are in every community.
“Many of my peers, friends and mentors call Wetherspoon pubs ‘an institution’ – and I could not be more honoured to become a part of this celebration of ale.”
Project
A huge thankyou to all of our friends at our five host breweries for welcoming our visitors, once again, as part of our long-running and highly successful international brewers’ project.
As well as the fabulous five overseas brews, we have sourced a further 25 festival beers from breweries across the UK – to complete our real-ale line-up.
Among them, making an exclusive début at the festival, is Otter 30 Years (4.0% ABV), brewer Mary Ann McCaig’s new golden beer, celebrating this popular Devon brewery’s 30th anniversary.
A trio of brewers from Marston’s Brewery, Aneta Izdbeska, Naomi Pallister and Victoria Hearnden, has brewed the new ruby-coloured Russet (4.2% ABV) exclusively for us.
Two more festival exclusives include one from Manchester-based JW Lees Brewery, which is JW Lees Bourne and Booth (4.5% ABV), produced by brewing duo Abby Bourne and Amy Booth, and from Shepherd Neame brewer Nic Allen, her new deep golden beer In the Nic of Time (4.8% ABV).
Stout
Loch Lomond Brewery’s award-winning black oatmeal stout, Silkie Stout (5.0% ABV), is also definitely one to look out for, brewed by Scottish brewery owner Fiona MacEachern.
The festival will feature new, seasonal and speciality beers, many of them available in our pubs for the very first time and all available to order via the Wetherspoon app.
Our special third-of-a-pint glasses will be available once again too, helping you to sample many of the festival ales – with three for the price of a festival pint.
Don’t miss this spectacular showcase, at the world’s biggest real-ale festival at Wetherspoon.