More than 10,000 visitors made their way to the Halls in Norwich to enjoy the Great British Beer Festival Winter, CAMRA has revealed, with a rise in numbers of 33% on last year. More than 35,000 pints were enjoyed.

The festival built on the success of its first year in Norwich in 2017, attracting visitors from as far as Italy.

GBBF winterThanks to the generosity of the festival public, the chosen local charity, Age UK Norwich, raised £3,651 towards its care for the elderly, and making later life in Norwich the best it can be.

The Great British Beer Festival Winter kick started on February 1 with a Fringe Festival around Norwich ale and cider pubs, and the festival proper opened its doors on February 20.

The February Festival will stay in Norwich for 2019 before moving to a different location, and will have music nights on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

CAMRA has announced that the dates for next year’s festival will be February 19 to 23 at The Halls, Norwich.

It was a wonderful surprise for everyone involved to learn that a local brewer, Green Jack, had won the coveted national Champion Winter Beer of Britain award.

Breweries also hosted their own brewery bars, including Lacons Brewery, with its award-winning ales and history dating back to 1760, and the Norfolk Brewhouse, in conjunction with grain merchants and custodians of Maris Otter barley, H Banham Ltd. The festival also attracted a Cambridge-based brewery, Moonshine, with its speciality stout and range of ales.

The next major CAMRA festival will be Norwich Beer Festival, in October.